1 John: A 15-Day DevotionalEgzanp

In a particularly gullible age, the church desperately needs the discernment this text describes. Far too often Christians fall for false teachers and charlatans simply because they claim to speak for God and tack on a few Bible verses. Some authoritarian leaders suggest that to doubt them is to doubt God. But this text calls for us to examine every teacher in light of revealed Scripture. Indeed, the Bible commends as “noble” those who double-checked the apostle Paul by searching the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). Any true gospel minister will welcome such testing. Such vigilance indicates not a thoroughgoing skepticism but an allegiance to Scripture and a healthy awareness of the reality of false teachers.