Introduction:

1. Skeptics falsely accuse Christians of blindly accepting the faith without critical examination of the claims.

2. Some who profess faith are guilty as charged due to either gullibility or laziness regarding the word.

3. The NT commends and commands critical examination of claims to speak God’s word (Matthew 7:15-20; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1-3).

Discussion:

I. The Command and Need to Discern (vs. 1)

A. The plural commands demand all Christians test the spirits.

B. This command is frequent (Matthew 7:15-20; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

C. False prophets pose a grave danger (Acts 20:28-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 18-22; 3:14-18).

II. The Measures for Discerning the Spirits (vv. 2-6)

A. John names three tests in the text:

1. Do they confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh? (vv. 2-3)

2. Do they speak the things of the world? (vs. 5; 2:15-17)

3. Do they hear/accept the apostolic gospel? (vv. 5-6; 1 John 1:1-4)

B. God has revealed all we need to discern worldly things from godly things (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 5:11-17; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:3).

III. The Need to Sharpen Our Discernment (Hebrews 5:11-14)

A. Satan and his followers are clever and deceitful (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 11:3, 13-15; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Timothy 4:1-2).

B. The Bible does not explicitly address every possible sinful action, so we must learn to apply the principles to new situations.

C. Jesus lamented the fact that the sons of this world were outwitting the sons of light (Luke 16:8).

D. This demands diligence in our study (2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 5:11-6:2).

1. Thankfully, He who is in us is greater than him who is in the world (vs. 4).

2. We must be about the business God has given us to do.

3. Our souls depend on it, so let us test the spirits to see whose they are.