It is a sad but true fact that God’s people have always had to deal with false teachers and false teaching. Moses warned of false prophets who would speak that which would not come to pass (Deut. 18:21-22). Jeremiah wrote of those who prophesied for dishonest gain (Jer. 6:13-14), and whose message originated from within their own hearts (Jer. 23:16). The New Testament speaks of “false Christs” (Matt. 24:24); “false teachers” (2 Pet. 2:1); “false apostles” (2 Cor. 11:13); and “false witnesses” (Matt. 26:20). Considering the historical context of the book of 1 John, it should come as no surprise to us that John saw fit to warn his readers about false teaching as well. First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” In the first century, God’s people had the responsibility to guard the truth. The Church of the twenty-first century has that obligation as well.
John begins his exhortation with the term “beloved.” It appears eight times in his epistles, three of those are in 1 John 4. It is a term of affection and endearment that expresses his deep love for those to whom he wrote. This is not an insignificant point. There are many who consider it to be hateful and old fashioned to deal with the subject of false teaching, but not John. He wrote about false teachers because he loved his brethren too much to see them swallowed up by the mouths of untruth. See 1 John 2:18-24; 3:23-24; 5:2-3; and James 5:19-20 for further elaboration on this point.
To be continued…