“Testing
the Spirits”
1
John 4:1-11
May
9th & 10th, 2009
Testing
of some sort is common at many
levels of our society. Obviously
there testing
going on in schools, something our students experienced this week in
taking the
Iowa tests. One cannot
to my knowledge get into college without either an ACT or an SAT test. Even retrieving information involves some
sort of test. You need to give the
right social
security number, a password, your
mother’s maiden name, etcs. Today,
God
in his Word exhorts us not to believe every spirit, but tests the
spirits to
see if they are from God. It means we are to stand firm for what is
true, and
recognize the “untruths” concerning Jesus that are out
there. There is an old adage which
goes like this if
you stand for nothing you’ll fall for everything.
We stand for the truth of Jesus Christ, true
God, true man. This Jesus is the third
person of the Trinity. He lived a
sinless life, and by his sacrificial death he atoned for the sins of
the whole
world. He rose again, conquering death;
he ascended bodily into heaven and promises to return again. These are not just empty formulas or historic
statements; rather they are the actions of a God who is bound and
determined
to connect to you and me.
However,
Jesus also says that there
will be other spirits, other proclamations about versions of himself. “Mathew
7:15-16 says “Beware of false
prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening
wolves.” This verse itself shows us that sometimes these
teachings are not
obvious, but subtly different. Matthew
24:24 says “For there false
Christ’s,
and false prophets, will appear and perform great signs and miracles to
deceive
even the elect—if that were possible.”
In the age of the internet, and in a
world
that is shrinking, other “teachings” about God, Jesus, and
his church are all
around us. I’ve noticed when I
hand the
store clerk a 10 or 20 dollar bill; they will hold it up to the light
and mark
it with a special marker. What are they
looking
for? Counterfeit money, which is by
nature of this practice tough to see. Today,
we are holding up what we teach and
confess about Jesus, as found in the scriptures and comparing these
truths to
others out there. One note before we
tackle this subject, notice that it says “By this you know the
Spirit of God,;
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is
from God. It isn’t just that one
believe
these truths or even a that a prophet believe it. For
one can believe something but if he or
she never talks about it, what really is being proclaimed?
To a certain extent I think this is the case
with shows like the Hour of Power, with Robert Schuller.
It’s not so much what is said that matters,
it is what is not said. Little
discussion of sin, and often (not always) little discussion of the
redeeming
Savior. A sinner stuck needs to hear two
truths the reality of our need for a Savior (ie sin), and the greater
reality
of a Savior who does not hesitate to come our way.
The
true spirit makes the truths of Jesus known over and over again.
When
I was on vicarage there were two Mormon
missionaries who visited me in my Tulsa apartment.
In our conversations I finally asked them to
explain the gospel. I still remember
one of the young men saying that is a tough one, and he proceeded to
give me
five points which mostly had to do with following or obeying some
proscribed
religious action. I did not hear once in
that message of the completed work of Jesus on our behalf.
I’m
convinced the Jesus these two young men were presenting was a different
Jesus
from the biblical Jesus. At
best it was an unclear message. There are
other religious groups that speak of
Jesus, but he is not the Jesus from the Bible.
Jehovah Witnesses do not believe he is God, and Islam merely
sees Jesus
as a great prophet, but again not the son of God himself.
A few years back there was a book titled the
Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and while it was stated to be a work of
fiction, he
did bring forth the following views. He
attacked the deity of Christ, the reliability of scripture, and goddess
worship
comes off as a positive alternative. According
to a survey done by the national Geographic channel in Canada, a full
32%
believed the theories underlying this best selling novel are true. 2 Peter 2:1 says “There were also
false
prophets among the people, just as there will b e false teachers among
you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought
them……
Now
this all may sound kind of
alarmist, and frankly saying someone’s teaching is not correct is
simply not
the way things are to be done in our society.
“Each to his own, is the theory of the day, and if it
helps them
great. I’ll
be honest there is a part of me that
would rather just speak what is true, and not speak against what is not
true. Yet God in his word has another
idea. God loves us to much to
let us
walk around with our heads in the sand as to what is out there. God wants you and I to know that Jesus really
has come in the flesh, and for reasons of great importance he covers
the whole
you, and the whole me. He
doesn’t come
just spiritually into our world, but he comes to be part of the whole
deal,
body, soul, and spirit. In
the Old
Testament it was real sacrifices that “covered” in way or
spoke for the sins for
the people. Jesus really did sacrifice
his body, and he really did rise bodily, and he promises those who
confess his
very name the same thing. He even
gives
us his Body and Blood. This real Jesus
gives us the Spirit
which allows us to confess Jesus is
Lord. This Spirit is much stronger than
he who is in the world. Our battle is
not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers.
This Jesus is the true vine, and we are
the branches. We are interconnected to
him. Notice also that proper
teaching,
real teaching about Jesus leads to true living.
The second paragraph shows how doctrine and
truth leads to a life where love predominates.
Love that starts from the real Jesus, then flows for us, and
then through
us into the lives of those around us.
How
can these false prophets be
seen? Through their message. Often it is a message that speaks of
Jesus
as primarily our example. While
Jesus
is this, if this is is the only emphasis, we miss the greater truth
that our
Jesus is the Savior. “He came
not to be
served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many. Other spirits intersperse good
works a way
to get right with God. Again, we were
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, but inevitably the false
prophets
will emphasize behavior over belief.
Again they are not mutually exclusive.
So what two things can we look for in false prophets. Jesus
as mere example, and salvation by some wort of action on our behalf. Secondly one
whose love can be obtained or kept by our
efforts.
I’m reminded of that game show some years back titled
“To tell the
truth”. Here three contestants
come out
and each stated they were one person.
Hello my name is “Roger Hugo”.
Hello my name is “Roger Hugo”. After many questions and comments finally
the
real named person comes forward.
One
person was true, while the other true were imposters.
It took question, study, and time for people
to get that right. How do we tell the
true spirits from the false spirits. From
hearing, studying, and participating in the truths of God’s Word,
and the
Savior it conveys. This Word, yes the
Word made flesh, Jesus Christ gives us power not only to make it
through the
day, but he also provides truth in a world of deceptions.
This truth is that love, real love has found
us, and it’s a truth worth holding on to.
Thanks
be to God for Jesus Christ our living,
interceding, Saving Lord. Amen.