8/31/25 “The Gold Standard”
“The Gold Standard”
1 John 4:1-6
One of my favorite recent memories is from last year when Lisa & I had the opportunity to ride a train up the White Pass railway in Alaska…
The train takes off from a town called Skagway and travels North through the mountains – eventually turning around near the Canadian border.
(Show pictures of the White Pass Railway)
Back in 1897 – well before train tracks were laid down - thousands of people descended upon the town of Skagway…
Why?....because it had been reported that Gold was found up in the Yukon Territories of Canada….
And…Skagway, Alaska was the closest ocean port to the Yukon territory…
so, suddenly, a tiny little fishing village transformed overnight into a basecamp filled with multitudes of prospectors looking to drive their horses up the treacherous White Pass Trail ….
This is an area where…unfortunately…. many humans – and horses – met their doom.
Those who did survive the 600 mile trek from Alaska to the Yukon Territories usually didn’t find any gold…all of that time, energy, and danger – for nothing.
…and then there were those prospectors who found – what they thought was gold – but really wasn’t.
You’ve probably heard of “Fool’s Gold”, right?
It’s a natural substance called Pyrite – It looks a lot like gold, but has no real significant value.
To the untrained prospector, what appeared to be their golden ticket to fortune and a life of ease…turned out to be nothing more than a shiny piece of iron sulfide…
Imagine the disappointment when a prospector would bring his treasured golden nugget to the nearest Wells Fargo – and was told that he had nothing more than a shiny, gold colored paper weight.
What he thought was the real thing – was not.
…it was an imitation of the real thing….it was fake gold.
He would have put all of his hope and trust in the wrong thing.
The prospector could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he would have taken some time to educate himself on the differences between real gold…and fool’s gold.
He would have known that real gold is relatively soft, whereas Pyrite is much harder…
…He would also have known that when scratched on a porcelain surface, pyrite leaves a blackish-green streak – while gold leaves a pure golden streak.
These tests for authenticity would have come in very handy for prospectors who thought they had found the real thing – when…in reality…they hadn’t.
Our passage for today in 1 John chapter 4 deals with a similar situation…
Like shiny minerals in a Yukon riverbed, there are many spiritual philosophies and theologies around today that are all vying for man’s attention…
,,,the marketplace of ideas in today’s world is more varied and broad than ever before…
….with an endless stream of online guru’s, spiritualists, life coaches, professors, authors, social influencers, and – yes – religious leaders….all claiming to have the ultimate answer to this life….and beyond.
With so many options served up at the modern philosophical buffet, many people have given up on the quest for truth…
…they see so many ideas out there – some with millions of followers …and they think to themselves, “Well, maybe there is no such thing as THE truth”…
…so they hop on the train of our post-modernistic culture
…A culture that essentially denies that any one worldview has the ability know an exclusive, intrinsic, transcendent truth.
…therefore – many people have been deceived into believing that ANY worldview can lay claim to truth….as long as you wholeheartedly believe it.
…For instance, If I wholeheartedly believe that I am a purple rhinoceros named Phil….who is also an astronaut…
…I would have absolutely no problem finding plenty of people in our world who would gladly enable me in perpetuating my mental delusion….
…rather than telling me the obvious truth of the matter….that I’m actually not a purple rhino astronaut named Phil…. But a light-skinned human pastor named Andy….
….many people – tragically - would just go along with my sincere – yet irrational – personal identity.
Why? because most-modernism preaches that since ultimate truth can never be discovered…then any belief – no matter how delusional or illogical it may seem – must be taken seriously…
…Unfortunately, this idea that truth is relative…or that there can be no single truth…is irrational in and of itself….and the whole idea simply implodes when applied to the laws of logic.
Logic tells us that if something is true – all other competing things must be false.
…there cannot be two competing ideas that are both true at the same time…at the same place.
For instance…if I take this pen and make the claim that when I release it, it will rise up into the air and float above my head…
….that would be the opposite of saying that when I release this pen, it will immediately drop to the floor.
…The pen cannot do both of those things at the same time…it will either float above my head – or - it will drop to the floor….These are competing proclamations.
.…or – if I’m traveling down the Dempster Highway at 70 MPH looking for the nearest Culver’s…
I cannot also be going 40 MPH at the same time….it’s illogical
….either I’m going 70…or I’m going 40…
…and If I am going 70 MPH, then to claim that I’m traveling at any speed other than 70 MPH would be a false claim…
…even 69 MPH - or 71 MPH - would be false claims…because they are not 70 MPH….which is THE truth.
The point is, biblical Christianity stands upon the foundational truth that an individual can only be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
This is an exclusive truth claim.
This means that – if this theological statement is true – then all other competing theologies of salvation are false.
…even those theological ideologies that borrow a bit of truth from the Bible – but – as a whole - are contradictory to the entirety of scripture.
This is where many people get tripped up into believing erroneous doctrines…
….The Devil is very good at drawing us in with a bit of truth…a wholesome ingredient…but then he mixes in poisonous ingredients along with that truthful ingredient…
…resulting in an appetizing – but deadly – spiritual casserole.
Just as Fool’s Gold looks appealing….
….Some false theological arguments can sound persuasive…that is, until, they are tested by comparing them to what the Word of God actually teaches.
This is where John picks up in today’s passage of scripture.
Look with me at verse 1 (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.”
Notice that phrase “Test the spirits”
What John is referring to here when he speaks of ‘spirits’ …are those individuals who are proclaiming something to be true.
In John’s day, there were already numerous false teachers and preachers who were traveling around…proclaiming something to be true…when it really wasn’t true at all.
We’ve already talked about the Gnostics…those people who held to a host of unbiblical theological ideologies….
John is telling all Christians (Not just church leaders) that when they hear a proclamation of spiritual truth…they need to compare what they’ve heard (or read) it to what the Word of God says…
In other words, they need to ‘test’ it against the gold standard of truth – which is this book right here…the Bible.
We read about the Bereans in Acts chapter 17 – a group of early Christians who were committed to examining the scriptures to determine whether what they’ve heard matches up with the truth of God’s Word….the gold standard of truth.
And folks…I’ve mentioned this before…but I hope that all of you do the same thing whenever you hear a sermon – whether it’s from me – or from anyone else.
Especially as it deals with central truths of the faith…
If you recall, Romans chapter 14 teaches that there are secondary matters of the faith that can legitimately be debated and disputed….
….but when it comes to the primary doctrines of the faith….those truths of scripture that directly affect our ability to understand the nature of God and the path to salvation….there can be no compromise…no giving ground.
This weekend, we’ve been blessed to spend time with our 7-month-old granddaughter…
…and one thing I’ve noticed about Evelnn is that she likes to put things in her mouth…like…everything.
She’s in the grabbing stage…and anything she can get a hold of goes immediately to her mouth.
Now…Evelynn is super-cute….but she’s not very discerning about what to chomp on.
She doesn’t yet understand that there are some things that would be dangerous or unhealthy to put in her mouth
In time, she’ll be taught to understand what belongs in the mouth – and what does not.
In the same way - as you spend more and more time in God’s Word – you’ll begin to discern with a greater degree of precision which spiritual teachings are healthy to ingest….and which are not.
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”
Use the gold standard of God’s Word as the benchmark to which all teachings on spiritual matters must adhere to…
During the later decades of the Cold War, our country entered into numerous treaties with other nations…all with the end goal of limiting the total number of nuclear warheads that each country could build….
….however, the US never – In blind faith - simply took the word of those heads of state as to their compliance to those treaties.
We would use surveillance methods to ensure that they were sticking to the deal.
President Ronald Reagen referred to this as “Trust but Verify”
This is what John is telling all of us to do whenever we hear a spiritual message brought forth through a human vessel….we can trust – but we also need to verify.
Moving on to verse 2 (1 John 4:2) of our passage, John provides an example of how to determine whether or not a spiritual message contains truth….
and it involves how the teachings treat Jesus…his nature…his mission…his identity.
As you recall, the Gnostics at the time were espousing a doctrinal heresy concerning the nature of Jesus…
…they were claiming that Jesus was never fully human…and that he was never fully God…they saw Jesus as a created being who never completely took on human flesh…he just appeared to be human.
These are both serious heresies because they deal with who Jesus truly is…
…If Jesus was less than divine – less than God – then he would not have been able to raise himself from the dead, as he prophetically declared that he would do in John chapter 2 (John 2:19)…
…He would also not be able to intercede on our behalf before the Father – as we are told that he continually does for us in Romans chapter 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25.
…and if Jesus were anything less than fully human, his sacrifice on the cross would have had no effect upon the sins of humanity…God’s wrath toward sin could only be satisfied through the shed blood of a sinless human being.
The reason why it’s so important to understand these truths about Jesus’ identity is that our perception of who he is….it underscores what we believe regarding what Jesus was able to do on the cross
…and what we believe He was able to do on the cross…. directly impacts where we place our faith…
…and where we place our faith determines our eternal destiny.
So…when the friendly, well-dressed Mormons come to your door and start talking about Jesus…they will use biblical terms like ‘Son of God’ and ‘Savior’ when referring to Jesus…
…but what they typically will not tell you – at least right away – is that Mormonism is built on the belief that Jesus and Satan are brothers….
So called “Spirit Brothers”…both born to God the Father through one of God’s many spirit wives.
This heretical, anti-biblical belief completely strips Jesus of His deity – resulting in a belief system that contradicts who Jesus truly is…
…the eternal second member of the Triune God….who was, who is, and who always will be.
The eternal ‘I Am’ ….the Alpha and the Omega… This is who the bible reveals Jesus to be.
In the words of (the late) John MacArthur “To be saved, one must believe that Jesus is eternal deity, the second person of the Godhead who became a man”
This is THE truth. Any other view is not the truth….and – therefore – is a different….and false… religion.
The Mormons aren’t the only religious group who believe in an unbiblical Jesus.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is Michael the archangel – the highest created being….but not God.
New Age Guru’s describe Jesus as some sort of ascended Master…but nothing more.
Muslims believe that Jesus was a good man – maybe even a prophet – but…again… nothing more.
Brothers and Sisters…a false Jesus will always produce a false gospel…which results in a false way of thinking about salvation.
John calls this the spirit of antichrist in verse 3 (1 John 4:3)
Scripture tells us of an ultimate Antichrist who will arrive on the world scene during the 7-year Tribulation…
But John is also teaching here in verse 3 that any belief system that sets itself up in opposition to – or contrary to – the orthodox (or, true) revelation of scripture is an “Anti-Christ” doctrine, or theology.
Sadly, we see a good deal of ‘Anti-Christ” theology being propagated in our world today….ideas and philosophies that – in one way or another – falsify the true nature of Jesus by taking away from his deity…or his humanity.
…or by adding fallible, error-filled, philosophies of man to the infallible, inerrant, finished canon of scripture.
John is warning believers not to fall for these heretical deceptions…
…we must adhere to what the completed Bible tells us about who Jesus is – and what his sacrifice on the cross means for each and every one of us.
Finally, John ends this section of scripture with encouraging words regarding our identity in Christ.
In verse 4 (1 John 4:4) he says that,“….the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
What a comforting reminder that all genuine believers have the Spirit of the living God – the Holy Spirit – indwelling us.
….and because He indwells you, he will protect your mind against falling victim to these anti-Christ doctrines and philosophies that are all around us…
Satan is – indeed - a powerful creature…but God is infinitely more powerful.
We can have sure victory in the God-Man Jesus Christ – because there is power in His blood!
If we are continually in communion with the Holy Spirit…
If we are continually reading God’s Word….
If we are continually going to God in prayer….
If we are continually fellowshipping with other believers…
If we are continually using the Bible as the ‘Gold Standard” of truth in our lives…
God will continually keep us free from falling victim to the clever deceptions and tactics of our adversary.
Let’s Pray.