A. TEN THINGS WE CAN KNOW ABOUT ERROR
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and
every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the [spirit] of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak [as] of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (I John 4:1-6).
1. Don’t automatically believe every Christian speaker (v. 1).
2. The purpose of “testing” is to see if they are of God, not to criticize or argue with them.
3. There will be many false teachers (v. 1).
4. Christians know the Spirit of God (v. 2). “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
5. You must believe Jesus was virgin born and was truly human (v. 2).
• If a spirit, Jesus couldn’t die.
• If not human, Jesus couldn’t shed His blood for sins.
• If not physical, Jesus couldn’t raise from the dead.
6. The spirit of Anti-Christ is twofold.
• To oppose Christ.
• To take the place of Christ.
7. There has been false teaching from the beginning of the church (v. 3). “There’s nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9).
8. God promises we can be overcomers (v. 4).
9. False teachers get a positive hearing from the world (v. 5).
10. A true Christian is known by his/her love of God and others (v. 7-8).
B. HOW TO TEST THE SPIRITS
1. THE BIBLE TEST: Does their teaching agree with the scriptures. “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily [to find out] whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
2. THE RELATIONSHIP TEST: Do they have a relationship with God the Father? “By this you know the spirit of God” (v. 2). “Jesus said to him . . . ‘No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).
3. THE JESUS TEST: Do they believe Jesus was a man who could die for their sins, and was He God who could raise from the dead? “For [there is]one God and one Mediator between God and men, [the] Man Christ
Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5).
4. THE PROOF TEST: Do the false teachers appeal to the world and its ways to prove their point? Or, do they appeal to biblical authority? “They are of the world. Therefore they speak [as] of the world, and the
world hears them” (I John 4:5).
5. THE MONEY TEST: False teachers. “Through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you” (II Peter 2:3, LB).
6. THE MORALITY TEST: Does their lifestyle reflect godly living? They should love God. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (I John 4:8). “Those who turn truth into error because of their fleshly living” (Jude 4, ELT).
7. THE FRUIT TEST: Jesus taught, “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing . . . ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:15-16).
C. WHY DO PEOPLE SLIP INTO HERESY?
1. Ignorance. “Put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (I Peter 2:15).
2. Not because of lack of knowledge but they choose two things. First to deny God and His plan, and second they choose to believe error. “For this they
willingly are ignorant” (I Peter 3:5).
3. Demon inspired. “The doctrine of devils” (I Tim. 4:1).
4. Evil practices lead to false doctrine (Jude 4).
5. Take scripture out of context. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” (II Peter 1:20).
• Interpretation must agree with larger teaching of the Bible.
• Interpretation must agree with accepted view of believers.
6. Bringing bias to study and interpretation of scripture. “And certain [men] came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 15:1).
D. HOW HERESY SNEAKS UP ON: The Heresy Cycle.
1. An idea entices you. “Beguile you with enticing words” (Col. 2:4). Paul said, “My preaching was not with enticing words” (I Cor. 2:4).
2. You are deceived. “With their tongue, they use deceit” (Rom. 3:13).
3. You are blinded to truth. “The God of this world has blinded the minds of those who believe not” (II Cor. 4:3).
4. You believe a lie. “God shall send them strong delusion, that they shall believe a lie” (II Thess. 2:11).
5. You are drawn to false doctrine that excuses your sin. “Those who turn truth into error because of their fleshly lust” (Jude 4, ELT).
6. You become addicted to the sin that is allowed by your heresy. “Who commits sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34).
7. You are destroyed. “Unto their own destruction” (II Peter 3:16).
The Heresy Cycle
1. It’s a dream
2. It deceives
3. It drives
4. It draws
5. It binds
6. It destroys
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at eltowns@liberty.edu and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
To receive this lesson, log on to www.elmertowns.com. You will find it under Sunday School lessons. To email Dr. Towns, eltowns@liberty.edu. For more information on the class, log on to the Internet for TRBC Home page at www.trbc.org/pbc.
