There are so many warnings in the Bible about false teachers and rebellious people that I have to conclude that God gave us the ability to judge which are these of whom He speaks.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
Matthew 7:15-20
"15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 So then, you will know them by their fruits."
The fruit of the Spirit that we can discern within another born again believer looks like this;
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
When someone lives a lifestyle of violating these character qualities of Christ we know they do not have the Holy Spirit.
John 16:12-14 "…12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.
14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"
Next time someone tells you not to judge because you do not know a person's heart, show them these scriptures. God never said we do not know the heart of a person. He did say not to judge who goes to heaven or hell because they may repent and become saved at a time we do not see.
Acts 15:8
"8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;"
The Holy Spirit is God and imparts to us the wisdom to know who is born again and who is not, but not perfectly because we get confused by our own flesh and the influence of others around us who make us question whether or not we have really heard from the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit also imparts His wisdom to us to discern the actions of people as being good or bad. Actions cannot be separated from the heart condition. If a man has murdered someone then he is a murderer. God also said that if a man so much as hates his brother he is a murderer. We can see this through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
1 John 3:14-16 "…14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer. 16 By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.…"
Do not be intimidated by those who have been brainwashed into the thinking in terms of psychology that says that every man is good and only does bad things because they have been hurt by someone else. This is patently wrong and silly. Many people have been hurt by others but do not harm those who are unrelated to what was done to them. It makes more sense to be angry with the man who harmed you but makes no sense at all to be angry with everyone who had nothing to do with the harm.
People do bad things because they are sinful. Each man will be accountable for their own sin, they will not be able to excuse themselves for hurting others just because they were hurt by someone else.
Matthew 5:43-45 "…43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
Luke 6:31-32 "31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.…"
Christ is our ultimate example, He not only died on the cross at the hands of evil men, but He died for the world while they were still sinners, He even died for the ones that killed Him.
God does not tell us to do revenge, just the opposite. However, when we see that our presence is not helping dissipate the evil done against us and we have a means of escape, then we are to remove ourselves and pray for those who will not listen.
Referring back to 2 Timothy 3:1-5 at the top of this page.
Proverbs 14:6-8 "…6 A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning. 7 Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. 8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them."
When we make foolish people our companions we eventually will be just like them. When we spend a lot of time with Christ in prayer and Bible reading, as well as with those who love Him as we do, then we will grow in wisdom and holiness.
1 Corinthians 15:33 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Proverbs 13:19-21 "…19 Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools. 20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. 21 Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous."
Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 "11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
Take away from this article: Keeping company with godly people who love to speak of Him, will help us to grow in holiness. How do we know who is foolish and who is wise? Its simple, the Bible tells how they act, the things they love and the kind of people they enjoy.
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