Test It By The Truth

Me

T.S. Eliot once asked:

‘Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’

That was said in 1934, before TV, before the internet, before social media.

If he thought the truth was hard to find then, how much more now, when we’re drowning in information but starving for wisdom?

There has long been a struggle to sort through falsehoods and lies.

Think of the urban legends we laugh about, and maybe even believed at one time!

Even in 1710, Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels said it this way

Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it

Today, with our tech, incredible blessings have come from it!

For instance, we have live translation available in everyday devices like Apple Air Pod Pros!

Yet, for every awesome piece of tech, there is a darker use of the same technology

Sometimes the most dangerous lies look the most convincing.

In February 2024, a finance worker at the global engineering firm Arup was in what he thought was a video call with his company’s CFO.

The man looked right. He sounded right.

He gave clear instructions to transfer money.

Everything seemed normal.

But it wasn’t. It was a deepfake video.

The CFO was fake. The entire call was fake.

Within minutes, the company had lost $25 million.

We live in a world voices and faces can be faked

If a video call can deceive, how much more careful must we be about the spiritual voices we listen to!

That’s exactly what John warns us about in 1 John 4:1:

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God.”

Because not every teaching is from God, test it by the truth.

We

And I don’t think this is just my struggle, you’ve felt it too.

That uneasy moment when you’re not sure who or what to believe.

We’ve all been burned by false claims, or been too quick to share something on social media about a big event,

Only to find out later the story wasn’t true, or was greatly exaggerated

If lies can spread so quickly in our world,

Should it surprise us that false teachings spread just as quickly in the early church?

John is saying: don’t be surprised:

This has been a problem from the very beginning.

God

But John doesn’t just warn us and leave us anxious.

He points us to a way forward.

How do we sort through all the noise, all the voices, all the teachings?

John gives us a test, a way to discern what’s true and what’s false

Not Every Teaching is from God (v.1)

We live in a world full of voices.

Teachers, influencers, podcasts, TikToks, even sermons, Not all are from God!

Many sound spiritual. Some even mention Jesus.

But John bluntly warns us: not every message is from God.

The most foundational thing we can do is recognize that not every message about Jesus is trustworthy

We all know examples of the message of the cross, being turned into a weapon of power, cruelty, and control

This is what John has reminding us, that if we follow Jesus, love must show up in our lives, particularly towards each other

This is not about authoritarian control, or a pastor you can’t question, since it does not undermine God to ask hard questions of leaders

John overtly calls us to be discerning, to test the spirits, meaning the message, of anyone who claims to speak for God

Here’s the sticky John gives us: Test the message. Does it point you to Jesus?

I know you might think, well, shouldn’t we be accepting and welcoming as Christians!

Yes- to people walking through our doors

An emphatic no if you are believing something radically false about Jesus

John calls us to be people of love, and people of truth, and that is how we walk and live in the light

Discernment is not about suspicion, it is about clinging to truth

The truth is precious to us because it was precious to Jesus

John 8:31–32 “31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

When the church was first spreading throughout the world in the book of Acts, we see discernment in action and it is praised!

When the church was young and spreading, Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica but faced a riot.

They slipped away at night and went to Berea

So this is what is written about them:

Acts 17:11 “11 The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

They even tested Paul’s own teaching!

Did Paul bristle at this?

No! He praised them for it!

This reminds us that a true teacher doesn’t fear being tested by Scripture; they welcome it!

Ultimately, we should at least be wary, since Jesus warned us to be!

There are wolves seeking to come and devour us, so we need to see if those bringing us a teaching, are wolves dressed as sheep,

Or if they are sheep that God has called to help lead the sheep in the stead of the Shepherd

Because just as John says here, there are many false prophets and teachers who have gone out into the world!

The Test: What do they say about Jesus? (v.2-3)

Since we are called to test and evaluate the messages of teachers are there clear markers for this test?

What should we be looking for as red flags of a false teacher, or a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

It ultimately comes down to the most fundamental truth of Christianity: The Incarnation

The Incarnation is the miracle of the God of the universe becoming human in Jesus Christ

This is the center and heart of Christianity, and if you deny this, you cannot be a Christian

There are many reasons this is important, here are just a few

If Jesus is not fully God, and Fully man (aka the incarnation), then:

There is no cross, meaning no forgiveness and or being made right with God

There is no resurrection, meaning no hope for the dead, no hope of resurrection for us

There is no salvation, we simply remain where God found us, dead in our sin, enslaved to the devil and his worldly systems, living in broken relationships and chasing empty promises of fulfillment

Many today want to claim Jesus for themselves

Whether it’s a world religion making Jesus into a great prophet or teacher

Or secular society claiming the morals of Jesus, using Him to justify their views, saying Christians don’t really understand him

Or those who claim to be Christians, but misrepresent and twist Scripture into something easy and palatable

For instance, the ‘health and wellness’ preaching of guys like Joel Osteen, which boils down to ‘believe in yourself more’, ‘believe in God a little bit ’, so you’ll never be sick, poor, or face any bad thing to you

Ultimately, what does a teaching do, does it actually move us toward Jesus?

Or does it deny or distort what Jesus actually taught?

I really love the song we sing “For His Glory, and My Good”

The first verse of that song captures this truth beautifully,

I have seen my Father's glory Revealed in Jesus Christ And the more that I behold Him The more He satisfies When I gaze upon His beauty When I see Him as I should Then my eyes are lifted upward For His glory and my good

In verse 3, it points to why false teachers get so confused by the cross

See the open arms of Jesus Upon the cross that day What they understood as weakness Deserves my every praise

John goes on to speak to this in verse 5, but the reality is, a false teacher comes from a worldly, false view and so misrepresent the truth

This is why we sing: the more we behold the suffering King on the cross, the more He satisfies

The more we see Him as beautiful, as we should, the more life makes sense, even in difficulty.

I don’t think it’s any accident that when John wrote his gospel, he opened with that beautiful prologue

John 1:14 “14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:16 “16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness,”

There are so many beautiful doctrines within our faith, yet, the Incarnation stands in the center, as the heart of our faith

That God would remain fully God, and become fully human, so he could dwell and live among us revealing his glory

It is through this miracle that we are able to see the Father, for Jesus shows us the Father

Jesus was full of grace and truth, and gave us grace upon grace, all from the fullness of God in Him!

This is the truth we are making sure is protected, because it is profound, it is counter-cultural, after all, who calls God bleeding on a cross, dying a criminals death beautiful

We serve the King of the universe, enthroned in His crucifixion

Crowned in thorns, robed in mockery, exalted not onto a throne, but a cross

It is the culmination of God’s plan.

Centuries before, Isaiah wrote: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”

And here, that term, the good news, or the gospel, is used throughout the Gospels

And now, we see the good news in the bloodied feet of the King of the universe hanging on the cross.

The good news of God becoming man, and dying for us, and then rising again, the incarnation is good news, indeed it is the best news

And it is a truth that we cannot compromise, because to deny it is to deny the very gospel itself.

So we fight against every false teaching that tries to undermine the radical nature of God’s kingdom through the incarnation

It may seem absurd to think of God becoming man, and dying in an excruciating manner, and so of course people want to ease the message!

Yet if you soften the Incarnation, you align with the spirit of the one who is against Christ, the anti-Christ

Our Confidence: Greater is God Within Us (v.4)

That might sound exhausting, always being on guard, always having to discern and filter

Yet, thankfully we have a greater confidence, we have the God of the universe within us!

This is a reminder, a callback to the beginning of chapter 3, when John told us that we are God’s children!

Even more, it echoes to that beautifully written poetic section in chapter 2

He told us that we have been forgiven as God’s Children

That we are young believers who have conquered the evil one

That we are children who have come to know the Father

That we are strong because God’s word remains in us, and we have conquered the evil one!

So we are strong not because of our ability, but because of the One empowering us: God himself

False teachers and prophets may sound incredible, they might be gifted and persuasive speakers

However, truth does not derive itself from smooth tongues, robust vocabulary, and memorable speeches

Our clinging to the truth doesn’t depend on a teacher’s style or popularity

Our desire to cling to truth stems from Jesus’ victory on the Cross

We are testing the messages that people bring, because we love the truth of Jesus, and that truth looks like foolishness to the world

Paul shows us this when he writes to the church in Corinth

1 Corinthians 1:18–19 “18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent.”

1 Corinthians 1:21–24 “21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached. 22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,”

So don’t expect applause when you prize a crucified King

Our entire faith is not based on our ability to argue, but on our faith in Jesus

And the reason the cross is foolish to the world, yet the wisdom for us, is because of what the cross accomplished

On that cross Jesus disarmed and defeated Satan and his powers

So it’s no wonder that those who live in the world of Satan, see only foolishness in a king exalted on a cross

That a kingdom so upside-down, where the last will be first, and God suffers and dies for people who openly rebel against him

Would be mocked by the world’s kingdom, where self-centeredness rules, and greed, power and lust are exalted

Then when Christ was raised, he gave his Spirit to us as the greatest gift to help us fight against all that is against us!

It means we are not alone, we are never alone, because Jesus’ spirit dwells within us, and we are comforted, renewed, and transformed from within by the same God who was enthroned on the cross

Contrast: Worldly vs. Godly (v.5-6)

If only it was that easy, that we could know we have overcome, and therefore have nothing to worry about!

The problem is not purely within the people of God, but also for those we might call ‘seekers’, interested in Jesus, but easily led astray

Since souls are at stake, we must recognize who we are defending against and why their messages are so alluring

This is what John says, they have a message of worldliness, and so it requires so little to join the church, people might as well

When I was at Moody, we had a phrase, ‘90’s youth ministry’

What we meant by that was a stereotype of ministries people often mocked

It is come to the big youth group, it will be fun, sports, pizza, cool music, and lasers!

In essence, the goal was to look as much like the world as possible, to get kids into the door

I do not doubt the sincerity of this approach, but unfortunately, the outcome is what we have seen again and again

Kids who grew up in church, and kids who went to youth group bringing friends, but then walked away from their faith

I think the most foundational reason is this principal,

What you win them with is what you win them to

So if pizza parties, fun and games were what drew you to the church, and you become a young adult and none of those things were present, you didn’t have a reason to stay

It’s easy to build big crowds, it’s much harder to mature a disciple of Christ

I don’t think this is new, it’s just a new flavor of an old problem

Since what John tells us is that we need to listen to the Apostolic faith,

That simply means, we trust the faith that was handed down from Jesus to his disciples, and spread from generation to generation through scripture and tradition

So those who really belong to God, will listen to God’s word, written by his messengers of the Apostles

Those who don’t will reject it

I’ve had the great blessing of seeing this firsthand, not just in my life, but in the life of several young adults

You all have met several of them: Jordan, Justin, Chris

These were guys that showed up for fun, games or girls at various times

Yet when God’s word and Spirit gripped them, suddenly they cared less about fun and more about as the deep studying and knowing of God’s word!

These guys and several other high school/young adults got together and formed a group known as Doulos

This group focused on no games, just deep theology and serious talks about life, politics, friendships, media, and everything, in a Christ-honoring way

When these young kids got together, it became a place of perpetual encouragement, and heavy discussion, but the fruit of that ministry has been pretty incredible,

Several of them are now training for ministry, and the others remain very involved in their local churches helping disciple the next generation

The gospel is not simply a message that we prefer, it is

When we seek to grow in God, it becomes a Spirit-driven synergy with God’s Spirit within us, stirring us to yearn deeply for God’s truth.

Since we know not every teaching is from God, we must test them by diving into and learning the truth!

You

So what do we do with this?

John doesn’t just warn us to test every spirit and then leave us with paranoia.

He wants us to live with discernment and confidence.

That means we don’t have to be gullible, but we also don’t have to be cynical. We test.

And here’s the simple test: Does this point me to Jesus?

That’s the sticking point for us.

When a message, a sermon, a TikTok clip, a podcast, even a conversation with a Christian friend, when it comes into your life, ask:

Does this lift up the real Jesus of Scripture, the Son of God come in the flesh?

If it does, receive it with joy.

If it doesn’t, don’t just let it slide into your soul.

Pause. Compare it with God’s Word. Bring it into the light, and don’t let it marinate in your heart, mind, or soul!

And let me give you some handles for how to do that this week:

Daily filter: Before you share, post, or repeat something, ask yourself,

“Does this honor Christ or just stir noise?” Don’t let your repost be someone else’s stumbling block

I struggle to do this well, particularly on social media, but these last few weeks with Charlie Kirk, it’s been surreal

My initial response was to want to post, to call people out, to show how right I am and wrong they are, but that just stirs up the noise of my ego, it doesn’t really honor Christ

How can we overcome the political drama and tribalism?

How do we get people to see past our partisan views and view the beauty of Christ?

For many of us, it might simply be holding our tongues in the heat of the moment, and not having conversations on FB, but in person

Scripture habit: Like the Bereans, open your Bible daily.

Test sermons, TikToks, podcasts, even this sermon, against God’s Word. That’s noble character.

It also helps you grow in your knowledge to help detect false teaching

You have to know what is true, to combat that which is false!

There is also a secondary blessing from this, it will help mold and shape your theology to be more like Jesus as we grow in him!

Not all theology is false vs true, sometimes it is simply ‘wrong perspective’ of the right idea, and part of us growing to be like Jesus is the blessing of learning and growing in those areas

Community check: Testing is not a solo project!

When you’re unsure about a teaching, process it with mature believers

God gave us the church so we don’t have to discern alone

The voices of long lived wisdom in Christ, are a blessing, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we can lean on the Millenia of church history and theology to help us test and weigh if a teaching is good or bad!

Invitation: And if you don’t yet know Christ, the Spirit of truth will not fully make sense until you become a Christian.

Start there. Receive Jesus. He laid down His life so that His Spirit might live in you

Admit your need for Jesus, and repent and ask forgiveness for the sins you have done

This is the way we are able to enter into eternal life, and be made right with our savior and maker, Jesus!

Friends, the world is noisy.

The voices are many.

But God has not left us without clarity.

His Word, His Spirit, His people, they equip us to test the message

So we can ask, does this point me to Jesus, does it draw me to Jesus?

Ultimately, So that when we cling to Jesus, we will not be led astray

We

Can you imagine what it would look like if we, as a church, really lived this out?

If every time a new teaching, trend, or message popped up, we weren’t tossed around like waves,

But we tested it together against God’s Word?

If instead of being quick to repost, react, or run with the latest headline,

We were known as people who quietly, consistently ask: Does this point to Jesus?

That kind of community would be unshakable

It would be safe

It would shine

Because in a world drowning in information but starving for wisdom, people are desperate for a voice they can trust.

And when they come here, when they meet us, they won’t just hear another opinion.

They’ll encounter the Spirit of truth.

They’ll see lives shaped by Jesus.

And they’ll know there is something foundational to life, something real, something eternal.

Church, that’s what it means to live as children of God in the middle of a noisy world.

Not anxious.

Not naïve.

But discerning, confident, and anchored in Christ.

So let’s be that kind of people. Let’s be that kind of church.

A place where the truth is loved, tested, and lived out.

A place where the Spirit of Christ is obvious in how we speak, how we love, and how we live

A church not tossed by headlines but steady in God’s Word

So the People who are desperate for a trustworthy voice, when they meet us, may they meet Jesus

Benediction

Go now as children of God, filled with His Spirit.

Test every teaching by the truth of Christ, and hold fast to His Word.

And may the One who is greater in you, than he who is in the world

Keep you in full assurance, victory, and holiness.

As we seek to live lives that point us to Jesus Christ our Savior

All God’s people said, Amen.