Tag: test the spirits

Isaiah 5:20 ” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Even within my lifetime I’ve seen this huge shift of what we consider right and wrong.  And with the advent of mass media, the Internet, Snap-Chat, YouTube, and Hollywood…we see our societal mores slowly morphing into something our Great-grandparents would be appalled at.  But this blurring of ethical principles and practices didn’t happen overnight…for it relied on man’s pride,  rebellion and apathy to flourish.  So now we sit, so desensitized, we don’t even react anymore to what we know is wrong…but if we do, we’ll likely find ourselves being chastised for being intolerant and narrow-minded.    Job 24:13 warns of this Spiritual blindness…of evildoers who rebel against the light, who don’t know its ways or stay in its path.  I ask Heavenly Father, that we would be enlightened by Your Word, and that You would illuminate our minds with Your truth,  that we may be able to discern right and wrong correctly.  Amen.

I John 4:1-3 ” Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.”

The Apostle John was warning of false teachers infiltrating the early Church with their deceptive ideas…for they were denying the key fundamentals of Christianity…that Jesus Christ came to earth taking on human flesh – that He was all man and all God.  He also warned of their denial of the resurrection – that Jesus was crucified, buried, but rose to life on the third day.  So why should we be so surprised today when we hear preaching  that just don’t sit well with us.  Those same false teachers are alive and well and preaching a “type” of Jesus to the masses.  But this corrupted concept of Jesus isn’t true, and doesn’t line up with the Word of God.  And if we’d look at the many religions around the world, we’d see many that deny Jesus and His deity all together.  But as John explains…the litmus test is simple.  Test everything you hear against the Word of God… evaluate for yourself to determine the truth… Listen carefully to the Holy Spirit within.