Listen to this articleSubject Verses:
1 John 4:1-6
[1] Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
[2] Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
[3] And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
[4] Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
[5] They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
[6] We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
How do we know what is truth and what is false when it comes to preachers and doctrine?
The Bible says in 1 John 4:1 that we should try the spirits. That’s why it’s important to read the Bible, daily. It’s important that you know, the ignorance of doctrine is why many people get led astray. No one wants to admit to being naive, but it’s why some churches split and why some people turn from God.
We can identify false prophets by their fruits.
Matthew 7:15-19
[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
False teachers who add to, subtract from, or divide the Bible is a good example. False teachers take scripture and turn it inward to make it seem only they can give you meaning and want you to glorify them. They leave portions of God’s word out, divide and add to scripture to mislead those who live sinful lives into thinking what they are doing isn’t as bad as it really is.
Those who really teach and preach from scripture want you to seek God for meaning and glorify God. They fervently pray for God’s leadership and follow the Holy Ghost in service and through their messages and sermons. They show through scripture, the goodness of God but also preach about his wrath and punishment when we sin.
1 Timothy 4:12
[12] Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in sprit, in faith, in purity.
A true prophet should be an example for God’s children in all that they do.
Blind Leadership
Matthew 15:14
[14] Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Unfortunately, most television evangelists are false prophets. They’ve hardened their hearts towards their convictions and are the blind leading the blind. They mix just enough scripture about Jesus, Salvation, and Heaven with their corrupt and ideologic world views that most of their followers accepts everything that comes from their mouth.
Repeating Sinner
Hebrews 10:26-27
[26] For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
[27] But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
False prophets attach too much emphasis to the motto of “once saved always saved”. This is why we see so many of our friends go to church on Sunday and throughout the week drinking, smoking, and doing things that are sinful.
Romans 6:4-6
[4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
[5] For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
[6] Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Ephesians 5:11
[11] And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
When we are saved, we are buried with Christ through baptism and risen up again new. We should put away sin from our lives no matter how trivial someone says it is.
Paul writes in Hebrews 10 that if we continue to sin after being taught the truth about our immorality, we are doomed for Hell.
Vanity
Matthew 12:34-37
[34] O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
[35] A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
[36] But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.
[37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
False prophets are more concerned in their own vanity. They get up in front of crowds of people in their suit and tie and put on a big show. A lot of churches are ran by producers and directors and it’s more about the performance than it is about God.
When I worked on Sunday, I liked asking people, who I know who go to church, what their service was about. 9/10 of the people I asked, couldn’t even tell me what the message was about. A true messenger of God is suppose to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Maybe God moved in such a way the preacher didn’t even preach a sermon, but what’s sad is, they couldn’t even tell me about the service.
A prophet’s job is not to make you comfortable. Preaching about rainbows and unicorns all the time is simply idle words. True prophets are suppose to present the Word of God to you where you can understand, backed by scripture. In a way that will bring conviction to your heart, and cause you to want to live the way God intended, separated from sin, or show a sinner who has reached the breaking point a way out of sin by salvation and the mercy of God’s forgiveness. The Bible says in Matthew 12:36 that everything said will be accounted for if not made righteous in the sight of God.
Romans 16:18
[18] For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Paul writes in Romans 16:18 about the rise of false prophets and it’s just as the same in his time as it is today. False prophets doesn’t serve God but better themselves, through their good words and fair speeches will they deceive the naive.
1 John 4:5 tells us that false prophets are of the world, so if we are full of sin and unrepentant, we will hear them.
Synopsis
I implore you pray that God will give you a hunger for Him and a thirst for His Word. I hope if you have a Bible that you dust it off and read it daily. If you don’t already have one, you can get a, tried and true, King James Version from your local book store. Ask a leader in your church or search online for a study guide or reading plan, you could read a couple scriptures in the morning, so you have something to ponder throughout the day or dive deeper into God’s Word after you get home from work or school. Don’t fall victim to false prophets because they’re not looking out for your best interest and by the time you realize it, it might be too late.