This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (I John 4:2-6 NIV)
Christ doesn't want us to believe everything we hear or every spirit we feel. He wants us to test them.
Listen to the Bible
There is a practical way of knowing if something is from God or not. As the passage says, "Whoever knows God, listens to us [the writers of the New Testament]; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us." By extension, "Whoever knows God, listens to the Bible!" Someone is speaking the truth if he/she speaks according to the New Testament scriptures. This means that the scriptures are not taken out of context. They are not being distorted to suit someone's own purposes but instead the scriptures are being allowed to speak for themselves.
Those who are not from God will speak from the viewpoint of the world and the world will listen to them. They will not listen to and heed the words of the Bible. They will make up their own words that are distortions or inaccurate interpretations of the Bible. They won't believe what the truth is; they will make up lies to replace the truth. Those people are not from God!
In a nutshell, that's how we recognize truth from error. This is why it is so important that we study the Bible for ourselves and continue to do so throughout our lives. It is important that we understand what it says because there are many that would come and tell us lies. They can make us think that something is the truth, and if we don't ask questions about what is being said and study it out in the Bible, we can be led astray into their error and lies.
Identifying the True
When you encounter somebody who is preaching to you the Bible, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Is what is being taught clearly in the Bible? (You can use the 12 points from the "12 Principles of Biblical Interpretation" chapter to make certain that you are receiving the proper interpretation.)
2. Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in the lives of those doing the preaching?
3. Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in the lives of the people being ministered to?
According to Galatians 5:22, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and this fruit should be evident. For Jesus Himself said that we will know them by their fruit.
I recommend that you evaluate these questions in their order of importance. The first question is most important and should be definitely answered with a yes. The second question should also be a yes. But, realize the speaker is human and can sin just as you and I. It is God who gives us the gift of this person and because the person's character may not always be what you want it to be, does not mean he is not speaking God's message. If he or she is habitually in sin, then that needs to be dealt with appropriately with God's love and truth. If the person repents, God will forgive him or her and so should we. The last question should ideally be a yes. But, realize that people are at different places in their lives...some may be listening to the speaker to learn about God and have not started a relationship with Christ. Regular hearers may be Christian, Non-Christian or both. The fruit in these lives should be judged over time.
Recognizing the False
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. (Mt. 7:15-27 NIV)
The Lord is telling us through this passage to watch out for false prophets. They look like sheep; they may even talk like sheep - meaning they look like Christians and they talk like Christians - but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. They are not of God; they are of the evil one. You can recognize them by their fruits.
Fruit refers to the actions in their lives - I would like to sum up these actions in two questions:
1. Are they loving their brother in Christ?
or 2. Are they hating their brother?
What are the evidences of hating? Do they slander their brother? Do they make false accusations? Do they purposely harm a brother or sister by the things that they say or do?
Or, do they love their brother? Do they tell their brother the truth? Do they expose sin instead of hiding it? Are they giving of themselves to help that brother in spiritual and/or physical ways? Are they praying for that brother? These latter things are the things that will result from love.
The scripture says,
Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (I John 4:7-12 NIV)
God is emphasizing love: He loved us first, and as a result, we ought to love one another. If we do love one another, God will live in us and His love will be made complete (perfect) in us. We are able to love because God first loved us. Jesus showed us this love by dying for us even while we were yet in our sins. His love for us compelled Him to offer His own life as a sacrifice. Because He did that, we can believe on Him and as a result receive the love of God within ourselves. With this love that He has put in us, we can love other people. In summary, "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (I John 4:16 NIV)
If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (I John 4:19-21 NIV)
Someone cannot love God and hate his brother. If someone says he loves God and yet hates his brother, he is a liar. God calls him a liar. If this person cannot love his brother that he can see, he is not able to love God. God has said: To love God, we must love our brother. There is no option. Loving God is loving others.
Often we can see if someone is a "false prophet" by looking at the fruit in the people that they are ministering to. What kind of lives are the people that they're ministering to living? What is the fruit from their lives? (I want to remind and caution you that this will have to be judged over time because quite often people are ministering to people who are messed up to begin with. They have come out of a variety of environments and bad situations. It takes time, maybe years.) Over this course of time, what kind of fruit do you see in the lives of these people that are being ministered to? Are these people being brought to Jesus or are they being brought to something else - imperialism, religious activity, legalism - Is that the fruit in their lives? Are these people being brought to the Jesus who is talked about in the Bible? Are they living holy lives, loving one another, trusting in God for their daily situations? Or, are these people following another Jesus, either man-inspired or demonically inspired? Are they following some god that they call Jesus but is contrary to what the Bible teaches about Him?
To sum it up, you can ask, "Is Christ being revealed through these lives?" "Do you see Jesus in these people - those who are doing the ministering or being ministered to?" Paul talked about the churches he ministered to as being his testament, an epistle written on their hearts.
Signs and Wonders
Be wary of signs and wonders as being the basis of someone's fruit from the Lord, for there are false prophets, teachers and apostles. They may perform miracles, healings and the like, but be teaching about another "Jesus". Even Satan appears as an angel of light. What on the surface may look like Christ, may be of Satan when you look beyond the glitter and show. They may perform signs and wonders, as does the true Christian, but remember the Lord says,
Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Mt. 7:21-23)
It is not our works that get us into heaven but doing the will of the Father. He who believes on Jesus and loves the brethren does His will. Do not judge the fruitfulness nor the truthfulness of another Christian based on their signs and wonders - the miracles they perform, their ability to drive out demons, or their ability to prophesy. It is only to be based on whether they do the will of God. Do they love the brethren? Do they believe and do what Jesus has said in the Bible? If they do these things, you will see good fruit in their lives, and good fruit in the lives of those they minister to. These are the true Christians. On the contrary, you will see bad fruit in the lives of false Christians and in the lives of those they minister to.
I want to temper what I have just said. I am not saying that doing signs, wonders, miracles, driving out demons, and prophesying are not what the Lord wills; the Lord does want us to do these things. However, these things are a result of preaching (and living) the gospel. These signs and wonders should be following the truth. Never base the accuracy of the truth being preached on signs and wonders. Signs and wonders can follow without the truth. Base your Christianity on the truth rather than on experiences.
Also beware of those having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. Today's gospel doesn't require us to live godly. The power of the gospel changes us inside out. There should be godliness, integrity and perseverance. This is power. We live in a world without virtue. We do have power over sin. There is internal as well as external power.
The Bible teaches and supports signs and wonders as a part of the gospel message. Throughout Acts there are examples of the apostles preaching the gospel with signs and wonders following. The last chapter of Mark mentions that those who believe will use signs and wonders.
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (Mark 16:17,18 NIV)
To know the truth, it is important to study the Bible for yourself. Focus on what the Bible says is the true Jesus. Learn about Him through the Bible. The best way to identify false Christians is to know the characteristics of true Christians. The Bible will teach about that. The best way to understand counterfeit money is to study the true dollar bill. Once you know all about the true dollar bill, it is very easy to recognize a counterfeit bill, even though the false could appear in a variety of different ways and styles. In the same manner, there are many false doctrines and teachings. If you know all about Jesus, you will clearly recognize what is a counterfeit. So put your emphasis on studying who Jesus is through the Bible. Then you will know what is the truth. Then you will be able to discern the false.
