Are You An Antichrist?
Notes
Transcript
Passage- 1 John 4:5-6
Attention-
The question of the day today is…are you an antichrist?
I know that is a shocking question
We would strongly deny being an antichrist
But this, at it’s core is what John is concerned with in these verses.
For John the test is a test of words
A test of the message that comes out of us
We all know that words are powerful
Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Introduction-
Our words contain an incomprehensible amount of power and influence
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Speech is like a fire
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs;
Like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.
Speech is like a razor blade
Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Speech has the power to bring life and death
Words matter
Words put together produce a message
Multiple sources suggest that the average human speaks between 18,000 and 25,000 words. That means that each of us speak about a 54 page book every day. That means we speak 66 800 page books a year.
If we said anything worth selling, we all could be quite rich, I suppose. Oh, but how those words can get us in trouble.
Lying…Proverbs 6:17-19
A proud look, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
Feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies,
And he that soweth discord among brethren.
Evil speaking… Ephesians 4:31
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Perverse speaking…Proverbs 4:24
Put away from thee a froward mouth,
And perverse lips put far from thee.
Foolishness… Ephesians 5:4
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Deceit… Psalm 120:2
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
Flattery… Psalm 12:3
The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Cursing… Psalm 59:12
For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips
Let them even be taken in their pride:
And for cursing and lying which they speak.
Gossip… Proverbs 16:28
A froward man soweth strife:
And a whisperer separateth chief friends.
There is sooooo much more but this reminds us of the issues we have with our words
Then there are the consequences of our words
Our words cause:
Anger Proverbs 15:1
They wound others James 3:9
They destroy James 3:6
They cause separation Proverbs 16:28
We will be judged for every last one of the 18,000-25,000 words we speak each day Matthew 12:36-37
All that we have seen about our words are true
I think John would wholeheartedly agree with it all
But I dont think that this is what John is referring to in these verses
In the message last week John challenged believers to test the messages they were hearing from others
This week, in verses 5-6, John is challenging believers to test the message that comes out of their own mouths
Simply put....
Main truth-
Just because Jesus’ name is used does not mean that the message is framed by the truths of the Word of God
If our 150,000 words per week are not framed by the Word of God we either are or are on the edge of becoming an antichrist
Transition #1-
What is being taught? (Explain the passage and draw out the 1st century truth)
They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
The world talks about itself…that is what comes natural to them
The “they” is pointing back to the false teachers
And John is saying that the false teachers messages is from the world…(remember that when John is using world he is referring to the world system)
That is…the message they are sharing is not framed but the truths of the person and work of Jesus Christ
Their message is framed by the world
Friends, there are only two places that we go for information
1- Is to God and that displays itself in different ways…His Word, counsel of others, prayer, and so on
2- I s the world and that displays itself in different ways…the implied wisdom of the world, Satan himself, the consensus of others, myself, and so on
The message that comes out of us, according to Luke 6:45, comes from the source that our heart is giving it’s affections to.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
The idea that Jesus came as a spirit and did not come bodily did not come from Scripture
It came from human, so called, wisdom
Therefore these false teachers are speaking “of the world”
Their message is framed by the thoughts of man not the truths of God
The condemning evidence against them is the next phrase
“and the world heareth them.”
The word here for hearing carries more of the sense of listening
There is a significant difference between hearing and listening
Hearing vs listening is my problem when I meet someone for the first time and I “hear” their name.
I think I hold the world record for how fast a person can forget a name after hearing it
Then I realized that I was just hearing them and not listening to them
I was not hearing with intentionality
The world listened to these false teachers with intentionality
I have actually marked in my Bible...”listened to” and crossed out “hear”
When the world gives that much attention to a message we ought to at least have some red flags
We should be very cautious with that persons message
John then shifts, as he has done throughout the epistle.
The dichotomy of Jesus and Satan…the world and God…false teachers and the church is a pattern we have become familiar with
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
“We” is referring to the same group that he addresses in verse one as “beloved”…those who have placed their faith in the person and work of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins
We are of God…and God heareth us
These are quite simple words that are declaring to us some profoundly encouraging truths
Beloved, we have a different audience
We have a different source
Our speech is to be framed by a different builder
We speak what we speak not because our primary audience sits in front of us but because our primary audiences sits on the throne at the right hand of the Father
The primary audience of the false teaches was the world around them
Our primary audience is the Father above
“he that is not of God heareth us not”
A phrase that can illustrate Johns point here is “Birds of a feather flock together”
Ever notice how even in very large groups the individuals that are bent to cause trouble seem to always find each other
And those who don’t tend to respond by staying away
The world and those who have set their affections on the world have an attitude of opposition to the message of those who have made the Lord the love of their life.
Here in these two verses John has summed up the testing of the spirits as a matter of the heart
That which holds your affections directs your conversations
Whatever you love the most dictates the message of your life
Transition #2-
How do we understand this in our context? (Bridge 1st century truth to today)
The conclusion I draw from these verses is that John is concerned that his readers not be lead astray by professing believers who, though perhaps well-intentioned, are not speaking biblical truth.
Their words profess Jesus but their hearts are set on the the things of this world. 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
They are more concerned with this life than the reality of the life and work of Jesus
Should we be as concerned with this as John was?
Yes and no
No meaning that we have theses 66 books of the Bible as the source of truth
They did not have this
They were relying on the apostles and the miraculous works that accompanied their message
We just need to search this book
So in that sense we do not have the same urgency because the body of truth is here
Our urgency is to keep it pure
I think the bigger problem today is the problem of professing Christians who speak and act in ways that contradict the Word of God.
This is part of Johns driving point that is still valid for us today...
Not everything that is done by professing Christians is necessarily a work of the Holy Spirit
They may be speaking from the spirit of the world that has distorted their understanding of the teachings of Scripture.
The fountainhead of truth about God is the same now as it was for John…the apostolic witness
But for us it has been canonized into the Net Testament
Anything that contradicts the the truths of the Word of God cannot be accepted as from God or even about Him.
Transition #3-
How do we live this out in our context? (Application of the biblical truth to us personally)
How should this change my thinking. (Mental understanding and/or reasoning?)
Therefore...I need to have my mind set to meditating on Scripture and the truths of the Bible
Our thoughts need to correlate with what the Holy Spirit reveals to us in the Scriptures
If we truly know God then He will be the source of all truth for our lives
We will also acknowledge that the Bible contains everything truth we need to know
Then…if what we are believing and speaking does not match the Word of God then we are an antichrist
How should this change my heart? (What do I love?)
How do I keep the message of my life pure?
I saturate my mind with the Word of God and set my affections toward Him I will then be living and proclaiming truth
When my affections are on the Lord I will come to the Word of God and gaze upon it until I have appreciated every color, every tint, every tone, every hue
I will allow the Word of God to consume my thoughts and passions
How should this change my whole being? (Behavioral change)
When the Word consumes my thoughts and passions my message is consistent with the message of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God
Conclusion
Review-
Think back over this week....over your conversations
Over those roughly 150,000 words you spoke this week
How often did the name of Jesus enter your conversations?
How often did them name of Jesus enter conversations outside your comfort zone?
The content of the 150,000 words we speak declare where our affections are.
If my 150,000 words (for me I would not include preaching and teaching) are all about me, myself, I, the Packers, the ushering in of Socialism into the US, the election fraud, the Coronavirus, or whatever else
If Jesus, if God’s Word did not enter that dialogue whether to another person or in your internal dialogue…it declares to you where you have set your affections
If you think back over your use of words this week and see that your affections have shifted then you need to do the work of reestablishing Jesus as your love
You need to get back into the Word of God
Get back to meditating on the Word…possibly by memorizing it
You need to be sure what you are feeding your thoughts directs you to biblical thoughts
Go back and listen to last weeks message and put what you are feeding your mind to the test
It comes back to our hearts and where our affections are
We live in a culture where it is really easy to be knocked off our course
But even if we get off course it doesn’t mean we can’t get back
Please…think through the message your life and your words are presenting
Determine where you want to be and put into place the thoughts, affections, and behaviors that are needed to get you there
Call to action-
Are you an antichrist?
If your life's message does not match the message of the Word of God then by John’s test you are an antichrist
Is the message of your life being framed by the Word of God?
Closing song-
376- More Love to Thee