Three life lessons down; seven more to go! God’s Word is awesome! Let’s keep chasing the “story behind the story!”
Life Lesson #4 – Not everyone who claims to be “from God” actually speaks God’s truth.
He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (He was lying to him.) So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. (1 Kings 13:18-19)
With the ease and convenience of online content, many people post, speak, write, and record whatever is on their minds. This media channel has given voice to great content. But, as with everything good, there comes the bad, the fraudsters, and the counterfeiters.
Sadly, I’ve seen people given spiritual credibility who are unbiblical, Scripturally illiterate, and humanistically centered. That may sound bold, condescending, and judgmental. Now, you may be thinking, “Nate don’t you know the Bible says not to judge! You don’t know their hearts.” You are right and you are also wrong. Yes, God does know each person’s heart – beneath the facades, the pretension, and the bluster. He sees the true core of every person and knows us better than we know ourselves.
But you are wrong in the claim of not judging. People spout Jesus’ words from Matthew 7:1 as a defense mechanism to excuse any and all points of view no matter their validity or truth. However, the context of that verse relates to spiritual hypocrisy and our tendency to judge ourselves and others by our own moral standards instead of by the absolute and unbiased standard of God’s Word.
The Biblical Basis for Judging Righteous Judgment
The Bible does, in fact, demand spiritual discernment, assessment, and comparison to God’s Word. We are to “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). From Jesus Himself, we are to assess and compare spiritual “fruit” with what God’s Word declares to be the righteous fruit of the Spirit. Matthew 7:16-20 clearly links the fruit with the root. By assessing the spiritual fruit, we can identify the true spiritual root. God also warns us, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Going even further, a solid Scriptural principle is to, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Yes, we are to start with judging ourselves first. Time after time we find in Scripture the need for caution, testing, assessment, and introspection. So the argument against “judging” falls flat.
As a further caution against spouting unbiblical truth, the apostle James, under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, warns, “Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). If God has specifically gifted and called you to teach or preach, then do so boldly, fully, and accurately. But if you simply want to “share your point of view,” I encourage you to restrain yourself because Jesus said, “For every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). Therefore, “let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).
Scriptural Warnings
This same discernment and “judgment” must be applied to everyone. The Bible clearly warns that as we approach the End Times, many apostates, false teachers, “inspirational” preachers, “progressive” speakers, and social media nonsense will increase. Peter outlines this quite plainly (2 Peter 2). Jesus warned about this specifically: “Take heed that no one deceives you” (Matthew 24:4).
Many people talk a lot of spiritual nonsense. But when challenged they cannot quote chapter and verse or they take a small portion of Scripture out of context. For this reason, we must be grounded and settled in God’s Word. We must grow beyond the “milk of the Word” (1 Peter 2:2) and move on into spiritual maturity (Hebrews 6:1), into the grace and personal knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). When we know the absolute truth of God’s Word, as revealed to us by His Holy Spirit, those who speak anything else become quickly evident.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Nate Stevens.
Featured Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
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