Testing Spiritual Impulses
By John Wesley
IMPULSES.—Give no place to a heated imagination. Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions, or revelations, to be from God. They may be from him. They may be from nature. They may be from the devil. Therefore, “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God.” Try all things by the written word, and let all bow down before151it. You are in danger of enthusiasm every hour, if you depart ever so little from Scripture; yea, or from the plain, literal meaning of any text, taken in connection with the context. And so you are, if you despise or lightly esteem reason, knowledge, or human learning; every one of which is an excellent gift of God, and may serve the noblest purpose.—John Wesley.