Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

River Valley Church • Pastor Davey Collins •

Summary

Pastor Davey Collins continues the series on the Epistles of John by diving into 1 John chapter 4. The message emphasizes the importance of spiritual discernment in a world filled with false teachings and spiritual confusion. John, writing as a spiritual grandfather, repeatedly emphasizes that believers must test every spirit and teaching against the truth of who Jesus Christ is—fully God and fully man who came in the flesh. The sermon focuses on three key areas believers must examine: their feed (what spiritual content they consume), their heart (their capacity to love others), and their confession (whether their words align with their character). Pastor Davey warns against spiritual influencers who sound good but twist the truth, including self-help salesmen, progressive mystics, moralistic therapeutic deists, and social gospel activists who preach justice without Jesus. True spiritual health is measured not by knowledge alone, but by love—the most concentrated use of the word "love" in Scripture appears in 1 John 4, with 27 mentions in one chapter. The message concludes with a powerful reminder that God demonstrated His love first by sending Jesus as the payment for our sins. Our love for others is not optional but a vital spiritual sign that proves our relationship with God. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the litmus test for all spiritual teaching, and our confession must be backed up by our character and actions.

Key Takeaways

  • Test every spirit - not every spiritual-sounding message is Jesus-focused
  • The incarnation is the litmus test: Jesus came fully God and fully man in the flesh
  • He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world
  • Love is a spiritual vital sign - proof of whether we're close to God
  • If God is love and you abide with God, you should be more loving
  • 1 John 4 uses the word 'love' 27 times - the densest use in Scripture
  • You can't fake a confession - your character must match your words
  • If you say you love God but hate your brother, you're a liar
  • We love because He first loved us

Outline

Introduction and Context

  • Celebration of youth ministry achievements at General Council
  • Announcement of men's camping trip September 5-7
  • Recap of previous weeks in 1 John series
  • Setting the scene: spiritual confusion in John's community

Check Your Feed (Test the Spirits)

  • Don't believe every spirit - test them to see if they're from God
  • False spiritual messages spread six times faster than truth
  • The incarnation is the litmus test: Jesus came in the flesh
  • Beware of Instagram gurus and YouTube theologians
  • Examples of false teachers: self-help salesmen, progressive mystics, moralistic therapeutic deists, social gospel activists
  • Every message must point to the fullness of Jesus Christ
  • The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy
  • He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world

Check Your Heart (Love as Spiritual Vital Sign)

  • Love is from God - whoever loves has been born of God
  • Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love
  • Love is a spiritual vital sign - the EKG of your spiritual life
  • God demonstrated love by sending Jesus as propitiation for our sins
  • The word 'love' appears 27 times in 1 John 4
  • Imitation before participation - learning to love takes practice
  • We must look at how Jesus lived and loved
  • Our love for others is not optional but foundational

Check Your Confession (Words Must Match Character)

  • Whoever confesses Jesus is the Son of God - God abides in them
  • What you confess determines where you abide
  • You can't fake a confession
  • If you say you love God but hate your brother, you're a liar
  • Character must be congruent with confession
  • Confession is part of salvation: confess with your mouth, believe in your heart
  • We need correction when confession doesn't align with character

Conclusion and Call to Response

  • There is no fear in love - perfect love casts out fear
  • We love because He first loved us
  • God demonstrated His love while we were still sinners
  • Call to take spiritual inventory and re-surrender to God

Scripture References

1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:2-3
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 4:5-6
They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
1 John 4:7-8
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:9-10
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:11-12
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:13-14
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
1 John 4:15-16
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:17-18
This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:19-21
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Revelation 19:10
At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of God who gives the testimony about Jesus.'
Galatians 1:6-9
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!
Romans 10:9
If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.