Heresy is a term which gets thrown around a lot. What actually is heresy? What is a heretic? Where do we draw the line and how does the Bible address it?
Heresy!
Heresy is the more than likely the single greatest reason for church division. So something with such power and destructive force should be handled with care. But how readily do we use the term? Is someone who simply disagrees with you a heretic? If so, how far do you take that definition? We disagree about some pretty silly things and some pretty serious things. We would probably all agree that there’s a difference. Part of the problem is that line is often grayer than we’d like it to be.
How does the Bible actually use the terms heresy and heretic? You might be surprised how it was originally defined and the context surrounding the texts which use it. Maybe we should be a little more discerning about how we use that term and how we act. Not at the expense of accepting villains into our midst, but maybe we should at least have grace on those who are honestly attempting to serve God and understand the scriptures.
Even if that understanding differs slightly from our own.