Would the Real Jesus Christ Please Stand Up? - Guest Post from Lindsey Falls

I am delighted to have my friend, Lindsay Falls, join me here on the blog today to share her words of wisdom with us. You may remember Lindsay from episode 53 of the Home and Hearth podcast or from when she contributed to issue 5 of Spirit-Filled Woman Magazine. She is passionate about equipping women to know the Word and to live in victory as an overcomer in light of its truth.

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Would the real Jesus Christ please stand up?

My Fear of Being Deceived

The fear of being deceived used to constantly nag me. There were very few books I could pick up, sermons I could turn on, resources I could rely on, because I constantly wondered, “What if they’re wrong? I need support, but who can I trust to influence my faith? Where is the real, pure truth, with nothing missing and nothing added?”

You see, I really, really love Jesus. I really, really want to know Him and not just know about Him. I want my life to imitate His. I want to know the voice of the Holy Spirit. I want full intimacy with the Father. The last thing I want is for those things to be tainted.

I’ve been a part of several different denominations, without leaving one to go to another intentionally. I’ve seen so many different expressions of worship. I’ve heard some conflicting sermons. I’ve wanted to grow but not known who to trust. I’ve feared, very deeply, that I would be deceived and that my life would end up in a place Jesus never intended it to.

The Faithfulness of God

God taught me so many things in that season in which He delivered me from the fear of being deceived. I asked for wisdom, and He was faithful to give it. I asked Him tons of questions, and He led me to answers. God does not want His children to live in fear. He sent Jesus to be our peace and has told us that we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Here are some of the ways I practice discernment now:

6 Tips for Practicing Discernment

Trust the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth.That’s His job (John 16:13). We need to be obedient in reading His Word, but we need to also put our faith more in the Holy Spirit’s ability to lead us than in the enemy’s ability to deceive us. If we’re ever off in our thinking somewhere, we have to trust that the Holy Spirit will do His job in leading us back into truth. We also must check where our trust is placed. Is our trust placed in the Holy Spirit’s ability to lead and guide us into truth? Or have we overly trusted a pastor/teacher with that job? I’ll be the first to say that I’ve had some incredible pastors and teachers speak into my life that have been anointed for their calling. But first and foremost? I trust Jesus. If you’re sensing any red flags in what you’ve been taught, search the matter out in the Scriptures. Not from a place of pride and trying to prove a point, but from a place of humility, desiring to genuinely know the truth.
Read the Bible the most. I like Christian books. I like podcasts. But the only book I 100% trust is the Bible. Read it more than you read other resources. Listen to the Bible more than you listen to podcasts. Because this is the only book that is alive, whose Author’s opinion will never change, whose Words will wash you and has the power of the Spirit on the pages. We need to know the Word to discern true from almost true. Because I believe this, I always pray these two things before I start reading: “Jesus, open my mind to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45)”, and “Please correct me if I’m off course”. Praying this prayer sets me free from worry! I no longer worry if I’m off somewhere or feel the need to search my heart with a magnifying glass, because I trust the Holy Spirit will do His job of teaching me and convicting me when necessary.
Stay under multiple teachers. Let’s not be in an echo chamber of teachers that are all basically saying the same thing, speaking at the same conferences, and best friends with each other. I’m careful to a fault about who I allow to influence me. I pray about who I should listen to, and try to not listen to just one denomination’s theology. Today, there are some people I won’t read or listen to because I can see off the bat that they do not uphold some of the values I have, and I’m certainly not suggesting to listen to heresy. I think there can be multiple acceptable interpretations of Scripture, and I don’t think because one person’s interpretation of Scripture is different from yours (within reason) that that makes them a heretic.
“For we now know in part…”. “For we now know in part” is part of 1 Corinthians 13:9. Verse 10 goes on to say, “for when completeness comes, what we know in part disappears.” I don’t know about you, but I can breathe a little easier knowing that every Christian not yet in Heaven knows only in part. I will spend the rest of my life discovering more truth, and on the day I die, I will not have yet known everything there is to know. Jesus never asked us to know it all and have perfect theology by the time we get to Heaven. My rightness does not make me righteous. Jesus, who knew no sin, that became sin for me, so that I may become the righteousness of God is my righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Do not let the fact that you won’t know everything until you see Jesus face to face cause you to be stagnant in your pursuit of understanding Him. See the things that you have yet to understand as an invitation to seek them out instead of a reason to freeze in confusion.
Humility, humility, humility. It’s okay to say, “I could be wrong, but my current understanding is…” Sometimes I hear someone say something in church or a small group that I’m not familiar with, and instead of thinking “they’re wrong, or they’re deceived”, I think “Maybe I haven’t learned that yet. Can you tell me more?” As much as I try to be careful about who I listen to or read, I’m equally as prayerful to maintain a teachable spirit. Pride will stunt your spiritual growth. Humility fertilizes the soil so that truth can grow!
You can be right in the wrong way. Truly, you can have great theology. Study the Scriptures for hours a day. But if the truth that we’ve learned is communicated without love, gentleness, and respect, then we’ve missed it. We must also take care to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer! If in our pursuit of knowing God, we lose touch of the simplicity of the Gospel and the commands to love God and love people, then let’s slow down. Let’s practice what we read and not lose sight of the big picture. If studying theology is causing you to know God more and therefore love Him more, keep going. If studying theology is causing you to get bogged down in details and dims your love for Jesus, then pull back. Because the aim of our lives, more than having perfect theology, is to love the Lord our God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

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About the Author:

Lindsey Falls is a woman who passionately pursues God’s heart and lives to show and tell others about it. She’s a wife, mom of three boys, and writer who lives in Austin, TX. Lindsey loves to encourage people to walk victoriously as more than overcomers, to live abundantly, and to share His heart with others. You can connect with her on Instagram at @lindseyfalls, where she regularly shares truth and encouragement.