1 John - Protecting our Fellowship Pt.2

Verses 18 to 27, which is on page 1226.

1226.

1 John chapter 2, and we're going to read verses 18 to 27.

1 John 2 · chapter mention

Okay, verse 18 of 1 John chapter 2.

1 John 2 · chapter mention

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.

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 belong to us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

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.

Who is the liar?

It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

Such a man is the Antichrist.

He denies the Father and the Son.

No one who denies the Son has the Father.

Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

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.

And this is what he promised us, even eternal life.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

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 is taught you, remain in him.

Well, we've been looking together on Sunday mornings at this short letter of 1 John,

which is all about fellowship with God, that relationship that we can enjoy with him.

We're going to pray first and ask God's help for us as we look at his word together.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for its truth.

Thank you for its truth about the Lord Jesus.

And we ask that you would also give to us your Holy Spirit,

so that we may understand Holy Scripture.

that we would understand your word,

what it has to say to us today,

how it applies to our lives,

and how we should respond as your people.

We ask that through this time together,

we may know something more of the rich fellowship

that we can have with God.

We ask for your help in Jesus' name.

Amen.

One of my bedtime stories when I was little

was the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Do you remember it?

I'm not quite sure why it was read to me,

because it would cause any child to have nightmares.

They didn't live happily ever after.

I'll not spoil the whole story for you,

but the end of it finishes with the Pied Piper

playing a mesmerising tune

that the children can't help but follow.

The parents try to stop them,

but they're captivated by the music.

And one by one,

all the children follow the tune of the Pied Piper,

never to be seen again.

Remember that we have been invited into fellowship with God.

That's the big theme of 1 John.

We get to share in the love the Father has for the Son,

and the love the Son has for the Father.

And it's in this relationship where we find joy in all its fullness.

But,

we need to be so very careful

to protect this fellowship.

Because,

look at verse 26.

Verse 26 from our reading.

He says,

You see,

this comes with a serious warning.

There are people,

he says,

who are close by,

who are teaching things that sound wonderful.

And if we are not careful,

we will be captivated by their music,

by their tune,

and we'll be led away

from our fellowship with God.

In fact,

if we stop to listen to what they have to say,

it's going to rob us

of that deep,

personal,

relational joy

that we have with the Father

and with his Son.

So,

we need to do everything possible

to be able to protect

our fellowship with God.

Move on a few verses.

Chapter 3,

verse 7.

Dear children,

do not let anyone

lead you astray.

So,

how are we to protect ourselves

so that we are not

led astray?

Well,

we're going to look at four things this morning.

The first two are quite quick.

And then the other two,

we look in a bit more detail.

So,

here's the first thing we need to look at.

Know who they are.

So,

who is it

that is going to lead us astray?

Well,

go back to chapter 2,

verse 18.

The beginning of our text

this morning.

verse 18.

Dear children,

this is the last hour.

Now,

the last hour

is the Bible's way

of describing

that time

before Jesus

returns.

Sometimes,

it's referred in the New Testament

as the last days.

It's simply a time frame

to explain

what will happen

before

Jesus

comes

again.

So,

what can we expect

to happen

during this time?

Well,

let's read verse 18 again.

He says,

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.

Now,

I wonder what comes to your mind

when you hear that word

Antichrist.

It all sounds

very threatening

and frightening,

almost satanic.

And what could be

quite worrying

for us is

we don't have to wait

because,

look again

at verse 18,

it says,

Even now

many Antichrists

have come.

In other words,

they are

already

here.

Now,

I don't want to

cause us

any nightmares,

but we do need

to take this

seriously.

An Antichrist

is simply

someone

who is in

direct opposition

to Jesus Christ.

In fact,

we're given a definition

in verse 22.

Have a look

at verse 22.

Who is the liar?

It is the man

or the person

who denies

that Jesus

is

the Christ.

Such a person

is

the Antichrist.

So,

they are not just

people who

don't believe

in Jesus.

They are people

who actually

go out of their

way

to persuade

or teach

others

not to believe.

So,

these Antichrists,

or we might

call them

false teachers,

are trying

to deceive us

and lead us

astray

from our

fellowship

with God.

And if we

listen to them,

they will

rob us

of the joy

that we have

with the Father

and with the Son.

So,

that's the first thing.

Know who

they are.

Second thing,

know where

they come from.

Where will we

find

these Antichrists,

these false

teachers?

Well,

look at verse 19.

They went

out

from us.

Now,

that's a scary

thought,

isn't it?

They're actually

among us.

They are

in

the church.

They don't

come from

the outside.

They have

come from

the inside.

And don't

expect to

try and

identify them

by the way

they dress

or the way

they look.

They don't

have two

little horns

protruding out

of their head.

They don't

have a demon

tattooed on

their back.

They look

just like

me.

Ordinary

people,

just like

you,

who come

on a Sunday

or come

on a Wednesday

to home

groups.

People

who preach

and teach,

who teach

in Sunday

school,

who teach

on a Sunday

morning.

They might

even be

baptised.

They may

even be

members of

the church.

They give

the impression

that they

too enjoy

fellowship

with God.

but they

are not

true

believers.

Look at

verse 19

again.

They went

out from

us,

but they

did not

really belong

to us.

You see,

they claimed

to know

Christ.

They said

that they

followed

Jesus,

but in

reality their

claim was

false.

Let's read

the rest of

verse 19.

for if

they had

belonged to

us,

they would

have remained

with us,

but their

going showed

that none

of them

belonged

to us.

Those

who are

true

believers,

or sorry,

those who

are not

true believers,

will walk

away from

the truth.

It's not

that they've

somehow become

unbelievers,

that they were

believers and

now they've

become

unbelievers,

the point

is they

never believed

in the

first place.

They never

did genuinely

follow the

Lord Jesus,

because true

believers will

always hold

to the truth.

So he's

giving a very

serious warning

to the church,

to people like

you and me,

we must be

very careful

of those who

will try and

lead us

astray,

and rob us

of the joy

and the

fellowship

that we

can have

with God.

And they

come from

inside the

church.

For now

that we're

all very

paranoid and

we're sitting

uncomfortably in

our seats

thinking,

hmm,

is the person

next to me

one of these

people?

Or how

about me?

How do you

know I'm

not a false

teacher?

How do you

know I'm

not trying

to lead you

astray each

Sunday morning?

How are you

going to tell?

Which brings

us to the

third aspect.

We must

know what

they teach.

Have a look

at verse 22.

Here's how you

will identify

those who are

trying to lead

us astray.

verse 22.

Who is the

liar?

Well, it's

the person

who denies

that Jesus

is the

Christ.

Such a

person is

the

Antichrist.

He denies

the Father

and the

Son.

You see,

we can tell

who these

people are

by listening

to what

they teach.

And in

particular,

what they

teach about

the Lord

Jesus.

You see,

at the heart

of this

distorted

teaching

is this

denial.

We read

it there

in verse

22.

They deny

that Jesus

is the

Christ.

Oh,

they'll claim

all kinds

of things.

They'll say,

Jesus was a

good teacher.

And maybe

you've met

people like

that.

They're quite

happy to

accept that

Jesus is a

kind person.

He's a

compassionate

person.

Sure,

didn't he

help people

and make

people better

and feed

people?

And they

will admit

that he

was a

historical

figure.

Yes,

Jesus

existed.

He walked

on earth.

But they

deny that

Jesus is

the Christ.

In other

words,

they deny

that Jesus

is both

God

and

man.

man.

Now,

that is

a false

or a

distorted

doctrine.

And it's

very damaging.

Let's for a

minute

assume,

okay,

I want us

to follow

this line

of thinking.

Let's

assume

that Jesus

is not

God

and man.

What

difference

would it

make?

Does it

really

matter

who

Jesus

is

or

what

we

think

of

Jesus?

Well,

first,

if Jesus

is not

fully

man,

then that

means

Jesus

could never

be our

substitute

on the

cross.

Think

about it.

Jesus

came as

a man,

as a

human

being,

somebody

just like

you and

me.

And he

came as

a person

to take

the place

of people,

to suffer

the punishment

that you

and I

deserve.

He had

to be

human so

that he

could serve

as a

substitute

for human

beings.

That's

why he

came as

a man

and walked

this earth.

He ate

and drank

just like

one of

us.

He came

to take

my place

and your

place.

He stood

in as our

representative

to take

our sin

on himself

as a

man to

die the

punishment

that we

deserve.

He had

to be

man.

But secondly,

let's think

about what

would it be

if Jesus

was not

fully God.

Well,

if Jesus

was not

fully God,

then there

would be

no salvation

for people

like us.

Because as

Jesus came

as God,

he came

to pay

for not

just my

sin and

your sin,

but he

came to

pay for

all the

sins of

the whole

world.

Now,

who could

do that?

I can't

stand in

and pay

for the

sin of

everybody.

I can't

even pay

for the

sin of

myself.

Jesus

had to

be God

so that

he could

perfectly

represent

all people.

No

human being

could do

that.

So,

you see,

if Jesus

is not

the Christ,

if Jesus

is not

both God

and man,

then

everything

falls apart.

That means

we have

no forgiveness,

we have

no acceptance,

we have

no welcome

before God,

that means

we have

no way

of enjoying

fellowship

with God.

Look at

verse 23.

No one

who denies

the Son

has the

Father.

So,

if we cannot

accept the

true identity

of Jesus,

then we

can't enjoy

fellowship

with God.

But,

whoever

acknowledges

the Son

has the

Father

also.

They are

invited and

they share

in this

deep fellowship

with God.

You see,

what we

believe

really

matters.

And

distorted

doctrine

or wrong

belief

will lead

us astray

from God.

It robs us

of that

deep,

intimate,

relational

joy that

we have

with the

Father

and with

the Son.

So,

it's

important

to pay

attention

to what

we believe.

Now,

some of you

will be

thinking,

aren't you

taking this

a little bit

too serious?

Surely,

it really

doesn't matter

what you

believe.

You're into

your doctrine,

that's good

for you.

What counts

is not what

you believe,

but how

you behave.

That's really

what matters.

You believe

that Jesus

is the God

man,

well,

that's a good

enough belief

for you.

But,

you know what,

the way I

think of it

is,

I'm just

here to

help people

and love

people.

It doesn't

really matter

what you

believe.

Maybe people

have said

that to you

before.

Well,

as much

as we

might try,

we can't

separate

belief

and

behaviour.

In fact,

wrong belief

will always

lead to

wrong

behaviour.

wrong

behaviour.

Wrong

will always

lead to

wrong

behaviour.

Again,

follow with

me this

line of

thinking.

If you

don't

believe that

Jesus

is God

and man,

then what

would it

lead to?

If you

don't believe

in that,

what would

it lead

to?

Well,

first,

it means

we will

never,

ever take

sin

seriously.

It means

we will

live as

we want

and do

as we

please.

What does

it matter

if I

cheat on

my wife?

What does

it matter

if I

steal from

my employer?

If sin's

not an

issue,

well,

I can do

what I

like.

It doesn't

matter if I

tell lies

to people.

It doesn't

matter if I

gossip about

my friend.

So,

you see,

rather than

love others

and put

others first,

it actually

causes us

to love

self more

than everybody

else.

If I

don't believe

that Jesus

is the

God-man,

then I'll

live however

I want

to live,

and I'll

be the

most important

person on

the planet.

So,

belief

affects how

we behave.

But it

also follows

this way

as well,

that if I

don't believe

Jesus is

God and

man,

that means

I will

never know

true joy.

Instead,

it means

my life

will be

shaped by

guilt and

fear,

because we'll

carry with

us all the

pains and

the hurts

of the

past.

We will

live looking

backwards,

thinking of

all the

things I've

done,

living in

regret,

living in

shame because

of past

action,

and there's

never any

way of

undoing it,

and we

will never

know true

joy because

we can

never escape

our guilt.

You see,

what we

believe has

a direct

effect on

how we

behave,

and how

that forms

my relationship

with God.

So you

see, if we

get led

astray on

who Jesus

is,

then we

will get

led astray

in our

fellowship with

God.

We will

not enjoy

that relationship

with him

because we

are not

living the

way that

we should

do.

So never

discount

doctrine,

never discount

what we

believe.

It's vital

that we

understand what

we believe.

So that's

the third

aspect.

Know what

they teach,

and then

finally,

how we

protect.

Because we

want to

protect ourselves

from being

led astray.

we want

to make

sure that

we don't

get sucked

in and

get dragged

away like

those with

the Pied

Piper.

So two

ways we

need to

keep

protected.

Two

things we

desperately

need or

we'll lose

that joy

in our

fellowship

with God.

So here's

the two

things that

we need

to apply

to our

lives.

The first

thing we

need to

protect

ourselves

is the

scriptures.

Look at

verse 24.

He says,

see that

what you

have heard

from the

beginning

remains

in you.

What you

heard from

the beginning

remains

in you.

Well,

what was

it?

What did

they hear

in the

beginning?

Well,

have a look

back at

chapter 1

verse 1.

This is

how the

letter

first starts.

So here's

John writing

and he's

writing on

behalf of

the other

apostles and

this is what

he says.

Verse 1,

that which

was from

the beginning,

so he's

talking about

Jesus,

that which

was from

the beginning,

which we

have heard,

so we

heard Jesus,

which we

have seen

with our

eyes,

they're saying

we saw

Jesus

ourselves,

which we

have looked

at,

we saw

him doing

all those

miracles and

all those

wonderful

things,

and our

hands have

touched.

This we

proclaim concerning

the word of

life,

the life

appeared,

we have

seen it

and testified

to it,

and we

proclaim to

you the

eternal life

which was

with the

Father and

has appeared

to us.

So John

and his

fellow apostles,

he's saying

we were the

first eyewitnesses

of the

person of

Jesus.

We saw

him.

So Jesus

is not

made up.

This is

all true.

It's not

legend or

lies.

We heard

him,

we saw

him,

we touched

him,

we looked

at him,

and all

of those

things we

saw and

we heard,

we have

written down

so that you

can read

the testimony

for yourself.

And that

testimony that

they have

written down

is recorded

for us in

scripture,

the Bible.

That's what

the gospels

are,

Matthew,

Mark,

Luke and

John,

they're

testimonies,

they're

accounts about

the person

of Jesus.

So go

back to

chapter 2

verse 24.

He says,

see what

you have

heard from

the beginning

remains in

you.

Keep

reading,

keep

learning the

truth about

Jesus that

we have

passed on

to you and

that we

have told

about you.

And look

what happens

if we keep

to the

truth,

if we keep

to what

we've heard

from the

beginning.

Look at

verse 24

again.

See what

you have

heard from

the beginning

remains in

you.

If it

does,

you also

will remain

in the

Son and

in the

Father.

And this

is what

he promised

us,

even

eternal

life.

You see

this is

God's

means of

keeping us

in fellowship

with the

Father and

with his

Son.

As we

read the

Bible,

as we

go back

to the

truth,

as we

go back

to the

very

foundation

of what

we

believe,

it is

there

that we

meet

God,

that we

know

him and

enjoy

him.

It's

in the

word,

it's in

the

scriptures,

that we

encounter

and experience

the true

and living

God.

If you

want to

know more

about

Jesus,

then we

go back

to the

beginning,

we read

what we

know is

true.

And if

we immerse

ourselves

in

scripture,

we protect

ourselves

from being

led

astray.

So that's

the first

thing we

need to

be people

of.

We need

to be

people who

are reading

the Bible

on our

own,

together

with

others.

And that

will make

sure we

protect our

fellowship

with God.

The second

thing that's

going to

protect us

is the

Holy Spirit.

Look at

verse 27.

He says,

as for you,

the anointing

you received.

Now the

anointing,

whenever we

read of that

word through

the New

Testament,

it refers

to the

pouring out

or the

giving of

the Holy

Spirit upon

God's

people.

So he

says,

as for you,

the anointing

or the

Holy Spirit

that you

received from

him remains

in you and

you do not

need anyone

to teach

you.

So he's

saying you

have the

Holy Spirit

in your

life,

so you do

not need

anyone to

teach you.

Now that's

caused a lot

of confusion

for a lot

of people.

I remember

telling another

Christian that

I was going

to Bible

college to

help me to

be a better

teacher of

the Bible.

I wanted to

learn more

about the

Bible so

that I could

help other

people understand

the Bible.

And this was

his response

and I remember

it so clearly

and he quoted

1 John chapter

1 John 2:27

2 verse 27.

He says,

what do you

want to go

to college

for?

You don't

need anybody

to teach

you because

we have

the Holy

Spirit.

So does

that mean

we just do

away with

the Bible?

We don't

need anybody

to teach

us?

I mean,

what are we

all doing

here this

morning?

Are we all

wasting our

time?

We don't

need any

teachers.

We've got

the Holy

Spirit.

I might as

well stay

at home and

let him teach

me.

What do

you think?

Well,

John has

written a

letter,

hasn't he?

And he

obviously thinks

that teaching

is important

otherwise he

wouldn't have

written a

letter.

So John is

teaching them

as he

writes.

So he

can't mean

you don't

need any

more teachers.

So what

does he

mean?

Well he

means we

don't need

to be

taught

anything

new

about

Jesus.

We don't

need to

be taught

anything

new

that's

outside

of God's

word.

There's

no new

revelation

about Jesus

to be

found.

Everything

that we

need to

know about

Jesus

and God

is contained

in

scripture.

You see

I get

very,

very worried

when people

talk to me

or tell

me or they

go on

television

and listen

to certain

things and

they say

I heard

this person

speaking and

they said

they got a

message from

God or they

heard something

from God

to tell them

something and

I just get

very worried

about that.

Why?

Because

everything that

we have is

in scripture.

If somebody

says I'm

going to tell

you something

new about

God, I

get concerned.

You see

the Holy

Spirit, let's

read verse

27 again.

As for you

the Holy

Spirit you

received from

him remains

in you and

you do not

need anyone

to teach

you.

That's teach

you anything

new.

But as his

anointing teaches

you about all

things and as

that anointing is

real, not

counterfeit, just

as it is taught

you, remain

in him.

You see the

work of the

Holy Spirit is

to remind us

and to confirm

in us what we

have already been

taught about

Jesus.

Go back to

verse 21.

He says I do

not write to you

because you do

not know the

truth but because

you do know

it.

You've already

received it, you

know what the

truth is.

And so the

Holy Spirit is

there to remind

you of the

truth you

already know.

And let's be

clear about this,

it isn't a case

of well you've

got to choose

between the

Bible and

the Spirit.

You choose

this church is

into the

Scriptures but

this church over

here is into

the Spirit and

you've got to

choose which

one you like.

No, we

desperately need

more of both.

We need to

pray for more

of God's Holy

Spirit so that

we can understand

more of God's

Holy Scripture.

So the Spirit

is God's gift

to us to

protect us from

being led

astray.

He reminds

us of the

truth about

Jesus so that

we can quickly

turn back to

what is right

and good.

So God has

given to us

the gift of

the Scriptures

and the gift

of his Spirit.

Why?

Because we've

got antichrists,

false teachers

who are out to

lead us astray

and if we

listen to them

they will ruin

our fellowship

with God.

and they

will rob you

of your joy.

One commentator

and I'm going

to finish

with this.

As he was

commenting about

these false

teachers he

said,

they can

knock you

or sorry

they can't

knock you

off the

ship

if God

has truly

put you

on it.

In other

words,

don't be

worried about

losing your

salvation or

being led

away from

God.

but these

teachers,

they can

break your

arms and

legs and

leave you

in the

infirmary the

whole time

so that you

don't enjoy

the cruise

as it was

meant to be

enjoyed.

we've been

invited into

fellowship

and to

know and

enjoy that

fellowship

keep

with

the truth.

Immerse

yourself

in scripture.

Saturate

yourself by

praying for

more of the

Holy Spirit

and if

we do

that,

we will

not go

astray.

Instead,

we will

enjoy a

rich

fellowship

with

God.

Let's

pray

together.

Amen.

Our

Father God,

it's our

desire

that we

would know

and

experience

a rich

deep

fellowship

with God.

We long

to know

you more,

to know

more of

the Father

and more

of the

Son.

We long

to experience

you in

our life.

So please

help us

that we

may keep

to the

truth,

to learn

from your

word and

may your

Holy Spirit

drive that

truth deep

into our

lives,

to change

us and

transform us

so that we

know you

as we

should.

Keep us

from going

astray.

For those

that we

know who

have gone

astray,

we pray

that you

would lead

them back,

that they

may walk

in your

truth and

follow you.

we pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together.