Test the Teachers (1 John 4:1-6)

Town Creek Baptist Church

Sermon Direct Link
5/12/24
Rev. Clint Smith

Test the Teachers (1 John 4:1-6)

The world is full of spiritual wanna-be’s, tell-you-what’s, and experts of every flavor. The gullibility and ignorance of people in general is growing wildly by the day. Christians are commanded to be a spiritual bulwark of stability as the waves of deception pass over humanity.

The Apostle John addressed the Beloved. The Beloved are those who have their faith firmly planted in Jesus Christ.

John admonished Christians not to trust, but test, every spirit. Why? Because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.
Matthew 7:15-20; 2 Peter 3:3; Jude 1:17,18

By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses the fact that Jesus Christ has actually come in the flesh as a man is from God. These beliefs are for the righteous ones of God. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

False, errant teachers break with truths of Scripture and lead people to false hopes of salvation and religion. People who are deceived into believing false teachers, are convinced that their false teachers doctrine is good, and therefore believable and reproducible.

The basic reason for testing the spirits and therefore for testing all religious teaching, is to see if it is truly from God or if it is a lie from Satan and his servants.

The Bible alone is the Word of God; it alone is inspired and inerrant. Therefore, the way to test the spirits is to see if what is being taught is in line with the clear teaching of Scripture. The Bible is The Authoritative Source.

Those who are of God can boldly say, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” The contrast here is between the Holy Spirit and the spirit of antichrist; in short, God is greater than Satan. Revelation 20:10

Believers have no need to fear Satan; rather, we trust in the Lord and obey Him. By the living Spirit of God within us, we can overcome the lies and temptations of the powers of darkness. We know God and are gifted to recognize the spirit of truth, motivated by God, and the spirit of error, motivated by Satan.

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