How can we tell if we are hearing the truth or a lie in our own mind?
The book of 1 John verses 1-4 give us an excellent overview of how we should test the spirit of what or whom we are up against. If you are saved, the spirit of truth is within you. That is usually how we receive the alarm. When we are being told something that is not biblical our spirit can hit the alarm. But that can be misleading unless we put the idea or teaching to the spiritual test.
Here is a good teaching by John McArthur that will help you understand if you are dealing with a spirit of error that is from the devil or the spirit of truth, which only comes from God.
God Bless.
The bottom line is that if the message, sermon or written word you are reading or listening to does not conform to the written Word it is empowered by the spirit of Lies or Error. The work of the devil. The author of all lies and confusion.
When listening to a message the question is 1 John 1-4.
1John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but try (test) the spirits to see if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1John 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God;
1John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the antichrist you heard is coming, and even now is already in the world.
1John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Testing for the spirit of truth or error is also called discernment. Caryl Matrisciana explains the discernment of spirits from her Hindu upbringing. She was raised in India and then moved to England. Along the way the Lord saved her soul and life from the chaos and lies of Eastern mysticism or the new spirituality. He saved her from eternal damnation.
In prayer the Lord will guide you. Please give the above information good prayerful consideration.
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This ministry offers a lot of teaching on spiritual warfare and the importance of being an overcomer! I have authored an ebook specifically addressing Deliverance and the numerous spiritual warfare prayers that one can use to live a life free of the evil one. With a focus on the biblical teachings that the bible gives us.
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My friend, Are you confident where you are going to spend eternity when this all ends? There is an end for all of us some day. Some of us maybe today.
There is only one way to know we are saved and be assured– Ask our Father in heaven in Jesus Christs’ name in prayer today!
Are You Saved from damnation,the eternal fate of so many? Are you sure? Ask Him. Find out and be assured.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
When we ask the Lord, in Jesus Christ’s name, He assures us with His peace and understanding. If for any reason you question your salvation, go to a quiet place, alone, and talk to Jesus. Repent of your sins and commit your life to Him. Then go to a bible believing church and get baptized.
He is faithful! He always listens and always responds!
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May God Bless You and keep you safe from the evil one!
Pastor Thomas Holm
The ministry of The Joseph Plan
By studying the word—we can identify the spirits of error and live in truth.
Join us everyone, in lifting Jerome up in prayer. Let’s all plead the Blood of Jesus over his situation.
Thomas
Please pray that my SSA appeals case be approved next week in the blood of Jesus amen.
Thank-you Ruth, Isn’t God and His teaching wonderful?
We appreciate your financial help so much. We are truly not affiliated with any particular church or denomination. We are a Christian non-denominational ministry serving God and the body of Christ.
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I’m blessed to have come upon these readings, and I’m very keen to know more! Thank u again pastor
Hi Rumbling, It’s been a while. But I was always confident you would appear again. It is wonderful hearing from you again Steve. Hope everything is well with you and Mutt. Is Mutt still around?
Please contact me at TheJosephPlan (at) aol.com, Boldly, or JustHowardxxxx@. I would like to hear about your travels. It seems like a couple years since your last communication. Too long, anyway.
Professor, (Steve has a double doctorate, last I heard. Theology and some science degree) (I think He spent half his life going to college and never did learn how to fix his old broken down motor home.) I hope you stick around for a while. Your input into some of the issues we are researching and discussing could very useful. I always appreciated your insights into biblical precepts and understandings.
But I am going to take issue with something you said in your post above. Pastor John McAurthur made an excellent biblical presentation in the original post on “Testing the Spirits”. Spirit of truth or error.
You insinuated that John was making it too difficult and that we should depend on something other than the word to discern the spirit of truth, from the spirit of error. If that is what you meant I disagree.
1John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but try (test) the spirits to see if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The spirit of the person, church, program or movement that we are dealing with will have to either conform to Gods Word or it won’t. That is the test I always try to follow. The ideas, thoughts and understandings of man can be very attractive and make us feel good, but do they conform or contradict God’s Word?
I am not speaking here of direct or indirect confrontation of the spirits during spiritual warfare.
Or were you mixing the two in your comments?
Welcome back Steve.
God Bless,
Thomas
Thomas, thank-you. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to hook up here. You’ve covered a lot of truth.
On the subject of tesing for the spirit of error, I’d like to point out that we, as mere mortals, have a lot of power in that process. God is the almighty one and He is the author of all truth, but we have the power to screw up hearing the true message.
I can do this myself by wanting a certain outcome so badly that I displace God’s will for me by my own. In other words my desire to be right sometimes ignores the Lords’ guidance.
My will vs His will. Or the activity I’m involved in “feels and seems” so good, it MUST BE FROM GOD!
Sometimes it isn’t a easy as John M is suggesting.
God’s love,
Steve Hansen
“trying to get this house on wheels out of California”