The definition of "error" is "a deviation from truth." To "deviate" is to
go off a path, even if ever so slightly. Using the example of travel,
if one errs in following the right roads, he ends up in the wrong
place, a place he didn't intend to go.
From his first "salvo" in his war on Truth (Gen. 3:1), Satan has done
his best to distort God's communication to man and to divert people
from His directions for them. Why? Because he doesn't want you to
end up where God wants you to be. The WRITTEN WORD OF GOD is
his primary target, and he has infiltrated Christianity with a myriad of
doctrinal errors.
That is why Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus are replete with
admonitions, especially to leaders in the Church, to "contend for the
faith," as Jude puts it. Christians are to: "command certain men not
to teach false doctrines;" "instruct those who oppose you;" "correct,
rebuke, and encourage;" and to "sharply rebuke those who oppose
sound doctrine."
Why? God gives us the answers in the same context. Speaking the
truth in love to people enables them to have "a pure heart and a good
conscience and a sincere faith." It enables them to "lay up treasure
for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they
may take hold of the life that is truly life." It helps them "come to their
senses and escape from the trap of the devil," and to "be sound in the
faith." We can work with God and the Lord in this noble calling.
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