Test the spirits

"Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” -- Jeremiah 23:16-17

As this passage warns, so does the apostle in 1 John 4:1, "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." The years and generations have passed, but false prophets still rise up in our midst. We have recently heard and read about one who would lead people to believe that "No disaster shall come upon you" because "Love Wins".

This well known pastor speaks visions of his own mind that fly in the face of two thousand years of Christian Church history and scholarship. He comes to the evangelical community with a new interpretation of the Scriptures that downplays divine judgment and eternal condemnation. His arguments literally defy the very teachings of our Lord Jesus.

Be wise my friend and very careful when you are confronted with such teaching. The human mind may struggle with divine truths, but we must never deny them to fill our hearts with vain hopes. Be noble like the Bereans by “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11) Stay true to "sound doctrine" and "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Titus 2:1/Jude 3)