ONE CHURCH - MANY BRANCHES

Have you ever attended a church which taught that unless you joined them, you would go to hell when you die?  I have, and for some strange reason, I immediately wanted to distance myself from them; it was as though something, or Someone within me was yelling, "RUN!"  But then, when I did leave, I felt guilty for not wanting to be a part of their exclusive, self-proclaimed, spiritually-aware group.  That is because Satan whispers, reminding me of Christ's prayer in John 17, where Jesus prayed for the unity of His Church, as it would be their unity which would testify of  Him (Jn. 17:11, 21-23).  One "voice" was saying I should ignore the doctrinal errors of the church and focus upon unity, while the other "voice" was emphasizing those very errors.

Yes, you might say I "hear two voices" and they always are diametrically opposed to the other.  Both use the Scriptures to convince me that their path is the correct one, and so it is up to me to decide which "voice" is Satan's and which is that of the Holy Spirit.  It is not always easy to tell! 

So, how does one tell the difference?  The first test involves the Scriptures.  Is what you are being led to do (not do), consistent with the entire Bible?  Satan loves to use Scripture, but he always misuses it; he either misapplies it, or he neglects the entire teachings of Scripture on a topic.  For instance, every time he tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus reminded him of what God's Word "also said."  In other words, don't let a single verse of Scripture guide you - find out what the rest of the Word say concerning the subject.

Another test of what "a voice" is telling you, is:  does it bring glory to God, or to man?  Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit is given, "He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you" (Jn. 16:14).  Is what you are being guided to do going to glorify Jesus?  Or, is it going to glorify a church, a preacher, or even oneself?  Who is glorified?

And finally, is what you are prompted to do, or warned not to do, in agreement with your faith?  To do the "right thing" is not always the "right thing" for you!  God may very well want someone else to do it, and not you.  Not every instance where someone offers you an opportunity to serve God, is of God!  Our job is to be willing to do His bidding for us. 

There are two kinds of sins:  commission and omission.  If we do something, even though it is "for God," we need to know in our heart He wants us to do it.  Paul wrote:  "And he that doubteth is damned...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin"  (Rom. 14:23).  And James wrote:  "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (Jam. 4:17).

 

The church we attend and support, must be the one to which He has assigned us. 

And even there, we need to have the heart of a Berean (Acts 17:11)!