The dictionary defines heresy as, "religious opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine; any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs, mores, etc." (Random House Dictionary).

Our word heresy is derived from the Greek word hairesis and refers to a doctrinal view or belief at variance with the recognized and accepted tenets if a system, church, or party, and the word in and of itself has no evil meaning.

It should be pointed out that what may be recognized by certain groups as orthodox teaching, may in fact be at variance with the inspired scriptures, and in fact, heresy. Too often, churches tend to make the traditions of men the plumbline of truth (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8-9), instead of the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and anything that does not measure up to their man-made traditions is regarded as heresy, even though the teaching may line up, line upon line, precept upon precept with the Word of God (Isaiah 28:10).

In these Last Days, we are seeing the battle lines being drawn more clearer as more and more churches depart from the faith once delivered (Jude 3) and embrace doctrines of devils and traditions of men in place of the truth of God's Word (1 Timothy 4:1). These in turn have accused Bible-believing Christians and churches of being "heretical" in fulfillment of Isaiah 5:20.

Some have even begun to make non-essentials of the faith the test of truth, thus excluding all but members of their own group as being Christians, and this in itself is heretical, for it goes against inspired counsel as found at Romans 14. Because of the dangers of heretical teachings slipping into the Body of Christ under the guise of orthodox teaching, it is imperative that we examine the scriptures for ourselves (Acts 17:11; 1 Thess. 5:21) to determine whether or not what we are being taught is in line with the Word of God, and be alert to scripture being taken out of context and used as a proof-text to prove something it does not when properly taken in context. The devil knows the scriptures, and he knows how to twist them into appearing to teach what they do not. His ministers likewise know how to twist the scriptures (2 Peter 3:16) and decieve many into believing heretical teachings. How can we guard against being deceived by such false teachers?

1. Be so thoroughly familiar with the scriptures and what they actually teach, that you can spot the false teaching right away. This means studying the scriptures daily, feeding your spiritual man on the Word of God. Commentaries and lexicons are often good study tools, but they should never replace actual Bible study. I have several commentaries and study Bibles, but I rarely use them, opting instead for my wide margin reference Bible wherein I can write my own study notes as the Lord opens His Word to my spiritual understanding.
2. Pray as you study God's Word and ask Him to open the scriptures to your spiritual understanding.
3. Ask the Holy Ghost to lead and guide you as you study God's Word.
4. Examine each and every teaching in the light of God's Word. If scripture is cited, or quoted in support of the teaching, look the scripture up in your own Bible and see if they are taken in context. Remember, just because a teaching may be popular, does not mean it is Biblically correct.

Note: The above are not necessarily given in order of importance. It is vitally important to pray for God's guidance before embarking upon a study of His Word.

Heresy Hunters often operate on the pretext of exposing heresy in the Body of Christ, but as is often the case, they are actually engaged in character assassinations and misrepresenting what their target actually believes and teaches by taking their statements out of context and completely misconstruing them. Rather than seeking out and exposing heresy as they claim to be doing, they are actually causing strife and discord within the Body of Christ by making their own biased views and unethical tactics the plumbline of truth, rather than the Word of God. We should ever be vigilant of these tools of satan and withstand them to their face with the Spirit and Word of God (1 Cor. 2:4-5).