Good morning fellow Steemians.......... Ensure you read to the END.
How do we know whose voice to listen to? We are bombarded with teachings that offer us enlightenment, guidance and clarity, but do they speak The Truth or a version of their own truth? 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 tells us to, “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, 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.” So how do we test the teachings that we hear?
We need to measure what we hear by the standard God has given us in His word. Repeatedly throughout scripture God warns to not add or subtract anything from scripture. Scripture is how we hear God’s voice; it is the way we can know the heart of God. If someone is teaching what isn’t backed up in scripture, we can be sure they are not teaching us from God’s Word but from their own mind.
Jesus taught that we know whether a teacher is a true or false prophet by examining their fruit (Matthew 7:15-23). Galatians 5:19-23 gives us an easy-to-understand list of how our ‘fruit’ tells the world just who we belong to. Teachings that do not come from God will be marked by a life devoted to our sinful natures: sexual immorality, impurity, rage, selfish ambitions, envy, etc. But a life and a teaching that comes from and points to God will be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. So, test everything and follow what is good because, “Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:23)