False teachers

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"False teachers" By Diane Webb

Psalms 25: 5—"Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."

It's difficult sometimes to know what the truth is. Especially if you are dealing with people who do not always tell the truth. Perhaps they believe they are telling God's truth but are misguided themselves. Perhaps they intentionally misquote scripture to achieve their own purposes rather than to glorify God. If you have been exposed to false teachers or false teachings it gets confusing. So many people are victims of religious abuse--being abused in the name of a religion—either from the pulpit or in the home—through a wrongful application of scripture. How can you tell the truth from false teachings? One way is to look for the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the result of the Holy Spirit's presence in a life. The fruits of the Holy Spirit can be found in Galatians 5:22--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are all indicators someone is in line with the Holy Spirit. These are your signs to determine if something is God's truth or is it a false teaching. If you are worried someone you love may be getting off into a wrong religion or denomination, look for these fruits in their life. If the fruits are present, they are close to God through the Holy Spirit. Have you ever met anyone who was longsuffering? They don't complain, or whine, or even talk about their pain and unhappiness. Contrast that with someone who broadcasts their unhappiness to everyone they see. What about self-control? How many major religious leaders have been exposed lacking self-control in significant areas—such as keeping their marriage vows? What about faithful? To be faithful is to be dependable—close in allegiance, and loyal. Someone who is undependable, breaks promises, or lies to you is not demonstrating faithfulness. We can spend all day listing the opposites of the fruits of the Holy Spirit because they are easy to recognize. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are also obvious. Look at your own life in comparison to this list of fruits. Are there areas you are still lacking in? Many people approach these fruits as something to work on directly. They work on controlling their emotions, controlling their anger, and controlling their own behaviors. Remember, the fruits are the result of cultivating an ongoing relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. You cannot improve the fruits by working on your relationship with the fruit. You would not try to improve your peach tree crop by fertilizing the peaches after they have been picked. You would improve your peach crop by working on the tree that produces the fruit. You must work on your relationship with God and develop ongoing closeness with Him. The closer you are to God, the more of the fruits you will have. It's an ongoing process. Do not be misled by people who are not teaching God's truth. Feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit and as you develop your relationship with God you will also develop the ability to discern His truth. The more time you spend with God, the better you will recognize His truth. In John 10: 27 Jesus says, "My sheep know my voice". By following Jesus, we learn His voice and can more quickly spot an imposter. False teachings sometimes sound good on the surface but leave a feeling of unease on the inside. The sense of peace is broken thereby alerting you to the falseness. Peace is one of the fruits therefore the truth will lead to peace. Develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit (the tree) and the fruits will follow naturally.

Father God, I pray today for the Holy Spirit to fill me with your truth. Help me recognize false teachings by looking for the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Bring to my mind quickly any false teaching I have been misled by. Show me, Lord, your truth. In Jesus' name I ask and pray, Amen.