The Call For Discernment: Part 1 - 1st John Lesson 19

1 John 4:1-6

Part 1

 I want to begin by thanking you for allowing me to take a couple weeks off. Thanks again to Brian and Tim for their willingness to step in and fill the pulpit. To tell you the truth I don’t like to take Sundays off. I love what I do and I like what the discipline of preaching requires of me. I missed the time in the Word for those two weeks I didn’t preach. My life is so enriched by the time I spend studying in preparation to preach that I don’t like to miss the time of study. I had plenty to do other than study as we moved and started getting settled into our new home. But I missed the time in the study and I enjoyed getting back into the rhythm of study this week.

 I enjoy the time of study because I get to immerse myself in God’s word. If I want to be remembered for anything I want to be remembered as a man who loved God’s Word. Nothing is more important than God’s truth. You may ask, “What about your wife? Isn’t she more important than God’s truth?” I would say, “No.” I would say “no” because if God’s word is taken out of the equation in my relationship with my wife, I cannot love her the way I should and I cannot have the kind of relationship with her that I should. The same is true with my children and grandchildren.

 We do what we do every Sunday from this pulpit because there is nothing more important than the word of God. We need the truth of Scripture more than we need food. The Word of God informs and equips us for everything we do in life. The Word of God is our spiritual food. The truth of God’s Word is the truth that sanctifies the follower of Christ. 

 Satan knows how important the Word of God is to the Christian. That is why he is always attacking the Bible. Satan is relentless in trying to create doubt concerning the Word of God. Remember his question to Eve? “Has God said…?” He also denies the word of God. He said to Eve, “You surely will not die…” Satan also seeks to distort the Word of God. He twisted God’s words of instruction claiming that God was forbidding everything in the Garden. These have been his favorite strategies since the beginning because he hates the Word of God and he knows how important it is for God’s people to know and believe and obey God’s Word. In our day he has employed another strategy. He seeks to distract from the Word of God. Too many Christians don’t even read their Bibles each day because they say they don’t have time. They are distracted with too many other things. Even the church neglects the teaching of the Bible because it has become distracted by things that entertain rather than the Word which edifies. 

 To doubt, deny, distort, or get distracted from the Word of God always leads to negative consequences. The consequences most common is the rise of false teaching. People want to believe something. People are easily convinced to believe something. If they are not taught the truth of God’s Word and given the truth that can save, they will embrace all kinds of false teachers and follow all sorts of false doctrines. We know this is true because of the sheer numbers of people involved in false religions around the world. Those who truly believe the truth of God’s Word are dramatically outnumbered, and they always have been.

We have come to the fourth chapter of 1 John where John addresses this very issue. John understood the importance of embracing the truth and nothing but the truth. John was an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He knew that to him had been given the responsibility to establish the truth of the Kingdom of God. He knew he was part of the foundation of the church. Christ was the Chief Cornerstone. He was one of the foundation stones. He had the other Apostles were responsible for handing down the body of truth to the church. John had devoted his life to the Great Commission. He was making disciples and baptizing and teaching disciples to observe all that Christ commanded. He wrote the gospel that bears his name and these letters to the believers and the Revelation because his life had been committed to the establishment of the body of truth that we now know to be included in the Word of God.

 John also understood that the truth would always be under attack. John was watching sinister forces at work. He has written this letter partly because of what he saw happening. He saw threats of heresy. He saw false teachers rising up in the church and leading people astray. He was alarmed by what he saw and he knew that if he did not give the people the instruction they need to face the heresy the consequences would be deadly. John knew that there was no such thing as harmless heresy.

 Unfortunately we live in a time in the history of the church when very few are truly concerned with confronting heresy and false teaching. It is easier to turn a blind eye to distortions of the truth. The easy thing to do is to forget doctrinal differences and focus on loving people and showing compassion and giving grace. If you take a stand for the truth you will be labeled as narrow-minded. You will be seen as judgmental. You will be hated by those who hate the truth because you stand for truth and you proclaim truth.

 There is a good reason Jesus warned His disciples to “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees!” Jesus knew that they were the most dangerous heretics around. They were very religious and knew the Old Testament Scriptures inside and out. He confronted and exposed their distortion and denial of the truth on many occasions. Jesus knew that if their false teachings were not exposed their false teaching would spread and grow in influence and would damn multitudes to hell. Leaven spreads through bread dough until it has influenced every part. Jesus warned against heresy.

 Jesus warned about false teachers. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7:15 He said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” I am sure these words were ringing in John’s ears as he wrote this imperative in verse 1 of our text. The imagery of Christ’s words is vivid. Everyone recognizes a wolf in wolf’s clothing. A wolf looks like a wolf and the very sight of a wolf would send the sheep scattering in every direction. What is more dangerous to a flock of sheep than a wolf that looks like a sheep? The ravenous wolf walks right into the middle of the flock and begins to destroy. 

 Satan is clever and deceptive. Paul describes the work of satanically inspired false teachers like this in 2 Cor. 11:13-15. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

 True spiritual warfare does not involve rebuking Satan and his demonic forces and binding them from your life. Spiritual warfare is the battle for the truth of God’s Word. Spiritual warfare involves identifying and exposing anything that does not line up with the truth of God’s Word. Spiritual warfare involves testing the spirits to see whether they are from God.

 Let’s read 1 John 4:1-6 together. As we read this passage you will not find the word “discernment” in it, but that is the topic of discussion. To discern is to distinguish or discriminate. It describes the ability to recognize that which is true and that which is not true.

We are going to see three things from this passage. We will see the call to discernment in verse 1. We will see the criteria by which we measure truth and error. This we will see in verses 2-3. Finally, we will see the confirmation of discernment in verses 4-6. In this point we will see how we can confirm whether or not we are exercising true discernment. We could call this the conduct of the discerning. Today we will get through the first point and we will return next week for the last two.

John begins with the word “beloved.” He uses this term several times in this letter and he does it so the people are reminded of the fact that he genuinely cares about them, especially their spiritual well-being. He tells those whom he loves to “not believe every spirit.” The implications of this are easy to see. If we truly love someone, we will warn them when they are in danger of being deceived. We may not be able to keep them from following those who deceive, but they will have been warned because we care.

Look back to the last sentence in chapter 3. “We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” All who are the true children of God have God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit indwelling. He is our Teacher. He guides us into all the truth. But John recognizes and warns about another spirit. He has already identified this spirit as the spirit of antichrist. We saw this in chapter 2. John says in 2:18, “even now many antichrists have appeared...” These who were of the spirit of antichrist went out from the true followers of Christ because they were of the truth. They were of the spirit of antichrist who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. All other spirits are spirits of Satan. He is the father of lies. He is the deceiver. Every spirit must be tested. The term tested is a metallurgical term that describes the process of testing metal to determine the purity of the metal and its subsequent value. Everything that is taught by anyone who claims to speak from God is to be carefully examined so as to determine whether or not it is in accordance to the truth of God’s Word. We should all be like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures to see if the things they were being taught were true.

This is not the responsibility of the preacher or elders only. Every believer who has God’s Spirit indwelling has the ability and the responsibility to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. It is necessary because “many false prophets have gone out into the world.” They are everywhere. There is so much garbage out there. Probably the most dangerous place to go is a typical Christian book store. Christian book stores are in business to sell books and make a profit. They are not as concerned with whether or not the book is promoting false teachings or not. You know that is true when you find Joel Osteen’s “Your Best Life Now” on the shelf next to John MacArthur’s book on discernment. Don’t be trusting the book store to do your discerning for you. They won’t.

God has given us the truth in His Word. Satan continues to give us source after source after source of garbage that is designed to cause us to doubt the truth, distort the truth, deny the truth, or distract us from the truth. Satan began his campaign against the truth in the Garden of Eden and he has not taken a break. In fact, he has and will intensify his efforts the closer we get to the end of the age. Jesus said in Matthew 24 where He is discussing end of the age matters, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

 In 2 Peter 2 the Apostle Peter warns of this problem. Let’s look at 2 Peter 2:1-3. These satanically inspired false teachers are “among you.” They are in the church. They want to be involved in the church. They want to be part of the church because they want to look like they are not a threat. They secretly introduce destructive heresy. They find a small faction of Scripturally illiterate members of the church and they introduce error secretly, away from those who are more discerning. Peter warns that these are “destructive” heresies. They lead to damnation and eternal destruction.

 Paul warns in 1 Timothy 4:1 writing, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” I pray often that none of those who fall away will be among this group. We will not allow deceitful spirits and demonic doctrines any kind of foothold in this church. We will not believe every spirit. We will test the spirits to see whether they are from God and we will do this because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

 The one thing we have by which to test the spirits is the Word of God. Anything that comes from anyone that would seek to bring doubt, distort, deny, or distract from the Word of God will not be tolerated. God has brought together a discerning group of people. Discernment is developed by knowing the truth. Error becomes more obvious the better we know the truth.

 And while it is the duty of every believer to test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God, God has given some to the church whose role it is as overseers to watch carefully. God gifts and calls some men to the office of elder within the church. Today is a special day at Grace Bible Church because today we are going to officially recognize this call on one of our members. Jay Updike will begin to officially serve this body of Christ-followers as an elder.

 One of the responsibilities of the elders is to watch over the flock of God’s sheep. One of the terms used of this position is “overseer.” One of the greatest threats to the flock of God’s sheep is the introduction of heresy by those who seek to devour the flock. I would like to ask you to turn now to Acts 20. We are going to close our service today by praying and asking God’s blessings on Jay as he serves this church in this new capacity. Before we do that I want to look at this passage in Acts 20. I want us to look at it in order to help us understand the elder’s role as a watchman and guardian of the flock. 

 To set the context of these verses I will tell you that Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. He stops in the city of Miletus and from there he sends for the elders of the church in Ephesus. He wants to see them one last time. He has some very important words of instruction and encouragement and exhortation for them. The church at Ephesus was special to Paul. He had served there as an elder and pastor for about three years. He loved this church and the people God had saved during his time there and since his departure.

No one wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem, except God. The Holy Spirit has bound him to go. In every city along the way bonds and afflictions await him. He is up to the challenge because he has the right perspective on his life. He says in verse 24, “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

 Let’s pick up reading in verse 25. Here we find the relevant exhortations for one who wants to serve the body of Christ in the office of an elder. There are other places where instructions are given to elders, but I chose this one for today, partly because of its connection to the passage in 1 John, but mostly because I know the greatest threat to the health and spiritual well-being of this flock is error and false teaching. If we ever get away from the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, this church will not flourish.

 Paul says in verse 28, “Be on guard for yourselves …” As elders we have a responsibility first to ourselves, to keep ourselves free from error. If we drift into error in our own thinking, we will drift into error in our manner of living. We are to live as examples to the flock. We are to be the kind of Christ followers whom these precious people can immolate. We need to be able to say as Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” We must be on guard for ourselves. This means keeping an eye on one another. We are mutually accountable to one another for the things we teach and the way we live.

 Paul continues in verse 28, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock.” We have a responsibility to diligently watch. We are on guard duty. We have an adversary who is roaming around seeking some to devour. If we do not stand guard over the flock they are vulnerable. We will not believe every spirit, but we will test the spirits to see if they are from God. We will never loose sight of the fact that many false prophets have gone out into the world. Some of them would love nothing more than to infiltrate this church and introduce destructive heresy. This will not happen on our watch.

 Verse 28 continues, “among which the Holy Spirit has made your overseers.” Today we are simply affirming what the Holy Spirit has already done. We would not be in this position if the Holy Spirit had not called and gifted us for this duty. What I am about to say may sound arrogant. It is not intended so. Elders and pastors and teachers are God’s gift to the church. Paul explains in Ephesians 4 that God gives those who are equipped for such duty to the body of Christ to equip the saints for the work of ministry. The Holy Spirit has made us overseers.

 He has made us overseers and verse 28 goes on to say, “to shepherd the church of God.” We are shepherds, not rulers. We must follow the example of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. We are His undershepherds and must know the sheep. We must be able to recognize when they are sick, or in danger, or wandering too far from the fold. We must be willing to go and get them and minister to them, and lovingly bring them back. 

 We always do this remembering that this is the church, as verse 28 goes on to say, “which He purchased with His blood.” These are those for whom Christ died. These are the redeemed of the Lord. These are the purchased ones whom God has placed under our care. They are His sheep, not ours. We have a stewardship from God.

 Let’s never forget the threat. Verse 29 says, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Paul knew that the threat of heresy would not just come from those outside the elders, but that it would also come from among this very group of men he had called to himself for this instruction.

 How would this happen? There would be some who would not be careful to examine everything carefully and cling to what is good and abstain from that which is evil. He knew there would be some who would not remain committed to testing the spirits to see if they are from God. There would be some who would not be able to recognize the error of the false prophets who have gone out in to the world.

 No matter how long GBC exists, and no matter who serves as elders in this church, this must remain a church committed to the Word of God. To protect this church from the infiltration of dangerous heresy we must always test the spirits to see whether they are from God.