BEING PREPARED. If you knew that somebody was going to break into your house and steal your stuff how would you respond? Imagine, if you will, while at Walmart that somebody that you do not know, standing behind you in line, looks over your shoulder and sees a piece of identification with your address on it while you are paying for your purchase. Having seen your address they say to you “5270 Taylorsville Rd. in Finchville, huh? I think I will break in there sometime and take whatever is of value to me.” I do not think that there is a single one of us who would take that type of threat lightly rather we would do all we could to ensure that the plans of those who seek our harm would be thwarted. IF WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A CERTAIN DANGER OR EVEN THREAT OF DANGER COMING UPON US WE WILL DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO PREPARE FOR SUCH IN HOPES OF AVOIDING IT.
1 JOHN 4:1—With that being said, our passage this morning is all about warning us about false teachers in the Church. I have titled this sermon “Test the Spirits” and this title flows from 1 JOHN 4:1 which sets us up for 2 PETER 3. Peter, having reminded the church that the message that they received from him and his coworkers in the Lord was not some message that they had contrived with their own cunning but came from their eye witness experience of Jesus’ life, teaching, death and resurrection (2 PETER 1:16-21), moves now to encourage the Church to BEWARE OF and BE AWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS AND PREACHERS that has, have and will rise up in Jesus’ Church seeking to deceive believers for the purpose of destruction. The idea behind this message is that with the warning that we will see is that we will be prepared to defend ourselves against false teachers as we “test the spirits” of any who come among us to teach/preach God’s Word.
Beware and Be Aware of False Teachers
False teachers will never come into the Church and your life wearing a nametag that says, “Hello! I’m a false teacher!” As verse 13b reveals they celebrate their deception among God’s people. Because false teachers will not so clearly reveal themselves we must have “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” as such that we can point them out and pick them out so that we can show them the way out of the Church and our lives.
1. THEY TEACH DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES (2:1). Heresies, erroneous teaching especially at the expense of revealed truth, that deny the deity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the work of Christ, etc., salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. These are destructive in the sense that they destroy the very foundation of the Gospel message upon which the Church has been founded. The designation “destructive” also speaks to the disastrous eternal consequences, both for them and their followers, that these teaching such and submitting to such will have.
2. DENYING JESUS (2:1). While these false teachers claim to be followers of Christ they deny Him in their teaching and preaching. Notice the language used here. These are people who make claims to salvation but clearly are not of those who have been genuinely saved for though they claim Jesus as Savior, they deny Him as Master (Lord). These are those who, while affirming the fact that Jesus died for sins and offers forgiveness, they deny His Lordship over those whom He saves. Furthermore, these also teach and preach more of a self-help approach to life rather than a need for Jesus. Their teaching is consumed with “me” and “self” and “my potential, worth, goodness, ability to try harder, etc.” rather than our need for Jesus and His power and work in and through us.
3. INDULGING IN THE LUST OF DEFILING PASSIONS and TEACH OTHERS TO DO THE SAME (2:9b). Because they deny the Lordship of Christ they deny His teaching in regards to the conduct of His people. Therefore, they not only practice all sorts of “defiling lusts” but teach others to do the same. They affirm that which God denies and denies that which God affirms all in accordance with their sinful inward desires and lusts.
a. SINFULLY UNASHAMED (2:13b). Because of their rejection of the Lordship of Christ they are unashamed in their intentional sinfulness and because of
the determination of their unregenerate hearts they have lost the ability to blush at their own sin.
4. DESPISE AUTHORITY (2:10a). Their unwillingness to submit to the Lordship of Christ manifests itself in their unwillingness to submit to the authorities Jesus has appointed unto them. This can be understood as a despising of earthly authorities (governmental authorities) and those who have been called to a position of authority in the Church (pastors, elders, overseers, etc.).
5. SPEAKING FLIPPANTLY OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE (2:10b). Furthermore, they live flippantly in light of the reality of the spiritual realm. The blaspheme against Satan and his demons insomuch as they recklessly dismiss any thought that these demonic forces have power or that their willful sins will open them to demonic attack. But good angels, like wise humans, do not take these evil powers lightly.
THEY PARTICULARLY PREY ON THE IMMATURE AND UNSAVED (2:14b, 18-22). They pray on those who are immature in the faith and the days of sanctification are young. They come to those who are struggling with the giving up and giving away of sin in their lives and make promises to them of freedom LARGELY BY SAYING THAT THEIR STRUGGLE IS UNNECESSARY FOR THEIR ATTEMPT TO TURN AWAY IS UNNECESSARY IN JESUS. They say that the struggle with repentance and turning away from sin is not necessary for Jesus affirms their sin. Those who are not genuinely Christians, while claiming to be so, find their message appealing and deny the Godly discipline of repentance and revel in their sinfulness. That they affirm sin and sinfulness as acceptable by Jesus is proof positive that they are indeed not in Jesus at all. They may have made a profession but it was just words, nothing more. CONSIDER THOSE WHO AFFIRM HOMOSEXUALITY AND OTHER SINS AS ACCEPTABLE FOR THE “CHRISTIAN” LIFE. These harsh words of reality are not saying that one can lose their salvation but are for those who made an empty profession of faith. They claimed to be in Jesus but they are not and now for them it would be better should they have never known the Good News of the Gospel. THE GENUINELY SAVED WOULD NEVER BE LED ASTRAY IN SUCH ERROR FOR IF SIGNS AND WONDERS WILL NOT LEAD THEM ASTRAY FALSE TEACHING SURELY WILL NOT—MATTHEW 24:24.
JUDGEMENT UPON FALSE TEACHERS 2:3-10, 12
JUDGMENT IS OF THE LORD. While false teachers and preachers have, is and will plague the Church of Jesus Christ until He puts an end to this sinful world, let it be known that there is a judgment reserved for those who teach and preach falsely in His name. It is a judgment that has, is and will fully be revealed. God is holding these false teachers under punishment even now even though we might not see it in this realm. In the spiritual real they are in and under God’s righteous judgment even though it may appear that in this realm there is nothing going on. Just as the sinful angels were judged. Just as the ancient world was judged. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah was judged so is it too that false teachers and preachers will be judged. WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT WE SHOULD REJECT FALSE TEACHING AND FALSE TEACHERS EVEN SHOWING THEM THE DOOR IF THEY ARE IN OUR CHURCHES, WE MUST UNDERSTAND AND REST IN THE FACT THAT JUDGMENT IS OF THE LORD. IF A FALSE TEACHER TRIES TO SPEAK INTO YOUR LIFE CLAIMING AUTHORITY FROM THE LORD YOU REJECT THEM, DUST YOUR FEET OFF AND WALK THE OTHER WAY knowing that their judgment is certain.
SAVED THROUGH THE FIRE OF JUDGMENT 2:5-9a
THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE SPARED. The natural question that would have come up was “If God is going to bring judgment upon the false teachers and preachers who are among us will His judgment fall upon us, that is, genuine Christians, too? This is a natural question that arose out of unfounded fear. Peter is quick to teach and encourage these young Christians that just as God was faithful to spare Noah and his family from the flood of judgment and Lot and his wife from the fire of judgment so is He faithful to spare His own when judgment comes upon the false teachers and preachers. This is not to say that these will not be intense times. It was intense when Noah got into that boat. It was intense when Lot and his family fled Sodom and Gomorrah. It was an intense time but, by God’s grace alone, they were spared. When, in God’s good timing, He determines that the season of false teachers and preachers is over He will sift His Church and false teachers and preachers, as well as fake Christians, will be judged and through the judgment the righteous will be spared. While people
BE AWARE, BEWARE AND BE PREPARED
The truth that you have heard this day points us to a place of action as God’s people. False teachers and preachers are deceptive and persuasive in their teaching and will lead many astray. If we know that false teachers and preachers are a reality then we must be prepared to fend off their deceptive threats. If we knew that somebody was going to rob us we would be prepared to fend off his or her attempts. In the same way let us be prepared to fend off the deceptive
TEST THE SPIRITS. The Bible says in 1 JOHN 4:1 that we are not to immediately and carelessly receive any and every “spirit” (teacher/preacher) simply because they come into our lives and claim to have a call from God on their lives and a message from God for them. We are to put to the test anybody and everybody who comes to speak into our lives especially if they are teaching and preaching. How are we to test? What are we to test against? See ACTS 17:10-12. If we are going to be a people that are not deceived by false teachers then WE MUST BE A PEOPLE OF THE WORD.
