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.
We all know this and understand it - that not everything or everyone who claims to speak for God really does. So how do you tell the difference? How do you "test the spirits" as John wrote?
Lutherans have a handy rule - I call it the Jesus principle. When you hear someone say something about God or what God would want in the world, ask yourself a simple question: If what you're hearing consistent with the love of God shown for the whole world in Jesus? That's how you test the spirits? If it's about love and unity, then it's from God. If it's about division and condemning others, it's probably not.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
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