Title
This Is a Test
Scripture
Beloved, 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)
Devotional
The benchmark by which these spirits are to be measured is found in their attitude toward the person of Jesus Christ. For example, no matter how good the preaching or teaching may sound, if it is void of glorifying God in Christ, I would at best be leery of its content. The litmus test is the incarnate person of Jesus Christ. If anyone denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and that He is not Lord God Almighty, such a person has the spirit of Antichrist. The deity of Christ is the plumb line by which orthodox Christianity is to be distinguished from the cults. The further one gets from the Christ of the Scriptures the closer one gets to the spirit of Antichrist. Many a good man has started well, but has been lured and deceived by believing the wrong spirit. The closer we get to the last of the last days, the more we will have to test the spirits, "because many false prophets have gone out into the world."