Right now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute! I don't want to start doubting my friends or suddenly become suspicious of them." If they are true friends, knit to your heart in the Spirit of Christ, you have nothing to fear in examining your relationships with them. You should look at all your friendships in the light of Scripture.
It is easy to determine whether your close friendships are of God, or if they have been planted by the enemy to destroy you. Simply think of your best friend, and then answer these questions:
* Does he (or she) gossip, backbite or speak evil of others?
* Is he argumentative about Scripture, a continual debater never
coming to truth?
* Does he call godly people "Pharisees"?
* Do you detect in his words a spirit of disobedience, envy or
suspicion?
* Does he spew out poisonous words against his spouse?
* Has he succeeded in planting unkind thoughts in your mind
about others?
* Have you begun to join him in spewing out bitterness?
If your friend fits this description—and you are being drawn farther away from Jesus because of this friendship—then you can know the devil has planted that person in your life. He has the spirit of Ahab and he has been sent to destroy the work of Christ in you!
On the other hand, a true, godly friend will always take the side of God's Word in any matter, and not just your side because you are friends. Such a friend will not counsel you in the bitterness of sin. Instead, he will love you enough to tell you the truth.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful Proverbs 27:6
~David Wilkerson~
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