Who should I listen to: a nonbelieving expert in a field of study, or a person who's inexperienced but who loves God's Word?

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In a world of alternative facts, many people, including Christians, are easily swayed by whatever comes their way. Someone posing as an expert says one thing, and the public agrees. Then someone who claims to have credentials says another, and the world turns upside-down.

Who do we listen to at a time like this?

Knowing the right sources

There are a lot of sources of information in the world today. We have books and e-books. We have the mighty internet (which is oozing with fake information, sadly). There are even more sources of info.

Sadly, not because something sounds legit or believable doesn't mean it should be believed. We shouldn't accept the lie and live in it. What we should believe in is the truth.

In John 8:32, the Lord Jesus said "the truth shall set you free." 

What is this truth? The Word of God.

"Your word is truth." (John 17:17)

Don't believe the lie

Many may not likely acknowledge the Word of God as the ultimate source for truth and true information. Many may be sceptical on what the Bible says, teaches, urges, instructs, and seeks to reveal. Many may want to consider the Scripture unbelievable and unprofitable.

Truth is, all of these doubts about the Word of God are lies from the devil.

Jesus said of the devil in John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." 

All the devil says are mere lies.

Now what does this have to do with the topic at hand? Everything. We can choose to believe anybody. But unless what that person says aligns with and agrees with the Word of God, it shouldn't be believed in.

Choosing what Is of God

Dear friend, it is good to hear legitimate information from experts in their respective fields. However, they should not replace or overtake the Word of God as the primary source of instruction. We are admonished in 1 John 4:1,

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

So to answer the question posed in this article's title, "Who should I listen to?" consider what Psalm 1 says and hold fast to it – because it will always prove true.

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; its leaf will not wither, and whatever he does will prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly will perish."