JUDE: WEEK 3 DAY 3

1 John 4:1-3

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

In the city of Berea, in Macedonia, there lived a very special group of people. We know them today as the Bereans. What is their claim to fame? Diligence in testing the spirits. 

When Paul and Silas came to them with the good news about Jesus they were very eager to hear it. However, every time Paul spoke, they met and poured over the Scriptures to make sure everything he said lined up with what they had already been taught through the Word of God. At that time, the Scriptures they were using would be, for us, now what makes up our Old Testament. As they compared Paul’s teaching to God’s revealed Word, they were thrilled to see it was true!

Let’s be like the church in Berea! Test every teaching against the Word of God. If anyone brings a teaching that does not line up with the Bible, toss it out.