Abide

PRAY

READ 1 John 2:26-29

Introduction

The title of my sermon tonight is simply “Abide”. We’ll approach these verses in 2 different sections: verses 26 and 27 are where we see a reminder, verses 28 and 29 are where we see an exhortation.

This past Sunday we studied the first 3 verses from chapter 3. We are actually jumping back a bit tonight (my fault). But, this will provide some needed context to the verses we covered last Sunday.

Remember, just before our verses here John provides a word on antichrists: who they are and what they do. Put simply, antichrists deny the Father and the Son: God Almighty.

My prayer is that we will observe in our text tonight a reminder about the anointing from the Holy Spirit that all believers posses, an encouragement to pursue righteousness in light of Christ, and receive overall from these verses a confidence that comes from abiding in Christ.

A Reminder

Y’all ever had anyone try to convince you of something that isn’t real before? Believe it or not, before I was saved, I had this running lie with someone in my gym class in 6th grade.

I would tell him of all the cool people my dad worked with and that I got to meet: famous athletes like Derek Jeter, etc.

Why I did this? Definitely to try to look cool. To make myself look super interesting.

Anyone remember a major theme of 1 John? Although I wasn’t a false teacher in 6th grade ( I don’t think so anyway), what I was doing was similar to what John is warning believers against in verse 26: leading people astray.

I was doing this in middle school to look cool, but the individuals that John is referencing here are antichrists and deniers of sound doctrine. They were trying to sway believers away from the truth, for they denied the Father and the Son.

They were denying the fundamental truth of Jesus being the Christ, the anointed One, the Savior of the world. A popular false teaching of the time was that Jesus only appeared as human but never truly took on human flesh.

That is wrong, heresy, and its what John describes as a key mark of a liar and an antichrist: those who deny that Jesus is the Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was and is truly God and truly man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.

You see, John is providing believers a reminder in verse 26 that what he’s written previously and what he will continue writing in this letter is about those false teachers trying to deceive them. He then provides them with another hopeful reminder.

That is, believers have the anointing from the Father and the Son, as John records Jesus teaching in John 14 and John 16. Therefore, since believers posses this anointing, they have no need to listen to these false teachers.

That’s what is in view here. John is not claiming that Christians have no need of any type of teacher. You need your parents, your school teachers, teachers within the church, and pastors (we ALL do!).

The same reminder goes for us today, don’t listen to false teachers! They have nothing of worth to offer, only lies.

Why? Because true believers posses the anointing, the Holy Spirit! John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

God the Holy Spirit leads us not into any lies but into truth, therefore as John commands in verse 27, Christians are to abide in Christ.

We are to remain in Him, walk in His truth, stick around and not stray from sound doctrine. All led by the Holy Sprit of God!

I know there are temptations all around you. School, social media, the internet. Not only that, but as y’all grow up you’ll really become face to face with an unbelieving world. Friends, abide in Christ.

Stay, remain, study His word, hear it taught and preached and proclaimed, and live it out. Don’t stray, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life even in the face of someone trying to teach you otherwise. Abide in Him!

An Exhortation

John then provides an exhortation (a strong encouragement/urging) in verse 28, beginning again with the charge for believers to abide in Christ. This time, in the context of Christ’s second coming to earth. John emphasizes abiding again with the end result in mind that believers will not shrink in shame but have confidence upon Christ’s return.

Has anyone ever been given a task to do by your parents while they’re gone running errands, you say yes, then as they open the door you realize you completely forgot what they asked you to do?

Similar idea here with Christ’s return. Not that we must work for our salvation, but that today is the day of salvation, don’t put it off!

No time to scramble at the last day, our sinfulness in light of the Lord’s holiness should produce a great urgency in us to repent and place faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross!

To understand why John would say this, its crucial we understand what “at his coming” means exactly. As I’ve already said, John is talking about Jesus Christ’s second coming to earth as foretold in the Bible in multiple places.

Ligonier describes the second coming, or return, of Christ to earth well: “When He comes again, He will bring about the consummation of all things in final judgment and salvation.” “The return of Christ will bring about the fullness of the kingdom of God. It will be a day of judgment and the consummation of all things in the new heavens and new earth, where Christ will forever reign with His people.”

The return of Jesus Christ is a day of rejoicing and celebration for the Christian. But a day of dread and agony for the unbeliever. Chapter 31 paragraph 3 of the 1689 Baptist confession of faith describes it this way: “The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonour; the bodies of the just, by his Spirit, unto honour, and be made conformable to his own glorious body.”

Only those who abide in Christ will have confidence upon His return! Let the hope of Christ’s return spur you on to remain in Him until the very end.

If this reality of the return of Christ makes you realize that you aren’t saved, repent and believe in the good news of Christ tonight.

Lastly in verse 29, John provides a final exhortation for us. He starts with a purposefully obvious statement, “If you know that he is righteous”. God IS righteous, believers know this well! God is what it means to BE righteous.

Because God is righteous, those who practice (that is, live) righteousness prove to be born of him. God’s righteousness demands righteousness because He is the author and creator over all of creation. Therefore, believers are proven to be born of God if they live out righteous lives.

To be born of God is the same concept that John records Jesus teaching in the gospel of John 3. To be born of God means to be born again. Only those born again inherit the kingdom of Heaven. And only those born again will practice righteousness.

Therefore, it must be said that righteous living proves that one is born again! This does not mean that you won’t mess up, but as a Christian, is it your mission to pursue holiness every moment? Is that your desire? As pastor Ryan said this past Sunday, are you deeply grieved when you mess up and fall?

To be a Christian comes with a desire to glorify God in all you do, making a practice of righteousness. Ask for the Lord’s help and guidance and be killing sin daily!

Conclusion

This happens as you abide in Christ. Reject false teaching, be confident in the Holy Spirit, the Helper, that leads you into all truth, remain in Christ, and pursue righteousness daily for His glory.