Who Will You Believe?

Intro: We have been go through this series through the book of 1 John, A World Apart. We have seen this tension where we are people who live in this world, we have jobs, go to school, we live life in this world and yet we are called to be people that are not of this world.

Jesus, has called us and given us the faith to believe in him. He has called out of the darkness and into the light and as we turn to him, leave our sin behind, and trust in Jesus, he washes us from all our sin .

God forgives us and we enter into a right relationship with God the Father, through the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus the Son, and the father and son give us the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in the light, walk in the newness of life he has given us. But how do we know, we are walking in the newness of life? How do I know if I have eternal life? How do I know if I am in the world but not of the world. John wrote this book to answer those questions, so we can know we have eternal life, now!

He gives us some tests, which are:

The Moral Test - Do you live like you believe in Jesus?

English Standard Version Chapter 2

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

The Social Test - Do you love others like Jesus loves them?

English Standard Version Chapter 2

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth

The Belief Test - What do you believe about Jesus?

English Standard Version Chapter 1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

The Apostle John, is coming alongside us in th 21st century and letting us know, Jesus is real, he came to this earth, I have touched him, heard him, I have seen him. I have seen him love the outcast, the widows, tax collectors and prostitutes. I have watched him love like no one else.

John’s words are travelling to us from the first century and he is proclaiming to us “I have seen the way this Jesus has lived. Innocent, sinless, they had to lie and spread lies about him in order to get him crucified. Jesus is the most loving and morally righteous person that lives. But Jesus is more than just a righteous loving person he is God the messiah come in the flesh to live the life we couldn’t live in order to die the death that we deserved so that we can live the life he purposed us to live. John is saying I know that he is real, just as real as the chair you are sitting on right now.

So who will you believe?

Let me let you in on a little secret, discipleship is important to us here at Fellowship Espanol and Fellowship Bible Church in general. So much so that we have come up here and have encouraged and sometimes urged you to go to the connection center and sign up for a discipleship group.

I have some news for you… are you ready for it… If Darius was up here I would ask him for a drum roll… you ready for the news.

Everyone here, every single person in this building from the youngest to the oldest , everyone is in a discipleship group. Yes every single person, amazing right.

Here is the bad news, some of us are in discipleship groups we shouldn’t be in.

Some of the D-Groups we are in are led by the TV & Movie industry, others by the music industry, some by our political alliances, some of us are being discipled by pop culture. We are allowing these D-Groups to form our thoughts and beliefs about what we think about Jesus, the Bible, Church, Marriage, Gender, Sexuality, life.

Who will you believe? That is what John is asking you today.

This is nothing new, this is the same problem going on in John’s day

English Standard Version Chapter 2

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

John is telling us that false teachers and prophets infiltrated the church and began spreading false teaching about who Jesus was and what he taught and many people were leaving the church, and this was causing doubts among believers, they left the church because they began to buy into the lies their discipleship group was telling them.

We have the same problem today, people grow up in church, or give their life to Christ but never develop a foundation to stand on. Then some other group comes along and whispers in their ear, man here is the truth over here, man you believe that,

if God is love man, there is no such thing as hell.

Did you know Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven?

Just follow your heart, it will lead you to the truth...

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who should understand it?”

If you go to church and a good person you will be ok...

Jesus doesn’t care about your sexuality, you can be whatever you want, love wins...

Matthew 19:4-6

Jesus is just another good person, like Gahndi or Budda, I can take my own path and still make it to heaven...

John 14:6

Who will you believe?

I. Test The Teaching

A. John’s Command (vs 1)

What does John mean by spirit here, John is referring to the spiritual source of the teaching or doctrine. what John is telling us that every teaching has a spiritual source. A teaching is either true and from the Spirit of God or false and from the spirit of deceit or error.

1. don’t believe every spirit

2. but test the spirit

i. The Purpose behind the command

English Standard Version Chapter 4

to see whether they are from God

To discover if the teaching from God. Is it truth that we should live by and live for, should it guide or lives. Ig not then we should reject it.

ii. The Reason for the command

English Standard Version Chapter 4

for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The reason we are to test the teachings to see if they are from God, is because there are false teachers and prophets out there who lead you away from the truth into error.

Our society is quickly becoming more pluralistic when it comes to religion and faith, there are competing beliefs and religious systems out in the world. Those competing beliefs have Discipleship leaders and D- groups of their own ready to disciple you. John says beware of the these false teachers/prophets who will deceive you.

B. John’s Test

John is very clear and concise, by this you know the Spirit of God. That is what i like about John, he is very black and white, there is light and darkness, love and hate, truth and error. so what is the test

1. What do they believe about Jesus?

John says,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

Every teaching that confesses Jesus, the Messiah has come in the flesh is from God.

As Christians we believe in the person of Jesus there are two natures, Jesus is God so he is divine. But when he was sent from heaven to earth, born of Mary, Jesus took on a human nature. Jesus is 100% God but he is also 100% human. He was hungry, he cried, Jesus experienced sadness, betrayal, compassion. He lived life on earth like us, yet he was without sin, like Hebrews 2 tells us.

In John’s day there was a group who who denied the humanity of Jesus and John is letting them know any group that changes, takes away or adds to what God has revealed to us about Jesus from his Word, is not from God.

So how do we know which belief system or D- Group is telling the truth?

Here is John’s test...

Every false teaching and false belief system will distort or change something about who Jesus is or what Jesus taught.

2. What happens if they deny who Jesus is or what Jesus taught?

i. They are not from God

John tells us very plainly anyone who changes, distorts or adds to who Jesus was or what Jesus taught is not from God and if they are not from God we are to reject them.

ii. The spirit of the anti-christ

John tells us if anyone denies who Jesus is or what Jesus taught they are against christ.

Too often we get caught up in last days propaganda and when this word anti- christ pops up we begin to think who is the anti-christ.

John says the spirit of the anti christ is already working in the world through all these competing belief systems, concern yourselves with avoiding falling into their traps and deceptions.

John is concerned with you knowing about the anti-christs which are trying to deceive you now.

3. What is John assuming about believers in this passage?

If the way to tell the difference between truth from error, true belief system and false belief systems, true teaching and false teaching is to filter it through who the Bible tells Jesus is and what Jesus taught, what is John assuming about us?

John is assuming that we as Christians know who the real Jesus is and what the real Jesus taught.

There lies the problem, many people get deceived by false belief systems and false teachings because they really do not know the truth of who Jesus is and what Jesus teaches. They have never been discipled concerning what the Bible teaches. This is why getting involved in a discipleship group here at the church is vital to you life as Christian.

II. You, They We

In verses 4-6, John begins his statements emphasizing 3 pronouns You, They, We.

A. You

To believers he writes. You, little children

1. You are from God

2. You have overcome them

3. Why are you from God and have overcome them?

B. They

John now sets his sights on the false teachers

1. They are from the world

2. They speak from the world

3. The world listens to them

C. We

Who is the we here? John has already spoken to believers, spoken to false teachers, so who is the we? When John says “we are from God” who is he talking about?

1. The apostles.

John says look I do not know who these jokers are but I do know they were not with me when I spent 3 years with Jesus. We the apostles are from God, sent by God to spread the Gospel.

God in his wisdom inspired the Apostles and Prophets with the Holy Spirit, so that we can have God’s word from thousands of years ago, right at our fingertips.

John is saying We, this Bible, this is from God and if you are from God you will listen to us, you listen to God’s word. My sheep hear my voice and obey it .

English Standard Version Chapter 4

By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Who will you believe?