Discerning Truth & Error Pt 2
1John 4:1-6
REVIEW
I. THE GOD OF LIGHT AND HIS CHILDREN OF LIGHT 1-2
II. THE GOD OF LOVE & HIS CHILDREN OF LOVE 3-4
The logic of John’s letter is really quite simple.
God is light (pure) and God is love (passionate).
Because of His great love, He invited us into His community or family.
Because of His purity He had to send Jesus to restore life and bear sin.
As children of the God of light and love we are encouraged and enabled to live purely and love passionately.
INTRODUCTION
Last week we extracted some basic principles concerning false teachers and prophets from chapter 4 of John’s first letter.
1. Actively test the origin of every teaching
Beloved, stop believing every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
John’s readers had been indiscriminately accepting everyone who claimed to speak for God. He reminded them to be careful because false prophets are already in the world. Peter reminded his readers that false prophets have been in the world since Old Testament times and would increase in the latter days. It is necessary to carefully evaluate teachers, their teaching and the spirit who motivates them.
2. The Holy Spirit always affirms the person and work of Christ. 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
The Scripture teaches that Jesus was, is and will forever maintain His full and complete humanity alongside His full and complete divinity. Anyone claiming to speak by the Holy Spirit will always affirm and embrace the truth of Christ’s incarnation (deity taking on humanity).
3. The unholy spirit (anti-Christ) resists the person and work of Christ 4:3
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
This is the flip side. Anyone claiming to speak by the Holy Spirit but denying the incarnate nature of Christ is not. Satan can intellectually acknowledge Jesus but will not embrace Him or affirm His person and work. He is anti-Christ, against Christ. He will let people talk about God but vehemently opposes any teaching concerning the true nature and work of Jesus Christ.
4. God’s children overcome false spirits and teachers by the presence and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 4:4
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
How can I avoid deception? How can we ever hope to get victory? John quickly reassures them that they have no reason to fear. They can and already have overcome the attempts of the anti-Christ to disseminate their evil teaching through the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit who indwells them.
5. The world listens to their own who speak from the world 4:5
They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.
The world listens to the teaching of false prophets because they speak their language. The world will be drawn to their teaching. It strikes a chord in their unregenerate mind. They tell them what they want to hear.
6. God’s children listen to God’s messengers who are from God. 4:6a
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The use of “we” is most likely a primary reference to the authorized messengers of God; namely the inspired apostles. “he who knows God” most likely refers to the rest of God’s followers. God’s followers listen to the clear word of God spoken through the inspired writers of Scripture. Their heart resonates with the truth. True believers look for truth in the Word of God.
7. You can discern truth and error by paying attention to the Word. 4:6b
By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
By what? By listening to the Word! The authoritative Word of God exposes the error of the anti-Christ. There can be false visions and dreams and messages. The Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict what He inspired in the first place in the written Word. John instructs his readers to be discerning. Don’t believe every teacher simply because they claim to speak from God. Test the teaching against foundational truth.
Note: Doctrine is not something to be shunned. Doctrine refers to teaching or clear statements of Biblical truth. We need to test teaching against foundational doctrine; namely, the person and work of Jesus and the Word of Jesus.
THE FIVE TESTS OF FALSE TEACHERS AND THEIR TEACHING
1. The centrality of the person and work of Jesus Christ
Any teaching that does not make and keep Christ absolutely central to its teaching is suspect.
There must be clarity concerning his nature.
We must neither diminish His deity nor deny His humanity. Since His conception by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary’s womb, He is forever the God/Man. He is full and absolute deity and full and completely human.
There must be clarity concerning his priority.
Any teaching or teacher that does not keep the emphasis on Christ and His redemptive work should be carefully scrutinized. Even an overemphasis on the Holy Spirit should be cautiously considered. The Holy Spirit will never take preeminence over Jesus.
He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. John 16:14
There must be clarity concerning His work.
Any teaching that complicates the Gospel message of Christ and Him crucified is suspicious.
Any teaching that clutters this basic truth with ritual or added steps to relationship with God should be held suspect. Any group that claims to be the way to God or the only true church dethrones Christ from his rightful place as the only door, the way, the truth, the life.
Any individual who claims to be the doorway to deeper relationship with God should be resolutely rejected. Many today seek to build their own personal kingdoms rather than the kingdom of God. Follow the money. Follow the glory. Follow the power. If Christ is not exalted before everything, the Holy Spirit is not behind anything.
There must be emphasis on deeper devotion to Christ.
We should also consider carefully any teacher who draws attention to himself rather than be a signpost pointing us to Jesus. The goal must always be deeper devotion to Christ.
There must be an emphasis on the purposes of Christ rather than the pleasure of man.
We should beware of teaching that appeals to my whim over Christ’s will; my gain over Christ’s glory; what we can get over what we can give; my pleasure over Christ’s’ purpose.
Try to evaluate the objective of the teacher. Are they trying to entertain? Are they trying to tell me what I want to hear or what I need to hear?
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Does the teacher focus on the clear teaching of the Word of God or are they spending time in speculation concerning things not clearly revealed just for entertainment value? Are they trying to appeal to my curiosity to my conscience? Are they trying to merely stimulate my mind or transform my heart? Is there a greater emphasis on style rather than substance?
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6
Test every teacher and teaching by the centrality of the nature and work of Christ.
If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. Colossians 2:20-23
2. The centrality and authority of the word of Christ
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The question we must apply to every teacher and teaching is this. Is the written word of God your absolute authority for both faith and practice? Luke pointed out the Bereans who tested every teaching by carefully examining the Scriptures.
The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Acts 17:10-11
There is only one authoritative source for truth. Paul was adamant about sticking to the Gospel.
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! Galatians 1:6-9
Jude strongly warned his readers about those who would deviate from the Scriptures.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 1:3-4
The Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict what He has already inspired, written and meticulously maintained in the Scriptures. GOD communicates with us in many different ways.
He may speak to us through other people, circumstances, impressions, dreams, visions, inner prompting, a poem, or even as a song. None of these are absolutely reliable. All of them are subject to distortion and deception by my own mind or by the enemy himself. The only absolutely reliable source of measuring truth and error is the infallible Scriptures.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:20-21
But don’t all teachers appeal to Scripture to back up what they’re teaching? Perhaps I should expand on my point. Perhaps I should talk about the centrality and authority of the Word of Christ as properly interpreted.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
There is a right way and a wrong way to interpret Scripture. There are rules of literature that apply to the Bible just as much as they would apply to any other book. Every teacher and teaching must be evaluated in light of the clear truth of the Word of God.
Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? "For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:1-2
3. Practice and promotion of the purity of Christ
For the last three tests, I repeatedly use two words; practice and promotion.
False teachers may promote purity obedience and love but fail to practice it personally.
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Matt 7:15-20
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 2 Peter 2:1-3
These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 2 Peter 2:17-19
Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7
Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:12
For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 2 Thes 3:7
Too often, we hear another notorious teacher has crashed and burned. God finally brings their moral hypocrisy into the light. We discover that the very thing they railed against from the pulpit they practiced in private. Whenever a teacher shifts from a Christ centered ministry to a self centered ministry a fall is not far behind. Possessions, power, pleasure and prestige lead to pollution of the teacher and eventually the message. The false teachers of John’s day were divorcing spirituality from practical holiness. Since matter didn’t matter, neither did anything they did in the body. This teaching degenerated into extreme moral corruption. John clearly differentiated between the children of God and the children of the devil by their lifestyle.
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:7-8
Teaching that appeals primarily to the physical and emotional senses will eventually result in a sensual lifestyle. It is a man centered teaching. Any teaching that constantly focuses on how I’m feeling and what’s important for me and my pleasure and comfort rather than personal purity will produce sensuality.
God is much more concerned about my holiness than my happiness. There is teaching today that excuses sin for the sake of happiness. Much of today’s teaching centers on my success, my image, my pleasure, my health and wealth. It’s all about me!!! We shouldn’t talk about sin because it makes people feel uncomfortable. We should focus only on the positive things that make people feel good. We should just talk about God’s love and grace.
There are some teachers today who spend a great deal of time talking about prophecy. They speculate where God has not spoken. They declare where God has not disclosed. They try to excite and tantalize but what is the purpose of it all. The Biblical point of prophecy is to promote present personal purity and allegiance to Christ. The point of Scripture is to teach basic truth, reprove, correct and instruct in righteous living.
4. Practice and promotion of obedience to Christ
This point is probably fairly similar to the previous one. If you obey Christ, you will probably live in purity. This is one of John’s tests of the antichrist. John says you will know you’re a child of God if you keep his commandments. The false prophets denied even the Master who bought them. True teachers will promote obedience to Christ at all times and in all circumstances.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:2-3
5. Practice and promotion of the love of Christ
John wrote a lot about the true sign of a believer and therefore probably a teacher. You really know that you are God’s child by the love in your heart for God and His children.
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 1 John 5:1
If a teaching divides the body rather than unifies the body of Christ is something wrong. If a teaching promotes strife and argument and exclusion rather than the inclusion of other believers there something wrong. True loving community demonstrated genuine conversation. Here are the tests in a nutshell.
The Spirit of Christ Spirit of antichrist
Exalts Jesus Opposes and diminishes Jesus
Enlightens the word of Christ Twists and distorts the word
Sanctifies, purifies Stirs up sensuality
Encourages and enables obedience Energizes the sons of disobedience
Promotes loving community Destroys community and promotes strife
Examine the fruit of the teaching in the life of the teacher and in the life of the hearers?
