1st 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."
The word "try" means
"to test." Hence, we are to TEST the
spirits. What does the Bible mean by
"spirit." All human beings are spirits. The
Devil is a spirit. The demons are spirits. The angels are
spirits. God Himself is a Spirit (John 4:24). We are
spirits in a physical world. There is a great spiritual battle
taking place. Ephesians 6:12 states, "For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places."
Thus, every book, every movie,
every writing, is produced by a spirit, the human spirit. Ephesians
2:2 teaches that Satan has influence upon the unsaved spirit (person),
"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience." So, we see that there are
different spirits at work. 1st John 4:13, "Hereby know we that
we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." A
clear distinction should be made between "the spirit (Satan) that now
worketh in the children of disobedience," and the Holy Spirit of God.
1st John 4:2 is Only a Test
Starting Point
It is important to understand that
the test specified in 1st John 4:2 is only a starting point, not a conclusive
test. We are told that "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God." Obviously, this cannot be a final
test because many false religions believe that Jesus is the Christ, i.e., the
Saviour. Every Catholic believes that Jesus is the Christ; BUT, they
are all bound for Hell because they are trusting in their good works and the Church
to save them.
Ephesians 2:8,9 and Titus 3:5
plainly teach that good works CANNOT merit anyone
salvation. Seventh-Day Adventists believe that Jesus is the Christ;
BUT, they teach works salvation and that Christ's work of redemption still
isn't completed. So, it's important to test the spirits with the
ENTIRE Word of God, not just one simple test. God is simply
providing us with a starting point in 1st John 4:1,2. One billion
Muslims would fail this first test, because they don't believe Jesus died on
the cross. The Koran states that Jesus was kidnapped, and another
crucified in His place. Muslims also teach that God has NO
Son. 1st John 2:22 calls them LIARS and ANTI-Christs for denying
that Jesus is the Christ.
There are Other Tests Required to
Determine if Someone is of God or Satan
The tests we should give to a
person's faith, based upon the Word of God, to determine whether or not they
are a legitimate Christian, is:
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is
the ONLY way to Heaven? (John 14:6)
Do they believe in the Virgin Birth
of Jesus Christ? (Isaiah 7:14)
Do they believe that Jesus is God
Almighty? (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-3,14; 10:33, 1st Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9;
Revelation 1:8)
Do they believe that Jesus is the
Son of God? (John 3:16)
Do they believe that Jesus died
upon the cross? (John 19:23; Hebrews 12:2)
Do they believe that Jesus was
buried, and rose again physically after three days? (1st Corinthians 15:1-4)
Do they believe that Jesus ascended
bodily into Heaven after His resurrection? (Acts 1:9)
Do they believe that it is Jesus'
blood which takes our sins away, and not just the death of Christ? (Colossians
1:14; 1st John 1:7; Revelation 7:14)
Do they believe in the Godhead
(Trinity): God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? (Romans 1:20;
Matthew 28:19,20)
Do they believe that Jesus is a
member of the Godhead, equal in every capacity? (Colossians 2:9)
Do they believe that Jesus is
perfect, never having sinned even once? (2nd Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15)
Do they believe that Jesus existed
in Preexistent form, before He came to the earth? (John 8:58; Revelation 1:8)
Do they believe in the
substitutionary death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, Who died in our place?
(1st Peter 2:21)
Do they believe that Hell is a
literal place that burns with fire, to punish all Christ-rejecters? (2nd
Thessalonians 1:8; Revelation 20:8,11-15;)
Do they believe in a literal
Heaven, for the saved to go to? (John 14:1,2; 2nd Corinthians 5:8)
Do they believe that Jesus Christ
is the Creator of the universe? (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16)
Do they believe that Jesus Christ
always existed? (Revelation 1:8; John 5:58; Hebrews 7:3)
Is Christ's work of atonement
completely finished? (Hebrews 9:26)
The answer to every question above
should be a confident "YES!"
The answer to every question below
should be a confident "NO!"
Does a person have to be baptized
to go to Heaven? (1st Corinthians 1:17; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:13)
Do you have to do any good works to
go to Heaven? (Romans 3:20; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5)
Do you have to join a church to go
to Heaven? (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Psalm 118:8)
Do you have to confess your sins to
a priest or a minister to go to Heaven? (1st Timothy 2:5)
Do you have to keep the sacraments
to go to Heaven? (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Romans 4:5)
Do you have to endure or persevere
to the end of life to be saved? (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Romans 5:15;
Romans 6:23; Romans 4:5)
Do you have to earn your way to
Heaven? (Romans 3:20; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5)
Do you have to pray the Rosary to
go to Heaven? (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Matthew 6:7)
Do you have to recognize the Virgin
Mary to be saved? (1st Timothy 2:5; Exodus 20:4,5)
Do you have to be religious to go
to Heaven? (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Mark 7:6-13)
There are other questions as well;
but, these are the main questions. You'll find that 98% of the
people in this world DON'T pass the above tests. Please do not
misunderstand this article. I'm not saying we should rudely interrogate
people concerning their beliefs. What I am saying is that if
someone's beliefs don't line up with the Word of God concerning salvation, then
they're not saved. No one who is trusting in their baptism to save
them will go to Heaven. No one who believes that Christ's blood is
insignificant is saved. No one who denies the virgin birth, or Christ's
sinlessness is saved. These are all fundamental doctrines of the Christian
faith. There is MUCH deception today, many false Christs, and many
liars. The only true way of knowing whether they are of God or not
is to scrutinize their teachings with the Light of God's Word. No
one who prays the Rosary and trusts Mary will ever go to Heaven. No
way! The Bible is clear that such repetitious prayers are sinful
(Matthew 6:7). Bowing to any statue is a horrible sin (Exodus
20:4,5). If you'll study the Word of God, instead of following men,
then you CANNOT be deceived.
Many False Religions Teach the
Basic Gospel
Many professed
"Christian" organizations today, put forth a basic Gospel message to
the public; BUT, they would fail the above tests. Many false
religions are based upon the Gospel. It's true. The Devil
always starts with the truth when he wants to create a lie (Romans 1:25; 2nd
Corinthians 11:14), then he perverts it. By adding and removing from
the truth, it is corrupted. For Example: Jehovah's Witnesses teach
that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. However, they deny the
deity of Christ, the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, and so many other fundamental
Bible doctrines. They are a false religion, children of the
Devil. Do you see why it is so important to preach the Gospel, while
simultaneously EXPOSING Satan's works of darkness (Ephesians
5:11)? Yes, we should preach the Gospel; BUT, many false religions
also do that, so we need to give people additional information from the
Bible. We need to teach people that good works cannot merit
salvation, and that baptism is not required to be saved. We must
tell them about the lies of Roman Catholicism, and the deadly deception of
Seventh-Day Adventism. We must warn them about imposters who denies
that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
We should warn those who need to be
warned. If I know that someone is following a certain false
religion, like Catholicism, then I'll make sure to warn them that the
sacraments are evil. They need to know! Do you realize that
every Catholic believes the basic Gospel? They believe that Jesus'
blood washes our sins away! BUT, they are also trusting the virgin
Mary (Our Lady of Fatima), the Rosary, the Pope, the priestly confessional
booth, the Church, the seven sacraments, and their good works to save them one
day. They're going to burn in the Lake of Fire if they don't get
saved.
Salvation is found ONLY in Jesus
Christ, by faith alone in Christ! If you add anything to your faith,
then it is NO faith at all, and you will go to Hell. It is for this
very reason that I expose so many CCM (contemporary Christian music) artists
today. They all speak a vague message, barely even the basic Gospel;
while the world plunges into the abyss of Hell. And they say they
care about people? No, they don't! They're more
interested in making money.
It's time for Christians to start
proclaiming the Truth of God's Word. The Gospel is being exploited
by many false religions to deceive the ignorant and unlearned. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is His death, burial, and resurrection; BUT, the
"good news" also teaches that salvation is a FREE GIFT which
absolutely cannot be merited in any way (Romans 5:15; 11:6; Ephesians
2:8,9). So, the good news of Christ is no good news at all when you
REQUIRE people to get baptized, join a church, forsake their sin, make Jesus
their Lord, make a commitment, walk a church isle, perform good works, confess
sins to a priest, tithe, persevere to the end, or partake of sacraments.
The good news (Gospel) is that you
DON'T have to do anything to be saved, just place your faith in Jesus Christ as
your personal Saviour to forgive your sins. Jesus already did
everything for us at Calvary; all we need to do is rest in His finished work of
redemption. It's as simple as this: We are sinners, and Jesus is the
Saviour.
Again, if you'll study the Word of
God, instead of following men, then you CANNOT be deceived.
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