Testing What You Hear

Jesus told His disciples, “Take heed that no one deceives you” (Matthew 24:4). Long before that day, God had already taught His people how to tell a true message from a false one.

A sign is not enough. Moses told Israel that a prophet might give them a sign or a wonder, and the sign might even come true. But if that prophet then told them to follow other gods, they must not listen to him (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Hold fast to the Lord. Moses said that the Lord was testing them, to see whether they loved Him with all their heart and soul. They were to follow the Lord, obey His voice, serve Him and hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 13:3-4).

Does it come true? Moses also gave a second test. If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the thing does not happen, then the Lord has not spoken it (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). God's words always come true.

A wooden yoke. In Jeremiah's day, the king of Babylon had already carried away many of God's people and treasures from Jerusalem. God told Jeremiah to wear a wooden yoke on his neck, the kind of bar that oxen wear. It was a picture that the nations would serve the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:2-7).

A pleasing message. Then a prophet named Hananiah stood up in the temple. He said that the Lord would break Babylon's power and bring back all the people and treasures within two years (Jeremiah 28:1-4). He took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck and broke it (28:10-11).

Wait and see. Jeremiah said he wished Hananiah's words were true. But he said that a prophet who promises peace is known as truly sent by the Lord only when his word comes to pass (Jeremiah 28:6-9).

What God said. Then the Lord gave Jeremiah a message for Hananiah: the Lord had not sent him, and he had made the people trust in a lie (Jeremiah 28:15). That same year Hananiah died, as the Lord had said (28:16-17).

Pleasing is not the same as true. Hananiah's words sounded good, and Jeremiah's words were hard to hear. But only Jeremiah's words were from God, and only his words came true.

The promise that came true. God promised a Savior through His prophets, and that promise came true in Jesus. Isaiah wrote, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Those words came true when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and then He rose again.

Two questions. When you hear something about God, ask two questions. Does it agree with what God has already said in the Bible? Does it lead me to love the Lord and follow Him?

What to do. Do not believe something just because it sounds nice or because it comes with something amazing. Check it by God's Word, and ask a parent or a pastor to help you.

Jesus warned that false christs would come (Matthew 24:24). After Jesus rose and went back to heaven, His apostles kept warning the churches not to be fooled about who Jesus is and what He has done.

Another gospel. Paul was amazed that the believers in Galatia were turning away so quickly from God, who had called them by the grace of Christ, to a different gospel. He said it was not really good news at all. Some people were twisting the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6-7).

Even an angel. Paul said that if anyone, even an angel from heaven, preached a gospel different from the one they had received, they must not accept it (Galatians 1:8-9).

The gospel they received. The true gospel is the one Paul preached everywhere: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

A simple faith. Paul worried about the believers in Corinth: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Another Jesus. He warned that some people were preaching another Jesus, different from the real one (2 Corinthians 11:4). A different Jesus cannot save anyone. Only the real Jesus can. He saves everyone who trusts Him, as a free gift of His grace.

Tossed by the wind. Paul told the Ephesians that God wants His people to grow up, so that they are no longer like children tossed back and forth by every new teaching that blows by (Ephesians 4:14).

Growing up. Instead, believers speak the truth in love and grow up in every way into Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Knowing Him well keeps them steady.

The same Jesus. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The next verse says not to be carried away by strange teachings (13:9). Jesus does not change, so the truth about Him does not change either.

Not shaken. Some believers in Thessalonica were upset by a report that the day of Christ had already come. Paul told them not to be shaken or troubled by it, and to let no one deceive them in any way (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).

Know the real thing. The best way to spot something false is to know the real thing well. Read about Jesus in the Gospels. Learn what He said and what He did. Then you will recognize Him when you hear about Him.

What to do. Ask a parent or teacher to help you read one chapter of a Gospel this week. As you read, ask what it shows you about Jesus, and thank Him for being the same forever.