1John 4:10 - Operation Propitiation (say what?)

"In this is the love, not that we ourselves have loved God, but rather because He Himself loved us and He sent His Son a propitiation about our sins."

-God is love.  Everything about Him is love, and all love comes from Him.  Now we have an example, and John says, IN this is love.  So this example is not the be-all end-all only way to love - but it is the consummate archetype.  This act of love shows us love - and shows us how to love.

-But let us be perfectly clear about the situation here.  We do have (or had, for those who are IN Christ) a sin problem.  And things are bad - in fact, they couldn’t get much worse.  Our sins not only separated us from God (Isaiah 59.2, Romans 3.23), they incurred His wrath.  They made the God-Who-is-love angry.  He hates sin, our sin, my sin.  To be sure, He doesn’t hate me, or you, but He does really hate our sin.  He can’t even look at it.  And the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6.23).  Death is the awful consequence of our heinous sin (Romans 5.12).  But in the midst of that tragic news is the silver lining, in that sin can be - wait for it - propitiated.

-So yes, the God-Who-is-love sent His Son - His only begotten Son (we just touched on this) to be the propitiation for our sins.  The propitiation.  What is that, anyways?  That wins the award for churchiest word ever.  It is something which propitiates a god or spirit.  Well, that’s not helpful.  Propitiate means to win or regain the favor of a god by doing something which pleases them.  Maybe we are more familiar with the word, propitious.  Something which is favorable.  In this case, there is a God, and we have lost favor with Him, fallen completely out of favor, in fact, by living into a mindset and lifestyle which favored me over Him.  Me first, me-myself-and-I.  Me and other things (anything other) in His rightful place.  Because this God, He made me.  He fashioned me and all we earthly sojourners out of so much dust, breathed into us the miraculous breath of life, burdening us with glorious purpose and blessing us with the best of Himself.  To which we kicked Him off the throne of our lives and basically stuck Him on a bus to Altoona.  Nothing wrong with Altoona.  But we took over - that is sin - and this sin had to be paid for.  The good news is that it CAN be paid for!  Although there’s a catch - it can only be paid for by the shedding of blood.  The blood sacrifice of a innocent (sinless) person is the only way to fully expiate (pay for and remove) the guilt of someone’s sin - and that is because life is in the blood.  We don’t think much about blood sacrifice anymore in the west.  Seems so primitive and barbaric.  Our culture doesn’t spend much time trying to appease an angry god or spirit.  But don’t you think much of that is because of the truth of what God did in sending His Son to be the final all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins, and that all that is needed now is to trust in that, to believe in Him?  Is it not fair to say that this truth has indeed so effectively permeated and transformed our culture that this is one huge reason why we have moved beyond the more instinctive appeasement approach?  Go to other parts of the world, other cultures, and observe the appeasement mindset still in full flower, how desperate are the peoples of the world to appease divine anger against their sins.

-But the point is - we were off the ranch, and God brought us back.  He loved us.  We were so far out of favor, and it was our fault, but God rebuilt the bridge.  He restored us to favor with Him, undertook the whole operation by Himself.  We basically brought nothing to the table.  He loved us first - more on this in verse 19 (1John 4.19).  God sent His Son, He sent His only Son - John says it three times in this paragraph alone - to be the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins.  THE Propitiation.  To shed His perfect blood and fully turn away God’s wrath from us so that we could come home to Him in our hearts.  And in doing so He set us totally free from being enslaved to appeasement, He has set us free from the law of sin and death, no more condemnation or guilt anymore because God sent His Son (Romans 8.1-2).  Surely words are inadequate to express the depth of gratitude which we must have towards our Father in heaven, Who so loved us... Thank. You. Lord.

1John 4:9 - Love Shows Up

"In this was revealed the love of God in us, that His only Son God has sent unto the world in order that we should live through Him."

-God is love - and so He loved.  God so loved, and God thus did.  He did something which demonstrated His love.  Because love is a verb.  Love acts, love does, love shows up, it shows itself.  Yes, love is a show-off - it shows up and shows off, but not in the traditional meaning of that word.  It is not at all about self.  Rather it is totally focused on the beloved.  And love does not consist in empty words and sentiment.  It does not subsist on the vagaries of fickle feelings.  It is fueled in a heart of compassion at the ready.  It makes itself known, it reveals itself to the beloved.  It moves to meet the need of the one so loved, whatever the cost, even at great cost to the one loving.  

And this is what God did, in this God showed His love to us - He sent His Son, His one and only Son, into the world.  This Son He gave - for us.  He sacrificed His Son, for us.  In order that, so that we who were His enemies, we who were dead and dying should have life eternal.  That’s the reason, the purpose for which Christ was sent (1John 4.14).  I have two sons - I would be loathe to give up either one of them to save the life of another.  I mean, if you love your son, there’s no way.  How much more difficult would it be if we’re talking about your only son?  What if it was to save the world, to save the lives of billions?  Would you do it then?  I can’t even say that I could do that.  My own son, the apple of my eye, handing him over to my enemies for them to torture and execute him?  What great, amazing love the Father revealed in us, so that through the horrific death of His only Son we should have life through the same.  This love - and the life that it imparts - changes everything.  It changes my destiny forever.  And it changes my perspective and my life in the present - because it compels me to no longer live for myself.  Both out of gratitude and in following in the footsteps of this exemplary sacrifice, I give up my own life, my wants, my dreams, my plans, even my family, for the sake of knowing and following Him, for the sake of making Him famous (2Corinthians 5.14-15).  I become a love distributor!

-Yes, God revealed His love to us AND in us.  Not only do we see it and know it and experience it as we learn about it and begin to believe it and trust in it and then experience it poured out in our hearts (Romans 5.5), but it then spills out to those around, to those we know, to our family and our neighbors, to our city and to the nations.  God’s love becomes visible in and through us as we begin to love with the love with which He first loved us.  That is John’s point in this letter, that this love, God’s true agapé love multiplies, it replicates, by its very nature.  It is not something which I can receive and keep to myself, much less continue to contradict with actions of hatred or opposition, particularly towards God’s people.  If that is where I think I am, love coming in, got my fire insurance, yeah Jesus loves me this I know - but no love going out, then I am seriously deluded.

-Yep, love shows up.  In the kitchen, at the hospital, next door - with words and deeds which meet real needs.  And it's coming back...  (Lord, help me to love like that...)

1John 4:8 - THE Verb

"The [one] not loving did not know God, since God is love."

-No love, no God.  And the converse is also true - no God, no love.  Because God is love.  Yes, let’s say it again - God is love.  God.  Is.  Love.  This famous phrase appears only twice in all of Scripture, for the first time right here, and then in the very next paragraph.  It is one of the most profound yet simple statements in all of literature.  Yes, God is love.  He is the most loving Being in the universe, to the n-th degree and beyond.  Always and forever, love.  From everlasting to everlasting, love.  You can’t even wrap your mind around it, it is so immense, so wide and long and high and deep as to be incomprehensible.  Altho we can - and by all means (including prayer) certainly should endeavor to do so (as in Paul - Ephesians 3.17-19).  But right now, right here, God is love, and God so loves.  Inexhaustible uncontainable immeasurable love, overflowing, overwhelming unconditional love, giving, sacrificing, pursuing-that-which-is-good-for-the-other love.  It’s-not-about-me love.  Others-first others-more-important love.  This love is not about me, about how I feel.  It’s not about my happiness as the be all and end all.  This is love which finds its greatest satisfaction in giving itself away for the sake of another.  This is God, and He IS love.  Love incarnate.  Love with skin on - and He so wants to so love others with His love THROUGH US.  Love is not just what He is like, it is what He DOES.  Because love is NOT a feeling - it is a verb.  THE Verb.  It acts, it gives, it flows out and touches, works for the good of the world and those around us.

-Everything about God is characterized by love.  All love, all the time.  And so we must ask, where is the love?  What about the love?  Particularly, God's love in me directed towards His children, my brother and sister in Christ?  How am I doing at loving them?  How are we doing at loving one another?  Because our Daddy, this is what He is like.  He is all about this.  The consummate "Love Machine".  And He has designed it such that love is the be-all end-all goal of following Christ - love for Him, and for others, especially for His people.  And His children are to be little love machines running all over showing His love to peoples everywhere.  So much so that the person who is not loving, who is not “doing” the love thing very likely “did not” (come to) know God (not yet at least).  There is not a time in their life when they put their faith in His Son.  As best we can tell, they are not “out of” God, He has not worked in them a rebirth of love.  Now, it IS possible they may be having a bad day, or going through a rough season - it happens to everyone, right?  But when you look at their life, and how they live over a period of time, if you do not see love, this giving sacrificing doing love which comes only from God, then it is safe to assume that this person has not yet come to know the God Who is love.  And yes, unbelievers are certainly capable of rising to great acts of sacrifice and generosity - but we’re talking a consistent lifestyle of this selfless love, something which is quite impossible to sustain apart from a heavenly reboot and daily divine enabling.  God help us indeed...

1John 4:7 - Love Distributors: Lovely, loving, beloved people of love

"Beloved, may we be loving one another, since the love out of God is, and everyone loving out of God has been begotten and is knowing God."

-Beloved, he says.  This works on several levels.  You are loved by God, by the God Who so loves.  He made you, and saved you, and has blessed you.  You are so loved.  But you are His new creation, His handiwork, a work of love, and you are part of this community of love.  You have been brought into this forever family of everlastingly loved people who should be, ought to be expressing this divine love to one another.  In here, you are loved, and you should get love.  May it be so, John says.  May we be loving one another like the beloved people of love that we are.  And what’s more, the reason I am saying this is that I love you too, John says.  I care, and I care too much in fact to not urge you all on towards love, towards the greatest of these and the ultimate goal of all our instruction (1Corinthians 13.13, 1Timothy 1.5).  All our lessons and sermonizing and efforts and strategies and programs and mission statements ought to wind up here.

-Because God makes love.  He begets love.  That’s exactly what John says here.  Love is from God.  He loves - it’s what He do.  He exudes it from every fiber of His infinite being.  It comes out of Him like an artesian well, spilling over into all the world, all the universe.  And it is what we ought also do...

-So then - know love, know God.  That’s what he’s saying.  If you would know love, go straight to the Source.  The Divine Love Maker Himself.  A veritable Love Factory.  But you should also be able to go to His love distributors, to those He has begoten, those He has made, or rather remade in His image, in whom He has worked a spiritual rebirth and in whom He has caused His Spirit of love to dwell.  You should be able to go to them, and see and get love.  May we, as His love distributors, become extra good at this, at loving one another.  Employees of the month - every day, every week.  How are we doing at loving one another?  This is where it starts, and where it should end up.

1John 4:6 - The Ultimate True/False Question

“We out of God are, the [one] knowing God is hearing us, [he] who is not out of God is not hearing us.  Out of this we are knowing the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

-Here we have the ultimate true/false question.  And you had to like those odds in high school when you for sure didn’t know the right answer.  Only two choices, and you had a 50/50 chance.  Much better than a mulitple choice question - esp those ones with the D) All of the above, and E) None of the above.  Those were killers.  But no multiple choice here.  No 50 shades of grey, either.  No, not even one.  What we have is truth and error.  True and false.  Right and wrong.  Black and white.  No grey area to be seen here.  John stakes out the boundaries in no uncertain terms.  True or false: Jesus is the Way.  And note John’s confidence - we are out of God, which means we on the side of truth.  If you know God, you therefore know and listen to the truth.  I.E., you listen to us and what we’re saying about this One Whom we saw and heard and touched (John 19.35, 1John 1.1).  It does come off as sounding somewhat circular - you are listening to truth, ‘cuz what we are saying is true - but John and his companions were actually eyewitnesses.  We SAW Him, with our own two eyes, he says.  We saw all that He did, for three years.  We TOUCHED Him - and He touched us, and healed us.  And we HEARD Him.  We heard what He taught.  And we heard God Himself speak from heaven, at least three times (Matthew 3.17, 17.5; John 12.28)!  What’s more, we have signs and wonders to back up what we have been saying (Acts 5.12, Hebrews 2.3-4)!  What we are saying about Jesus is true, this is the spirit of truth which is from God Himself.  Thus we and all those who believe in Jesus are on the side of truth and can be said to be “out of God”.  It’s not at all about me and what I might bring to the table - it’s all about Jesus.  Do I believe in Him?  Am I following Him?  But this extends to both teachers and hearers (follower/believers).  True follower/believers (ones who truly believe in Jesus) listen to true teacher/believers (who also truly follow/believe in Jesus), whereas false followers do not.

-”Error” is a wandering.  That is the picture in the Greek.  This person has strayed from the path.  They are lost.  They have been led astray somehow, possibly from childhood even, and very likely have been or will be leading others astray.  And everyone gets lost at some point.  Maybe you were taking a test, or doing some homework, and got lost.  You didn’t know how to proceed.  Maybe you were going somewhere, and you took a wrong turn.  It helps to have clear directions.  Or a map.  Used to be, you had your "map people" - or used to before GPS.  Going someplace new?  You needed a map.  Map people would have dozens of maps (I did!).  Now you’ve got your GPS people - can’t go out of the house without their GPS.  The thing about being lost is getting UN-lost, getting found.  Getting back on the path, back on track.  It can begin with making sure you’re not following someone who is lost themselves (and pity the one who copies a test answer from someone else who got it wrong!)!  But we’re not talking about making a wrong turn in Albuquerque.  This isn’t some bonus question on a pop quiz, some simple sophomoric mistake likely to be graded on a curve.  No, we’re not talking about some roadtrip or grade school hijinks, here - this is a matter of life and death, and this error, this fateful, fatal wandering will cost you your very soul.  Surely one would want better than 50/50 odds.  That’s pretty much hanging your eternal destiny on a coin flip.  Spiritual russian roulette - who in their right mind would play that?  Except with 50/50 odds you've got THREE bullets in the gun.  Surely one can do better.   And this is John’s point.  We CAN know, for sure.  No guesswork here.  No hint or shade of grey.

-This is also why we see Jesus’ half-brother James being so keen to stress the importance of turning people from their erroneous wandering ways (James 5.20).  Helping them to get on the right track, helping them move from lost to found.  There is an art to doing this, of course (cf Galatians 6.1, 2Timothy 2.25) - cautious gentleness.  And unlike that grade school test, in this instance, we ARE actually looking for red marks - the crimson blood of Jesus which in truth covers up and takes away all our mistakes, all our wanderings and spiritual error.  He is the Way, and the Truth.  Do you and I believe this?  Are we listening?

1John 4:5 - Heaping helping of insipid platitudes and a little side of Jesus...?

-”They out of the world are, because of this out of the world they are speaking and the world is hearing them.”

-Ah, these pesky antichrists.  All these ones who oppose those who are out of God (in Christ) - these are out of the world.  They belong to the world, to this world system, to that which has been aligned against God and His purposes from the very beginning.  And increasingly so.  That’s what Paul wrote to Timothy, that “things” will be going from bad to worse (2Timothy 3.13), deceived deceivers, imposters, posers.  Remember John is talking about false prophets - ones who purport to actually have a message from God.  And whatever message they are communicating does not acknowledge Jesus as Messiah.  It does not make Him famous.  It does not flatter Him or reinforce the truth about Him in any way.  At best, these worldly teachers are a distraction, but know for sure that no matter how much Scripture they may employ, the source for their material is the world.  Worldly wisdom and values - fallen, flawed, fallacious.  And ultimately opposed to the truth about Jesus.  But the citizens of the world, those who subscribe to the world system, its ways and values, they listen to these false prophets.  They accumulate for themselves teachers who tickle their ears and spout off all kinds of pithy, profound, feel good drivel.  They may even offer lip service to Jesus.  Jesus is alright with me.  Sure, I believe in Jesus.  Jesus and (all) the (other) prophets and teachers.  The flavor of the month, I’ll take a little of that, a little dab’ll do ya.  Would you like some Jesus with your combo meal?  Sure, I’ll take a little side of Jesus with that - but not too much!  Building their castle on so much shifting sand.  They seem wise and compassionate, they sound progressive, educated, they are entertaining and they make people feel better about themselves.  But Jesus Messiah is left out of the picture.  He is relegated to a minor role at best.  Whatever ado they are making, it is not much ado about Jesus.  Jesus Messiah doesn’t sell tickets, He doesn’t grow ratings, and frankly He is a fork.  He is a pain in the spiritual you-know-what.  He believes in absolute truth (He IS Absolute Truth).  He forces you to be honest about your sin and guilt before God and to deal with it, and the world doesn’t want to hear that.  It’s uncomfortable (can’t have that!).  It’s judgmental, narrow-minded, bigoted, antiquated, victorian.  It’s intolerant - and the world won’t tolerate intolerance.  So they listen to the ones - almost anyone - who will tolerate them and let them continue to wallow in their waywardness (2Timothy 4.3).  Heaping helpings of insipid platitudes, and nary a hint of sound doctrine.  But ours is no popularity contest.  Ours is an Audience of One.  #AO1

1John 4:4 - Our Spiritual MVP

”You all out of God are, little children, and have conquered them, because greater is the [One] in you than the [one] in the world.”

-Nike.  Niké in the Greek.  It means victory.  Just win, baby.  And that’s what we did.  Through Jesus.  Our Rescuer.  Our Deliverer.  Our glorious incomparable spiritual MVP.  He is the One Who has carried us - our whole team - to victory.  Victory over sin and death - and over all those pesky antichrists, every last one of them, over any and all those who oppose.  “We shall overcome” is a popular refrain, but whoever wrote that isn’t telling the whole story.  In Christ, we already have.  We HAVE overcome - because Jesus has overcome the world (John 16.33).  It’s not future tense, something which remains to be seen - it’s perfect tense - a completed action in the past, with continuing results in the present.  This victory was won at the cross and the empty tomb.  And the results stand until this day.  John has already told us twice that we HAVE overcome the evil one (1John 2.13-14).  In that passage it was young (brave and strong) men who had conquered the evil one, but here it is the little children.  Even the little children are more than conquerors in our all-conquering Christ (Romans 8.37)!  All of the assembled forces of darkness, they were summarily trounced by the King of kings, along with all the naysayers and skeptics, all our would-be foes and any and all who consider us fools for following Jesus to begin with.  And there is the wonderful irony.  The very opposition we take on when we take up our stand in Christ has already been defeated - by Christ!  They may disrespect us, they may avoid us, they may try to silence us and persecute us and even try to kill us, but we’ve already won.  In Christ.  We’ve won the battle.    And it was a rout.  They were all thoroughly vanquished.  Sure, there are skirmishes to be fought, and it may be tough sledding at times, but we’ve already triumphed!  We’re on our victory lap, we in the ticker-tape parade to end all ticker tape parades, even as we speak (2Corinthians 2.14)!  AND there is no shame at all in jumping on this bandwagon!  Because as soon as we get on God’s side, the moment we trust in Him, that puts God on our side, and if God is on our side, ain’t nobody gonna be able to handle that.  You know that’s right.  (Romans 8.31).

-But the way to be on this winning side, the way to be “out of God”, as John puts it, is to be IN Christ.  Believing IN Him.  Not just knowing facts about Him.  The devil knows facts about Jesus.  And he’s convinced that they’re true.  But there’s no way he’s going to humble himself and turn from self to trust in Jesus’ death on the cross as the all-sufficient payment for His sin.  He’s not going to fully follow and devote himself to Christ.  But this is what we must do, if we want this victory.  If we want to be on the winning side.  Please, if you haven’t already, put your trust IN Jesus and what He did on the cross for you today.  Make sure you have done that.  And then follow Him.  He’s a great follow...!  The Best!

1John 4:3 - Those Who Oppose...

”...And every spirit which is not confessing Jesus is not out of God.  And this is the [spirit] of antichrist, which you heard that it is coming, and now in the world it is already.” 

-Confessing Jesus.  Confessing Jesus.  This then is the litmus test of every would-be teacher and messenger and message which purports to represent truth pertaining to God.  Do they confess Jesus, do they “say-the-same” things about Him, do they agree with what God says about Him in Scripture and with what Jesus said about Himself?  Because if they do not, they are not from God.  Pure and simple.  Laser focus - what do they say about Jesus?

-And this is the starting point for helping determine where anyone is in their personal faith journey.  It may not be the actual starting point for any discussions we may have with them.  There may need to be a little (or quite a bit of) “pre-evangelism” which takes place prior to that.  Conversations about the existence of God, the trustworthiness of Scripture, the nature of creation, etc.  Compassionate questions about their own spiritual journey.  Maybe they’ve been wounded or burned and they need to be convinced that we care - before they care to hear that of which we are convinced.  But sooner or later, it’ll all come down to Jesus.  What does one know - and believe - about Him?  We need to be pointing our neighbors and the nations to Him.

-But there always will be those who oppose.  John has already mentioned antichrist, that which is against or opposes Christ.  Even in John’s day, there was a general awareness that one day there would come this person or figure who would be the embodiment of evil, of all that which has forever stood in opposition to God and His purposes, and who would take a final stand against God and His people.  But John restates that this “spirit” was already active in the world when he wrote.  And to be sure, there were those who opposing Jesus from the very beginning, bruising Him on His heel at every step (cf Genesis 3.15).  Folks in his hometown disrespecting Him, Pharisees and religious leaders arguing and conspiring against Him, His own followers (one of them at least) plotting against Him and betraying Him.  And the evil one himself - powerless to stop Him or even stand before Him, yet tempting Him and resisting Him nonetheless.  This spirit was already in the world, and is front and center in our world today - massive resistance at many points to even naming the Name of Jesus.  Many (too many) have exacerbated the situation and sadly have sullied that beautiful Name by misusing and misrepresenting it.  But the battle has been joined even apart from that, a desperate rebellion, countless spiritual rebels not going down without a fight, led by one who was a rebel from the beginning.  And as God’s appointed Rescuer, Jesus becomes the lightning rod.  He is the whipping boy (quite literally, in fact).  People blanch when you even mention the name, Jesus.  They choke on that Name. They curse with it - and some simply curse it.  Ultimately it speaks instantly to whatever rebellion lurks in the shadows of an unbended unmended heart.  The more they embrace and cling to their rebellion, the more they must oppose the One Who would rescue them - from themselves.

1John 4:2 - Heavenly-sourced...

”In this you all are knowing the Spirit of God: every spirit which is confessing Jesus Christ in flesh having come, out of God is...”

-The very first thing to look for when testing a spirit is, what do they say about Jesus?  If we are going to own our own Pied Piper prevention, this is where we start.  Rule #1 for good fruit inspectors - what do this person say about Jesus Christ?  John says we can know for sure, and it all begins - and ends - with Jesus.  His is the Name above all names, the greatest Name in history, sweet honey on the lips to some, bitter gall and guilt to others.  His is the Name which launched a thousand ships - of missionaries carrying His Name (along with their own coffins) to the ends of the earth, which inspires feats of great love and sacrifice and which (sadly) tears families and nations asunder (very sad reality, but Jesus Himself predicted the same - cf Matthew 10.34-36, 24.9).  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end - of history AND of Truth.  And so we can know whether someone is teaching true truth which is authentic and carries the heavenly seal of approval by this.  Teaching which is heavenly-sourced begins and ends with the basic premise that Jesus is heaven-sent.  He came from God, and became a flesh-and-blood man, the God-man.  Infinite almighty God became a finite man and took on frail flesh.  The Incarnation, we call it.  Unreasonable, inconceivable, and otherwise scientifically impossible, yes.  But this is Christianity 101.  This is where we start, this is what you look for.

Anyone who is teaching with the power and help of the Holy Spirit will reinforce this most basic tenet of the Christian faith, because the Holy Spirit came and still does come in order to glorify Christ.  “He will guide you into all truth... and He will glorify Me” - that’s exactly what Jesus said (John 16.13-14).  All the other religions, non-Christian religions, and all the sects and cults which have spun off of the Christian faith - they whiff on this right here (now there may be a few which get this right but then whiff on something else, but that is another discussion).

But so, this is our ready position (tennis players).  Got Jesus?  Alright, now we can proceed.  Look for this, first and foremost.  If someone is teaching, purporting to be teaching truth, specifically Christian truth, inspect this.  What do they say about Jesus?  Who is Jesus?  And corollarily (is that even a word?), make it your goal to be absolutely sure yourself of the truth about Jesus.  Maybe it would help you to write out what you know about Jesus, what you are convinced is true about Him (no, it would definitely help).  Your own personal Jesus statement.  Look up and write down the verses of Scripture which give you this assurance.  Savior.  Promised Messiah.  Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.  God’s Son.  God Himself.  The God Who loves you.  Born of a virgin.  In Bethlehem of Judea.  Grew up in Nazareth.  He was a real live Person Who lived and died to rescue and bring to heaven you and me and anyone who believes IN Him.  But don’t just take my word for it, don’t write what I just wrote - do it for yourself.  And know for sure what you believe about Jesus.  Test the spirits yourself - you can do this!

1John 4:1 - Pied Pipers, Cynics, and Amateur Alethiologists

”Beloved, not every spirit you all be trusting, but rather you all be proving by testing the spirits, if out of God it is, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

-They say that trust is earned, but so is distrust.  Trust is actually the default setting on the human heart - kids believe what you tell them.  Jesus taught us to trust like little children.  And kids do that - until you or I or someone else prove untrustworthy and begin to give them reasons to distrust.  As we grow up we learn that we can’t in fact trust everybody.  People let us down.  People make mistakes.  People are mistaken.  Some of us wind up so disappointed and disillusioned and wounded and jaded that we find it next to impossible to trust anyone.  We still want to trust, however, especially in matters of faith.  We’re hardwired to trust.  Our souls retain an earnest longing for a shepherd who will watch over us and guide us and feed us, someone we can trust.  We come to a setting like the church where we assume (desperately hope even) that we should be able to find truth and a trustworthy shepherd.  Sadly, too often this is not the case.

-False prophets.  False teachers.  Liars.  You can’t trust what they say - makes it hard to know who you CAN trust.  Even in John’s day, there were many of them, apparently.  They had gone out into all the world,  Trying to deceive and lead people away from the truth.  In our day it has been typified by the so-called televangelists.  The preachers of prosperity who so often seem more interested in helping your money find a way into their own pockets than in helping you to find heaven and a heaping helping of soul-satisfying truth.  A generation ago when there were only a handful of stations on television it was a lot easier to stumble across them.  Their voice has perhaps been diluted somewhat with the rise of the new digital media and so many more entertainment mediums to choose from, but in their heydey they helped to produce an entire generation of cynics.  Such false teachers are enough to turn your stomach, turn you off, and turn even the most hopeful believer into a cynic.  Or a skeptic.  Makes it hard to know who to believe, who to trust, or if you can even trust anyone at all.  But John is not here endorsing cynicism.  Life in a broken world can cetainly do that, turn anyone into a cynic.  Where you question everything and everyone and are unwilling to trust at any level.  You’ve been burned, or you’ve seen too much, heard one too many charlatans.

-But John is not saying that we should never trust, that we should trust no spirit whatsoever not ever - just not all of them.  Because anyone can be mistaken, at any time.  Even the wisest, most-learned of teachers.  And, John affirms, it is possible to know which spirits are in fact from God.  He wants us to take some responsibility for our diet, for our intake of truth.  So he tells us to be testing the spirits.  You and I and anyone really can prove whether or not what someone is teaching is true or false.  Weigh what someone is saying against the counsel of Scrpiture.  And be a fruit inspector - look at the fruit of their lives as well as the fruit in the lives of those who are following their teaching.  John is suggesting that we all become amateur alethiologists.  Alethiology is the study of truth, and he is putting the onus of knowing and being able to test truth on his readers.  On us.  Truth sleuths!  It is easier perhaps to leave it up to someone else, to not bother to go through the trouble of testing anyone.  Of course this invariably gives rise to the Pied Piper syndrome and could lead to the shipwreck of your faith.  Or one could simply choose to not believe, not trust anyone.  The possible outcomes here are just as ruinous, if not moreso.  But as there is strength in numbers, we can do this, with the help of the One Jesus sent to help us, Who came to guide us into all truth.  Pied Piper prevention.  This is possible - we’ve got this.