Listening and Accountability

​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!