Three tests to determine if teaching is true or false – Advent Love, Part 2

In the adjunct courses I teach, I require students to use quality sources to support their essays. But what is a quality source? I use words like “academic,” “peer-reviewed,” and “scholarly” to describe quality sources. I do not allow them to use blogs, church sermons, or devotional commentaries. If they are uncertain, I encourage them to ask me about a source.

This concern to evaluate teaching is applicable beyond our internet era. Since day one of the church, there have always been people who are unfaithful teachers. But how do you know if a pastor, preacher or podcaster is faithful or not? In this post, I share three tests you can use.

This week we are studying 1 John 4:7–21. In verses 1–6, John talks about false teachers. John wants to make sure people stay true to Jesus’ teaching, but there were teachers who had other ideas.  Those other teachers were trying to deceive the Christians away from the teaching of Jesus.  The presence of false teachers has been a reality in every era.  There is false teaching in our era.  John wants all Christians to have the tools to identify false teaching.

In 1 John 4:1–6, John provides two tests which can help us evaluate the content of any teaching to determine if it is true or false teaching:

First, the Christ test. Look at verses 2–3.  John asks: “Do the teachers acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh and is from God?”  Some might say Jesus came in the flesh.  Some might say he came from God.  Authentic Christian teachers affirm that Jesus is both 100% human and 100% God.  That is the Christ test. 

Second, the Apostle test.  Look at verse 6.  John says, “Whoever knows God listens to us.”  In other words, does the teacher affirm apostolic teaching, the doctrine of the New Testament?  Are they teaching in line with genuine Christian teaching?  That is the Apostle test.

Those are the two tests in 1 John 4, verses 1–6.  With those two tests, John teaches the Christians living near the end of the first century how they can distinguish between true and false teaching.  As we continue studying our passage for this week, 1 John 4:7–21, John proposes a third test in verse 7, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”  This is John’s foundational principle for Christian relationships: We love one another, because love emanates from God. 

John envisions love as not just an idea or an opinion; John envisions love as an action that flows from God to us and then through us to other people.  God is the source of love.  It is almost as if John sees love as an active power than is work in the life of the God, such that when God is in us, his love flows out from us to others.  This presence of love is absolutely essential for John.

The presence of love is the third test.  In addition to the Christ test and the Apostle test, now John gives us the Love test.  Do you see love emanating from the life of the teacher?  If not, then they might be a false teacher.  In other words, actions speak louder than words.  What is the person’s personal life like?  Are they loving?  That is the Love test. 

A teacher who impacted me greatly was Ravi Zacharias, a powerful preacher of the Christian faith. Unbeknownst to most everyone, though, Zacharias lived in an unloving, abusive secret life. He passed the Christ test and the Apostle test, but not the Love test.

John has a lot more to say about the Love test.  In rest of the verse 7 and 8, notice the contrast, “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God,”

If someone says they are a Christian, but they do not carry themselves in a loving way, there is a problem.  So observe a person. Is love emanating from their lives?  Do they love others?  When you observe the actions of the person, are they clearly a loving person?

The Love Test suggests that a person can have all the right doctrine, but if they do not love, that doctrine, that knowledge is worthless. This reminds me of what Paul said in the famous love chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:1–3,

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

A person can look really good outwardly, but if they do not have active outward love, it is all for naught.  Why?  Those people are still doing some amazing ministry, right? Isn’t that loving?  Doesn’t their extreme generosity to the poor count for something? Yes, I’m sure those who receive the donations will be happy.  But Paul’s point, and John’s point is that there is something deeper.  We’ll learn about that something deeper in the next post.

Photo by Phil Hearing on Unsplash