Test the Teaching

On the morning of December 21, 1866, about 2,000 Native American warriors surrounded Fort Phil Kearney, unbeknownst the soldiers that occupied the Fort. It was a particularly cold day in the area that we now know as Wyoming. The struggle between the United States and the natives in the western region was escalating with conflict growing yearly. On this particular day, the native band had a strategy that was led in part by Crazy Horse, the famous warrior. Crazy Horse rode out, along with 10 other warriors, in plain sight of the soldiers at Fort Kearney. Shots from the fort rang out toward the warriors and they began to flee. However, it was all a ruse; Crazy Horse was a decoy. A contingent of 80 soldiers, led by Colonel Fetterman took the bait and chased down the natives but were quickly surrounded by 2,000 warriors. They were trapped and it is said that over 40,000 arrows were shot at the soldiers. Despite their best efforts of survival, not one of them survived. The decoy worked. It is now known today as the Fetterman massacre. Trickery and deception are common military strategies that have been employed by military forces throughout the ages. It is interesting to note that the strategy used by Crazy Horse was almost identical to the one used by Joshua and the Israelites as they conquered Ai. I see the use of trickery and deception not only on the battlefield but also used in a spiritual sense by the great enemy, the Devil. Spiritual deception is alive and well. Spiritual deception is using a façade of godliness or spirituality to mask a lie that is not of God. Much like a military decoy, a spiritual decoy is often used to entice people to follow which ultimately leads to their doom. This morning John will remind us rather than believing everything, we are called to test every teaching to determine if it is from God or not.

This section of Scripture is not necessarily new teaching in the letter of 1 John, as we have been warned about false teachers earlier in the letter, specifically in 1 John 2:16-25. However, in this passage, John is giving us a command that not only are we aware of false teachers, but we need to test everything that we hear and encounter. Verse 1 is going to serve as the key idea in this passage and then the rest of the verses will build upon that command. John begins by giving two commands, verbs that are in the imperative form. Do Not believe and Test. There is a word that we use for people who will believe anything that they hear: gullible. A gullible person will believe or fall for anything. We know people like that, don’t we? Anything that is presented as fact, is believed without looking critically to determine if it is true. This is especially true in the day of the internet and social media. One of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln: “The thing about quotes from the internet is it is hard to verify their authenticity.” Now, if you didn’t catch that, you might need another coffee this morning. While sometimes we have a good laugh at a gullible person, it takes on a much deeper meaning when it comes to the spiritual life.

John says several important things in this passage. For one, he connects the idea of the Spirit in verse 24 and the spirit that are in the world. What does he mean by test the spirits? Well, spirit here is likely meant to contrast the spirit of God. Behind every false teacher and false doctrine, there is a spirit that does not come from God but comes from the devil. False teachers have been around for a long time and this is something that the Bible speaks about. The Old Testament gives specific instructions on how to test the false prophets from the true prophets. If a prophet prophesies something and it doesn’t come to be, they are not of God (Deut. 18:22). If someone prophesies something that comes to be, but they encouraged the people to follow other gods, they are not the words of the prophet (Deut. 13:1-5). All throughout the Bible, we see the need to be careful regarding false prophets. Today, that is especially true. There are false teachings that are presented as true. Perhaps it is a book, or a popular TV preacher or someone on the radio, or even a pastor behind the pulpit. John calls us to not simply believe but to test everything. That word to test refer to a critical examination to test the authenticity of something. This is so important because John reminds us that many false prophets have gone into the world. They are out there, spreading their lies. What are you testing, exactly? Are the from God or not.

Test what they teach

One of the most important aspects of testing the spirits is testing the content of the teaching. In this portion of the letter, John is addressing his particular context. We’ve talked in length before, but it seems likely that the false teachers that John encountered were those who questioned that Jesus was God in the flesh. Many claimed that it only appeared that Jesus had a physical body, or that he was some sort of phantom. The biblical record is this that Jesus was fully God and fully man, and the Son of God did not begin to exist at the incarnation but he has always existed from eternity past. The incarnation is when Jesus stepped into humanity. This is the biblical record. You can be wrong about a lot of things but you don’t want to be wrong about Jesus. Good theology rises and falls on Jesus Christ.

I want you to see something else behind the text. Someone who claims to be a teacher or preacher, they are not inspired in of themselves. They represent a spirit, either the Spirit of God or the spirit of the antichrist. Remember, antichrist here means against Christ. John doesn’t want us to miss the spiritual side of things that might exist below the surface. It is tempting to chalk up different teachings as different opinions as if we are disagreeing on something that lacks real importance. John pulls us back and says no, this is of vital importance… they are either of God or the antichrist. Therefore we must test everything that is taught. What has distressed me over the past number of years is a lack of discernment on the part of individual believers that sit in the pews, churches all over the world. Part of this lack of discernment is that you can’t test something you don’t know! The reason that people oftentimes fall for error is that they don’t know the truth very well. If it sounds close it must be true… right? Wrong! You’ve heard this illustration before, but it bears repeating. Experts in detecting counterfeit money don’t spend their time studying the counterfeits, they spend their time studying the real thing. As I was looking into this, I found myself on the Uscurrency.gov and in a training course on understanding US currency and how to spot a counterfeit. Sure enough, they didn’t go through all the ways someone might counterfeit money but they focused on the unique features that our currency has. Everything from color-shifting ink, holograms, watermarks, security threads and micro-printing. Microprinting fascinated me because I hadn’t noticed this before. On most of our money, there are areas in the bill in which there is a phrase that is printed that can’t be read without some form of magnification. On a $100 bill there is printed the phrase The United States of America on Benjamin Franklin’s collar. When we are testing the teaching of others, we would be wise to not neglect the small things. They may have the appearance of credibility, but the small things may give them away.

Test their audience

In verses 4-6, John is going to contrast those who listen as either from God or from the world. Remember, with the word world he refers to the realm of sin that is under the control of the enemy. Verse 4 seems to represent an encouragement to the people that John is writing. At times it seems that those who are passing false teaching, seem to gain some sort of notoriety or recognition in the world. Of course, this isn’t always true. When it is true, though, it may cause faithful Christians to despair that false teaching runs rampant. However, John is reminding us that although they profess to be from God, they aren’t really from God and that we should not despair or fear those who are tripping up from a spiritual perspective. Our greatest comfort is that the Holy Spirit that lives inside of every true believer. This Spirit is far greater than any false teacher or doctrine that crops up. We aren’t comparing two equal doctrines. One is far superior because it has different origins. One is from God and One is ultimately from the Devil.

As we are evaluating these different false teachings that crop up, one of our means of testing is to look at the audience and those who receive the message. John reminds us here in verse 5 that false teachers are from the world. They are from this realm that operates not under God but the realm of the evil one. There is a worldliness to their teaching that doesn’t pass muster. While there may seem to be a measure of truth to their teaching, we must be alarmed when their teaching is accepted by people who do not truly believe. When we are testing something, the question is: who is listening, who is receiving this message. Typically, those who accept and fall under false teachers will not accept but will reject orthodox Biblical doctrine. This is where false teaching begins to unravel, it always leads away from true biblical doctrine and ends up in a warped understanding of it. I am thinking of several false groups and there is a common thread. One has created their own Scriptures to back up what they have said. Another has come up with their own translation of the Bible to back up what they are saying. Still others will rely on twisted interpretations of the Bible. It will always come out that those who follow false teaching will deny in some way true biblical doctrine.

John goes on to say that we are from God. The we refers to all the people who have heard the message of Christ and believed. This could also refer to those who are proclaiming the true message of Christ that is found in God’s Word. John’s point is clear and well-taken: those who are from God hear and respond to their message, which is our message, the true message of the Gospel. So when I look at a preacher or a person who is sharing a message, part of the testing is to determine, what about their audience and the people that hear that message. Are they listening to the full council of God? This is why it is ever important that we have faithful biblical preaching and teaching in our churches and in our homes. We must teach people how to rightly handle the word of God. This is why I regularly encourage you to be in God’s word, not just to check a box or for knowledge, but for growth and for protection against those who lead you astray. When we listen and follow those who teach and preach God’s word, we will never be led astray.

Possibly a story about almost getting sucked into false teaching.

Are you showing discernment in your own life? Do you simply believe everything that you hear or do you try to evaluate the teaching that you come across? There is another side of this that we must be aware of. If we continue to watch, listen, and read the content of people that are spewing false doctrine, we are only feeding them what they want: notoriety. We must not follow false teachers and we must learn to be critical thinkers of everything that we hear. This is true for all of us. One of the greatest legacies that we can pass down to our children and grandchildren is that we are devoted learners of God’s Word. I want my kids to see my regularly studying God’s Word until I am advanced in years because it shows that we are never beyond the need to study and grow.