​In my last post I highlighted James’ warning to Pastors and Bible teachers.  They will be held accountable for what they teach.  And those of us being taught will be accountable for how we listen.  That was the message Jesus Christ was sending us in the parable of the soils, be careful how you listen, Luke 8:18.  It is up to us to test what we hear to see if it is true or not. 
 
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
 
False prophets have been a favorite tool of the Devil since the beginning.  They come in many different shapes and sizes.  Remember the first one was the serpent who tricked Eve.  It is up to us as individuals to test what we hear, what we read to see if it lines up with what God has revealed in the Bible.  That is what John means by test the Spirits.  The authors of the Bible did not come up with the text of Scripture on their own.  They were moved by the Holy Spirit who guided them as they wrote.  They were putting into words the spiritual truths the Spirit was revealing to them.    
 
2 Peter 1:19-21 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
 
So, the Bible is our reference book by which we test what we hear, read and see.  God does not change.  God is Who He has always been!  What the Holy Spirit led the Apostles and Prophets to write in the past is how He means for us to understand it today.  The words cannot mean something today that they’ve never meant.  God explained that simple truth through the prophet Malachi.  
 
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD (Yahweh), I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
 
So, Pastor’s and Teachers work hard at rightly explaining the word of God.  And everyone who listens, check everything against the Bible before you embrace their teaching.  Always take what you hear to the Bible and see if it is so!  

James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 
 
Every pastor and Bible teacher should consider carefully God’s warning in James 3:1. He will require a strict accounting of how we have presented Him and His word to the world.  That actually applies to everyone who claims to be speaking for God.  Consider the Lord’s words to Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar; the men who counseled Job during the time of his testing. 
 
Job 42:7 & 8 And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.   Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”       
 
I fear much of what those 3 men said would find acceptance in many churches today while some of Job’s words would not.  Think about that.  Better yet read Job for yourself and see if I’m right.  Job’s 3 friend’s comments sound good, they seem rational even sensible.  And they were still wrong.  God is nothing at all like us.  Which is why Paul urges us to renew our minds.  Adopt a Biblical mindset by letting the word of God abide in us.  
 
Isaiah 55:8 & 9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
 
So, take the Apostle John’s advice and test what you hear against the word of God.  The Holy Spirit’s leading will never be inconsistent with what God has revealed in the Bible.
 
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
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​Despite the scope of Christ’s work in providing propitiation, reconciliation, redemption and justification there are still people who insist on adding to what Jesus Christ laid out in John as the key to everlasting life.  The plain and simple message Jesus Christ presented was that believing in Him for everlasting life was the key to eternal salvation.  He made it clear you can know for sure you will be with Him in heaven when you die.   John 3:16, 5:24 and 11:25-26 all assert the same truth. 
 
Anyone can read those verses in context and see for themselves what the Lord Jesus Christ said.  Then they can decide who they wish to believe, the Lord or some one else.  I’d recommend you stick with the Lord Jesus since He rose from the dead proving He knew what He was talking about.  Anyone who insists on adding conditions like repentance of sin or baptism must answer 2 questions.  What was deficient in Christ’s death on the cross that we must make up and why didn’t Jesus Christ explain that to Nicodemus.  
 
Belief is purely of the mind.  We either believe something is true or we don’t.  There are not degrees of belief or special ways to believe.  It is a simple binary function.  But what if you stop believing?  What happens then?  Jesus Christ called the gift received by faith everlasting life.  You get it the moment you believe.  Everlasting means it lasts forever.  If it last forever you can’t lose it.  If you stop believing in Jesus Christ you still have everlasting life.  I imagine there will be an uncomfortable conversation with God when you get to heaven.  And according to Matthew 25:28-30 & 1 Corinthians 3:15 there will be a loss suffered in what you will have in heaven, but you will be there.  Other wise He would not have called it everlasting life. 
 
The truth is that God wants us in Heaven with Him more than many of us want to be there.  I know that sounds crazy, but it must be true since so many people want nothing to do with God.  Others don’t like the idea of everlasting life being a gift they don’t deserve.  So, they vainly believe they can set their own terms for God’s acceptance.  It not only sounds crazy but it truly is nuts.  So, who are you going to believe?