Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13
Remember when you were little and something got broke by either you or a sibling, and your parents would say “who did that?” And it was typically one of two people, “I don’t know” or “it wasn’t me”.
As adults, we can continue in, or fall in, to that same old pattern. Something goes wrong at work and we either say “I don’t know” who did it or “it wasn’t me”. But as adults we have one more excuse or scapegoat that we like to blame, “The devil did it” or “that is the work of the enemy”.
Don’t get me wrong, he is guilty of a lot of stuff! And, he may be the one who temps us, but we are the ones who commit the sin. If He were the guilty party every time someone sinned, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die. The enemy is already destined for hell (Then the devil who fooled them will be thrown into the lake of fire burning with sulphur. The wild animal and the false preacher are already there. They will all be punished day and night forever. Revelation 20:10), Jesus died that we might be forgiven of our sins (But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8). And, instead of making excuses or hiding behind a scapegoat we need to repent of (which means to turn away from) our sin and be reconciled to God (Repent, then, and turn to God, so that He will forgive your sins. Acts 3:19).
Then, sometimes, we even blame the enemy for working through other people. Maybe we blame him for using people to tempt us. But, again, we committed the sin. They will give an account for their part, but so will we (So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Romans 14:12).
And then there are other times when, because we are convicted by someone or they preach or speak a new word, we say it’s an act of the enemy, when it may really be an act of God. And this is an area where we need to be very, very careful.
The Scriptures tell us to test the spirit to determine whether it’s of God or not. (Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1). This isn’t a passive suggestion. It is a commandment. God warns us over and over to watch for false teachers, that we would not be lured away or deceived, so this is a command.
It would seem that if the word makes us uneasy or unsettled, that it is probably the enemy. But the Scriptures do not say that when you feel a particular way you will know it’s of God. It says test the spirit.
Now the question is how do I test the spirit? One way is to read 1 John 4 a little further (By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 1 John 4:2). The enemy will not speak the truth, he will speak deceit and the thing about deceit is that it usually has a fragment of truth but it is twisted into a lie. He is cunning and a master of deceit. He even quoted scripture in his second temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Matthew 4:6). Which is a slightly distorted quote from Psalm 91:11-12 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.) Notice that he does not say “you are the Christ and God has said…”. Instead he says “if you are the Son of God”, knowing full well that Jesus is, but he is not going to speak the truth!
And, we also need to test it by the word of God. We are given an example of that very thing in Acts 17:10-11 – “ As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true”. Even Paul’s teaching was tested to see if it was of God.
The devil may lead us in to temptation and he may manipulate others to mislead us, he may even cause a false teacher to speak to us. But if we are in the word of God (and I mean in it, studying it, searching it, seeking Him and His voice in those pages, not just listening to a sermon once a week) we will be able to recognize his deception, his temptation and his manipulation.
I pray that today we would desire the equipping that can only come from studying the word of God. I pray that we would desire to hear His voice amongst the pages of our bible, as we turn each one. And, I pray that as we study we would become more and more equipped to test the spirits and hear God’s voice and leading in our lives. Open up His word today, He has a message waiting in there, just for you.
If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God has a plan for you and desires that you would live it out (For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11). But the enemy longs to steal, kill and destroy your hope, future and your very soul. (The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10). Please pray the prayer that is outlined there and when you do reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you and perhaps help you grow in your knowledge of, and relationship with, our Precious Savior – Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya!
