Test What You Hear

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. 1 John 4:1-3 NLT

 

Test what you hear others saying. Do they believe that Jesus is who He says He is? That as God, He came to earth as a real man? Be careful of false prophets. Listen closely, not naively or blindly, to what preachers and teachers are saying and judge their words against the Word of God. Don’t be mesmerized by their smooth talking. Evaluate for yourself what they are saying. Listen to yourself speak, too. Make sure that you are telling the truth when you are telling others about Jesus—about God the Father and the Holy Spirit.

 

Prayer ~ Holy Spirit, guide us in all truth that we would be witnesses for Jesus and would listen closely to what others are preaching and teaching so we clearly evaluate what we hear.

 

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

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