daily bible readings

We often have somewhat romantic notions of the early church. We can view, somewhat unfortunately, the early church through rose coloured glasses, refusing to see what was really happening and denying the issues that were present. In the churches that John was writing to, it is clear that some had left the church (chapter 2) and were causing havoc by their false teaching and false prophesies. They had left the church because they were antagonistic to Christ and wanted something more.

The fact that John declares that many false prophets have gone out into the world reveals that there were issues in the early church. Even a shallow reading of the Old Testament reveals that there have always been false prophets among God’s people. God had commanded His people in the Old Testament to test the prophets, much as John is doing here. Back then, Deuteronomy 18:22 reveals that the test was whether or not what the prophet prophesied came true or not. Those whose prophesies did not eventuate were false prophets and were to be stoned to death. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 also reveals that a false prophet will lead God’s people to worship idols and to serve false gods.

The existence of false prophets and anti-Christians in the church means that the church must be vigilant. While we do not advocate witch hunts or suspecting everyone and anyone who says a word contrary to Scripture, the church must adhere to the command given in 1 John 4:1. We have to test every spirit to see whether they are from God or not. We should not blindly accept a “spiritual” message without testing it.

Perhaps the most heart warming example of a church committed to the truth occurs in Acts 17:11. It’s there that we read of the Berean Christians. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Such a church protects the truth of God by comparing everything to the Word of God. Anything that contradicts the Word of God is rejected. False prophets who seek to lead God’s people astray towards idols and the worship of false gods will be quickly spotted and rejected. False teachers and prophets will probably leave that church seeking more vulnerable congregations.

Each church needs to make sure that Hebrews 5:14 is actively being practiced by both the church and individuals. It is necessary that both individuals and groups have “by constant use [of Scripture] trained themselves  to distinguish good from evil.” As this happens more and more and as individuals grow in the faith, we are more apt to test the spirits.

The great danger that must be avoided is to forbid all prophesy and all supernatural events. Such a blanket ban would be to treat prophecies with 

contempt and to rob the church of many blessings from the Lord. As Paul counsels the Thessalonian church in  1 Thessalonians 5:19–22, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.”

As the world slides into deeper darkness and as the “church” across the globe adopts more and more standards from the world, the true church needs to be increasingly discerning. We need to learn to listen to the voice of God and to shut out the voice of the world and the antichrist. We need to be discerning and careful so that we can continue to shine the light of Jesus, to do the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to be doing and to be making disciples of all nations.

Prayer: 

Adoration:

• Adore God that He is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
• Adore God that His truth is revealed to us in the Word and that we can be certain that God’s Word is true.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for His forgiveness.

Thanks:

• Thank God that He loves you and has given you a role to play in the church, the body of Christ, so that the church can function effectively in the world, doing what God has commissioned it to be doing.
• Thank God that neither evil nor the gates of Hades will not prevail over the church.

Supplication:

• Pray that your church will grow in discernment and its ability to recognise good from evil.
• Pray that more and more believers in your church will immerse themselves in the Word of God and study it so as to grow to be more like Christ and to be able to discern better.

Discussion Questions

1. What command does John give us in 1 John 4:1?
2. Why does he give us this command?
3. If these false prophets have gone out into the world, where have they gone from? See 1 John 2:18-19.
4. Why have they gone out into the world?