September 24, 2014
LONE RANGER CHRISTIANS ARE "MUY TONTO"!
1 John 2:18-29
Diane Jones
Central Truth
God calls believers to remain committed to biblical truth and Christian community.
Key Verse | 1 John 2:24
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)
1 John 2:18-29
Warning Concerning Antichrists
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore 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 it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 1 2:20 Some manuscripts you know everything 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us 2 2:25 Some manuscripts you —eternal life.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Children of God
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Dive Deeper | 1 John 2:18-29
In this passage, John warns Christians about some destructive members of the faith community whom he calls "antichrists." Satan is the first and last Anti-Christ -- the devil seduces believers into living life on their own terms apart from Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. Whew! I was really glad this passage did not apply to me until the Holy Spirit provided some clarity. John is talking about individual Christians who decide that they have some special mystical or secret connection to God. These Christians then set up rules, rituals, systems, and traditions that cannot be found in the Bible. They argue and dispute inside Christian circles. People within earshot can become weighed down by legalism and discouraged in their faith. When I set up any non-Scriptural agenda in my head or heart and then insist that my husband, kids, and Christian friends follow me, I am acting like an "antichrist." But there is a cure!
Fellow believers can speak truth from God's Word into my life, and the church equips me to correctly study the Bible. Best of all, Christians have the Holy Spirit, God Himself, living within them. The Bible calls this an "anointing." The Spirit teaches me through the truth of God's Word, and then my faith remains rooted in Christ. Peace, healing, and reconciliation grow from a believer genuinely living in Christ.
John's message is intense and immediate. John walked with Jesus during the years Christ spent on earth. John and the other men and women who followed Christ saw firsthand how Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, comforted the poor, wrangled with religious bureaucrats, and neutralized racism, sexism, and hypocrisy.
Jesus opened the Scriptures and explained biblical truth from His divine position as God's Son.
John stood at the cross and watched Jesus die. When Jesus arose from the dead, John and hundreds of witnesses shared precious time with our Messiah, Jesus. John watched Jesus ascend into Heaven. God chose John to write the book of Revelation. Alongside other believers, John spent the rest of his life fearlessly remaining in the truth of Christ.
Discussion Questions
1. Jesus is God's Son. He lived a perfect life, died on a sinner's cross, and was resurrected from the dead. Can you find this truth in your Bible?
2. How do you remain in the truth of the Bible?
3. What causes you to move towards isolation as a believer?
4. Pray and thank God for Jesus' promise that " . . . the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:26)