I. Introduction Warning! Warning! June 21, 2015 1 John 2:18-29 There is a philosophy going around today, it goes something like this: It makes no difference what you believe, just as long as you are sincere! It sounds good, but it really isn t true at all. If a man wants to drive from Chicago to New York, no amount of sincerity will get him there if the road he is on goes to Los Angeles. A nurse in all sincerity can give some medicine to a patient, but if the medicine is wrong it may kill the patient. It takes more than sincerity to make something true. Faith in a lie will often cause serious consequences. What a person believes does make a difference. Through the Apostle John, God the Holy Spirit has been showing that there is a difference between walking in the Light and walking in darkness and there is a difference in whom or what a person loves. In 1 John 1:5-7 we read: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Last week we were reminded in 1 John 2:15 that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Contrary to what the world would have us believe, there is only one way to eternal life Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. But Satan doesn t just use the world to entice people to believe and then walk a lie; sometimes he uses others in the church itself. In today s Scripture, John warns about such infiltrators he calls them the antichrists. Before we look at John s characteristics of antichrist, we need to consider two terms: antichrist and last hour. II. Warning! Warning! There are Antichrists. A. Some Terminology The word antichrist, is used only in 1 John & 2 John. The ordinary meaning of the word anti in Greek is against or opposite. But it, also, has the meaning of instead of or in place of. In other words, antichrist can mean those false teachers that are adversaries of or against Jesus Christ. 1 John 4:3 says, 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. But antichrist can also mean those who are counterfeit Christs turn to Mark 13:21-23. Scripture, also, 1
teaches that during the future 7-year tribulation period, one man will emerge as the ultimate Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 he is called the man of lawlessness. Another term that John used is the term last hour. The last hour is a period of time; it began at the first coming of Jesus Christ and will end when He returns at His 2 nd Coming. In other words, the last hour is the Church Age. Christians have always been living in the last hour. B. Three Characteristics of Antichrists John began this section by addressing his readers as children. This is the Greek word paidia (paidi,a) that we saw last week and it represents those who are less spiritually mature and therefore more vulnerable to the false teachings of antichrists, false teachers. In his warning, John gave three characteristics of false teachers who are controlled by the spirit of the antichrist. 1. They depart from the fellowship. In 1 John 2:19 we read, They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. This is the 1 st characteristic of antichrists: they depart from the fellowship. When people share the same spiritual nature and are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit, they enjoy fellowship and sharing with one another. Because of all they have in common walking in the light, loving God, believing the Truth, they want to be together. They enjoy being together. False teachers, antichrists, counterfeit Christians do not remain in the fellowship. They may look as if they are true children of God, but actually they aren t. They eventually leave the fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters because they do not possess the true life; the love of Christ is not in their hearts. They don t have anything in common with the Christians they don t belong to the family of God. They are more comfortable with non-christians people with whom they do have things in common. 2. They deny the faith. 1 John 2:22 says, Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-- he denies the Father and the Son. This is the 2 nd characteristic of the false teachers: they deny the faith. With this in mind, John reminded his readers that they did know the truth in verse 20 he wrote, You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. False teachers, antichrists, in John s day, and in ours as well, claimed to have a special anointing (called an unction in some versions) from God which gave them special knowledge. They had been illuminated, they have special knowledge and, therefore, are living on a higher plane than everyone else. But John points out that all true Christians know God and all have received the 2
anointing of the Spirit of God. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. All true Christians have already been anointed by God, they don t need another special anointing. With the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Christians can determine the truth from lies in John 14:26 Jesus said, The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Not all preachers or teachers or those claiming to be Christians are really Christians in their beliefs. John gave a test turn to 1 John 4:1-6. John said that if they acknowledge confess might be a better word that Jesus Christ is God come in flesh, they belong to the true faith. If they deny Christ, they belong to the Antichrist. A Christian speaks under the direction of the Spirit of Truth the Holy Spirit; the false teacher speaks under the influence of the spirit of error the spirit of the antichrist. To acknowledge or confess that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh is more than simply identifying Christ. The demons did that and they weren t saved turn to Mark 1:21-26. True confession involves a personal faith in Jesus Christ who He is and what He had done for you John wrote in verse 24: See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. A person isn t saved by agreeing to a church s creed or doctrinal statement or even recognizing who Jesus is. He is saved by trusting Jesus Christ and bearing witness to his faith; as Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. False teachers will often say, We worship the same God, even though we disagree with you about Jesus Christ. For example, the Jehovah s Witnesses say, Jesus is not God. Before he lived on earth, he was Michael the archangel. Mormonism says, Jesus is a separate god from the Father. He was created as a spirit child by the Father and Mother in Heaven. But John wrote in verse 23, No one who denies the Son has the Father. You cannot separate the Father and the Son, since both are one God in John 10:30 Jesus said, I and the Father are one. A so-called religious teacher who comes along with something new, something that contradicts what Christians have heard from the beginning is not to be trusted. Any denial, deviation, or distortion of the scriptural view of Jesus Christ things like His Incarnation; that He is both Son of God and Son of Man, the promised Prophet, 3
Priest, King, and Redeemer amounts to the spirit of antichrist. Such people are liars and are not to be listened to. Antichrists deny the faith and the truth. 3. They try to lead Christians astray. 1 John 2:26 says, I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. This is the 3 rd characteristic of antichrists: they try to lead Christians astray. Paul warned us of this, too turn to 1 Timothy 4:1-3. False teachers try to lead Christians astray. Jesus called Satan the father of lies in John 8:44. The devil s purpose is to lead Christians astray by teaching them false doctrines. Writing of a similar problem, Paul wrote in Galatians 1: 6-7, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by 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. It is important that every believer be able to detect counterfeit teachings and separate the teachings of Christ from the false teachings of antichrists. Verse 27 warns against letting any man be our teacher, for God has given us the Spirit to teach us His truth. But Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us that God has given some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. What John is saying in verse 27 is that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, like the Bereans of Acts 17:11, every believer must test the teaching of men as he searches the Bible himself. The Spirit will guide every believer into the truth and help him to recognize error 1 John 5:6 says, It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. III. Conclusion Words of Encouragement John concluded this section with three thoughts to encourage us to live in fellowship with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and with each other. In verse 28, he used the second word for children, teknia (tekni,a) which means born ones these words of encouragement are for all Christians all who have been born again. A. First: Continue in Him. In John 15:4 Jesus said, Remain (continue) in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. One continues in Christ by believing the truth, obeying the truth, and loving God and other Christians. Obedience love truth. If you are a believer and find yourself out of fellowship with God, it s because you have disobeyed His Word, lack love for a brother, or believed a lie. There is a solution: confess your sin and ask God s forgiveness 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess 4
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. And then continue in Him. B. Second: When he appears. 2 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Jesus is coming back for those who belong to Him Christians. Though we will not be judged for our sins, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 says that we will be rewarded on the basis of our faithfulness in serving Christ. Those who have been faithful will receive rewards (1 Corinthians 4:5) and those who have not been faithful will lose rewards. The fact that Jesus may return at any moment ought to be reason enough for us to live in fellowship with Him and be obedient to His Word. This leads to the third thought: C. Unashamed before Him. Although he will spend eternity in heaven, a Christian who has not walked in fellowship with Christ in obedience, love and truth will lose his rewards. He will be ashamed as he stands before God. The prayer of every pastor is that when those of his flock stand before God, they will hear, Well done thou good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21). That they will stand unashamed before God. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. This is a challenge for every Christian. Does your life bear the marks of obedience, love, and truth? Is your Christian life something real; something genuine? Or is it counterfeit? What will God say when you stand before Him? Examine yourself. Test yourself. 5