Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
What are we being taught?
Picking up where we left off yesterday, we might see through this word of God that having both the Father and the Son is tied to what we are being taught. That makes what we are being taught extremely important.
Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.
When truth is not taught it affects our walk of faith, akin to hobbling a horse to prevent it from leaving.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 English Standard Version
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
One of the signs of a dangerous cult is the measures put in place to prevent practitioners from leaving and following after the truth. History has shown us that sincere people have been led to their deaths by those who pervert the truth for their own selfish means.
We might be helped to recognize some of those who do not teach the bible in the full light of truth if we can see one aspect of love in 1 Corinthians 13 which says “love does not insist on having its own way.”
Truth can stand alone and reveal itself without being crammed down our throats.
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Tares look like wheat. The important idea in this parable is that no one was standing guard to prevent another gospel from being taught.
As a final thought, if there is any doubt as to the truth I believe I am sharing, talk to your elders and discuss what is said here.