6^th Sunday of Easter at Epiphany on May 17, 2009

1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. ⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Test before you trust

This past fall semester, there were two college sophomores who were taking Organic Chemistry and who did pretty well on all of the quizzes and the midterms and labs, etc. They did so well that going into the final they had a solid ‘A’. These two friends were so confident that the weekend before finals week, even though the Chemistry final was on Monday, they decided to travel to a nearby university to party with some friends there. They went and had a great time. However, with their hangovers and everything, they slept all day Sunday and didn’t make it back to school until early Monday morning.

After they missed the final, they found their professor, Professor Adlric, and explained to him why they had missed the final. They told him they had traveled to this other university for the weekend and had planned to come back in time to study, but they had a flat tire on the way back and didn’t have a spare and couldn’t get help for a long time, so they were late getting back to campus.

Professor Aldric thought this over and then agreed that they could make up the final the following day. The two guys were elated and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next day to take the final exam. Professor Aldric placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, which was something simple about free radical formation and was worth 5 points. “Cool” they thought, “this is going to be easy.” They did that problem and then turned the page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the next page. It said: (95 points) “Which tire?”

Because we can’t always trust people, we need to test what they say. St. John tells us that we are to test even spiritual teachers to make sure they are telling the truth. We need to test them so we can be positive they are from God. You are not to simply believe a teacher or preacher simply because they are eloquent speakers, have a fancy degree written in Latin hanging in the office, or because they are ordained as ministers of the gospel. You need to test before you trust.

People are born with a sinful nature that causes them to lie, fabricate, exaggerate, falsify, and invent untruths. Because people are this way, we need to test what others say. Life is a series of tests, isn't it? We test drive a vehicle before we buy it. We don’t want to get stuck with a lemon. We read the Consumer Report on a product to see if what the manufacturer says about the product is true or not. We don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on an inferior product. We make witnesses testify under oath that their testimony will be the truth and nothing but the truth. If we don’t test the words and testimony of others, we might just end up believing in something that isn’t true.

If we run these tests on vehicles, vacuums, salesmen and politicians, doesn’t it make even more sense to test what preachers, teachers, evangelists, churches and church bodies are claiming about God’s Word? Testing is especially important when it comes to your faith. Your faith is a most precious thing! Your faith is a gift from God, a gift that is meant to carry you safely into heaven. John instructs us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Sadly, there are many false teachers in the world, people who won’t hesitate to feed you false information. They have many different reasons for telling you lies – to gain popularity, to give “itching ears” what they want to hear, to be politically correct, to appear tolerant and accepting. Some may not even know that they are teaching lies. But make no mistake, if we don’t “test the spirits,” if we don’t test the teachings that other people bring to us, it could be eternally deadly. False teachings lead to false faith. False faith leads to eternal death.

False teachers have no trouble gathering a following because they tell the world what it likes to hear, they scratch itching ears. Evolution, homosexuality, work-righteousness are big, politically correct ideas in America. That’s why so many churches and preachers cling to them. They are popular ideas that gain a huge audience.

So who can you trust and what are you to believe? Some people choose to believe in nothing. But this is dangerous because if they believe in nothing, they have lost their soul. Others choose to believe everything. But this is just as dangerous as believing in nothing. Such a gullible person will be taken advantage of and they too will lose their soul. So what are you to do? John tells you, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” John is saying that the solution is not simply becoming an unbeliever. The solution is not simply becoming a gullible believer, either. Rather, John is saying that you are to be a cautious, careful believer. The importance of testing is eternal. Your soul depends upon it.

So, how can we test the teachings of others? How can we keep our souls safe? Examine the message. “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” Of course, John isn’t limiting the test to one or two doctrines about the person of Christ. The truth about Jesus includes and involves everything in Scripture. What do they teach or preach about justification, sanctification, sacraments, the commandments, angels, creation, miracles, Judgment Day? Do they hold to the truth or do they hold onto falsehoods? Examine the message they are proclaiming. They must hold to all of God’s teachings. Not just some or even most. All! Anyone who doesn’t confess the full truth about Jesus Christ and His holy Word has the spirit of the antichrist. That prophet or preacher or teacher cannot be from God, since his message clearly is not from God. Their doctrine has another source.

Really, your life is a contradiction of sources. You read the articles in “Forward in Christ” but those truths are contradicted by the soap operas, reality shows and movies you also fill your time with. You may view my sermons online or watch Pastor Jeske on TV or listen to WELS pastors on the radio, but then those words are diluted by the other TV evangelists or radio preachers who give you only portions of the truth mixed with plenty of well-hidden errors. The Christian music in your I-Pod is in conflict with the sexual, distasteful, vengeful and vulgar country, rap or pop music that also filters into your soul.

How are you to examine the message of preachers and teachers? Compare what they teach and preach with what you know from Scripture. That means you need to know Scripture. Worship and prayer isn’t enough. Five-minute personal devotions aren’t enough. Sunday School and Confirmation classes aren’t enough. Those classes may have been ages ago for some of us.

We average 50 people a week for some kind of Bible study at Epiphany. That means an average of 280 of our members are not studying God’s Word in depth during the week. Why not? If you aren’t regularly mining for valuable gems in the Scriptures, you will quickly become spiritually and morally bankrupt. If you aren’t receiving strength from God’s Word, then you are a much more vulnerable target for the devil and his false prophets. There is a battle being waged for your soul. When you aren’t in Bible study and regular in worship, you aren’t strong enough to fight for yourself. You become weak, helpless, immature. 

You need the Bible. Bible devotions, Bible reading, Bible study, Bible classes at home and at church is what will give you the strength, courage, and knowledge to examine and test others. If you aren’t studying your Bible at home or in a Bible class, start, and start now. Before it becomes too late and you are swept away by false prophets and corrupt teachings. Your soul depends on it. Your children’s souls depend on it. The souls of many who are caught in lies and false doctrines depend on it.

His name was William Charles Macready. He’s not a household name now, but back in the 1800’s William Macready was one of the most respected actors in Great Britain and the United States. In each of his stage performances, Macready poured his heart and soul into the character he was portraying. People loved him for it. They packed the theaters to see him at work. It’s said that there once was a preacher who approached Macready with a simple question. The question was: “What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all.” Macready’s answer was this: “I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.”

Ouch.

Don’t misunderstand. The Bible is clear that the power to bring hearts to faith in Jesus lies in the power of the gospel – the good news of what Jesus has done on our behalf. Nevertheless, how many times have Christians put a roadblock in front of the gospel by acting as if it’s fiction? In all candor, fellow Christians, we must confess that we have all been guilty of this.

The beauty is that, in spite of our lack of passion, in spite of our bouts of apathy, the gospel remains the most true and real thing there is. After all, whenever the reality of our wrongs crushes us and we cry out in repentance, there is the gospel. There is the living, breathing Savior who promises us that His blood has washed us clean, that we are His, and that He will never leave our side. John promises that Jesus has already overcome the world. He is greater than the world. Since we are from God we listen to the Spirit of truth.

Macready did all he could for the sake of fiction. In Jesus, you and I can do all we can for the sake of the truth – the truth of sins forgiven in Christ.

Jesus told us to go and preach and make disciples of all nations. If we are to go and preach God’s message we must have God’s message, and God’s message alone, to go and preach. Therefore we must guard what has been entrusted to us and turn away from any philosophy or lifestyle which adds to or takes away from what God says in His holy Word. Love for God, love for His Word, love for mankind, and love for our souls demands this!

Of all books in the world, the Holy Bible is unique. It has stood the test of time, as well as the attacks of unbelief within the Church and without. The Bible has made an indelible mark upon this world. Irrespective of age, culture or language, the Bible has influenced the lives of people. For the weak, the Bible offers strength; for the poor, wealth unlimited in Christ; for the blind, a new vision that scans the horizon of eternity. In place of despair, God’s Word offers hope; in place of disillusionment, new dimensions; in place of failure, victory in Christ.

Friends, whether you are bent by sin or are filled with sadness, the Bible introduces you to God’s Son, to forgiveness and to an abundant life. Because the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word of God, be warned – it can wonderfully effect change in one’s life, even yours and mine.

The government is unable to change a heart. Money can’t do it, either. But Christ’s gospel not only offers forgiveness, it creates a new person to give God glory, not only for today, but for generations to follow.

Therefore test before you trust. Your eternal salvation is depending upon it. Amen.