Love the Church

If we love the Church we will have a deep concern that people will delight in and feed upon the truth. We will also want them to be safeguarded from error. We would do well to follow the counsel of Archibald Alexander:

Error, even when mingled with truth, is like poison in our food. It is a thing much to be dreaded and avoided, to preach what is not true; or what God has never commanded us to teach.

The pastors of Christ's flock have the strongest motives to induce them to “take heed to themselves and to their doctrine.” They should be exceedingly solicitous to know what the truth is, not only for their own sakes, but for the sake of the people; and when they do know the revealed will of God, woe be unto them, if they do not preach it faithfully.

John Piper has straightforwardly expressed the consequence of failing to do this, “Bad theology will eventually hurt people and dishonor God in proportion to its badness.”