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INTRODUCTION
Far too many people today think that to be a Christian means that you have to be tolerant of just about any belief. We are told that we are not to judge and
therefore the result is that we allow anyone to call themselves Christian no matter what they believe or how they live. Does it matter what one believes? Surely as long as one lives the Christian life that is much
more important than what one believes? Over the last few sermons we have been looking at three tests that John has devised to identify the true Christian from the counterfeit Christian. In verse 3 the true Christian
obeys God's commands. In vs. 7-11 a true Christian loves his fellow Christians and in verses 15-17 and true Christian does not love the world.
Now all of these tests are practical you can see if someone is obedient or loves his fellow Christians or loves not the world. But now John devises a test
of true belief, John says it matters what you believe for what you believe will tell us if we are real or counterfeit Christians. Many people are convinced that what one believes does not matter; this is why the
ecumenical movement flourishes today. Such a person who believes this will argue that surely Mother Teresa is a Christian after all she demonstrated it by her life. I do not hear anyone even suggest that Mother
Teresa is not a Christian and certainty after her death when all the newspapers clearly presented her as a true Christian.
But she was a Roman Catholic and held, as far as I understand, to Roman Catholic dogma, which is a salvation by works. What she believed and what true
Christians believe are completely different gospels. In this section we will see how important it is to believe the right things. The false teachers did not believe the right things and their false belief exposed
their false practises. You see it is possible to be sincere in what you believe every religion of the world will have people who are sincere about their faith but they are sincerely wrong.
Now as we turn to this passage John refers to the last hour in verse 18. What did John mean by that term? Did he mean that he believed that the return of
Christ was imminent? There is no indication in the text that, that was in John's mind. The phrase the 'last hour' matches the New Testament phrase the 'last days,' which refers to the period between the first and
second comings of Jesus Christ.
The bible splits time up theologically and that final period of time between the first and Second Advent of Christ is called the last days or hour because
it is the last period of time before the final climactic event in history, the return of the Lord Jesus as King and Judge. This whole final period is marked by hostility from the world sometimes through infiltration
of the church with error and sometimes through direct persecution.
What John is saying here is that during these last days the church must be on its guard recognising its enemy and counteracting his tactics. These last days
are sometimes referred to as the gospel age or the church age.
1. DURING THE GOSPEL AGE THERE WILL BE MANY WHO OPPOSE CHRIST. (Vs.18-19)
These opponents of Christ are referred to as antichrists (v 18). In fact verse 18 speaks of both antichrist and many antichrists. John is the only biblical
author as far as I can ascertain to use this expression although Jesus himself warned his followers of those who oppose him and he called them false Christ's and false prophets (Matthew 24:24). Paul speaks of the
antichrist as a man of lawlessness who even proclaims himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
But there are also many antichrists who by their opposition to Jesus Christ align themselves with the antichrist that is to come. There are two ideas behind
the word 'antichrists.' The first is of a rival to Christ who claims to possess all the power and ability of Christ. The second meaning has to do with opposition to Christ, those who deliberately stand against Jesus
and oppose his teaching.
Now today we have many who oppose Christ many antichrists but how do we recognise them. We can recognise them by their beliefs and then by their behaviour.
a) Beliefs (vs. 22-23) – The repetition of the word 'denies' (v 22) makes this a very strong statement. This statement clearly proclaims that false
belief can be decided on the issue of Christ. How do people view Jesus will make it clear where they stand in relation to true Christianity. If an individual does not believe that Jesus is the Christ, God's own
beloved Son sent from the Father to save sinners then he is literally against Christ. This means that he cannot be in a right relationship to God the Father for that person is denying the whole basis on which such a
fellowship could exist (John 14:6).
This is a very important test, which must be applied to any religious teaching. What a religion says and claims about Christ will tell you where that
religion stands in relation to salvation. This is why when talking to the cults it is always good to major on Christ for this is where their falsehood is most clearly seen and exposed. It is because Jesus is God who
has come in human flesh to be the saviour of sinners that Christian churches down through history have sought to preach the gospel to those in other faiths and none.
If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and all that that means and implies then we are saying that outside of Christ there is no Saviour and there is no
salvation. If you hold the right belief about Jesus then you cannot believe that all religions are valid and that all roads lead to God. Those who deny Jesus is God and those who deny that Jesus is the only way to
God are antichrists, they are opposed to him no matter what they say (this includes Liberal protestant churches and the Catholic church). Therefore as John says they are liars telling people that there is salvation
in other ways apart from Christ.
Now what John is saying is clear. No Muslim, Buddhist or Jehovah Witness is a true believer, for all those religions and I could mention many more deny
Christ to be God. There are many in our world that are caught up in religious systems that are full of lies. O these people are very sincere and sometimes go through very costly religious ceremonies in order to
please their god, but at the end of the day they worship a god that does not exist and their system of belief is one of lies, lies and even more lies.
Such people desperately need to hear the truth of God's word particularly the truth about Jesus Christ and salvation. Those who do not claim to belong to
any faith or even believe in God also believe a lie for the truth is that Jesus is God and as God he has come to save people from their sins. If people do not believe that then whatever they believe about God and
salvation will be lies. If they deny there is a God they are believing lies.
If they believe that God will let them into heaven because of their goodness then they are believing lies. If they believe that when you die that is the end
then they are believing a lie. You see belief about Jesus and all that that implies is of utmost important for everyone whether they realise it or not. Therefore as a church we must get the gospel out, preach Christ
and teach people the truth so that they can know how to be saved and come to know God.
The church also must be on its guard against those who seek to penetrate its own ranks. People who may appear to be Christian but in time their belief about
Jesus and salvation is exposed. They might deny the full humanity of Christ or his full deity or his work on the cross that is certainty what was going on in John's day and that is what has gone on in the history of
church down through the ages. The most fatal attacks upon the church are not those that come from without from those that we might expect attacks but they are those that come from within, from those who somehow have
managed to get themselves into membership but who do not hold to orthodox beliefs about Jesus Christ.
Many of our western cults actually started from inside the church of Jesus Christ, as someone rejected the established doctrinal position and then over time
they developed their own doctrinal belief, which of course is nothing but lies. Let us be clear about this all-false doctrine is a lie, it is opposed to truth and ultimately it leads us away from Christ and from his
the way of salvation. Verse 23 cannot be clearer on this. You cannot have God without believing in Jesus. If you reject Jesus then there is no salvation and no other way of salvation (John 14:6).
I said you can recognise antichrists by their beliefs but you can also identify them by their behaviour.
b) Behaviour (v19) – Ultimately antichrists will dissociate themselves from those who hold to orthodox Christian doctrine. The truth is however that
their behaviour in leaving the church shows clearly that they are not just confused immature Christians but that they are actually antichrists. Because they oppose the doctrines to which the church holds they are
unable to stay in such a church and their behaviour confirms the heresy of their beliefs.
Of course this does not mean that everyone who leaves our church are antichrists but when a group leaves and separates itself into a holier than thou
huddle, and claim as they did in John's day a deeper understanding or a deeper experience of God based on some erroneous or mistaken view of a particular doctrine (i.e. the Holy Spirit) then it will not be long
before their unbalanced teaching leads others into clear gospel error. For once the central truths of the faith are denied then the appetite for Christian fellowship in clearly lost.
2. HOW DOES THE CHURCH COUNTERACT ANTICHRISTS? (vs.19-21).
Being able to identify error is not enough we must be able to counteract it by holding to the truth and by living that truth out in our lives. These verses
teach us how to resist error and again we do it through our beliefs and through our behaviour.
a) Belief (vs. 20-21) – John says that the churches that he is writing to have an anointing and as a consequence they know the truth. The anointing
here is clearly talking about the work of the Spirit (see v 27). Every Christian is anointed by the Spirit; when they receive the Spirit and the consequence of having the Holy Spirit in us is that we know the truth.
He is our teacher, yes he uses human teachers to instruct us but once we know God and have the Spirit then orthodoxy will be the norm.
Without the work of the Spirit then people will believe in a Christ of their own imagination, one who fits in with them and treats them, as they want to be
treated. But the Christian is led into the truth. This means that the most inexperienced baby Christian knows enough of the truth to be able to distinguish it from lies. Therefore John is writing to the church to
encourage them to hold on to that truth, and not to give ground to those who are promoting the lies of false teaching (v 21).
That is our task as well we know the truth we have received the Holy Spirit and even the youngest Christian knows enough off the truth to be able to spot
falsehood when it is presented to us. It is not the leaders task only to defend the faith we all are responsible for spotting error for falsehood sometimes comes into a church through the leaders and therefore we
all need to hold on to the truth that we have come to know and love.
b) Behaviour (v 19) – If people who believe error ultimately leave the church then the opposite is also the case. Those who know and love the truth
continue in the fellowship with like-minded Christians. We need one another to encourage us in the truth. We need those who love the truth to continue to teach us and exhort us to hold to the truth and to warn us
when we are in danger of departing from it. What this means for us is that when the grass seems greener on the other side, when some other church seems to be presenting a new idea or a new experience of God then we
need to remain steadfast to God's truth and we do that by remaining faithful to God's people.
We belong to one another with all our imperfections and odd ways and by our loyalty to God's people we prove our loyalty to God's truth. So commit yourself
to God's truth and you do that by committing yourself to God's people who know and love that truth. It is always good when we have new members joining us for it is a demonstration that here are people who want to
hold to the truth of the gospel and they know that to do that they need to belong to people who hold to those same truths and love those truths.
We have many enemies outside of the church but we also must be aware of those inside those who try to get inside the church in order to spread their lies.
We will be aware of this when we hold firmly to the truth and stay loyal to God's church, which holds to his truth.
Amen
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