Prove It-Week 5

Introduction

What are some of the things that you think of when I say the word antichrist? (This is some crazy being that’s coming to rule the world, the end of this age is coming, Jesus is coming back soon, weird tattoos that will mark you for the beast) When we think of the antichrist we immediately go to this person that will come right before Jesus comes back that will present himself as God and reject all other gods and idols. There are so many ideas and thoughts that come up when we mention the antichrist. It is so important that we have a biblically balanced understanding of who the antichrists are and what the antichrists do.

Read 1 John 2:18-27

Here in this text that we are going to look at tonight will give us three important lessons that will equip us to both recognize and defeat these archenemies of the true Christ Jesus.

Antichrists Attack Christ

Have you guys ever seen a mama bear protect her cubs from someone or something? Coming from the mountains of North Carolina we see a good amount of black bears. I have shared stories with some of you about some of my close encounters with black bears. The thing that you are always told is that black bears are just as scared of you as you are of them, unless you see a mama bear and her cubs. Many people have been killed because they stood in the way of a mama bear and her cubs. They are extremely protective of their children. Nothing gets between a black bear and her kids. Well John almost goes mama bear here in this text. John addresses these people he is writing to as “children.” It is a term of affection for those that he writes.

The word “antichrist” means “against Christ” or “in the place of Christ.” John only uses this word in four places in his letters.

The antichrist has a period of time

John says that it is “THE LAST HOUR” and you’re probably thinking…what is he talking about? That was 2,000 years ago how was it the “last hour”? But what John is saying is that this is the time between Christ’s first and second coming. This is mentioned the same way in other places in the New Testament. I’m not going to read them to you but here are some of them if you want to go check me: Acts 2:16-17, 1 Cor 10:11, 2 Tim 3:1, Heb 1:1-2, Heb 9:26, 1 Peter 1:20. This “last hour” phrase is supposed to create a sense of urgency that we should live in because the day that Christ may come is nearing every day.

We live in a time when antichrists (plural) are active and that activity will increase until “The Antichrist” comes at the end of the last hour. (You guys are probably wondering “man my friend invited me to church and THIS is what they are talking about?!” Just track with me we will get there I promise)Jesus warned us of all of this in Matthew 24. As the gospel spreads, so will false teaching. As Christ’s missionaries go out to the nations, so will Satan’s missionaries called “antichrists”. Here is something you need to write down and remember: We are engaged in a global conflict for the souls of people.

Antichrist is a Principle of Spiritual Error

John tells us in 2:22 what the spirit of antichrist is all about: they are liars who deny “that Jesus is the Messiah.” Their strategy is deceptive and seductive. They don’t directly oppose Christ they just redefine Him or reimagine Him. “He might have been a prophet, but He wasn’t God.” “He may be a son of God like we can be sons and daughters of God but He isn’t THE Son of God.” “He may have died on the cross, but He didn’t die as a Savior.” The spirit of antichrist always diminishes the person and work of Christ. The antichrist spirit thinks and then teaches incorrectly concerning WHO Jesus is and WHAT Jesus has done.

The “hub” of Christianity is the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal and divine Son of God. If you get it wrong here, you will get almost everything else wrong too.

Antichrist is a person of deception

John makes the important difference between many antichrists who are already here and The Antichrist who is coming at the end of the age. This counterfeit Christ will come on the scene of world history and the whole earth will marvel and follow him. Satan will indwell him and give him “his power, his throne, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2-3). The Bible teaches that the nations will worship him as God. (Rev. 13:4)

Your question may be “When is he coming? Could he be alive right now?” Which that isn’t for us to speculate, that’s God’s business. What I do know is that he will come, and the spirit of antichrist is alive and well. So, be on the lookout for those who attack the biblical teachings about Christ.

Antichrists Abandon the Church (1 John 2:19, 22-23)

The greatest dangers to the church of Jesus Christ are always from within, not from without. Satan is a master deceiver and strategist who knows that the deployment of a spiritual “Trojan Horse” can do serious, if not irreparable, damage to the body of Christ. Once the damage is done, the antichrists will leave the spiritual battlefield taking with them what captives they can. Alistair Begg says it well “There are some who share our earthly company who do not share our heavenly birth”.

Physically, they desert the church (v.19)

Perseverance is the proof of possession. Deserting the church gives evidence of a faith that wasn’t genuine based on what John says.

There is an “us” and “them” contrast that John makes in these verses. He says that they went out from us so they were never really part of us. In other words they were never truly saved. They never truly experienced the new birth of regeneration.

The “us” group remains in the church and perseveres. This is a hard verse and a comforting verse. Why? Because it’s hard to hear that people who leave the church were never really part of it, but at the same time it comforts those who continue on because those who truly belong to Christ will stay with Christ. Jesus addressed this wonderful truth in John 10:27-29 when He says “My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish-EVER! No on will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

“All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith to salvation.”

Spiritually, They deny the Faith (v. 22-23)

The physical deserting of the church was caused by their spiritual denial of the faith. They left the church because they had left Christ. They denied the deity of Christ, that Jesus was the One sent by the Father. And their rejection of biblical witness concerning Jesus was personally tragic and spiritually disastrous. Listen to this clearly: To deny the Son is to deny His Father who sent Him. (Say that Twice) This is a package deal! “No one who denies the Son can have the Father.” But the good news is this: “He who confesses the Son has the Father as well.”

Once again. What we believe about Christ is the test of the true believer! What do you think and believe about Jesus Christ? To the people that were fake, Jesus was IMPORTANT but not GOD. He was SIGNIFICANT but not SAVIOR. (Pause) Jesus Christ is the root of the tree that we are connected to. To reduce Jesus to the status of “just a man” is to strike at the tree that our faith is connected to. (Say that twice)

Let’s get this straight: Jesus Christ is the Son of God that is eternal. He is part of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Who was born of a virgin named Mary. He lived a perfect life, had an earthly ministry of 3 years, was captured for His teachings, and put to death on a cross by the people He came to save. He was put in a tomb and three days later and ascended into heaven. This is the biblical testimony of who Jesus is!

Antichrists Assault the Christian

Again, antichrists just mean that they are actively doing the work of opposing Christians and Christ’s purposes here on earth. (Pause) Antichrists can easily discourage us because their arguments can be persuasive and they are committed to defeating us. But John encourages us later in this letter that the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. We have two different things to fight against Satan. They are the Word of God and The Holy Spirit. I believe the Word and Spirit must also be the battle cry of every generation of those who follow Jesus.

We have experienced the anointing of the Spirit (v. 20-21, 27)

What has enabled us to remain in the teaching and community of faith? We have “an anointing from the Holy One.” This means that we have received the Holy Spirit when putting our faith in Jesus. We now have an internal and abiding Teacher who will guide us in all knowledge and truth. And by abiding in Him, no lie will seduce you, deceive you, or lead you astray. (Say this twice)

We must embrace the Authority of the Scriptures

John uses one of his favorite words again: Abide. He says it 5 times in 3 verses. (Repetition means pay attention) Abiding communicates this idea of both union and communion. John says you should abide in the Word you have received in Christ. John Challenges us to remain in the teaching of Christ that you had received from conversion. To abide and remain in this teaching is to abide and remain in both the Son and the Father. There is no additional thing that you need.Jesus+nothing=EVERYTHING. (Say it twice and pause)

Jesus plus something extra is false teaching. All you need is Christ, and with Christ comes the Father too. Here is a practical test: If what men teach goes against or beyond what those who knew Jesus taught, DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. They have a different spirit, the spirit of antichrist.

Application

This is our application today: Jesus Christ is enough for me. He is better than everything else that anyone could ever offer me. There was a man named Herman Bavinck, a Dutch theologian in the early 20th Century that said this “Christ is Christianity itself; He stands not outside of it but in its centre; without His name, person and work, there is no Christianity left. In a word, Christ does not point out the way to salvation; He is the Way itself.” This is what the apostles taught. This is what the Word says. This is what the Spirit affirms. This is what we believe. This is where we abide and live. This is what we confess. Eternal life is what we are promised!