TEXT: 1 John 2:18-27
TITLE: Becoming an Anti-anti Christ
SERIES: Letters from John
TOPIC: Falling away vs. Faithfulness
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, February 6, 2011
PROP.: John gives clear teaching that either you are with God…or you are not.
INTRODUCTION: Good morning! Our text today is 1st John 2:18-27. Please open your Bible and be turning there this morning.
This is the 8th week we’ve been studying the Letters From John. John has witnessed Jesus’ ministry in it’s entirety. In fact, he is the LAST eyewitness of Jesus’ earthly ministry who is still alive.
And so, John is writing this letter to the churches in Asia minor and he is pleading and urging his readers to mature, to grow up Spiritually. He writes to them with the heart of a father. He loves the people in these churches because they are a part of his family…they are his church family! And he wants what is best for them!
In the previous verses as John talks about Spiritual maturity, he is telling the readers to mature and grow up. In today’s text, John is telling the readers to remain faithful. To cling to Jesus!
ILLUSTRATION: This is kind of a silly illustration, but it helps me understand John’s message even better. When I was in school in Michigan towards the end of the school year, we had my favorite day of the year! FIELD DAY! Do you remember having this day or do they have it around here?
Anyway, FIELD day was an ALL school competition between home room classes. Home room was 1st hour…and so in your home room class, you would sign up for different events in which to compete. I always signed up for the same three events. Pushups, sit-ups, and the free-throw challenge.
Here’s the thing, I HATED the pushup challenge. You had 2 minutes to do as many pushups as you could. And as two minutes was being counted down, the closer you were to time running out, the more difficult it became to do a pushup! Because your arms burned and ached. But you didn’t dare just quit. You pressed on through the pain and the ache because you knew in a little while, it would be over.
That is kind of like what John’s message is in our text this morning. “Remain faithful. Don’t quit. I know it’s getting hard and more difficult to be a Christian, but time is running out. Press on through the pain and the ache because in a little while, this will all be over…”
And so John’s message for us today is: REMAIN FAITHFUL!
Let’s read our text today:
1st John 2:18-29
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
Let’s stop there for a moment. In the first half of verse 18, you can hear the hear the of a father as he gives the warning…HOLD ON! REMAIN FAITHFUL BECAUSE IT‘S THE LAST HOUR!
And what I want to talk briefly about is this phrase “the last hour”. What is John referring to? Some have suggested that John is referring to his own death. He is 80+ years old and so some have suggested that he is telling his readers that he won’t be around much longer. But John said it’s the last hour and we know it’s the last hour because many antichrists have come. But what do antichrists have to do with John’s death?
Some have even suggested that John is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem…which is laughable because the destruction of Jerusalem happened 20 years BEFORE John was writing this letter.
“The last hour” can ONLY refer to the 2nd coming of Christ. “But Mark, I thought all scripture was inspired by God. John really seems to blow it. I mean it’s been nearly 2000 years and Jesus still hasn’t returned - how can John refer to it as “The Last Hour”
It is the last hour! For since the creation of the world, God’s plan is almost complete. The only thing that needs to happen is for Christ to come back. God is not concerned with dates. Remember “That one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day.”
I like how commentator B.C. Caffon put it: “By the Divine standard, times are measured, not according to their duration, but their importance; it is their meaning, not their extent which gives them value. What are the thousands of years covered by the Old Testament compared with the portion of a century covered by the new testament? When Christ ascended to heaven the last hour sounded. There may follow a silence (as it seemed to John) about the space of half an hour but (as human experience may prove) of half a thousand centuries. Yet the duration of the period, as measured by man, will not alter its essential characteristics; it was, is, and will still remain, “the last hour”.
And each day that passes is one day closer to closer to His return!
Ok, so John says, “Hold onto Jesus - time is almost up!” And then John talks about the Antichrist. Let me read it for you again…verse 18:
and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
Anti-Christ means just that. Someone who opposes Christ. John is the only one who uses this term anti-christ. And it never appears in revelation. AntiChrist ALWAYS refers to a person or a group of people. It’s not a corporation or company. The AntiChrist is NOT Walmart or Disney World or the Catholic Church. Ok? It’s always an individual or a group of people.
So who is THE antichrist? Who is the person who most opposes Jesus Christ? SATAN! THE DEVIL. BEEZLEBUB. Daniel refers to the “prince who is to come” in Daniel 9:27. Paul calls him the “man of sin” or the “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thess. 2:3. John calls him the “beast out of the sea” in Revelation 13:1-10.
But there is more than just Satan who opposes Christ. John says, “even now, many antichrists have come!” We will encounter many people who oppose Christ. In John’s day, he is no doubt referring to the Gnostic false teachers. Those teachers who loved knowledge more than the truth. They were bringing all sorts of false teachings into the church and convincing people that those teachings were true!
Whoever the antichrists are, their one mission is to not only oppose Christ. But get you to oppose Christ as well. And notice what John says about them in verse 19.
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
Clearly, John is referring to the gnostics who left the church…who abandoned the fellowship. But I can’t help but wonder if while John is writing this passage of scripture, he is remembering His time with His savior in the upper room. That moment when all the apostles had their feet washed by Jesus and Jesus made the announcement that someone in that room was going to betray Him. And as it became clear that it would be Judas Iscariot who would betray Jesus, Judas got up from the meal, and left. And soon to follow Judas’ departure from that room, would be his ultimate betrayal of Jesus. Could that memory be flooding John’s mind as he now writes this letter 50 years later?
At any rate, John has just revealed his concern for his children. He is afraid that some of the readers will not remain faithful to Jesus Christ and fall away. John is afraid that some of his readers will be convinced by the anti-christs to leave Christianity.
And that is my concern today as well. And before you are quick to dismiss this sermon and say - “I would never turn my back on Christ. I will remain faithful to the end.” Might I remind you that Peter said the same thing…until persecution became a reality! And I’m here to tell you that persecution is going to be a reality for Christians. If it happens in your life time, how will you respond? Will you remain faithful? Or will you fall away?
T.S.: In the remainder of our time together, I want to tell you 3 things you can do to ensure that you will remain faithful and not fall away!
First,
I. SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION (vs. 20,21)
You see, either something is true. Or something is not. Either, evolution is true…which means: There is no God. The earth accidentally was created when something blew up and over the course of millions of years, we have accidentally evolved from Amoebas, to fish, to monkeys to humans.
Orrrr…Creation is true…which means - There is God. The earth and everything on the earth was purposefully created with love and care. And God wrote a book to tell us about his plan and our purpose in life is to live according to that plan!
Which is it? Which is the truth?
Everyday, but very subtly, truth is being brought into question.
Either Homosexuality is a sin. Or it isn’t. Which is it?
Either abortion is a woman’s choice. Or it’s murder. Which is it?
And I can understand why you might be confused on what’s true and what is not. But it’s really not hard to know the difference between what is true and what is not at all.
In verses 20,21 John says this: 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[d] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
Did you catch it? John reminds us that we can know the difference between what is true and what is not. Because God has given us the two tools to separate fact from fiction:
God, because he knows everything, knew that we would be faced with the question “What is true and what isn’t?” So
We have:
A. An anointing from the Holy One - vs. 27
Up to the time of Christ, anointing had been the privilege of a chosen few: Prophets, priests and kings. You see, when a king or prophet was anointed, it was a public commission of the work they were to do. What is interesting is that CHRIST means ANOINTED ONE. That is that Jesus is the anointed one sent to do the work of our salvation.
And because of what Jesus Christ has done, what was once reserved for Prophets, kings and priests, now is the privilege of every saved person.
2nd Corinthians 1:21,22 says:
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
And so when John now says that you have this anointing in you, John is saying, “God gave you the Holy Spirit.” If you are an immersed believer of Jesus Christ…you have the gift of the Holy Spirit!
And one of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to TEACH you what’s right and what’s wrong.
Look at verse 27 “As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.”
So the Holy Spirit is the first tool God gives us to Separate fact from fiction. The second tool God has given us is…
B. The TRUTH (God’s word) (vs. 20b)
Question: Where can you read about truth? That’s right. The Bible. God’s ultimate revelation of truth was written in black and white. You can know what’s true and what’s not if you have read the Bible.
And notice what John says about the Truth…”no lie comes from the truth.” ALL OF IT MUST BE COMPLETELY TRUE! Not just part of it. Not just the part that is convenient. And so no longer do you have to be ignorant about what is right and wrong.
ILLUSTRATION: I recently saw an interview conducted by Piers Morgan. He was interviewing Joel Osteen. Joel Osteen (in case you aren’t familiar with him) he is the pastor of Lakewood church in Houston Texas. His television ministry reaches to over 7 million people across the world each week.
And there he was…on CNN with Piers Morgan. And I was interested in the interview because Piers Morgan is a Pit Bull. He is going to go after it and ask direct questions. And it wasn’t long before Piers Morgan asked this question of Joel:
Is homosexuality a sin?
I was happy to hear Joel get it right. He answered: “Yes, I’ve always believed it to be a sin.” I was so happy to hear Joel say that! Because he was taking a stand for truth! But about half way through the interview - Joel began to back peddle under the pressure.
Piers Morgan said, “Well if I had my friend Elton John here along with his civil partner David Furnish, they would be pretty angry with you. Who are you to call them sinners? Being gay is not something that you choose to be. I don’t think Elton John woke up one morning and said, “I think I fancy to be quite gay today.”
Joel Osteen’s response: “It’s a difficult issue. I don’t understand all the answers. But I’m not here to judge people. I will leave that to God.”
He doesn’t understand all the answers?!? Listen, let me help you out, Joel! God’s word has the answers. God’s word makes it clear that people are not born gay. It’s a choice! You see, the problem is that we are always blaming someone else for our problems. It started in the garden. Adam ate the fruit and what did he do? “It’s not my fault! It’s this woman…she’s to blame.” And so God comes to the woman and she says, “it’s not my fault! It’s the serpent!”
And with people who struggle with homosexuality - they say, “It’s not my fault. It‘s the way God created me.”
Listen to
James 1:13
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
God wouldn’t say that Homosexuality is a sin and then create someone who is gay.
And you can choose to NOT be gay! Homosexuality might be a temptation to you…but you can change…you can overcome it!
Listen, 1st Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Do you get it? God gave us His truth so that we will know what’s right and will be able to decide what’s true and what’s not! If you have the Bible…you have the truth. If you have the truth, you will be able to separate fact from fiction!
That’s the first thing you need to do if you want to remain faithful -- Separate fact from fiction using the Holy Spirit and God’s word.
Secondly, if you want to remain faithful, you must:
II. CONTINUE IN THE TEACHING YOU HAVE HEARD (vs. 24,25)
John writes in verses 24 & 25:
24 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.
John is a big fan of using this phrase “from the beginning”. 8 times he uses this phrase in 1st 2nd and 3rd John.
This phrase refers to different things. But here in our text, this phrase refers to the message they heard when they first became Christians.
Two rewards that John says you will receive if you continue in the teaching you’ve heard:
1. You have fellowship with the Son and the Father
This happens during your life on this earth. If you remain faithful to Christ…you have the promise that He will be with you! Through the highs and through the lows - Jesus is with you!
2nd promise of remaining in the teaching you’ve heard from the beginning…
2. You will have eternal life
This of course happens when you leave this life. What a promise this is! You will walk on streets of gold in a place where there is no more tears, no more pain and time isn’t an issue. But this is a condition. You will only receive fellowship with God and Have eternal life IF you continue
And lastly, if you want to remain faithful,
III. Be careful WHO YOU FOLLOW (vs. 26)
John’s warning can’t be any clearer: Verse 26
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
You can’t be led unless you follow! And so be careful who you follow.
That leads me to ask this question:
Who’s leading you?
You see, I started to make a list. Who can lead you astray. But then I realize there is no need for a list. You have too choices. Either you are led by the Spirit of God. Or you are led by your flesh…your selfish desires.
And so as you mature and grow in your faith and draw closer to God, you will no longer be pulled away by friends, family, teachers who are trying to get you to live contrary to the Spirit of God!
That’s why John will later write:
1 John 4:1
[ Test the Spirits ] Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Listen. Time is short! Remain faithful to God! Separate fact from fiction. Continue in the teaching you received when you first became a Christian. Be careful who you follow!
CONCLUSION: I want to conclude with just the final two verses of chapter 2:
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
We come now to our time of decision.
