I Believe…

1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

In the book Built to Last, Jim Collins applies principles from the world of business to our personal lives. He suggests that every year we do a personal assessment. Among the questions to be asked: “What core values do we hold so tightly that we would never let them go, regardless of the cost?

At the beginning of a new year, that’s a worthwhile question. What core convictions anchor your life? Or, to put it another way, “What do you believe?”

Some people today think the idea of “faith” or “belief” is out of date. But all of us believe something. All of us place our trust in someone or something. How about you? Where does your ultimate allegiance lie?

John reminds us that the content of faith is as important as the act of believing. He calls us to “test the spirits” to determine whether our beliefs really come from God and are directed toward God. John realizes that all who “believe in themselves” or put their confidence in human social and political power will be disappointed.

The content of our faith does not come from within ourselves or even from the latest ideas or movements around us. The content of faith comes from God, who has reached into a fallen world and speaks with a voice of love and authority. We’ll learn more about this God and what he has to say to us in this month’s study.

Lord, keep me from placing my trust in anything but you. Give me the gift of discernment so that I can hold tight to Jesus Christ, whose name is Truth. In his name, Amen.