So far we have taken:
1. THE ATTITUDE TEST
2. THE ACTION TEXT
3. THE AFFECTION TEST
4. THE ACTUALITY TEST
5. THE ADULTERY TEST
6. THE ANTICHRIST TEST
So many folks may say they KNOW THE LORD, but, if they can not pass the tests John gives, they do not really know the Lord.
The Lord Jesus makes that amply clear. Look at Matthew 7:22-23. We read, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” There is nothing that could possibly be more shocking, as a human, than to stand before the Lord Jesus and hear Him say, “YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ME, BUT YOU DO NOT.” To keep that from happening, let us take one more test. This is the last of this group of John’s tests. It is called The Abiding Test.
WHAT IS THE ABIDING TEST?
Let me run a common occurrence by you. If you have been saved for a couple of years and active in the church, you, along with the others, have seen some who have been saved for a couple of years or more. You have seen folks come into the church who profess to know the Lord, and seem to be on fire for the Lord. In fact, some seem to know the Lord better than anyone else in the church. But then, all of a sudden, one of these dropped out of church and made himself so scarce it would probably be hard for the FBI to find him.
Everyone in the church then is left wondering,
1. What happened to that person?
2. Did we do something wrong?
3. Why did that person not come back?
Well, the fact is, many times it has nothing to do with the church. That person made a FALSE PROFESSION. He fooled everyone for a while. The person who operates on his emotions is often guilty of this kind of false profession. As long as he is emotionally involved in the church you would think he really knows the Lord and has a faith so strong he can move mountains, but just let his emotions be down and he is ready to go home and blow his brains out.
Illus: Such was the case of one lady, like so many other people, who was very emotional. She stood up in a testimony service and told how much she loved the Lord and that she wanted to serve Him as long as she lived. She was very emotional when she gave that testimony, but today you can not get her close to a church
WHAT HAPPENED?
She spoke those words while emotionally stirred. Then, when the strong feelings were gone, so was she - along with her profession.
The reason we know some folks do not KNOW THE LORD is because they can not pass the ABIDING TEST! This is the test that is passed if we know Christ, His Word ABIDES IN US...
• This week, next week, next year, and until we die.
• Through good times and bad times.
HIS WORD LIVES WITHIN US!
So today, as we take this test, we want to see if the Word of God ABIDES IN YOU.
VII. THE ABIDING TEST
Let us examine at least FOUR things about our abiding in Christ.
A. THE PROOF
Look at verse 24. We read, “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.”
In a previous message, John conveyed to the Christians that there were many antichrists. When he wrote to the Christians about the false teachings, he referred to the Christians as “little children.” He addressed them as such for a reason. WHAT WAS THAT REASON?
Again, he realized little children believe anything you tell them.
Illus: You can say to children, “Once upon a time...” and tell them all kinds of ridiculous stories and they will sit and listen and imagine that the ridiculous story you are telling them is true. (This is why, if children are allowed to watch television, they should always have a responsible adult with them who will explain to them those things are not true.)
John knew in the “end time,” there would be many false teachers telling people all kinds of ridiculous things. He warned them, and us, DO NOT BELIEVE THE IMPOSTORS! EVERYTHING THEY SPEAK IS A LIE!
Look back at verses 22-23. We read, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”
Even though they claimed to know God, if they denied Jesus was the Christ, their doctrine was false. John told them not to take the lies they preached and build their lives around them.
Instead, look what John said in verse 24. “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning...”
WHAT HAD THEY HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING? They had heard the gospel of Christ. They had heard Christ...
• Was God’s Son
• Was born of a virgin
• Had lived a sinless life
• Was God in the flesh
• Died for the sins of mankind
• Was resurrected
• Ascended to the Father and intercedes for us today
So that all who confess their sins, repent, and believe on Christ, SHALL BE SAVED.
This was what they had heard from the beginning. John told them not to deviate from that one iota! Why? We can not say we believe all the doctrines of God’s Word one day, then walk away from them if we are truly saved.
The PROOF that we KNOW HIM is that HIS WORD abides in us. IT IS A PART OF EVERYTHING WE BELIEVE IN AND STAND FOR. Look at the last part of verse 24. We read, “If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall REMAIN IN YOU, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
Look at the word “remain.” This is translated from the Greek, “meno,” which means: “To continue, dwell, endure, be present.”
Some folks claim one gets Christianity the way one catches a cold.
That is, a person is overwhelmed with it in the beginning, but then they “get over it.”
John said, (our thought), “Oh no you do not. If you got gloriously saved by the grace of God; what you heard REMAINS IN YOU.” You do not “get over” salvation. The gospel that saves you continues in your life.
• It is in you today
• It will be in you next week
• It will be in you next year
• It will be in you unto death
This is THE PROOF. Now let us look at...
B. THE PROMISE
Look at verse 25. We read, “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”
Almost everyone cherishes his life. We do all we can to live as long as we can. However we all know that one day these frail bodies, regardless of the good care we give them, may be brought down and destroyed, perhaps by a little germ so small it can not be seen without the aid of a microscope.
WHAT THEN?
Here is God’s promise! He has promised that once we come to know Christ as our personal Savior we have ETERNAL LIFE with Him!
WHAT A PROMISE!
Illus: Evangelist Ding Teuling, who studies the stars, came out of a meeting one night and tapped the pastor on the shoulder and said, “Pastor, see that star up there?” He continued, “It is not as bright as the other ones, a little bit yellowish. Do you see it?” The pastor, after a little while of searching for it, said, “Yes, I see it.” Then the evangelist said something very interesting. He said, “You would not know from just looking at it, but that is the biggest thing the human eye can ever see!”
He then went on to try to describe just how big it was. In other words, there is not anything we know of in the universe that is any larger than that object.
But, did you know that the BIGGEST PROMISE that has ever been made to us is the promise God gave that through Christ we have ETERNAL LIFE?
John was saying, “Little children... do not believe the lies of the antichrists. Believe in what you believed from the beginning about the REAL CHRIST. Let His Word abide in you!” This is THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE. Then John shows us why he wrote this to them. Look at...
C. THE PURPOSE
Look at verse 26. We read, “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.”
People have various reasons for writing letters, such as:
• To ask for a favor
• To inquire about something
• To get and give information
• To let the person know they are concerned about something
This is exactly why John wrote these Christians. He was concerned about their being seduced by the false teachers.
Maybe those false teachers would seduce some of them, and their children, but it was not going to happen without John’s trying to warn them. Just in case they were wondering why he wrote, he made it clear, “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.”
One of the problems in churches today is that false teachers and preachers can say and do almost anything they want to say to deceive and mislead the people of God and God’s men will not open their mouths to warn people. Somehow the mentality of today’s church is that you do not dare expose the devil. Well, we do need to expose him. We need to speak out against:
• Cult activity - that many are going door to door, trying to deceive the people of God
• Television preachers who preach and do some of the most outlandish things imaginable
We need to constantly have the same concern John had. He was concerned about the false teachers who were trying to SEDUCE GOD’S PEOPLE.
We have looked at THE PROOF, THE PROMISE, AND THE PURPOSE. Now let us look at...
D. THE PROVISION
Look at verse 27. We read, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
Notice, John said Christians are protected from false teachers because, “...the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you,..”
Notice, John tells us that THE WORD OF GOD abides in us and so does THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD.
Listen, the Holy Spirit and The Word of God always agree.
Illus: A woman preacher, who lived years ago in Bowling Green, Fl., left her husband to marry a man much younger than herself. When asked why she did this, she replied, “The Holy Spirit led me to do it.” That could not be true!
Listen, the Holy Spirit NEVER asks anyone to do anything the Word of God forbids. And children of God should never believe what false teachers teach and preach because those things do not agree with God’s Word.
We need to look false teachers, who would try to make us believe false doctrine, in the eyes unwaveringly and say, “I do not believe a thing you say because the Word of God that abides in me says that everything you say is a bunch of lies!”
Conclusion:
The cults are growing in number today. One in particular, the Mormon church, is a very wealthy movement. Many saints of God are so unskilled in God’s Word that when members of these cults knock on their doors, all they know to do is slam the door in their faces. It is not because they are taking a stand for what they believe. It is because they do not know how to use this Bible and defend what they believe!
We who call ourselves Christians are supposed to have the Word of God ABIDING IN US and when false teachers speak we can counteract the lies with the truth of the Word of God.
I. THE ATTITUDE TEST
II. THE ACTION TEST
III. THE AFFECTION TEST
IV. THE ACTUALITY TEST
V. THE ADULTERY TEST.
VI. THE ANTICHRIST TEST
VII. THE ABIDING TEST
