Don't Believe Every Spirit

by Bud Lambert

In order to continue to have fellowship with God, a good Christian should, without question, believe and accept everything their parents, the preacher, the elders the Bible school teachers, the youth minister, the campus minister, the brotherhood commentators, the brotherhood tract writers, the brotherhood journal writers, and the brotherhood bulletin writers say is God's will. Right? WRONG!!!
Instructing his readers about how they could continue to have fellowship with God, the inspired writer of 1 John commanded them not to believe anything taught to be God's will without questioning it first: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" ( 1 John 4:1).
A person who sincerely wants to follow God and allow Jesus to be Lord of his life is not going to accept anything as truth unless he can prove it from the Bible. The inspired writer, Paul, commanded the Thessalonian Christians: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:21). The inspired writer Luke, explains: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" ( Acts 17:11). Every' Christian has the right and the responsibilty to study the word of God for himself and not to accept anything as being true unless he can prove from the inspired word that it is true.
Who are you following, God or some man? Who is your God, the Lord Jesus Christ or some man? What faith do you have, the faith that comes from your study and conclusions based on the inspired word of God on historic faith that you've acquired by blindly accepting the teachings of men?
Beware! There are some among Churches of Christ who are teaching that it is wrong to question, test, and prove what is being taught in our congregations today. On one extreme some wadi us to accept what is being taught and done just because it has always been that way (Tradition). On the other extreme, some blindly accept what they are teaching because it feels good, or because it is popular, or because they are more educated. The extremes are wrong and will quickly lead us toward denominationalism where folks are required to follow an external creed instead of the inspired word of God. Let us never allow anyone to take away our right and responsibility to study the Word for ourselves. As Paul commands: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,and be not entangled again in with the yoke of bondage" ( Galatians 5:1).