Mathew 7:15 ESV

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves

2 Peter 2:1 NLT

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies . . .           

1 John 4:1 NLT

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

Acts 20:28, 30-31 NLT

“So guard yourselves and God’s people. . . I know that false teachers, like wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men among your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

2 Corinthians 11:3,13-14 ESV

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ . . . For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Acts 15:1 NLT

. . . some men from Judea arrived (in Antioch) and began to teach the believers, “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Titus 1:10 NLT

For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation.

1 Timothy 6:20

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge . .

Colossians 2:8 NLT

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

2 John 1:7 NLT

. . . many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body.

Colossians 2:18, 23 ESV

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels . . . These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, they are of no value in stopping the indulgences of the flesh.

Jude 1:4 ESV

For certain people have crept in unnoticed . . . ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality (immorality) and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:1-2 NLT

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. . . For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God. If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God.

2 John 1:7 NLT

I say this because many deceivers have gone out to the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. . .

Matthew 7:17-20 NIV

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruits, so you can identify people by their actions.  

2 Timothy 3:15 NLT

All scripture is inspired by God . . .

You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

Acts 17:11-12 NIV

. . . they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

2 Timothy 3:15-16 NLT

 . . .  to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.     

2 Timothy 4:2-3 NIV

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Ephesians 4:14

We won’t be tossed and blown by every wind of new teaching.  We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.  

John 16:3 NIV

But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. . .

True spiritual leaders:

1.    Hold fast to the truth of who Jesus is.

2.    Bear the fruit of Christ’s character in their lives

3.    What they preach, teach, or proclaim is grounded in the Word of God

4.    What they preach, teach, or proclaim is affirmed by the Holy Spirit.

APOSTLES CREED

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, 

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell, on the third day He arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from there he shall judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting.   

AMEN