We see people who have some sickness which causes them much suffering become willing to go to any quack who offers a miracle cure. Have you come across Christians who, when they come to serious problems in life for which they have tried every available remedy, finally resort even to witchcraft? Their desperation for a solution drives them to ignore the warning in their mind regarding prudence and folly and even right and wrong.
This happens on another level when it comes to experience versus doctrine. Many people do not seem to be concerned much about the correctness of the doctrine they follow, as long as they seem to get 'results'. Every manifestation of supernatural power gets taken in as the power of God. The mesmerising personality of a speaker makes people assume that whatever he speaks must be true. Miraculous healing or resolution of problems is taken to prove the validity of doctrines. The largeness of the congregation is considered to show the anointing of God over the pastor. In India where there are a very large number of deities, each one answering prayer in specific areas of life, people go from temple to temple for blessings irrespective of the character of the deity! Is our attitude similar when we reach out to different pastors or teachings when we search for solutions to our problems?
Everything that is supernatural is not from God! Satan is notorious for counterfeiting many of God's gifts in such a way that it needs an expert to recognise the difference (2Co.11:13,14). He is very creative in bringing out teachings that appear to be authentic to a careless listener but which hide poison inside (1Ti.4:1).
Just as he did when he tempted Eve in Eden, one of his aims is to malign the character of God, and he also wants to ultimately take away from us what God has done in us and then to destroy us (Jn.10:10). This is something we have to be very careful about, to see if a teaching makes a caricature of God's nature – whether it is by exaggerating His wrath or His grace.
Another thing the Devil does is to initially give us what looks like a blessing, and then begin slowly to lead us away into ungodliness. Or he may give us excitement and thrills without any real spiritual growth.
The Bible speaks about holding on to 'sound' (healthy) doctrine. The doctrines we believe shape our thinking and then our practical life. If the teaching we follow is really 'unhealthy' we are not going to grow healthy spiritually. Sound doctrine is related to godliness (1Ti.6:3). If a teaching has no contribution towards godly living, that shouldn't be something we should spend time on. If it leads to ungodly lives, we should run far from it!
It becomes essential to examine doctrines in this way, even if the preacher produces what appears to be results in dealing with our problems! The crucial thing is that we need to be connected to God in the right way, and no way climbing over walls will succeed in the end (Jn.10:1).