More pieces fall into place

HOW TO SPOT A FALSE TEACHER
My theological and church education taught me to identify false teachers by their doctrine. One New Testament passage that clearly teaches this is found in 1 John.

We may rightly conclude from this passage that an appropriate marker of true gospel teaching is an orthodox confession of the Son’s incarnation. We can also generalize this principle. Other central and historic Christian teachings serve as markers for the authenticity of gospel proclamation. So, teachers who explicitly deny such core tenets as the doctrine of creation, the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, or the bodily resurrection should be labelled as teaching a false gospel.

However, this passage may also be read to imply that any teacher with orthodox Christology is a true prophet. That is to say, true doctrine is the definitive mark of a true teacher. When evaluating the ministries and teaching of pastors, then, doctrine should be primary. Other issues––methodology, personality, even motivation––are secondary. Indeed, we seem to see this way of thinking authorized by the Apostle Paul in Phil 1:15–18.

Is this doctrine-first principle biblical? In a sense, yes. I mean, I quoted bible verses above, right? However, I would argue that this principle in isolation is not representative of the New Testament picture of false teaching and false teachers. Even more importantly, when this emphasis on doctrinal faithfulness is separated from the rest of the New Testament’s teaching, it becomes dangerous.

so we see that false teachers/prophets are recognized in both testaments and we are warned against them

to deny this truth then, is to expose a heart that defines its own truth

we should always agree with scripture

False prophets were not only a problem in the Old Testament; they also plagued the apostles in the New Testament. For example, the Book of Acts describes an occasion when Barnabas and Paul encountered a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet when the apostles were offering the word of God to the proconsul of Paphos. When the sorcerer tried to oppose their teaching, a Holy Spirit-filled Paul verbally lashed out at the man, causing him to go blind. Amazed, the proconsul believed.

The Apostle Peter warned about “false teachers,” much like false prophets, who will “secretly introduce destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1).

These evildoers will be “paid back with harm for the harm they have done” (2 Peter 2:13).

Do They Exist Today?
Jesus, speaking to His disciples about the end times, warned that false prophets would indeed appear in an attempt to deceive even God’s chosen ones that the Son of God had returned (Matthew 24:24).

Don’t listen or heed their guidance, we are told. Rather, stay vigilant and be ready, Jesus said, for “about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, the Apostle Paul warns that a time will come when people will turn from the truth and instead entertain teachers who say what they want to hear, offering myths rather than God’s Word.

But Jesus tells us we have one path to God: Through Him. As He said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

And, in His Sermon on the Mount, He said His path is rooted entirely in the Lord, insisting, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

How Can We Tell If Someone Is a False Prophet?
God offers instruction on how His people can determine true from false prophets. In Deuteronomy 18:22, He explains, “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us to beware false prophets, who appear gentle but are not.

“They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:15-20).

The bottom line is that false prophets bring a message that is not from God. Their message contradicts what God instructs, often appealing to our earthly cravings or passions. And ultimately, they produce “bad fruit.”

Trust instead in Jesus and the Word of God as given to us all in the Bible.
source

Jesus told us to seek Holy Spirit who would guide us in ALL truth, He never guides us to seek false prophets, He guides us to true prophets.
best wishes

I always encourage my readers to be Bereans (Acts 17:10-11) concerning my teachings and to search the scriptures daily to see whether the things that I am saying are so.

Because I have been diagnosed with a mental illness; so any of the things that I say could be off-base at any time.

But when they are on the money, it is because I am speaking by the Holy Ghost.

In my flesh, I am certain that my thinking might be illogical and unfounded in reality.

But when the Holy Spirit is speaking by me and through me, it is bound to be logical and "a wisdom and spirit that none of my adversaries shall be able to gainsay nor resist." (Luke 21:15, Acts 6:10).

His healing and restoration is available to you and all who need it.

Sometimes God uses doctors and medicine to bring forth his healing power (Proverbs 17:22, Ezekiel 47:12, Revelation 22:2).

He requires 1st place in our lives, we must go to Him first, do we think of Jehovah Rapha when we have a need or do we lean on our own understanding first and run to a carnal source for care?

I am currently under the care of a psychiatrist, not by my own choice but because when I have a break, the police take me into a mental hospital and I am re-conditioned to take the medicine that they prescribe for having too much zeal in attempting to win souls for Christ apart from venues that are deemed acceptable by society.

Is that a breach of an injunction based on precedence of your choosing venues that are deemed off limits to those who wish to preach the Gospel - or is that presentation on interview after being removed or else reported for causing distress and a referral by the courts or else entered into volitionally as a mechanism to avoid being charged with a felony? The only place I can think of myself is abortion clinics.

Wish I knew more, perhaps the way you are sharing His truth is not the way He wishes, calmly, peacefully, sincerely, may be more the style He is guiding you to, certainly that wouldn't bring the authorities.
best wishes

I have found that when I have witnessed to people in the lone ranger fashion, that sometimes they have called the police on me because what I said to them was offensive; and also, there are tenets in psychology that discriminate against certain Christian attitudes.

Such as religious preoccupation, persecution complex, and the accusation of mania if you wait up late at night in order to watch and wait for the Lord's return.

I was found to be mentally ill because of these psychological tenets because to this day I am guilty of all of them.

My first break was a real one in which I lost touch with reality; subsequent to the first break, I have been put in the hospital for being overly zealous in attempting to win family members to Christ; they thought that I was having a break because I judged that they weren't saved and that I was going to get them saved.

And the fact that I was speaking convicting words by the Holy Spirit to a certain extent made them want to shoot the messenger, so to speak. If I was mentally ill, then they were not accountable to what I was saying to them. So, they wrote me off.

I know that my relating the gospel on these boards doesn't bring the authorities.

But I have been overzealous with family members that I have cared about perhaps a little too much and therefore I have been overly pushy in wanting them to receive Christ.

I had to learn not to be so pushy and to just pray for them instead. Because, obviously, they were not willing to receive from me the spoken word; since they chose to project their own insanity onto me. (For I believe that it is truly insanity for someone to reject Christ).

justbyfaith

You are in my Prayers!

There has always been a need to put people into boxes if only as a mechanism to control them - and no more can family do this with the help of doubtful members who are just harmful. Those members who genuinely love you and really care about you are at least tolerable when they fall into the same effect of having you 'helped' when you present bipolar episcopal mania. The thing that makes you vulnerable to your own presentations is where there is a confirmed manic episode that you yourself acknowledge and agree to. Your connect in these things then carries more weight than what others say - no matter why they say it. That is the basis for the endless persuasion and why the police can take you in "for your own safety" or anothers'

It a handy tool for shutting down the Gospel - and there are increasing numbers of people who trigger it whether they realise the implication or not when they report that they are feeling threatened. You have my prayers brother and may the Lord hold you and your family up in His will. Thanks for your response. You sound to me as though you are on the ball.