Case Law

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

1 John 4:1

For police officers, knowing and understanding case law is one of the most important components of their job. Case law refers to the principles and rules of law determined by specific cases brought forth in court, such as Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (US 1925), which enables officers to search vehicles without a search warrant if there is probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains contraband. Officers must study and memorize case law constantly in order to know what to look for and how to properly handle each case.

In the same way, Christians must constantly be studying God’s Word in order to detect false doctrine. If we have not studied the true doctrine, how can we know what false teaching looks like? We must commit ourselves to learning and understanding as much as we can from the Bible. By doing this, we will build a firm foundation for ourselves that cannot be moved by every new teaching that comes along, and we will in turn live a more sound and victorious Christian life.

Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.

A. W. TOZER