A Study of the Book of 1st John
“Back To the Basics”
Sermon # 6
“Don’t Be Deceived”
1 John 2:18-27
You have probably at sometime heard the statement, “It makes no difference what you believe as long as you’re sincere.” That statement expresses the personal philosophy of many people in our day. But it is extremely doubtful, however, whether most of those who have espoused this philosophy have really thought it through. Is “sincerity” the magic ingredient that makes something true? If that is true is it should be true in any area of life and not just religion.
What if you believe . . .
all you need for sky diving is a good
umbrella
drinking poison is good for you
red traffic lights mean ‘go’.
In the physical world, what you believe is critical. Let me give you just a couple of examples.
A lawyer was trying to demonstrating to a group of law students that the windows in a downtown Toronto skyscraper were unbreak-able. He sincerely believed he could slam his body full force into the window on the 24th floor. He was so sincere he backed his belief up with an actual demonstration and plunged twenty-four floors to his death. He was dead wrong! (1996 recipient of Darwin Award)
Several years ago a nurse in a large hospital changed an oxygen tank for one of her patients. She sincerely believed that there was oxygen in that tank, but the next nurse to check on the patient found him dead. The tank had been wrongly labeled at the warehouse and contained nitrogen, not oxygen. This nurse was sincere and had a lot of faith in that tank, but the tank still contained nitrogen her patient was still dead.
In the physical world, what you believe is critical. And the same God made the spiritual realm. All of the sincerity in the world will not turn a lie into a truth and all the insincerity in the world will not make a truth become a lie. A thing is true or false simply because it is true or false!
In verse eighteen John says, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. (19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have contin-ued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. (20) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. (21) I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (22) Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. (23) Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (24) Therefore 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. (25) And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. (26) These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. (27) But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
John shares three truths on how not to be deceived.
First, We Need To Recognize The Signs of the Times (2:18-19)
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. (19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
John emphasizes the seriousness of the times with the use of two terms. Both terms make it clear that these are days that demand discernment.
•The Last Hour
John begins by pointing out that “it is the last hour.” But in what sense is it the “last hour.” How can John be right since, to put it frankly a whole lot of hours have passed since this letter was written and the end still has not come? John is not speaking so much chronologically as he is theolog-ically.
When Jesus appeared on the scene; when he came to this earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose from the grave; the last hour began and will culminate when he comes again. This much we can know about the “last hour.” God’s measure-ment of time is not same as ours. (2 Pet 3:8-10). But when the end does come – it will surprise everyone – including Christians. In Matt 24:44 Jesus said, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” But certain signs will reveal that is the last hour and one of those things is what John reveals next.
•Presence of Antichrist’s
The word “Antichrist” can have two meanings. It can mean "in opposition to” or “against Christ" or it can mean “instead of.” So an antichrist is either one who stands in opposition to Christ or who stands in the place of Christ. So the term very broadly describes anyone who opposes Jesus Christ and what he stands for. The Bible teaches that at some point in the future a person will arise who embodies this opposition to Christ. Paul calls him the "man of lawlessness" in the book of 2 Thessalonians, and this figure "will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God" (2 Thess. 2:4). This person will embody every hostility toward Christ that’s ever been expressed in all of the world’s history, all in one person.
Throughout 2,000 years of church history Christians have found it difficult to resist the temptation to speculate on who this Antichrist is. If we just consider those put forward since 1945, the list of people that Christians have claimed were the Antichrist includes Pope Pious XII, John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and Mikhail Gorbachev to name just a few!
I even ran across one claim that Barney was the antichrist, and that if you took the words "Dancing Purple Dinosaur" and added up the numerical value of the letters, it added up to 666. I think the claim was a joke, but knowing some Christians maybe not. But all that John is saying here is that the appearance of men and women who oppose Jesus Christ is a precursor of the coming antichrist, that’s all.
When John writes “many antichrists have come” he is not saying that the final singular figure of the Anti-Christ is in the world, he is saying that the spirit that will characterize the final antichrist is already at work in the world!
You will remember that as we begin this study we noted that John was writing to a community where there was considerable disunity. As we have gone through the epistle we discovered that it is written at least in part directed to a situation in the church to which he was writing, that shortly before this some members had left the fellowship in an uproar (2:18-19). These disgruntled former members had taken others with them and now they were actively trying to convince some of the faithful members who remained to come away and join them (2:26).They claimed that things were not as they should be. Those that had left were critical of the church leadership and pointed out what they perceived as the imperfections in the church. Naturally it left some of the other members of the church confused. “Why did our friends leave? Were these people right? Maybe there are problems here! Maybe we should leave the Church too?”
The local church (any local church) is imperfect. It contains difficult and even irritating people. But it is a family! You were born into it through the new birth, and so is everyone else who really a Christian. While we did not get to pick these folks to be our family, God did. It should be understood that in a family you will experience hurt feelings and misunderstandings. Such things happen in families. But don’t bail out of the church be committed to work through those things.
Our church needs our
Presence – “If your salvation will not even get you to church will it get you to Heaven.”
Participation – Don’t wait to be asked to help volunteer where you see a need.
Praise.
We not only need to recognize the Signs of the Times but …
Secondly, We Need To Remember Our Resources (2:20-24)
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. (21) I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (22) Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. (23) Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (24)Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the begin-ning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”
Every Christian has two weapons available in their arsenal to combat heresy; the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
The false teachers of John’s day used two special words to describe their exper-ience; “knowledge” and “anointing.” They claimed to have a special anointing from God which gave them unique knowledge. But John points out that “all” true Christians know God and have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. [Warren Weirsbe. “Be Real.” (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1984) p. 89]
• God’s Word
The first weapon in the Christian arsenal is the Word that they have “heard from the beginning” (v. 24). Clearly this is a reference to the gospel that has been given by the apostles. Since the days of the early church Satan has actively opposed the truth of God’s Word, especially with regard to the gospel. A major theme throughout the entire New Testament is that God’s people need to develop discernment so that they can avoid spiritual deception.
In 2 Tim 3:14-17 Paul writes, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, (15) and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is given by inspira-tion of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Where verse twenty translates “you know all things” (panta) it could also be translated “you all know.”(pantes). Now as we say here in the South there is a heap of difference between “knowing all things” and “you all know.” We can all know something with knowing everything. I believe the point is not that Christians know everything. They certainly do not. But rather that “all” who are real Christians know the truth concerning Christ.
John is urging Christians to remember what they have known since the beginning about Christ.
John sets a standard when he writes in verse twenty-two, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ.” John later writes in 1 John 4:2-3, “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,(3) and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” Every modern cult goes astray on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Some deny his death on the cross, some deny his deity. Some talk in mystical fashion of the “Christ within” each of us. But by denying the Son of God they prove they do not have a relation-ship with the Father. And in the words of John they are liars, deceivers and antichrists.
• God’s Spirit.
In verse twenty John says, “you have an anointing” and he repeated this truth in verse twenty-seven by saying, “the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.”
In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Paul writes, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, (22) who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” This means that every person who has trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior has this same anointing. The word picture that is found here in “the anointing”- is another way to describes the coming of the Holy Spirit of God to live within us.
We can be almost certain that false teachers of that day, just as they do today, were claiming they had some special know-ledge from the Spirit that others have been missing. That is what virtually every cult does. It claims some special revelation beyond the original apostles.
So that’s what John is saying is, “Look, you don’t lack anything, you may not be noble, or powerful and educated, but don’t let those false teachers deceive you by intimidation, don’t let them convince you that somehow there is an anointing that you don’t have and knowledge that you don’t have, that is a lie.” You know what it means to be saved. And you do have the anointing, you have the Holy Spirit of God. You have no need to turn to any false teacher because you think you lack something.
Ever believer has two safeguards to protect them from being mislead: God’s Spirit and God’s Word. The Holy Spirit’s doing His part. If you are obedient and submit to the Word, that’s your part. And the result is; no believer need ever be led astray.
We not only need to Remember our Resources but …
Third, We Need To Resist Falsehood With The Truth. (2:25-27)
“And this is the promise that He has prom-ised us - eternal life. (26) These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. (27) But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
When John writes in verse twenty-seven, “and you do not need that anyone teach you” it needs to be understood in context, it is not a denial of the need for godly teachers to instruct the flock. If that were his meaning it would invalidate this entire letter, which is its self teaching. He would also contradict the Apostle Paul, who taught that God gives gifted teachers to the church to help believers grow to maturity (Eph. 4:11-12). He is not invalidating the authority of pastors to instruct their congregations rather he is invalidating the authority of the false teachers. If they were supporting their new theological insights on the authority of the Spirit, which it seems they were, then the fact that all believers share equally in the Spirit diminishes their authority. He is affirming the truth that the believer in Christ is not dependent on a priest or anyone else to interpret the Word of God to him.
John says you have the truth, you have the Spirit. He says let that abide in you which you heard “from the beginning.” Twice in verse twenty-four John stresses that they abide in that which they heard “in the beginning.” Instead of running after “new” revelations offered by individuals like, Joseph Smith, Jim Jones, and Rev. Moon; stick to the gospel you have heard from the beginning. He says, “Don’t chase after some-thing new, stick with the truth.”
And if you do stick with the truth, then you’re going to stay with the Son and with the Father and go into eternal life. When you stick with the gospel, you will not be depend-ent on human wisdom because you have a divine source of truth and a divine resident teacher. So we abide, we abide in the truth.
Application
•It Does Matter What You Believe.
As I stated in the beginning of this message the popular kind of sentimental theology that says, “It does not matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere” is utter nonsense. You can sincerely drink poison believing it to be medicine but you will be dead just the same. Sound doctrine really does matter.
•Beware of any teacher who wants to take you beyond the revelation of God’s Word.
Anyone who comes along with a new or
different teaching to that revealed in God’s Word is be to avoided – don’t listen to them.
John has told us that some things are true and some things are not true and the way to tell the difference is to remain in the Word.
"Don’t Be Decieved"
1 John 2:18-27
“It Doesn’t Matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.”
What about the belief that umbrellas make good parachutes?
First, We Need To Recognize The _______ of the Times. (2:18-19)
John emphasizes the seriousness of the times with the use of two terms.
•The Last ______
•Presence of ___________
Our church needs our
__________
__________
__________
Secondly, We Need To Remember Our _________ (2:20-24)
•God’s ________ (2 Tim 3:14-17)
•God’s ________ (vv. 20, 27)
(2 Cor. 1:21-22)
Third, We Need To Resist Falsehood With The ____ (2:25-27)
