Did you forget that sacred Scripture tells us what makes a Christian? Jesus said, "By their fruits you shall know them.". We cannot look upon a man's heart - only God can do that, but we only see the outward appearance. Whether or not a person continues in the faith is also an outward sign. The Apostle John experienced people who claimed to be believers but something happened to them. He said:
A sign of genuine faith is that the person will continue in the faith. That does NOT mean they lost their salvation along the way, but that their leaving demonstrated the faith they professed wasn't real. The book of Acts also speaks of such people:
Paul also mentioned the trouble he had with such people perverting the truth in his epistle to the Galatians:
That is why the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture to write it in the first place - so we, two thousand years later, can know the truth of the gospel and recognize a perversion of the gospel when we hear it. The authority we all have is God's word so that when anyone tries to turn us away from the truth, we will know it - no matter who they claim to be or what authority they claim they have.
However, in the end, it is ONLY God who sees every person's heart and He knows those that are His. All we can do is observe how a person lives and the truth he says he believes and either accept him as a brother/sister in Christ or correct him in his error. If he refuses correction, then we are told to take notice of him and not fellowship with him or take part in his sins. We have no authority to condemn a person to hell - that domain belongs to God alone.
...”The authority we all have is God’s word so that when anyone tries to turn us away from the truth, we will know it - no matter who they claim to be or what authority they claim they have”......
The scriptures are available ‘to everyone’....that’s a very important matter to remember as you know... many people have begun their search by picking up a bible...not attending any church. God works through the scriptures each and every time.