So here is the first:

It is critical that you diligently study the Bible and compare what anyone else says to scripture. Test the spirit of the person to see if they’re from God. Getting the right handling of the core doctrines of faith is key, but you mustn’t stop there. It’s about the practical application of those doctrines that reveal the heart of a person. Become wise about the nature of evil, what it looks like. Many of us have been trapped by twisted theology that has kept us in bondage because we didn’t fully understand the nature of evil and how it parades itself as an angel of light. Be willing to mine your past experiences to see what lessons you can learn from them so that you stop repeating the patterns that are resulting in you being abused. Knowing what not to do is just as powerful as knowing what to do.

This is why I increasingly have been encouraging abuse victims and others to go to the Christ Reformation Church youtube channel and start going through the 1 John Bible study series there. We also have other video series too but 1 John is a great starter because it will help you sort out all the false unbiblical, well, garbage, that most of us have been taught in church.

It really is true – we MUST study Scripture ourselves and compare what others are claiming the Bible says with what we ourselves read. You can also grab a copy of my book Wise as Serpents off of Amazon and read it as a help in wising up about evil. For example, a huge barrier that keeps victims in abuse is that they have been told that their abuser is a Christian, just like he claims. He isn’t, and the Bible plainly says so. Once you realize that, other things start to become much clearer.