As we step across the threshold into the fourth chapter of 1 John, we are greeted with a warning: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God."

John originally wrote this letter for multiple reasons. One of them was to combat distortions of the gospel that were rising up in the early churches of his day. His advice to the church then is just as relevant to us today: just because something feels spiritual, doesn't mean it is from God. As followers of Jesus, we should make it a practice to test the teachings we hear against the Word of God: Jesus himself; as well as against the overarching story we see unfolding in scripture.