“DETECT”

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

1 John 4:1

In light of the various spiritual teachings found online and other sources, how should we keep ourselves from being confused and misled?

In our previous blog, we were reminded that those who belong to Christ hear His voice and are kept safe from the lies of the evil one. Let’s talk about this topic more and try to understand it better.

Romans 16:17-23 shows Paul’s instructions and greetings to Christians in Rome. He warns his readers to watch out for false teachers and steer clear of them. Such duplicitous men do not serve Christ but themselves, confusing the young in faith and causing division within the church. Quite noticeable is Paul’s rather harsh language in reference to the false teachers. Paul encourages the believers in Rome to be on guard against ideas that go against apostolic teaching.

Paul is not the only biblical writer who warns against false teachers. John the Apostle gives the same word of caution. Let’s take today’s verse as an example.

The first six verses of 1 John 1 alert Christians to not blindly receive all spiritual claims. John says that many false teachers are trying to deceive people into believing their lies. He entreats his readers to examine both the source and content of teachings before they receive it as truth.

To those with untrained ears and a lack of discernment, detecting false teachers can be challenging because counterfeit teachers tell much truth. Think of it this way: if everything they say is false, who would listen to them? The key to discerning them is to wait till they conclude their teaching. It’s possible to present some truth, but still fails to be applied properly. So, ask these questions:

• What do they say about God?

• What do they say about Christ?

• What do they say about sin?

• What do they say about salvation?

We should exercise discernment in any teaching—being too open-minded is a highway to deception. We should take unorthodox teachings with a healthy dose of skepticism and compare them with the truth of Scripture.

Satan is the deceiver who has a false gospel preached by false teachers, producing false Christians. As a Bible commentator wrote, “Satan plants his false teachers wherever God plants true believers.”

On a lighter note, it’s comforting to know those false teachers cannot deceive everyone in the church, especially the discerning. They are like the Bereans of the Book of Acts. With humble hearts and judicious minds, let’s carefully examine each teaching and determine whether they are from God or not.

Pursue the Savior today!

Photo by Cordell Kingsley on Unsplash