How to Test the Spirits

1 John 4:1 says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." However, there are three things that make testing the spirits difficult in our day. First, the ecumenical and universal spirit of our day that seeks to promote unity in the midst of false teaching. Secondly, people's own experiences make it difficult to test the spirits because men refuse to test them with the Word of God. Thirdly, our own feelings can make it difficult to test the spirits because we can attach too much importance to how we feel about a person than what they say about Jesus Christ.