2. Why must all counsel given to others be based solidly on the Bible?
2 If our counsel to others is based simply on our own conscience or opinion, we are bound to mislead them. Even if we try to counsel altogether according to the Bible, we must be sure that we have the right understanding, not mere conjecture or a privately held view. When a person accepts counsel based just on another’s conscience or opinion and puts it into effect, it is of little benefit to him. It may even cause much damage. Why? Because he is not acting at the direction of his own conscience. For, “indeed, everything that is not out of faith is sin.”—Rom. 14:23.