Truth or Lie? How do you know?

[Andrew]

How do you know if what someone is teaching is God's truth? -- WITHOUT you relying on what the Bible says.

IOW how does the Holy Spirit 'tell' you that this guy is telling the truth or lie without the Holy Spirit giving you chap and verse?

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Originally posted by Andrew
How do you know if what someone is teaching is God's truth? -- WITHOUT you relying on what the Bible says.

IOW how does the Holy Spirit 'tell' you that this guy is telling the truth or lie without the Holy Spirit giving you chap and verse?

Well Andrew, I'm not really sure that one can judge a teaching without measuring it next to scripture.  However, scripture covers more than most people see and/or understand.

For instance . . .There are some scriptures that I have read and known since I was a child.  But then one day I read it again and all of a sudden I "see" something that I never saw before.  It's not a new revelation to God but it's a new revelation to me.  That's called growing up. 

God is multi-facited and so is His written Word.  What we understood yesterday is one thing but what we understand today is that same things and more.

I believe the entire Bible is for us today as it was for them yesterday.  If God said it for them then He said for us too. We can't just wipe some of it away because a church says it no longer applies to today.  God says, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So, I guess to try and answer your question, I just know the Word enough that when I hear something that does not settle right, I take it to God and ask Him to help me understand it.  And if it's not from Him, He usually tells me.

Talk more later,

 

 

 

[buteeful22]

I agree with Quaffer. I have a strong spiritual gift of discernment. God tells me when something does not line up with him. I was just telling someone else in another thread the same thigs Quaffer just said. this girl said that she does put her faith in the bible she puts it in Jesus. She said you don't have to read the word to understand or know God. She said back in those days anyway people only prayed and were taught. She said they could not even read. She said they spent most of their time praying. I asked her so when God carved the Ten Commandments in stone, didn't moses read them? It's not true. I told her If you just let people tell you about God, then it will be very easily to believe the Anti-Christ too. You have to line things up with the word of God. If it does not line up, It is not of God.

 

[Andrew]

quaffie,

Rest assured i'm not trying to push the Word into the back seat. of course, we wld know if what is being said is truth if we knew what the Word said.

but my focus for this thread is not this.

for eg, you have a new baby Christian just born again. she attends a church and hears something preached. she hasnt even read the Bible. so how does the Holy Spirit 'guide' or tell her that there's something wrong with the message or that its perfectly true?

even if one knows the Bible, differences in interpretation still persists. eg both opposing parties will say I can prove it with scriptures and this is what God has shown me, and both can be real sincere, yet saying opposite things. the long debates in this forum itself prove my point. i mean you even have Pastors and teachers disagreeing on many topics.

so how does one know the truth? How does the Holy Spirit 'guide' in such instances? I'll share my answer in the next post and see if it makes sense to u all.

shalom!

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Originally posted by Andrew
quaffie,

Rest assured i'm not trying to push the Word into the back seat. of course, we wld know if what is being said is truth if we knew what the Word said.

but my focus for this thread is not this.

for eg, you have a new baby Christian just born again. she attends a church and hears something preached. she hasnt even read the Bible. so how does the Holy Spirit 'guide' or tell her that there's something wrong with the message or that its perfectly true?

even if one knows the Bible, differences in interpretation still persists. eg both opposing parties will say I can prove it with scriptures and this is what God has shown me, and both can be real sincere, yet saying opposite things. the long debates in this forum itself prove my point. i mean you even have Pastors and teachers disagreeing on many topics.

so how does one know the truth? How does the Holy Spirit 'guide' in such instances? I'll share my answer in the next post and see if it makes sense to u all.

shalom!

Thanks Andrew,

I did understand what you were asking but as I rack my brain, I guess I would have to say, I don't know how to know if it's a lie or not without comparing it to the Word. Except of course, the Holy Spirit enstructing me.

I remember one time hearing someone teach something on TV and my spirit rejected it immediately. While discussing the issue with God, I remembered many scriptures and went back and forth with differing thoughts. Eventually, I concluded, that my initial reaction WAS correct and I consider that particular teaching wrong

Anyway, I'm looking forward to your insight on the question.

 

[paulewog]

As a baby Christian.... I think they fall easily prey to false teaching for that very reason... they wouldn't really know it was false teaching.

However, after you read the Bible, and know God very well, I think you would even immediately recognize a false teaching because it contradicts what your heart knows God as.

I think George MacDonald illustrated this somewhat in a book I just read In it, a little girl did something wrong... and she knew that it was worse to go against what you knew was wrong simply inside of you than what you knew was wrong because you had a list of "do's and don't's." So it is with God. If you know God, and know His personality, and Character, then you probably will discern much better the teachings that would contradict those

(the book, by the way, was The Flight of the Shadow... I do not agree completely with George MacDonald's doctrines, but he was a Christian )

 

[aaron]

Aaron thinks buteeful22 seems nice. He blesses her with a 1000 blessings to go and get a belt of truth.

 

[Caedmon]

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[paulewog]

/me thinks this is a protestant discussion forum

aaron - put "/me thinks ........ " on a blank line, without the quotes. That does the third person thing.

 

[Caedmon]

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[paulewog]

/me isn't sore about anything except humblejoe's signature

 

[Caedmon]

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[Zorobabel]

Do you believe Mary was greater than John the Baptist?

 

[Caedmon]

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[Zorobabel]

Wow, hahaha, that's a good way to put it. Truthfully, the man who baptized me. I just find it really fascinating that Jesus held John in such high regard.

 

[Caedmon]

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[SpiritPsalmist]

Hey all,

I think we need to stick to the main subject please.

Humblejoe, sorry but I did not understand your "simple" answer.

 

[Zorobabel]

Originally posted by humblejoe
Why? I thought you believed that baptism is only symbolic.

It has nothing to do with that. You asked who was greater. I'd say my old Preacher was greater than my Mother. 

Originally posted by humblejoe
Which one? John the Baptist... or John "the disciple whom Jesus loved", to whom He also presented His mother, Mary?

And remember, neither of these Johns held Jesus in his womb for nine months, gave birth to the Savior of the world, cared for Him as an infant and a child, etc.

Who is greater? The mother of God who brought the Savior into the world... or the man that baptized Him later? [/B]

Well, John the Baptist is the one I was talking about, as Jesus said no person ever born was greater than he (though the least in the kingdom of heaven are greater). Interesting how the other John was his best friend. John would be a good name for a kid.

Btw, why are you on the Non-Denominational/ Reformed/ Protestant board? What part of your faith is reformed?  The Catholic board is for people of all Catholic faiths, so I would assume that sitting around on a Protestant board and mocking our beliefs would be a bit...weird.

 

[Caedmon]

I'm sorry for hijacking the thread guys. I was just in a bad mood there for a while. Please forgive me.

 

[Zorobabel]

Its just as much my fault. I started on about Mary. I'm sorry.