YouTube is filled with every imaginable person preaching and/or teaching about the Bible. We can find highly educated and qualified people, and we find those who are not, proclaiming God's word. Do we automatically believe that what we hear is the true Word of God? Do we assume that because someone has many credentials or titles that they are speaking with the Spirit of the Lord? In 1 John, we are reminded of the importance of discerning those who may be false prophets.
Testing the Spirits: Identifying True Teachers
John tells the believers to test the spirits, to identify those false prophets among them who teach false doctrine. John says there are many of these false prophets. If there were many then, we can be sure there are many today. We should not believe every spirit as 1 John 1:4 says.
In 1 John, the apostle is writing to early Christians that were dealing with false prophets. It was difficult for them to know who they should believe. These preachers and teachers were claiming to speak for God. They were teaching in His name. You and I may also have problems today discerning who is speaking truth. In Matthew 7:15-18, Jesus tells us that we will recognize false prophets by their fruit. We need to discern their fruit. This means we need to closely examine our own fruit and the fruit of those we listen to. What kind of fruit does their teaching bear?
Good Fruit vs Bad Fruit
Good teaching will yield good fruit. That is, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. On the other hand, bad fruit looks like: adultery, fornication - sex outside of marriage, uncleanness, lewdness - sexually immoral sin of any kind, idolatry - putting something above God in importance, sorcery - casting spells or talking to spirits, hatred, contentions - conflicts or disputes, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions - conflict that leads to division or strife, heresies - doctrines that don't originate from God, envy, murders, drunkenness, and revelries - wild partying (Galatians 5:19-21).
How can we recognize good fruit if we have none ourselves? Jesus tells us that a bad tree will bear bad fruit. He says very plainly that a good tree can't bear bad fruit (Matthew 7:17-18). Testing the spirits and identifying true teachers and preachers requires discernment, not judgment.
Discernment vs Judgment
When we judge a person, we form opinions about them. Discernment is different. We discern by carefully examining if something is right or wrong with the help of God's Word and the Holy Spirit. We do this to honor and serve God. We do this from love. Judgment more often comes from pride—the sense that we are better than those other people.
Discerning Truth Through the Gospel Message
1 John 4:6 says:
“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.”
The apostles spoke the truth of God. John is saying we don't just listen blindly to anyone but we compare what we hear to the truth of the Gospel. But how can we discern, how can we judge well, who is false and who is not, if we don't know the gospel message ourselves?
1 Timothy 6:3-4 says that if people don't agree "to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching" then they are conceited and without understanding. He says these people enjoy controversies that result in envy and strife. They cause constant friction between people who have been robbed of the truth. They think that being godly is somehow a means to gain money. In John 4:2, John provides clear guidelines on how to recognize a false prophet.
The Test of True Prophets
In 1 John 4:2, the apostle says the primary way to know that a prophet is of God is whether they proclaim that Jesus is of God and has come in the flesh. In other words, Jesus came to the world as a man and Jesus is God. Teachers and preachers who cast doubt on this truth are false. If this is not the primary focus of their ministry then we should beware. This is how we discern teachers. This is how we know who they really serve. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty."
Warnings Against the Spirit of the Antichrist
John tells us that those false prophets that don't acknowledge that Christ came in the flesh and is of God have an 'anti Christ spirit'. These false prophets aren't THE anti Christ but they have a spirit similar to his. 2 Timothy 3:5 warns of people who have a form of godliness but deny its power. They seem to be preaching truth but they don't understand the true power of the Holy Spirit. Be careful that you aren't lead astray by their words.
Empty Preaching and the Whole Gospel
We shouldn't listen to empty preaching. False prophets often are motivated by greed, pride and self promotion (Jude 11). They should preach the whole gospel, but often they only preach part of it. The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection for our salvation. We need to have knowledge of the gospel ourselves to have good discernment. "Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). These perverters of the gospel, those who would alter it, will be condemned Paul tells us (Galatians 1:9).
Holding to the Whole Word of God
Does the person who is teaching you believe the whole teachings of the Word? Or, do they pick and choose what they accept as truth? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:37-38 that if someone thinks they are a prophet then they must accept Paul's teachings as a command of the Lord and if they don't they won't be recognized. While false prophets pose a clear danger, we should be sure all teachings that we are influenced by align with God’s truth.
The Call to Test All Things
There are many voices to listen to today proclaiming Christ. There are thousands and thousands of books written about Him. We can't just assume that each one is as valid as the next. We are commanded to "put the spirits to the test". Pray for discernment and understanding. This understanding must be reflected in how we live out our faith every day.
Living Out Faith
False teachers and preachers talk a good game. They talk about love, forgiveness, acceptance, and mercy. However, they deny that the Holy Spirit can truly transform a life from darkness into the light of Christ. They don't talk much about repentance. They present themselves as godly, and may even act in such a way, but they have not experienced the inner transformation that the Holy Spirit brings. We can't talk about God all the time and still secretly live in the same old sin. Light and darkness can't exist together.
James 2:14-26 states that faith without works is no faith at all. Faith should be put into action with love! Does the fruit of their faith agree with Christ's teachings in their lives? As Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:35-40, we should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those in prison and the sick, and invite the stranger into our home. Living a life of faith also means acknowledging that Scripture really is the very word of God. This is especially important when some attempt to question or undermine its teachings.
Challenges to Scriptural Authority
Have you heard teachers who seem to belittle or downplay Paul's teachings by saying that Jesus didn't say that so it can't be important? Many people dismiss parts of the Bible they disagree with, labeling them as man-made additions to the Gospel stories. 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us of the importance of all scripture, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,".
A Prayer for Discernment and Insight
As Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippines, "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best". My prayer for you, beloved, is the same.
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