Testing Truth?

1 John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  41:42
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1 John 4:1–6 ESV
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 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. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Fake News?

"Don't believe everything" is good advice, especially in our world today, we receive so much information and news. How trustworthy is the news source and reporting? Should we regard every person who claims to be a reporter as reliable and authoritative? Hopefully, you know that not all voices of authority can be trusted, and some caution is always a good idea when listening to the reporters, whether in print or video. The church of John’s day had to be reminded that they needed to be cautious with those that came to their fellowship claiming spiritual authority. Let’s look at how John equips the believers to evaluate what they heard from others.

Don’t Believe Everything

Some people are ready and willing to mislead you for their benefit. But John’s command occurs within a specific context. So let’s examine the situation. In John’s day, people met together for “church” in groups of twenty to thirty people, in houses for worship and fellowship. There were many of these “house” churches in the Roman Empire as new people came to Christ through the preaching of the gospel. The majority of the New Testament is made up of letters that guide these churches. John, like Paul, would often send messengers with letters to guide and encourage them. But there were also others who visited these churches who acted as traveling teachers or speakers who hoped to gain an audience of eager listeners. Some spoke the truth, and others had destructive teaching. John commands them to listen carefully and take time to evaluate their message and conduct.
John directs the “beloved” those who are believers to test. Notice that he does not lay this responsibility only on the elders, deacons, and leadership. All believers ought to be allowed to ask basic questions about God’s truth and conclude that something is “off”. Every believer has the right and responsibility to test what they hear from a person who is in a position of spiritual authority. We should not blindly accept the message of all people who claim to be a pastor, teachers, or other spiritual position. Those who have spiritual teaching responsibilities have a higher judgment. James 3:1
James 3:1 ESV
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
The goal of testing the teacher is not to prove that they don’t know everything, for no one can be such an expert on all things. The goal of the test is to determine if they are teaching false doctrine. John warns that false prophets will come to their setting sooner or later. So they need to be ready to test their message.

The Test: Jesus

John has compared being in the world and being in Christ and concludes that you cannot be in the middle. Your actions and beliefs will prove which side you are on. And this applies to the “spirits”. What are we to make of this term? From the context, we can conclude that it refers to a person and their message that is inspired by a spirit. A person’s message has a spiritual source. In the Old Testament, a prophet spoke a message from the Holy Spirit. A false prophet spoke from another source not associated with God.
Believers are to evaluate what they “confess”. This is not a confession of sins as in 1 John 1:9, but a way that describes what they publicly proclaim. This is the test, namely, what they teach about Jesus. Let’s consider the following concepts from John’s test questions.
Who are we to test?
• Those with official positions, appointed by groups or self-appointed.
• Those who present themselves with spiritual direction, authority, or leadership.
• Those who claim to speak for God.
What are we to test?
Faithfulness to the Gospel and the identity of Jesus Christ according to scripture.
• Is Jesus human and divine?
• Is Jesus the only solution for the sin and separation for all people?
• Is Jesus recognized as Lord?
Is Jesus just a man, or only some spirit being? If he is more than a human, what is he? Is Jesus the Creator? Did he exist before time or was He created? If he is both human and God, how is this possible?
If we answer the first question by affirming that Jesus is uniquely God and human through the incarnation then we move to testing whether He is God’s solution for humanity. The incarnation shows us that God is all powerful to save us by sending us Jesus to represent us as sinners and provide the only solution. God makes a covenant with himself for us that He upholds by himself, so we can only conclude that we are saved by God apart from anything we can do.
If one is not able to answer these with a confident and emphatic YES. We need to be careful and ask more questions.

Testing Today

John encourages the believers to stand in the truth and use it to verify the multiple sources of spiritual authority they may encounter. This may seem overwhelming to think that people intentionally want to deceive or unintentionally mislead because of false teaching. How do we address this in our modern setting? Let’s compare how things have changed. Today, most believers in America gather in larger official settings and buildings. We have greater access to Bibles resources. But false prophets and spirits still exist, so we still need to test the spirits. New versions of old false ideas will continually arrive at our doorstep.
While it is true that we are to test the spirit, we ought to be careful not to become a type of interrogating community suspicious of every person that comes into the doors. It is good to talk about the Bible and discuss fundamental truths. You may help another person who has a foundation in the Bible grow deeper. Consider the example of Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18:24-28, who helped Apollos grow in his understanding of the gospel. And later, Apollos became a powerful speaker, “showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. If we encounter another person that seems a bit “off,” may we be used by God to help explain the things of God “more accurately”. Remember, this is not a personal attack but an evaluation of truth.
We may conclude that if a spiritual leader, teacher, pastor, or movement has an orthodox statement of faith, all is good. Following Christ and being faithful to scriptures is more than just agreeing to some list of items or creeds. Should we not evaluate our methods and emphasis? Quite often, the method we choose to use can affect the message. Let’s look at some areas that need a re-evaluation.

Modern Concerns

Christian Music?

Music - I grew up listening to Gospel Music. My favorite artist
Lyrics:
I tell them Jesus was (Wounded)
For my transgressions (Transgressions)
And He was bruised (Bruised)
For my inequities (Inequities)
They've got to know that it's the truth That Jesus (He was sent from the Father) Jesus (He's a great Messiah) Jesus (He's bread for the hungry) Jesus (He's water for the thirsty) Jesus (He's hope for the hopeless) Jesus (He arose from the dead) Jesus (Just like He said) Every knee shall bow Every tongue confess That Jesus is Lord That Jesus is Lord
Lyrics
For those who don't know just what to do Here's the Bible of love for you Let it be a blessing every day Every step of the way You don't have to be in fear of rejection Know that it's only God's direction No matter the religion or your faith It's the Bible of love today Bible of love, Bible of love Till the haters get the message Bible of love
I am not criticizing the music style or production (some might) but I am looking at the content of their message and the fruit of their life. Is their “gospel music” a product of their life in Christ, or a product for their financial portfolio? And how much should we care about musicians, songwriters, performers? They are not spiritual leaders or people in positions within the church. Some are. Some are not. But whatever we do in word or deed, we ought to do it for the glory of God and that others might know the truth of the God we worship.

New Age - Old Thoughts

I grew up hearing warnings about the New Age movement, which is not really new at all. The movement is not strictly organized but rather a general category of thought that combines Eastern mysticism in fresh ways. Here are some key concepts of this thinking:
• Strong emphasis on the unity of all things. “All is one; one is all”. “God is in all things, and all things are in God.”
• Since all things are united, I am God, and God is me. “god consciousness”
• A new reality is possible as we progress/evolve in unity and grow in the knowledge of self.
• We can create a new reality through our thoughts, positive mental attitude, or manipulation of energies/life forces (channeling).
While the promises of enlightenment, peace, healing in New Age thought are appealing, they ultimately bypass reality and God’s path for life. We might assume that the average believer would recognize these ideas and be able to avoid them; however, bits and pieces of this thought have crept into churches. Consider the following erosion of truth.
Claim: Spirituality is a way to find truth; therefore, any spiritual path can lead us to God.
Problem: Scripture gives us only one path; all other alternatives are false. Jesus is Christ alone. There is no other.
Claim: This teacher/person is using Bible verses concepts from; therefore, he/she must be correct.
Seeker Sensitive Emphasis
There are many churches today that have come to the conclusion that they can effectively use business models and methods to increase our effectiveness in bringing people to Christ. I am not talking about using things like a church board or accountant to manage things, I am focusing on the transformation of the Sunday gathering from the emphasis of prayer, Biblical preaching, and Christian fellowship to the emphasis of spectacular entertainment, minimal Biblical preaching, and audience management. We cannot make the mistake of assuming that our methodology does not affect our message. My criticism is not about size but what is presented as worship, fellowship, and study of scripture.

Jesus our Foundation

John reminds the believers that despite the challenge of the world poses against them, and despite the presence of those who would desire to sway them away from God’s truth, they should place their confidence in God. God is greater. God is bigger. God is stronger. And if our God is greater, then all He gives to us is greater than what the world could ever offer to us. Christ is the foundation that is frequently being undermined by those who reject Christ. But this foundation is also at risk from those who call him Savior. When we water down our message, we chip away at our foundation. When we make God the side-attraction to our main event, we erode our foundation. When we replace the power of the gospel with our backup strategy instead of our call, we are building our hope on sinking sand. Let us remain in the truth, for it comes from God, who is both eternal and greater than all things.
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