Learning How To Verify If An Idea Agrees with the Bible

In review of John 7:17 it says, “Anyone who wants to do [God’s] will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up.”

Bottom Line:

Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether or not my teaching is from God or is merely my own.

What this means to me:

It is much easier for me to recognize whether someone’s teaching is from God or themselves by knowing what God’s Word says and how this person lives their life.

Jesus explained in John 7:17, “Anyone who wants to do [God’s] will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up” (MSG). God doesn’t like it when people put words in his mouth and say, “God told me to do this,” when he really didn’t. In order to know when its God talking, I first need to consider if their idea agrees with the Bible.

God is always consistent. He will never contradict what he’s already said in his Word. God will never tell me to violate a principle that’s in the Bible. He’ll never tell me to ignore what he’s already said. He’ll never tell me to deny what he’s already said.

Luke 21:33 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (NIV). That means if it’s true, it has always been true, and it always will be true. Because truth is not new! Truth has been around forever. If something was true 4,000 years ago, it was true 50 years ago, and it is still true today. God’s truth stands the test of time.

Trends change. Popular opinion changes. Even science changes. But the truth of God never changes, so God would never say something and then change his mind. Knowing this truth should provide some encouragement, because I’ll never have to wonder what God thinks about something that he has already clearly stated in his Word.

Secondly it would also be helpful to dig into God’s Word and memorize it so that when I get an idea or an impression, I can say, “That couldn’t be from God because the Bible says this.” Unfortunately, If I don’t really know what's in the Bible, then I’ll be fooled by all kinds of lies from Satan. So, the more I know God’s Word, the better I’ll will be able to discern when God is speaking to me.

I must be cautious to never try to “adapt” a truth from scripture to fit my circumstance. If I find myself doing so, it will be important to quickly reverse that through process. This is where bouncing ideas off of other mature believers comes in handy. One other way I can know and hold onto God’s word is through scripture memory. Today I should consider how I can get back into this process, targeting to memorize one verse a week.