The Missing Half

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
1 John 4:1 (NIV)

What if the most dangerous thing a false prophet does is not lie to you outright, but just leave something out?

John writes in 1 John 4:1, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." They are out there, John says, on the radio and on television and in the bestselling books. And what makes them so hard to catch is not that everything they say is wrong. It is that they say just enough truth to keep you from noticing what they are not saying.

They will talk about heaven, but never about hell. They will talk about the love of God, but never about the holiness of God. They will talk about redemption, but they will never ask you to repent. The words you will hear most often are love, acceptance, compassion, and Jesus. The words you will almost never hear are holiness, judgment, repentance, and hell. And the only critical word that ever crosses their lips is when they are criticizing someone else for telling you the truth.

This week, think about a teacher or person of influence you have been following and listen specifically for what is missing. Not what sounds good. What is absent? A doctor who only tells you what you want to hear is not being kind. He is being dangerous. A prophet who gives you half the gospel is doing the same thing.

The missing half is not a footnote. It is the whole point.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the gift of Your Word. I want the whole truth, even the parts that are hard to hear Guard my spirit me teachers who make me feel good instead of making me holy. Give me the courage to pursue the complete gospel rather than a comfortable one. In Jesus' Name, Amen.