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Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. – I John 4:1
The Apostle John warned us over two thousand years ago to test the spirits of those who claim to be of Christ. There were false prophets in his day, and as Jesus warned us in Matthew 24, there would be an onslaught of these characters before His return (Matthew 24:4,5,11,23-26).
No matter how varied these pretenders are in their deceptions, they will all have two basic things in common. These two things true Christians can use to help them discern these spirits. These tests are revealed in the beginning, in Eden, when the devil first challenged Eve’s belief system.
The first thing the devil did was to undermine the authority of God’s word. God had given Adam an absolute commandment: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16,17).
The devil contradicted God’s commandment with a lie, - And the serpent said to the woman. “You shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).
The devil was attacking and undermining God’s Word as the ultimate authority.
God’s word is the only word Christians need to follow and it must be regarded as absolute truth or we will be candidates for deception. Any attack on God’s word must be suspect. Christians don’t need any other book to establish their doctrine. We can use other resources to enhance what the word is teaching in order to gain further insights and grow spiritually, but God’s word must always be held as the final authority. Everything else we read, must be judged in the light of the scriptures.
The second thing a demonically inspired false prophet will do is seek to undermine the cross; the fact that Jesus died to remove our sins, which is the atonement. In Eden, God established the foreshadow of Jesus’ sacrifice when an animal was slain to provide coverings for Adam and Eve after their transgression. –
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them (Genesis 3:21).
Adam and Eve had previously attempted to cover their nakedness with fig leaves that would eventually dry up and wither away, leaving them exposed all over again. God clothed them Himself with the skins of the first sacrifice, showing us that we can only be covered, or have our sins removed, by a sacrifice made by God. This sacrifice in Eden, that is a foreshadow of Jesus’ sacrifice that removes our sins, is the event that would destroy the devil. So naturally, those who are being led by demons, will try and undermine and destroy the doctrine of the cross, either by circumventing it, discarding it, or twisting it so it means something entirely different than what the authority of God’s word proclaims.
The two basic deceptions introduced to us in Eden’s garden, have various forms, but they are the fundamental tactics that the devil uses to try and destroy Christianity and remove the gullible from the hope of salvation and eternal life.
Be wise, follow the Apostle’s advice in these latter days, and test the spirits: Are they parroting the devil’s techniques? Do they view the Bible as God’s word, or do they reduce it to merely the opinions of men? Do they cleave to the cross as their only means of salvation?
Do you?
Copyright 2020 by H. D. Shively
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