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False interpretations of God’s Word bring a horrendous cost to the spiritual lives of those who teach those doctrines and to those who hear and believe them.  False doctrine cannot save!  However, it does condemn.  Only the truth delivers from the bondage of sin including the lies of Satan (John 8:32).
There are many examples of false interpretations of God’s Word both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  We will appeal to some of these examples as we consider the spiritual cost to false interpretations of Scripture.

The Cost of Personal Shame
The individual who fails to correctly interpret God’s Word will shrink back in shame in the face of God’s judgment.  Paul declares, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).  The false teacher bears the shame of failure to acquire the skills necessary to interpret God’s Word correctly.  False interpretations are a personal embarrassment to the one who commits this sin of tampering with truth.
The Cost of Shoddy Workmanship
Have you ever purchased an item that disappointed you in how it looked or functioned?  Shoddy workmanship disappoints no matter where it is found.  False teachers (Matt. 7:15) are guilty of shoddy workmanship.  A workman is someone who claims skill and professes accomplishment.  False teachers often practice to deceive.  Some work for money (II Peter 2:1ff).  They make merchandise of the ignorant and the innocent (weak).
The Cost of Advancing Error
All false doctrine is deceptive and distracts from the truth.  Those who are deceived thereby entertain false hopes. Every false doctrine advances error.  If more and more people believe a lie, the lie grows in its power to deceive.  Consider the following lies.  The life in the womb of a woman is not a human being, but just a blob of cells.  Abortion is premised on a lie (see Luke 1:36-44).  This lie has been integrated into our culture and supported through legislation costing millions of lives of the unborn.  Macroevolution is another lie.  This theory holds that life spontaneously generated and formed a single cell that divided and mutated over time to produce all living things that we encounter today.  This theory contradicts plain passages in the Scriptures including:  Gen. 1 and 2 and Exodus 20:11.  The theory of theistic evolution is also a false theory based on  a misinterpretation of Gen. 1-11 changing historical reality into myths.  Macroevolution is advancing atheism and agnosticism in the world today.
The Cost of Self-Ruin
The false interpreter of Scripture damns his own soul.  False doctrine distorts reality.  It poisons the mind and heart and destroys the soul.  The Sadducees taught that there was no resurrection of the dead (Matt. 22:23-33).  Jesus rebuked them and said that they erred not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.  Those who do not know God and obey not the gospel will be damned eternally (II Thess. 1:7-9).
The Cost of Ruination of Those Taught
Hymenaeus and Philetus taught error concerning the resurrection and overthrew the faith of some (II Tim. 2:15-18).  Paul said that they made shipwreck of their faith.  Paul had dealt with Hymenaeus before (I Tim. 1:20) delivering him to Satan so that he would learn not to blaspheme.  However, Hymenaeus did not correct his teaching or his ways.  One has to wonder how many people were deceived by these false interpreters of God’s Word.
The Pharisees taught that if someone gave a gift to God that he/she would be free from the obligation to take care of his/her mother or father (Matt. 15:1-9).  This false doctrine led to violating a command of God and vain worship.  The Pharisees also violated the law of God concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage, holding that indiscriminate divorce was commanded by God (Matt. 19:1-9).  This doctrine had a detrimental impact on the sanctity of marriage.
The Cost of Enlargement of Satan’s Kingdom
False teachers always make converts to Satan’s kingdom not God’s kingdom.  As Satan’s kingdom increases, advancing God’s kingdom becomes more difficult.  The way of truth is hindered by false teaching.  When truth is suppressed, iniquity abounds. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).  To “hold the truth” is to suppress the truth while advancing error.  Evil cannot redeem itself!  Only Christ, the Light of the Word, can dispel the darkness caused by religious error.  Only Christ can redeem us!
No one should think that doctrinal or moral error is innocent.  Error destroys and damns the soul.