I’ve been thinking a lot about something the Apostle John wrote near the end of his life. He saw some dangerous ideas already creeping into the churches, teachings that used spiritual-sounding language but quietly pulled people away from the real Jesus. And folks, those same kinds of ideas are showing up again today.
The Clear Test John Gave Us
John didn’t leave us guessing. In 1 John 4:1–3 he said:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”
And over in 2 John 7 he put it just as plainly:
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
You see, John keeps bringing us back to the same simple truth, Jesus Christ truly came in the flesh. The eternal Son of God became a real man, lived among us, died on the cross, and rose again. Any teaching that moves away from that is on dangerous ground.
The Old Error Returning in New Clothes
What John was dealing with had a Gnostic flavour to it, a kind of special knowledge, a focus on the spiritual that downplayed the physical, and a subtle shift away from the real Jesus toward something inside of us or some technique we could master.
Today we’re seeing the same spirit dressed up in Christian language. People talk about faith, healing, the kingdom, and the power of our words.
It can sound so right. But if you listen carefully, the centre quietly moves from the finished work of Christ on the cross over to our own potential, our declarations, or some method for releasing power.
Sometimes God starts to sound more like a force we activate than the personal Lord who became flesh for us.
I have seen and witnessed in some places this ideology comes in gently, through therapeutic language, counselling-style ministry, or healing practices that introduce things the Bible never taught.
You might hear plenty about personal well-being and destiny, while the cross and repentance start to fade into the background. Music, conferences and training programmes often carry these ideas along, and a lot of people don’t even notice the shift happening.
It travels easily, and it has found its way into churches here in the United Kingdom and Scotland just as it has elsewhere.
Sometimes the shift happens in quieter ways, you know a church may decide to avoid clear Bible language or plain talk about the cross, sin, and repentance because it fears people will feel uncomfortable and leave.
The desire to welcome people is right and good. But when we start treating the gospel as something that has to be carefully softened so no one feels uncomfortable, we can drift away from the truth that actually saves.
John’s test still holds: does this keep Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh, and the clear Word of God right at the centre ~ or does it quietly put people’s comfort first?
The Call to Discernment
So, what do we do? We do what John told us to do. We test the spirits. We ask some simple questions of every teaching and every practice:
Does this keep Jesus Christ, the real Jesus who came in the flesh, right at the centre?
Does it bow to the whole counsel of God’s Word, or does it put experience and techniques above the Scriptures?
Does it lift up Christ and what He finished on the cross, or does it lift up us?
John wrote these things so we wouldn’t be led astray. The Holy Spirit who inspired him is still the same today, and He’s given us the clear Word of God to keep us steady. Stay close to the Scriptures, beloved. Keep testing everything. Hold on tight to the real Jesus.
May the Lord keep His people in Scotland, across the United Kingdom, and around the world faithful until He comes.
Peter