Well, good morning to everyone. Good to see you all this morning. I was just thinking about Pastor's encouraging story about Emma and her mother and how Romans 5 is all about justification by faith, that when Adam sinned, all men sinned in Adam, and that as we were condemned in that one unrighteous act, so we are made right with God. We are justified by faith alone through the one righteous act of Jesus Christ. That's the truth. 

And because Emma's mother heard that truth, she could believe and be saved forever. That's really what we're going to talk about this morning—a need for the truth. As Pastor said, our strong conviction and belief here is that I don't sit in my study and write topics and look for Scriptures to support them every week, but I go to the next set of verses in the book we're preaching through. 

What that means is I don't get to skip the hard verses. And we're in some hard verses this morning. The message is difficult to preach, but it's an important message because it's about truth versus error. We've been emphasizing throughout this first epistle of John and especially in the last several weeks, the confident assurance that we can have in Jesus Christ because we believe Jesus. John's main theme is assurance—assurance of salvation and eternal life for those who believe. 

But he also has a prominent secondary theme in the epistle, and he's going to come back to that in our text today. John is very concerned about those who would try to draw us away from the truth. I'd like to just set the context by going back to 2 John 2.18 if you would. 

We'll read through those verses there. 2 John 2.18 says, "'Little children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 

I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us, eternal life. 

These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you." Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11 that some have come preaching another Jesus. He was afraid that the Corinthians would be deceived from the simplicity that is in Christ—the simple Gospel of Christ's atonement, His death in our place, and righteousness through faith alone in Him. He said, "You may well put up with it." If they come preaching another Jesus, you may accept it. This was Paul's fear. 

And this is John's concern, writing to us about those who would try to deceive us, to draw us away. It was true in John's time, and it's true in our time. Those who claim the name of Jesus but deny Him who He is and what He has accomplished. John is warning us about false teachers, demonic forces, and the danger of believers losing their focus and therefore their assurance and their fruitfulness. 

He's just finished telling us at the end of chapter 3 that God has given to those who believe His Holy Spirit to dwell in them permanently and to give them assurance that they are God's. He's emphasized the assurance that comes with the Spirit of God. And now in chapter 4, verse 1, John says, "Be careful now. Be discerning." Because not every spirit is from God. We must test the spirits. 

Because there are those demonic forces—those minions of Satan—behind every false teaching, doctrine, and religion who are trying to deceive us. Our text today is a call to discernment. Discernment in our modern evangelical community has become a bit out of style. The mood of the church today is to not be too didactic, not to emphasize doctrine too much, not to judge others. 

But the Scripture calls us repeatedly to do this very thing: to discern, to discriminate, to judge between what is right and what is wrong. And that is really the message of John here in the first part of chapter 4. Look at verse 6 with me, please. He says, "We are of God. He who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." 

You see, there is a spirit of truth and there are spirits of error. And my brothers and sisters, this defines the battle. This is the essence of spiritual warfare. Truth versus error. 

Let's read our whole text together beginning in verse 1. John says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. 

You are of God, little children, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world; therefore, they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." 

I've given you three points on your outline that we're going to look at. First, demonic warfare. Second, defining the battle. And third, discerning the truth. 

I'd like for you to turn with me to Daniel 10 as we begin. Daniel 10 at verse 12. As I studied through this text and wrote my thoughts and worked through it, I found that I could have preached three or four sermons on this text, so we'll try and bring it all into one as we go here. 

Daniel 10, we see a very interesting text in verse 12. It says, "Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days. And behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. 

Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.' When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, 'My Lord, because of the vision, my sorrows have overwhelmed me and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my Lord talk with you, my Lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.' 

Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, 'O man greatly beloved, fear not. Peace be to you. Be strong. Yes, be strong.' So when he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, 'Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me.' 

Then he said, 'Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia. And when I have gone forth, indeed, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of truth. No one upholds me against these except Michael, your prince.'" 

Well, in this chapter, Daniel is given a vision. And he begins to pray for understanding of the vision. The answer to his prayer doesn't come for three weeks, for 21 days. And the fascinating thing to see here is that from the first moment Daniel began to pray, an angel was dispatched to answer his prayer. However, this angel was held up in a battle with a demonic force here called the prince of Persia. 

And the angel tells Daniel that Michael, the archangel, had to come and help him so that he would be freed to make his way to Daniel to explain the vision. In verse 10, he says that he must return to fight the prince of Persia and that soon the prince of Greece will come. These were the kingdoms ruling over Israel in Daniel's time. Babylon had fallen. Persia was ruling, and soon, Alexander the Great would come with great speed conquering the known world. 

And behind him would be a demonic force called here the prince of Greece. Well, we don't have a great understanding of these things. But we get a rare glimpse here in the Word of God as to the great battle going on behind the scenes and how Satan and his demons are very much involved in the affairs of men and of this world. 

In the Gospels, we see Jesus confront and cast out demons repeatedly. The same is true for the apostles in the book of Acts. But it's not just political or personal influence that the demonic realm has as it meddles in the affairs of men. Perhaps the greatest work of Satan is in the religious realm. 

In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is writing to believers, warning them about false teachers, about false doctrine, drawing them away from the simplicity that is in Christ, much the same as John is warning us in our text. I'd like for you to turn to 2 Corinthians 11 with me, please. 

2 Corinthians 11, beginning at verse 1. Paul says, "Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly. And indeed, you do bear with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 

Now notice verse 12. I just want to make a comment that often in the church today we see condemnation concerning discernment. They condemn those who are interested in obeying the Scriptures and marking out those who teach false doctrine, calling false religion what it is—demonic. We're called narrow-minded, pharisaical, judgmental, legalistic, and unloving simply for telling the truth about false teaching and false teachers and the dangers of them to the church. 

But you know, I often think, as I read and study the Scriptures, and this reminds me in 2 Corinthians 11 where Paul speaks so strongly to the Corinthians, that if Jesus were here, if Paul were here, if Jude or Peter were here, these men would clean the church right out. They'd make a whip and clear the house. Because when you read what they said and how they approached false teachers openly in public—in letters and in warning the brethren, I just don't think we have men so bold today. 

Jesus called them "broods of vipers," "sons of Satan," "blind leading the blind" to their faces in public warning everyone. Paul told us to mark out, to note publicly those who cause division not according to the doctrine of Christ. Paul and Peter and Jude did this consistently. And they did this because they understood the profound danger of false teaching of error, of Satan's lies against the truth. 

Look at verse 12. Paul continues, "But what I do, I will also continue to do in order that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works." 

Paul said, "I will continue to work diligently to cut them off." The word literally means to frustrate or to hinder their efforts. Paul said, "I will do what I do for the very purpose of cutting off the opportunity of the false teachers within the church." It's so important that we understand that all false teaching, whether it be world religion like Islam or Hinduism, or whether it be religion that claims the name of Christ and yet denies Him by their doctrine, all false teaching concerning the gospel and salvation is from the demonic realm. 

The pastor said that Emma's mother had cancer. Think about it—if you went to the doctor and he did a test and he found that you had cancer. The prevailing wisdom in the church today would say that the doctor should just tell you that you're fine and that you should go home and just enjoy your life, and that you'll be healthy and well, and you have nothing to worry about. You don't want to hear that you have cancer. No one wants to hear that. 

But it's not loving to tell a person who is sick with cancer that they're fine. Only can they experience treatment and a cure if they know and understand the truth concerning their sickness. That's what we're talking about here. 

The bottom line is this: if a man or a religion teaches a false gospel, a false way to salvation, then it's not just a little off. It's not just contrary on a few doctrines. It's satanic, and it's demonic to its core. John says in verse 1 of our text, literally in the Greek, to the believers to which he wrote, "Stop believing every spirit. Rather, test the spirits to see if they be of God." Why? Because many, he says, many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

If we do not understand the grave battle of truth versus error, if we as believers in Jesus Christ cannot discern what is from God and what is from Satan, if we are unwilling to come to terms with the truth that those who teach a false gospel of works and religion and humanistic salvation are demonic, then who will tell men the truth? Who will stand? Who will sound the clear message that men might believe and be saved? 

John is imploring us to understand the demonic nature of the warfare we are fighting and to discern the spirits, to call them out, to warn the brethren and to stand in the truth. I'd just like you to look at one more passage that I think makes this abundantly clear. 

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul again writing to the church in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 10 at verse 14. He says, "'Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything? Or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?" 

When we're presented with these difficult situations in life, having to decide to be involved in something or not, or to approve of something or not, I always come back to this verse in my mind: are we stronger than He? Do I know better than God does? Because sometimes I really don't feel like saying these things. Sometimes I really don't feel like standing for the truth. Sometimes it seems like it would be better to compromise. 

Am I stronger than He? These are clear words. The believers in Corinth were participating in false worship services, going back to what they had come out of. They did not understand that the religions of their community, the religions that their family members, their co-workers, their friends partake in, were not just different preferences—not just different ways to God to express their faith—but they were actually demonic worship services, where they sacrificed offerings to demons and not to God. 

This sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? But I mean to say that down at the churches in our communities—those people, when they take Jesus and call Him from the right hand of God and re-sacrifice Him on the altar in an unbloody manner, they are not making a sacrifice to God. They are making a sacrifice to demons. They don't know this, my friends. They don't understand this because they are lost, they are trapped in lies and religion. 

But I want you to know this. I want you to understand this. Because if you don't understand this, then you can't read Romans 5 to them every day, because they're fine and you don't need to worry about it. They need to hear the truth. 

We'd better be discerning. We'd better know what is true and what is false, lest we be taken captive by it as well, lest we confuse the gospel and be moved from the simplicity that is in Christ. The warfare that we are involved in as believers in Jesus Christ is a demonic warfare—a battle between truth and error. 

And all the lies, all the error, all the false spirits are working against the truth. We stand for the truth. We stand on the Word of God because the truth matters. Only by the truth can men be saved, and only by the truth can we live lives of fruitfulness and holiness and bring glory to God. 

The battle is demonic in its source, in its origin. All false teaching comes from demons. That's what Paul is saying. And that is what John says we better get straight in our minds—the source. What spirits are they? Where does this come from? Does it match up with the Word of God? 

Next, we need to define the battle. What is the battle that we fight? How shall we fight? What are the rules of engagement for believers, for the soldiers of Christ in this great battle of truth versus error for the souls of men? This is so vitally important for us to understand. 

I found a definition for rules of engagement on Wikipedia. It says, "Rules of engagement are rules or directives to military forces, including individuals, that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as provocative, may be applied. They provide authorization for, and or limits on, among other things, the use of force and the employment of certain specific capabilities. Rules of engagement will indicate what measures may be unacceptable." 

As we've seen, there's a spiritual demonic war going on. We hear a lot about spiritual warfare in the Christian church, but it is imperative that we have a right understanding of the rules of engagement according to the Word of God. What does God tell us about spiritual warfare, and what measures does He say are unacceptable? 

Look at verse 2 of our text again. John says, "...by this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 

John gives us a couple of key points to understand when it comes to defining the nature of the battle of spiritual warfare in the Christian life. First, he tells us that those who speak the truth—who speak the Word of God—speak accurately concerning Jesus Christ, who He is and what He's done, that these are from God. This meaning is wrapped up in John's term, "...has come in the flesh." 

And every man, every prophet and teacher who teaches lies about who Jesus is and what He has done is not from God but is of the spirit of antichrist. Second, he gives us a tremendous truth in verse 4 where he writes, "...you are of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 

Now this is a profound truth. Those who believe Jesus have overcome them. Who is "them"? Let's must refer back to the spirits who are not from God but are demonic in nature. And why is it that we have overcome them? Because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Because when we believe Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God came and indwelled us permanently. And He who is in us, the very Spirit of God, is greater than all of those evil demonic spirits working against the truth. 

So first, in striving to understand the battle—how we fight spiritual warfare—we must see the nature of the battle. It is a battle of truth versus error concerning Jesus Christ. And second, we're going to see that the battle is already won. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and because we who believe have overcome the evil spirits, because the Holy Spirit is our resource, our power, our victory over Satan and his lies, then we can go to the Word of God and bring truth against their error. 

Let's consider first the nature of the battle. And now, this is where I think so many go astray in the realm of Christianity in how they understand to fight this battle. 

We have in the so-called charismatic world of Christianity, a battle raging against demons and Satan himself. This doctrine teaches that the battle lies in a frontal assault by Satan and his minions at every turn. It's our job as believers to bind Satan and render him powerless, to cast out the evil spirits. 

I even heard a man tell me one time, I was in Grandview, Wisconsin, and I went into this little convenience store. I gave him a tract and witnessed to him. He said, "Oh, you're a Christian?" I said, "Yeah, are you a believer?" He said, "Yes," and he started talking to me about bondage breakers. I don't know how many of you are familiar with that. 

But his conclusion to our chat was that he had had a demon in his radiator that morning and his car overheated, and he had cast that demon out. He was dead serious. How do you come to that point? I've read about all kinds of methods that charismatic churches teach and employ to fight this battle, to win victory for Christ—from assault prayers to positive confessions to mystic rituals. 

Men come up with all kinds of extra-biblical means of doing battle with the devil. Churches in our area in Ironwood have walked the streets of the town, praying over buildings, casting out demons, and claiming the town for Christ. It gets even stranger when you move into the heretical world of the Word of Faith movement. 

Men like Kenneth Copeland wrestle with Satan on stage and speak directly to the devil, conquering him, binding him, claiming victory over him through their antics. To be perfectly honest, I don't understand where these leaders get justification for these things from the Scriptures. Obviously, they don't. But we do well to pay attention to what God says and how He intends that we fight this spiritual war. 

And I just want to look at a couple of passages in epistles written to the church explaining the nature of the battle. First, Ephesians 6. If you'd turn to Ephesians 6 with me, please, at verse 10. If we're going to discern the spirits, test the spirits, if it's a battle of truth versus error, how do we stand? 

Ephesians 6:10. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." And we could just stop right there and go home. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." 

Paul says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." He that is in you is stronger than he who is in the world. We don't have time to go through all the elements of the armor, but the message here is really to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, to stand in Him, to trust Him and depend on Him—not on any man's methods for fighting Satan. It is, again, as we see in these verses, a matter of truth versus error. 

And all this wrestling with Satan and binding him, Benny Hinn style, is nothing but a bunch of lies and confusion. In Jude 1:8, Jude writes, "Likewise, all these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries." Listen to what he says in verse 9. "Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'" 

It is the gospel. It is the truth. It is the shield of faith, the Word of God, the truth of our salvation. These are the armor that protect us and help us to stand for truth— to stand in the Lord, in His strength. And it's the Lord who is able to handle Satan, to rebuke him—not us. I have no authority, I have no commission, I have no ability to deal with the demonic realm. 

We simply trust in the Lord. We place our faith in Him and keep our focus on abiding in Jesus—not in fighting Satan. Now we need to look at another passage in 2 Corinthians 10 when we talk about defining the battle. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3. Paul says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 

You see, my friends, the battle is a battle of the mind—a battle of believing truth and casting down lies. Men are held captive in fortresses of lies, fine-sounding speech, arguments, and deceptions. This is how Satan fights for the souls of men. 

So the nature of the battle is one of standing in the truth, casting down the lies by the Word of God. In this way, we are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds and casting down these arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 

We hear a thought, we hear an idea, we hear a doctrine; a man teaches something. What do we do? How do we judge if it is from God? How do we discern if it is the Holy Spirit or the spirit of Antichrist? We must bring it into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We must bring it in line with the Word of God. We must search the Scriptures daily to see if what men say is true. We must judge by the truth. 

Because Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:1, "'Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy and having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.'" Paul calls them deceiving spirits. He calls them doctrines of demons. He says they speak lies and hypocrisy. 

Satan's weapon in this war is error—it's deception, leading men from the truth. And listen now, this always centers around the truth that God the Son, Jesus Christ, came in the flesh. He came and took on flesh, became a man to die in our place for our sins, satisfying the wrath of God and rising again the third day. 

Hebrews 2 tells us that He took on flesh that He might suffer, that He might die in our place to release us from the fear of death, who were all our lifetime subject to this bondage. The reason that Jesus came in the flesh was so that through death, He might destroy Satan in death, might deliver us who believe. 

The lies, the attacks of Satan and demons always center around the truth of who Jesus is and why He came and what He accomplished on the cross. That's what John's talking about when he says they deny that He came in the flesh. And our weapon centers on the truth of the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit—preaching the truth, preaching the gospel, who Jesus is and what He's done. 

You see, the nature of the battle is truth versus error. And we also have to realize that the battle is already won. Jesus won the battle. He finished the work on the cross. He defeated Satan at the cross. We don't need to battle demons and Satan because Jesus has already won that battle. 

He's in control of these things. He has put them into subjection, and He is stronger. The Holy Spirit is stronger. He who is in us, who dwells in us permanently—the very power that raised Jesus from the dead—is stronger than he who is in the world. My friends, we need not worry about Satan. We need to focus on the truth of Jesus Christ. 

God's plan for discernment is for those who believe Him to focus on the truth, to learn the truth, to continually renew our minds to the truth, and then to believe Him, to trust Him, to depend on Him one day at a time. 

The problem that we so often see in the realm of Christendom is that churches and believers are so distracted by false teaching, off chasing demons and living by experiences and emotions, that they are not growing in the Word of God to become discerning. 

Let's look at Ephesians 4:11. It explains this so well—God's plan for discernment, for growth. Ephesians 4:11 says, "And He Himself, Jesus, gave gifts to the church. He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers." 

Why? "For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a complete or perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 

Look at this—verse 14, "In order that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." 

We see that there is a demonic warfare taking place in this world. We see that the battle is defined as one of truth versus error concerning Jesus Christ. And our last point is this: we need to know how to discern truth from error. 

1 John 4:5, "They are of the world; therefore, they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." 

When we consider the essence of spiritual warfare is truth versus error according to the Word of God—affirming the truth of who Jesus is and what He's done, casting down the arguments and strongholds of Satan's lies and deception concerning Christ—we have to understand that in discerning truth, discerning which spirits are from God and which spirits are not, we must apply the Word of God to every doctrine, to every thought, to every teaching. 

And we must discern the truth on this basis alone. I think we would all agree to this intellectually, but practically this becomes a very difficult issue. I find this to be a major stumbling block when I'm witnessing. People are often interested in the Gospel and the truth, but in making it clear, the implications become clear as well. Everything that is not true is false. 

There are no gray areas when it comes to the Gospel, to salvation, to Jesus Christ coming in the flesh to save us from our sins and the wrath of God. It cannot be a sacramental works-righteous religion and at the same time not be by works of righteousness which we have done, but by His mercy which He saved us. 

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves—not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is a gift of God. Two things that are different are not the same. 

We have to be willing to be discerning. We have to be willing to mark out those who teach lies, to expose evil, to proclaim the truth boldly. Look over to 2 John. We'll get to this in a few weeks. 2 John 1:8 says, "Now, John has some strong language for us here: warning, look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things which we work for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him. For he who greets him shares in his evil deeds." 

If a man or a church denies that Jesus is God, that He came in the flesh, became a man, then he's a false teacher. This is a demonic church. If a man or a church denies that Jesus accomplished our salvation on the cross in His one-time death in our place for our sins—satisfying the wrath of God, finishing the work, and rising again the third day—if he denies that, then he's a false teacher. And those who believe what that church teaches are not trusting in Christ. They are not believers. They are not saved. 

They need to hear the truth. We are often more comfortable with some implications of the truth than with others. Mark told me this morning, "Just don't preach anything that offends me," right? We are less comfortable affirming that the churches that claim the name of Christ but also teach sacramental work salvation deny that Jesus accomplished our salvation at the cross and finished the work of redemption, and thus are equally demonic to all the false religions of the world. 

Discernment is not very popular in these last days. But if we cannot discern the truth, if we do not know the Word of God, if we are not willing to speak the truth in love, then how can men be saved? How can believers grow and be fruitful? 

John's command to us here in 1 John 4 is to stop believing every spirit. Stop compromising. Stop mixing truth with error. Rather, we are to test the spirits. We are to discern the truth so that we might fight this battle as God instructs, as He intends, in His strength and His power by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. 

As we dispel the darkness with light, as we refute the error with truth, and as we grow in the grace and knowledge of God, speaking the truth in love, building up the believers and leading men to faith in Jesus Christ. This is why it matters that we understand the demonic warfare in which we are engaged, the nature of this battle and how to fight it, and the vital importance of discerning truth from error, the Spirit of God from the Spirit of Antichrist. 

Because, my brothers and sisters, the souls of men are at stake. And we are here as God's ambassadors to bring them the truth. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank You for the truth, and we just pray that You would help us to be encouraged by Your truth—to know that the good news is that You have accomplished our salvation in Jesus Christ, that the work is finished, that it's done, that You loved us so much that You sent Your Son to die in our place, and whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 

But he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Lord, thank You for the gift of salvation. Help us to be bold and clear and give us opportunities to preach this truth that You might save men and bring glory to Yourself. In Jesus' name, amen.