"These Things I've Written..." (1 John 2:18-24) Sermon

Introduction

1 John 2:18–24 NASB95

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, 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.

The apostle John provided important scriptures regarding the end times. In his writings, he spoke often of the end times. Especially in the book of Revelation.

John now identifies the problem that needs addressing.

There were people that had once heard the gospel and were now walking away from the faith. John was writing to the Jewish Christians to explain how to be apart of them.

There is a modern day epidemic of people in the American church turning away from the teachings of the church.

John provides people a swift response.

1. There are “anti-christs” all around us. (v.18-19)

John wrote to say that the final hour had come for the world. Jesus is returning again to accept His people.

What John wrote was still true. The New Testament church is to always work under the assumption that Jesus is coming back soon. The stage was and is set for the end.

The fact that nearly 1900 years have elapsed since this writing does not contradict what he said.

Nothing is so damaging in the study of the New Testament as to imagine that the Eternal god, who stands above and outside of time, is bound by clocks and calendars of men.

Antichrist - a lying pretender as well as an opponent of Christ.

The people were saying that Jesus was not who He claimed to be. In other words, He is not the savior of the world.

Counterfeit version of Jesus

Opposes the will of Jesus.

While there will be an antichrist, John writes that there are many who will precede him in invalidating Jesus.

These antichrists were teachers of the people who had started with the early church and had sense walked away from the teachings of Jesus and began to teach another “truth”.

What

They could not receive correction because they had departed from the faith. Their decision to depart had revealed their true character.

They excommunicated themselves from the church and were now standing in opposition against the church.

Scooby Doo - There is always an unmasking of the monster. It turns out that there was a character introduced earlier in the show who was not who they said they had been.

There are people within the church that do not fully believe in the name of Jesus. They have a counterfeit faith and life teaches us that there will eventually an unmasking.

There is a difference between struggling to follow Jesus and not believing in Him at all.

Those who belong with God’s people will stay with God’s people.

Perseverance is an attribute that the church will share. We will endure to the end.

Don’t be fooled by people who claim to have fellowship with God but don’t have a relationship with Jesus. There are three forms of deception:

Satanic

People who are led astray.

Self

When you believe in Jesus, you don’t have to wear a mask anymore. You have nothing to hide. An antichrist has to keep their mask on at all times to be associated with the church.

2. The true church is anointed to participate with and to know God. (v. 20-21)

The word for anointing in this passage is the Greek word chrisma.

At salvation, every Christian is initiated into the family of God and given special gifts and privileges.

One of the most important gifts is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides.

Protection

Ability to distinguish truth from lies.

Understanding

Wisdom through any circumstance.

Knowledge of God.

You have the ability to know what God’s plan is for the world.

God knows all things. Jesus died for you. Because of His sacrifice and the gift of the Holy Spirit, you can know God’s word and purpose for His church.

John wrote that this knowledge can teach you to know the truth and detect the lies being spoken to you. The Holy Spirit is between you and God telling you what to do. You have this anointing on your life.

Tricia and I have our taxes done every year by a CPA that we know in Fredericksburg. While Keith is the actually person doing my taxes, I rarely talk to him about the details. His secretaries are his go between and they let us know what other documents are required to make sure that we have everything in place. While I’m not talking to Keith directly, I am insured that everything I need is taken care of through the communication of his secretaries.

You don’t have have God’s phone number. You and I have never seen Him face to face, but we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit to tell us what’s going on.

The Holy Spirit is confirming what we already know. Jesus is the Lord. He is the King. He is our savior. We are not destined for Hell. We are a child of God.

We all have this is we have Jesus. It’s not a special prize for the good Christians.

Could you be living your life without accessing the gifts of God?

When people deceive you, how to do you distinguish what’s right and wrong.

How do we listen to the Holy Spirit?

Focus

Seek truth from His word.

Get your eyes off of what the world is producing.

Seek the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:13)

You and I are anointed with a gift. It’s time to get to know the Holy Spirit.

3. Don’t overthink the teachings of Jesus. (v. 22-24)

The grand central truth is that “Jesus is the Christ.”

John is saying that anyone who believes otherwise is a liar.

To deny the son is to deny the father.

People tried to make Jesus out to be a mere man.

Denying Jesus comes in many forms:

Denying in belief.

Denying in disobedience.

Denying in love.

Those who deny Jesus will be denied by the Father.

What if it was absolute truth that Whataburger is the greatest place to get a hamburger? Wouldn’t it be hard to believe this when there are hundreds of other commercials that tell you otherwise?

There are many people that have heard the gospel and believed only to turn their eyes to speculate if their original decision was true and forsake the teachings of Jesus.

Itching ears

New types of teaching

Listening to any and everyone that claims to have new knowledge of truth.

and 4 tell us that this a characteristic of the “terrible times” that will come in the last days.

The gospel of Jesus Christ provide a seed for your life. What do you do with this seed?

Receive it in salvation. (If you haven’t received Jesus, you don’t have the means to be saved yet.)

Let the seed of truth be planted in you. (Don’t take the seed home and put it on the shelf. Don’t do the same with your faith. Christianity is not a medal you wear. It is a change of life. You must allow Jesus to have your life and influence your decisions.)

Water and Fertilize it. (Study His word, pray often, get together with the people of God, ask lots of questions to people you truth, listen to songs of praise, and constantly look for ways to fill your life with Jesus. Discipleship)

Be patient. (God will form a strong root in you that won’t be immediately visible. You have to trust Him during this process. The waiting is when God is doing the most work.)

Bear fruit. (Once the characteristics of Jesus start coming out of you, look for ways to use the fruit God has given you to serve Him.)

There is no need to question everything or speculate. Just be patient and let God prove His work through you. Stay the course.