1166-Do Not Believe Every Spirit#
1166-Do Not Believe Every Spirit
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Life of the Eagle)
Scripture: 1 John 4:1-8:
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. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 3 And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you for your grace. Lord, set this time apart, let each of our hearts look up to Jesus Christ. We cast all our burdens and worries upon you. Receive the strength that comes from you. Holy Spirit, guide each person's heart so that we may all gain something. We pray in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
If the entire Bible could be expressed in one word, it would be: love. If expressed in three words, it would be: God's love.
However, there are some heretical teachings propagated by evil spirits, behaving very poorly while claiming to be Christian, leading to great misunderstandings about Christianity. Therefore, I think at this time, when we preach the gospel, others may ask, "Is your teaching the same as theirs?" Recently, the most discussed topic is that when you ask someone for their phone number, they become very afraid. Why is that? Because they are influenced by evil spirits, which have corrupted many people's faith.
The passage we just read from 1 John was written by John, who personally saw Jesus and followed Him. When he wrote this letter, most of those who had followed Jesus had already passed away. By the time of the second and third generations of Christians, those who had not seen Jesus began to doubt whether He really existed.
At that time, some Christians with a Greek cultural background claimed that Jesus was both God and man, which was hard for people to believe. Moreover, a very great philosopher, Plato, said that the soul is the most important, and the body is merely a prison from which everyone longs to escape. He mixed these ideas into the Christian faith, leading many to develop biases against Christ and to create many heretical teachings, which we refer to today as heresies.
John, having personally experienced Jesus and followed Him, knew that all these things were true. So when he wrote these words, he said, "I have personally touched Him, I have seen Him with my own eyes, I have followed Him, so I know what is true." The reason he wrote this letter was to help people understand Jesus Christ more clearly and to establish a correct faith, enabling those who truly believe in Jesus to reject heretical theories.
In John's time, there was a heretical teaching called Docetism, which claimed that even if Jesus did exist, He was God and did not leave footprints or shadows when He walked on earth, so He would not feel pain when He died on the cross. There was also a sect called Gnosticism, which believed that the human body was evil, so we should practice asceticism, avoid good food and clothing, and keep the body hungry and poor to prevent it from thinking wildly.
Gnosticism had two factions; one faction said that since the body is evil, they could indulge in whatever they wanted, as their souls were holy. Both of these views belong to the heretical content of Gnosticism, and once these ideas entered Christianity, they caused significant shock to people.
Just like today, when you hear about certain cults, their teachings are erroneous. But non-believers think they are all similar. In a short film we played last time, someone had already killed someone. At that time, someone asked him, "Aren't you afraid of the law?" The person replied, "No, because we believe in 'God'." But in reality, the God they believe in is fundamentally different from the one we believe in. Therefore, we need to discern right from wrong and wisely reject heretical teachings.
Actually, I do not want to talk about these things because discussing them can cast a shadow in many people's hearts. However, it is necessary to address this now because it has a significant impact on many people, and everyone wants to know what is wrong. But it is enough for us to know what is right. Yet, when facing non-believers, we still need to provide them with some explanations.
Let us share where their errors lie.
We share the first point: Spiritual Discernment
In the scripture we just read, verse 1 says: 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.
What does this mean? In the world, besides the Holy Spirit, there are also evil spirits. Where there is truth, there will be falsehood. However, the false often resembles the true, and sometimes even appears more genuine than the true. The Bible tells us not to say that we believe and accept every spirit, as this can lead to problems.
I previously shared a testimony about a brother's wife, who loved the Lord and participated in various spiritual trainings. After attending one training, she returned and began to behave erratically, harming herself with a knife and frequently thinking about suicide. This situation arose after one so-called spiritual meeting. Therefore, do not participate in every learning opportunity; you must have basic discernment.
Thank God, her condition has improved significantly. If she had had discernment, she could have completely rejected these things and would not have had to suffer such pain.
We must distinguish that there is the Holy Spirit and the spirit of truth in the world; there is also the spirit of error. When an evil spirit comes, you must discern it and reject it.
The Bible tells us that Jesus said, "Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."
Why did Jesus say, "Be wise as serpents"? In the Bible, serpents are usually not seen as good things; they are often compared to the devil. What is a characteristic of a serpent? When it encounters danger and realizes the situation is unfavorable, its first reaction is to quickly slither away. This is something we need to learn.
When you see that someone's teaching does not align with the Bible, do not argue with them; be wise like a serpent and leave as quickly as possible. This is the wisdom God wants us to learn. What does it mean to be innocent as doves? Doves are very obedient animals and very gentle.
We need to understand what Jesus wants us to learn. We should not say that Christians, after believing in the Lord, lack discernment and are easily deceived. Do not think that just because someone claims to believe in Jesus, you should get close to them; this can easily lead to problems. Do not think that just because someone claims to be a prophet, you should ask them to give you a prophecy; this can lead to mistakes.
The Bible tells us that many false prophets have already come into the world. We must discern according to the truth and verify whether they are from God. What is the standard for verification? It is the Bible we just proclaimed; our faith has a standard, and that standard is unchanging: the Bible.
Acts 17:10-11:
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
At that time, the famous Paul and Silas went to preach to them. If Paul were to come here to preach today, would you need to discern? Do not say that Paul is such a great person that you do not need to discern; just listen to everything he says! Do not think that way. No matter how famous or powerful a person is, or how many gifts they have, when they preach, we should be like the Berean believers, receiving the word eagerly and examining it carefully.
To receive the word eagerly means that when we listen to someone preach, we should receive it as if it is a message directly from God. However, there must be discernment; you need to discern whether what they are saying aligns with the Bible. If it aligns with the Bible, then you should receive it eagerly.
You should examine the Scriptures daily to know whether the message is true or not. If it exceeds the biblical content, do not believe it, including my preaching. After you listen to my sermon, you should go back and read the Bible to see if what I said aligns with the Scriptures. If it does, you should receive it; if it does not, just ignore it for now.
Do not be spiritual infants.
The characteristic of an infant is that they eat whatever you give them; even if you give them something they should not eat, they will still eat it because they are spiritual infants and lack discernment. Some may say, "But they are all talking about the Bible!" I cannot tell whether this person is right or wrong because they are all using the Bible and talking about biblical content. There is a very simple way to discern: anything that comes from the Bible will not contradict itself.
The Bible will never contradict itself. Events that occur in Genesis will not suddenly be overturned in Revelation. When we discern, we should look to see if what they are saying can be contradicted by the Bible. If it can, we should think about it and examine it further.
Let me give you an example, brothers and sisters. Do you think God will still be angry with you? No, I also tell you "no," because I have evidence.
In Hebrews 10:
Hebrews 10:16-17 The Lord says, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds, then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
Isaiah 55 also particularly mentions such things, so we can be certain of one thing: God is no longer angry with us. The reason is because God has poured out His wrath on Jesus on the cross, so He is no longer angry with us. However, if you hear another pastor say that if you behave poorly and sin again, God will not listen to your prayers.
How do you discern? You must return to the Bible and read that passage, knowing that God is no longer angry with me. The cross of Jesus is an important dividing line for us. We know what Jesus did for us on the cross, and why God loves us and is no longer angry with us. It is because the wages of sin have been fully paid on the cross by Jesus. Amen! Therefore, God's blessings come upon us as a free gift of grace, all because of Jesus.
This is called having biblical discernment. When we have this discernment, from Genesis to Revelation, the words will not be wrong.
However, in the Old Testament, when the price for sin had not yet been paid by Jesus, when a person sinned, God was angry with them, and the Holy Spirit would leave them. There are many places where people pray, "Lord, please do not let your Holy Spirit leave me; please cleanse my sins; give me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me." You do not need to pray like that anymore because the Spirit is already within you. You do not need to pray every day, "Lord, please have mercy on me and do not let your Holy Spirit leave me," because the Holy Spirit will never leave you.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit could indeed leave a person. But under the New Testament, when Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross, the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts forever! Amen! Jesus also confirmed this; He said that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with us forever. Therefore, when we read the Bible, we must have discernment. The dividing line between the Old and New Testaments is the cross of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Do not be like infants who eat whatever they are given. When I say that because Jesus completed the price on the cross, you have been completely justified, others say "Amen." Later, when I say you are still a sinner, they also say "Amen," which shows a lack of discernment.
I have been to some churches where this happens; when you talk to them about God's blessings, they say "Amen"; when you talk to them about curses, they still say "Amen." We should not be spiritual infants; we need to grow up spiritually and become discerning individuals.
The truths of the Bible, once explained, will make people clearer and more aware of God's will. However, false prophets always use such reasoning to confuse people, making it seem correct but with underlying issues. Such spiritual infants cannot discern all of this.
In 1 Corinthians 3:3 it says: For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
What was happening in the Corinthian church? Some said, "I follow Paul," and others said, "I follow Apollos." Paul said, "Is Paul the one who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" What you should truly believe in is not this person; it is not because this person's teachings are good that you believe in him; you should believe in the one who was crucified for you, Jesus Christ. Amen!
When we focus our attention on Jesus, jealousy in the church will decrease, and disputes in the church will also decrease! When everyone knows that it is Jesus Christ who has accomplished all of this for us, all our blessings come from Him, and the Holy Spirit dwells in your hearts, you are spiritual people. Thank the Lord!
Ephesians 4:11-14:
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
In the church, there are apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and pastors. They are all building up the body of Christ, each doing their part, just like in our church, where we have deacons, evangelists, and those who pray. Our purpose here is to each do our part and together build up the body of Christ, as we are all members of one body.
The body of Christ is a complete body composed of different members. When these members work together, they can have a tremendous impact and bring us benefits. Our church is like this; as you can see, I am the one preaching, but it would not work without you. Therefore, we need to work together to build up the body of Christ, so that we may attain unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, which means to imitate Jesus Christ and grow into His stature. This is something we must continually strive for.
Verse 14 says, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine.
You need to have wisdom and spiritual discernment. This way, you will not be shaken by various winds of doctrine and tossed to and fro. Some people are tossed around because their foundation is unstable. The work of false teachings is not to build up the body of Christ but to cause people to attack one another. When we encounter such people, we must be especially cautious. Heresies may seem good on the surface, but their true essence is not for your life but for someone's benefit.
You need to have spiritual discernment.
Brothers and sisters, during the process of listening to the sermon, pray silently. While I am preaching, you should pray silently below, saying, "Lord, help me understand the content being preached today. I do not want to be a child anymore; I want to become a person with discernment so that I can receive something."
Share the second point: How to Discern Erroneous Teachings
The first characteristic is that they do not acknowledge the spirit of Jesus.
As we mentioned in chapter 4, every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; by this, you can recognize the Spirit of God. Amen.
The characteristic of heresy is that they do not acknowledge the spirit of Jesus—the Holy Spirit. They may use various metaphors, such as the spirit of ignorance or the spirit of confusion, making it sound vague, but they do not acknowledge Jesus Christ or that He came in the flesh.
Many of them say, "Where is Jesus coming in the flesh? Have you seen Him? How can you prove it?" They do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is truly God. Only Christianity acknowledges Jesus as God; some people only see Jesus as a prophet. We cannot fully agree with this; this is basic discernment.
The reason they do not acknowledge Jesus as God must have other motives, as some claim to be God.
Some may not understand why such a simple matter is hard for some to discern. At first, they also hold the Bible and try to get close to you, saying, "Sister, brother, let’s discuss the Bible together." If you lack discernment, you might think this person is very enthusiastic, very loving, and very good.
As you engage with them, they gradually lead you with erroneous theories and eventually tell you that Jesus has secretly come again, and this time He has become a woman.
In fact, many people do not understand the Bible; when Jesus came, it was like a thief coming, and no one could know. Brothers and sisters, where is their error?
Last week, we happened to study this scripture, which says, "No one knows the day of the Lord's coming, like a thief." However, the Bible does not say that when the Lord comes, He will come like a thief again, not letting us know. Revelation particularly mentions that when the Lord Jesus comes again, He will come with all the angels in the clouds, and all the tribes of the earth will see Him.
But they twist the wording, saying that when the Lord Jesus comes, He comes like a thief, and He has already come. Without discernment, one can easily fall into this trap. If you do not understand the Bible, it is hard to discern.
Brothers and sisters, their errors are easy to identify. If you understand the Bible, it will be easy to discern. In the end, they all do not acknowledge Jesus; they do not pray in the name of Jesus Christ. They say that Jesus has already passed, and His work is complete, so do not pray in His name anymore. When you hear this, you should immediately realize this is wrong. Please leave quickly.
Be wise as serpents; how do you do that? Leave; do not argue with them. You cannot debate them because these people are professionally trained.
If you argue with them, their knowledge of the Bible is better than yours because they do not target laypeople but church deacons or pastors who understand the Bible and have received systematic training. You are not their match. Therefore, no matter how they change, one thing does not change: whether they acknowledge the Holy Spirit and whether they acknowledge Jesus Christ as God. If they do not acknowledge this, when you hear such words, you should leave immediately.
The second characteristic is that they deny the Bible or exceed biblical principles.
Generally speaking, heresies always lead people to their own fabricated erroneous doctrines or their own written books. They also take bits and pieces from the Bible and compile their own books, but the content will definitely not align with the Bible. There will inevitably be many frightening words that lead people back to the law, putting them under a curse because the Bible says, "Jesus Christ was hung on a tree (the cross) and bore our curse."
He has delivered us from the curse of the law. Brothers and sisters, you have been delivered from the curse because Jesus has already borne it. Heresies are easy to discern; once your foundation is solid, many things will remain unchanged.
How do they confuse people?
Revelation records a book of life of the Lamb and a little scroll. In Revelation, when John wanted to open the little scroll, God said, "You must seal it." The sealed little scroll has never been opened, and they say, "Look, the Bible mentions that the little scroll will be opened when Jesus Christ comes again, and He will open the little scroll. Now He has come, so the little scroll has been opened, which is the book we are giving you today." This is the problem. Brothers and sisters, remember that the Bible is timeless, will not make mistakes, and does not need anyone to add to or take away from it.
If a person does not understand the truth of the Bible, they will be particularly eager to seek prophets or apostles to pray for them. In the last days, many people are willing to do this; when they hear that someone is particularly powerful, they want to visit that person, hoping to hear their prophecies. This is exactly the trap of heretical winds.
In fact, each of you has the Holy Spirit within you. If you want to know something, pray together with your brothers and sisters, and God will tell you. You do not need to run to some so-called prophet and ask them to give you a prophecy! There is no need for that. If you seek them out, and if that person has ulterior motives, you will definitely suffer loss.
The third characteristic is that they use curses to recruit people.
We are drawn by the love of Jesus Christ. John says, "For God is love." We are drawn by the love of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial love He showed on the cross. However, cults are different; they use various methods to intimidate people into submission. Many people listen to their teachings and fear that they will not be in the "flow of the Holy Spirit," so they fall into their trap.
In the morning, a brother from Jiangxi contacted me. He said that someone claiming to believe in Jesus had been at his home for half a month, helping his mother with chores, doing everything in the house, not eating at their home, and even leaving an egg for them. When you go to work in the fields, he follows you, saying, "Sister, the end is near; hurry and believe in Jesus! Come with me to our place; it’s great there, and we regularly give small gifts." He also says, "Sister, come with me today; our church has an event, and many people will be there; it will be lively; come and see!"
Brothers and sisters, once you enter their circle, they will tell you that starting today, you must evangelize. If you do not do it or do not obey, I tell you, God will be very angry, and the consequences will be severe; your children will have problems, and you will have issues at home. Behind this is actually the work of evil spirits.
A person must convert a hundred souls to enter the kingdom of heaven. When that hundred is completed, you will be pleasing to God; otherwise, God will not listen to your prayers. They do not come with gratitude. We genuinely hope others receive eternal life; we hope others will receive the grace and love of Jesus Christ. But they are not like this; they come with a heart of fear, compelled to complete tasks because they fear curses will fall upon them. They may even fabricate testimonies of things going wrong because of disobedience.
The fourth characteristic is that they claim only they are saved, and others are not.
This is quite common now; many churches, and I mean churches that refer to people who believe in Jesus, also say things like, "Come to our gathering; only here is there life." When you hear such words, what should you do, brothers and sisters? They have already positioned themselves as the authentic ones, denying everyone else, which is problematic. You need to have discernment.
When you hear someone say, "Only here is there life," and that your baptism elsewhere does not count, and you must accept Jesus Christ here again, when you hear such words, my suggestion is to leave. Amen!
Because Jesus never said such words. Every church belongs to Jesus Christ. If someone continually promotes how great a certain church is or how correct a certain person's doctrine is, that is the problem. What you should be telling others is how great Jesus is. Salvation is not determined by any one person; the Bible says that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you will be saved! It is not that you must be baptized in that place to be saved. When you genuinely accept Jesus in your heart, you are a saved person. Do not let these heresies destroy your faith. Thank the Lord!
How do heresies develop? At first, they think they are remarkable, taking verses out of context and denying others. In the end, they become self-righteous. They may be well-versed in the Bible, but they gradually lead people astray, moving further away from Christ.
Last time, someone called me and asked, "Are you Christians?" I said, "Yes." She asked, "Which Christ do you believe in?" I replied, "Which one are you looking for?" She said, "The third uncle (redeemer)!" I said, "You are in the wrong place; there is only Jesus Christ."
Do not assume that just because someone believes in God, they must be the same.
True Christian faith brings peace and harmony. If you hear someone speak in a way that makes your family worse or causes you to develop biases against others, that is wrong! Because Jesus did not teach this! We hope your family is harmonious because of God's love. Love is selfless, it is giving, and it wishes for others to be better!
In Titus 3:1-2 it says:
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
We should live in harmony with everyone and be submissive to rulers and authorities. The teachings of Christ instruct us to be mutually submissive and to do good works. It is absolutely not about arguing with one another, but about bringing peace and showing gentleness to all. This is beneficial to others and builds them up.
Hebrews 5:13-14:
For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
The original meaning is clear: those who only consume milk are not familiar with the word of righteousness.
What is the word of righteousness?
It is that Jesus has accomplished our righteousness on the cross; His righteousness is upon us! We believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood and sacrificed for our sins because He loves us.
When you know that Christ's righteousness is upon you, what will it bring? The righteousness required by the law has been fulfilled by Jesus; God will no longer curse you, will no longer be angry with you, and will no longer remember your sins because all of this has been paid in full! This is called the word of righteousness.
However, infants cannot discern; one moment they are in heaven, the next moment they are in hell; one moment they are saved, the next moment they are not saved. This is because they are not familiar with the truth of righteousness.
Hebrews 6:1-2 also begins with:
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
What does the elementary doctrine of Christ mean? The following has already told us:
Repentance from dead works, often focusing on past mistakes, regretting past errors, constantly condemning oneself, and denying oneself.
Faith toward God, emphasizing every day that you must obey God and trust in God.
Instructions about washings, referring to baptism, the laying on of hands, etc.
The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. These were all completed when Jesus was crucified and became our sin offering. There is no need to do them again. We need to build upon these foundations.
Share the third point: Believe in the truth, not in human teachings.
This point is very important! 1 Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.
The original Greek means that in later times (the last days, which includes our era), in our generation, some will depart from the faith, listening to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons! The original text does not use the term "doctrine" but rather "teachings of demons."
Expressly says means it is very clear and evident that there will always be some people who will leave the cross of Jesus Christ and no longer preach these things, but instead will talk about the works of the devil and the corruption of humanity.
Brothers and sisters, we should not add anything to the words of Christ because it is dangerous. Many things are added by humans, such as prohibiting marriage and abstaining from certain foods, which all belong to the teachings of demons.
Whenever we talk about faith, others may ask, "What do you believe in?" You do not believe in a religion; you believe in Jesus Christ. Amen, thank the Lord!
Some will depart from the faith, the original term used here is very precise, referring to the one true faith. What Paul expresses is that in the last days, some will definitely depart from this one true faith. His meaning is that if you leave this, no matter how you search for other paths, they are all false. Jesus also said,
In John 14:6: I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
The original text uses very precise language, meaning He is the only truth, the only way, and the only life. If you leave this, you will not find other truths; if you leave Jesus Christ, you will not find other lives.
Some will depart from the faith refers to the truth of Jesus Christ, and the center of our lives cannot depart from Jesus Christ. Preaching also cannot depart from Jesus Christ and His cross.
Other religions tell people that you must please God through your actions, but in the New Testament, because of Jesus' redemption, God has fully accepted us. He loves us, which is why He sent Jesus to the world to save us. When we understand this love, we will live out good deeds. This is the fruit of love!
Last night, while chatting with a brother, he mentioned something about his family. He said that his child accidentally broke a vase at home. His parents spanked him a couple of times, but they still loved their son. Can you understand this? It means that even if your behavior is poor today, the Heavenly Father still loves you.
Heresies continuously emphasize that if you behave poorly, God will strike you, mistreat you, and punish you, instilling fear in you. However, the Bible tells us that there is no fear in love. Amen! Perfect love casts out fear! Hallelujah! Therefore, in God's love, you should not be afraid. You should fear God, be drawn by His love, willingly follow Him, and be willing to obey Him.
1 Timothy 6:20, O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.
What is falsely called knowledge?
Let me give you a brief example. For instance,
"Someone tells you, 'Brother, do you think that just believing in God will get you into heaven?'"
You say, "Yes, the Bible says so."
Then they say, "Think about it; with your behavior being so poor, do you deserve to enter heaven?" (Listen to what is falsely called knowledge.)
At this point, you might think, "That’s true; how can someone like me be accepted in heaven? I am so unworthy; my behavior is so poor; I often hate others and even hit my children. How can I deserve to enter heaven? Wouldn't I just be a disaster in heaven?"
Then the person says, "Just believing is not enough; you also need to have good behavior..."
Isn't there a problem here? It seems correct, but this is falsely called knowledge.
This does not align with the Bible. The Bible clearly states that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you will be saved! No one's behavior matters, and many passages tell us that you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works. Therefore, correct belief leads to correct living.
If you mistakenly enter into heresy and live in fear every day, that is certainly incorrect; that is not what Jesus Christ wants to give us.
You must believe in the truth, the only truth, the truth of justification by faith. Thank the Lord! Do not believe in human teachings. The Spirit of God dwells in our hearts, and we love one another. The following mentions,
1 John 4:7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
We are not under the law but under grace. We live in the love of Jesus Christ, and only then do you have the strength to help others and provide for others. When you love others, you will certainly wish for their well-being, hoping your neighbors will be better because you love them.
When you are filled with love, you do not focus on the speck in your brother's eye but hope for their improvement. You will pray for them. When you see brothers and sisters in need or their imperfections, you will pray for them rather than condemn them. God wants us to love one another, not to condemn one another.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you for your grace. You tell us that Christ is love, and we also know that you love us. He provides us with everything we need. Please reveal more truth to us and let us remember it in our hearts. This way, we will have discernment and will not suffer loss.
God, grant us strength and wisdom, so that we may keep your truth in our hearts! When we encounter such matters, we can remember your words. May the Holy Spirit guide us every day. I believe you lead my steps, and I will not stumble. I am willing to follow you all my life.
I believe Jesus is the only truth, the only way, and the only life.
I am willing to receive your love and live out your love, so that we can also love one another with the love of Jesus Christ, not just in words but in our lives, so that everyone can see that we are a group of people who love one another. May all the glory be given to the Lord. We pray in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!