Beloved, 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. 1 John 4:1

A verse in 1 John is surely being neglected today. Indeed, it is for the most part ignored. We ignore verses like this to our peril.

John was instructing his readers then and us today to not just assume everyone who claims to be a Christian is one. He says that we must test that testimony. We must examine that life, that fruit, that individual to see if what he or she claims is consistent with the Scripture.

Why is that necessary for us to do today? John tells us: because many false prophets have gone out into the world. There are imposters within the church is what John is saying.

Friends, if anyone comes to you and says anything similar to, “Well, this is a new revelation. This is a fresh word from God. You don’t need to check the Bible because this is brand new,” then get away from that person immediately because you are in the presence of a false teacher. Those who do not belong to God are to be scorned and rebuked (Matthew 23:1-29; 1 Timothy 5:20; Titus 1:10-16), not accepted and promoted.

Pastor Mike

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