I John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
To “try” is to test and evaluate by comparing what is seen and heard to an established standard. In this case, our Lord has established His Holy Word as the Standard. All philosophies, teachings, doctrines, and practices must be compared to The Standard. We believe that God has provided the Standard to us, in the English Language, in the King James Translation of His Holy Word. There are many “spirits” that reject The Standard and have “gone out into the world” and developed their own versions according to their own natural bent. We are plainly told to “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (I Corinthians 15:33); that is, communicating false doctrines will lead to bad behaviors. Many, in our day, are trying to promote bad behaviors as acceptable and normal. But, when the bad teachings and behaviors are compared to The Standard, they are shown to be false and unacceptable. Every creditable jeweler will test their stones to make sure that they are real. A metallurgist will test the metals to make sure that they will hold up under the load that they are expected to bear. A soldier will test his weapons to make sure that they will perform properly in the heat of battle. A judge will compare what is presented in court to what is recorded in The Law. Similarly, the Bereans “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11); that is, they compared what they were hearing and seeing to “the scriptures” (The Standard). They didn’t just simply accept it because it sounded good or because some articulate speaker was professing it. They personally went to “the scriptures”, the Word of God, and searched it to make sure that what they were hearing was The Truth. Let us likewise be true and faithful to our God and “try the spirits whether they are of God” by comparing everything we see and hear and think to the Word of God!