Spirit of Truth vs Spirit Of Error
In 1 John 4 it tells us that we need to test the spirit. Unfortunately in this day and time we can't go around believing everything people say because they have the title "Christian" or "Minister". In the day and time that we live in it is sad that we have to check behind certain things that are preached over the pulpit. The spirit of the Anti-Christ is very much prevalent in today's world and even the churches. We have to be aware and constantly feeding our spirits with the word of God so we are not deceived. I honestly recommend everyone to read 1 John 4, it lays out how to know and identify the true spirits from the false spirits .
Spirit of Truth
1 John 4: 1-2: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God"
Sometimes the truth hurts and does not sit well with you, but when you are fed the word of God and the TRUE word of God I can only speak for myself but it causes me to self examine myself and see if the way that I am living is for Christ or Man. When you form a personal intimate relationship with God you will be able to discern what is God and of the devil.
We test teachings by asking questions:
Does the teaching present Jesus biblically ?
Does the teaching represent truth from the Spirit of God as it is portrayed in the Word of God or from another spirit?
Is the message consistent with the Scriptures that teach the physical death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and salvation by grace ?
With the increase of spiritual error in these last days, we must be courageous to confront false teachings in confidence, with compassion and wisdom. We must know, share, and live the truth, prayerfully asking God to use us to change the hearts and minds of those ensnared by Satan’s lies.
Spirit of Error
1 John 4: 3 ( KJV) "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."
There are ministries who are more concerned with the amount of people sitting in the seats of the church, then they are about their souls. They want those seats to stay full every service so certain things that the Bible touches on such as lust, fornication, masturbation, rebellion, hate, unforgiveness,perversion, adultery, homosexuality ect, they will sugar coat when teaching so they don't offend anyone and cause them to leave the church.
If you are a servant of God you are placed here to do your master's work. You are responsible for lives/souls. If God is telling his servant to teach on a topic that is controversial and they are tip toeing around the subject and watering it down, making it seem like it's ok as long as you keep God first, they are not doing you any good but deceiving you.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 ( AMP); "For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction (that challenges them with God’s truth); but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves (many) teachers (one after another, chosen) to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, 4 and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions (and will accept the unacceptable)".
When that takes place the power of God is watered down and people start to deny God and start thinking that all the power is in them.
I look at it like this, The Church is a hospital where people come to get nourished, strengthened, healed, saved and delivered . We all need to be healed, strengthened, delivered, saved and nourished in our lives, I know I do daily. I am not perfect by any means. Yes, God love you and I and has mercy on us daily but we have to put work in as well. Keeping God first is awesome, but keeping him first also requires you to do right by him and live a live that is pleasing to him and being Obedient. We all know as believers what is right and what is wrong concerning God and his will for our lives, or at least we should know.
ALERT....ALERT... One important piece of Advice, when speaking the word of God it is important that we do not... I repeat DO NOT add or take things away from the word of God, that is just placing a curse on you ( Revelation 22:19 (KJV); "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." That's why it's important that we study and know the word of God ( "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15)
Identify who is false?
- They preach another gospel and a different Jesus from the one revealed in Scripture.
- They speak “a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD” and prophesy lies in God’s name, trying to make His people forget about Him and His Word .
- They dismiss guilt and justify sin, calling evil good and good evil .
- They “make captives of gullible women” who are loaded down with sinful lusts.
- They “secretly bring in destructive heresies".
- They speak great “swelling words of emptiness” and entice people through the flesh, promising them liberty but enslaving them .
- They cause dissension in the church as “untaught and unstable” people follow their example and twist Scripture for their own purposes. False apostles often appear to be apostles of Christ.
What to do!
Be Discerning: Learn to discern between truth and error:
It is the responsibility of every Christian to be discerning, but our attitude in discerning and confronting error is also important. We must not be hateful, argumentative, or angry, but we must instead expose false teachings with love, kindness, and hope for change. We must listen carefully to what is said and then confront with the Word of God, not our own opinions. God hates evil, but He also despises pride and arrogance, so our attitude in discernment matters to Him
Be Alert:
False prophets deny the Lord, blaspheme the truth, and exploit people with deceptive words. These false prophets want us to adopt unbiblical values and pursue ungodly goals.God’s people need knowledge of His will, Word, and ways so they will not be destroyed.It is dangerous to add opinions and philosophies to God’s wisdom, just as it is foolish to substitute man made rules and teachings for true, biblical holiness. This is why it is important as believers to fill our spirit with the word of God so we will know truth from error. So always be alert!
Be Biblical: Know and teach the truth, and show it in your life.
God does not want His children to fall into the traps of the Enemy. If we will meditate in His word, we will be less likely to fall for the counsel of the wicked. It is important to come to the Word of God in humility ,without any ulterior motives and biases, asking our heavenly Father to teach us his ways. It is also important to sit under solid, biblical church teaching and to fellowship with strong Christian believers. God wants us to faithfully seek how to live for Him . We need daily exposure to the Word of God so we will be able to “discern what is best” and live holy, and blameless lives.
Be Courageous: Identify and expose the work of darkness.
God wants us to defend the gospel by exposing lies. We must identify the sources of error that may be influencing our lives or the lives of those we love.
So from this day forward get close to God... seek him like never before so you won't be deceived and fall into the trap that the enemy sets up for us to fall into and drift away from GOD!
Keep God first and you will not be deceived.
xoxo..Z.M. <3