1 John 4:1-3
1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophetacknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
Test Them
It should be pretty obvious to most of you that I am a strong proponent of grace. I believe that in everything, we should err on the side of showing grace to those we come in contact with. Our role as believers is to extend unconditional love to everyone who crosses our path.
However, many confuse showing grace with letting anything go. As soon as you challenge something, you are accused of judging a person and lacking in grace. But is that accusation fair? It depends on what you are challenging.
You see, the Bible is clear that we are not to judge the heart of a person. Only God sees the heart. In fact, Jesus suggested that we will be judged using the same measuring stick that we judge others.
However, we are called to test the actions of others. Not to judge them as being worthy of God’s love or not (for none of us are “worthy” of God’s love … that’s why it’s grace). We are to test the words and actions of another to determine if what they are saying or doing lines up with what the Word of God says.
I meet a lot of Christians who never question anything. As a result, they buy into whatever someone says. And I think that’s a foolish way to live. There are a lot of popular teachers who are telling people really nice, spiritual things and yet I believe they are not teaching Jesus Christ, Son of God, crucified and rose again. If you don’t teach the truth about Christ, then your words are really just … words.
My prayer: Lord, help me to not just be someone who speaks what is popular. Help me to be someone who speaks what is true. And help me know the difference when I hear another speak. May I never judge a person’s heart, but I may I be wise in discerning what they say. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
Hi Rob,
If we are never to judge a person’s heart and that that is up to God only…What I am taking from this is that we can “judge” a person’s “actions” or whatever fruit they are baring. If their actions line up with Jesus’ then all is well…if they live an immoral life but still profess to be a Christian, and say attend church regularly…is it up to the church to then to do something?
Bless you….
James