WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.580 Good morning. It's good to see you all here. If any of you are feeling like the heat and of 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:13.660 humidity is oppressive in here, if you go out this door, the ushers will point you downstairs. 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:22.480 There's a room downstairs that is air-conditioned, and I will not be miffed or in any way put out 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:30.339 if you decide to relocate in order to be able to hear God's Word this morning. Please take advantage 00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:37.240 of that if that would be helpful to you. I myself am recovering from illness, so I have a stool behind 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:43.400 me. If I feel like I need to, I'm just going to sit here. Zach, we're going to have some fun with the 00:00:43.400 --> 00:00:52.460 live stream if I do that, but that's what we're going to do this morning. So, I am glad to be 00:00:52.460 --> 00:01:02.480 with you again. In 1995, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins released the book Left Behind. 00:01:03.980 --> 00:01:15.240 He later was made into a movie series with starring the inimitable Kurt Cameron, and it is a story about 00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:21.040 the end times and what happens. And one of the major figures in the story of The Left Behind is 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:31.420 Nicolai Carpathia, the Antichrist figure of the last times. Now, it was a long time ago when I read 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:39.440 the first book. I did not read the other 14. I confess. I don't remember it well, but I do remember 00:01:39.440 --> 00:01:46.780 that there was a captivating portrayal at that time of this figure, Nicholas Carpathia, strong, 00:01:46.780 --> 00:01:56.780 powerful, smooth, and evil to the core, seeking to leverage power in order to lead power to be 00:01:56.780 --> 00:02:04.520 amassed in himself and away of particularly from the church and God's people, and who would bring a 00:02:04.520 --> 00:02:14.639 world domination that would ultimately destroy it. These books aroused concern, fear, and vigilance 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:25.459 among Christians because it raised a specter of a threat to the church. In that time, I remember 00:02:25.459 --> 00:02:31.979 conversations. We have to identify properly who might the Antichrist be so that we can resist him. 00:02:32.459 --> 00:02:39.299 It was a part of the story in the 1990s. If you grew up in certain circles, you know this, and you 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:46.939 remember this, right? And you'll think, yes, that's right, he is coming. Now, for some of you, what I've 00:02:46.939 --> 00:02:53.000 been talking about for the last minute and a half is the most ridiculous thing you've heard in the last 00:02:53.000 --> 00:03:00.660 year and a half. And you're going, what in the world are you talking about? And some of you may be 00:03:00.660 --> 00:03:08.120 thinking, why is he talking about this? That was sort of a hysterical season, but we know better. 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:18.060 This isn't really true. Some of you may think this is spiritual fear-mongering at worst, and just 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:28.920 misguided and misleading imagination at its best. But in fact, the Bible talks about the Antichrist. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:37.759 And we need to think about how do we move beyond the boogeyman of left behind, which is a creative 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:47.280 and imaginative portrayal to see what the Bible actually tells us about this threat to the church 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:55.919 that the Bible identifies. And this brings us to our passage today, because in 1 John chapter 2, 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:05.159 we see this figure addressed most clearly. So if you are reading along with us in the Pew Bibles, 00:04:05.279 --> 00:04:15.879 it's page 959. We're in 1 John chapter 2, starting in verse 18. If you're new with us, we are preaching 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:23.339 through the letter, first letter of John this summer. And John was writing to a church near the end of the 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:30.339 first century that was facing new threats, new ideas, and he's writing to give the church confidence 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:39.259 in their faith in the face of these threats. And in fact, in this passage is the clearest use of the 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:44.459 word Antichrist in all of the Bible. And so that's what we're going to look at this morning. 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:53.439 1 John chapter 2, starting in verse 18. Let's read this together, and then we'll pray for God's help. 00:04:54.759 --> 00:05:03.299 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists 00:05:03.299 --> 00:05:12.219 have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:18.280 For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it 00:05:18.280 --> 00:05:26.640 might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you 00:05:26.640 --> 00:05:33.020 all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:41.860 and because no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:50.080 This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the 00:05:50.080 --> 00:05:58.840 Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in 00:05:58.840 --> 00:06:06.360 you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:14.580 Father. And this is the promise he made to us, eternal life. I write these things to you about 00:06:14.580 --> 00:06:22.040 those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you have received from him abides in you, 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:28.960 and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:37.279 and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him. 00:06:38.819 --> 00:06:46.579 This is God's Word. Let's pray together. Oh God, we ask this morning for your help as we look at this 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:54.419 passage. Lord, we pray that, Lord, you would be our help this morning, that we would understand this 00:06:54.420 --> 00:07:03.120 passage rightly. Lord, that we would receive it gladly. Oh Lord, be with us as we sit under your 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:10.620 Word this morning. Help me to speak as I ought, that we might all be edified by your Word. We pray this 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:12.819 in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:24.240 How are Christians to respond to spiritual threats? I think 1 John has three things for us 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:28.939 in this passage this morning. We're not going to work through it sequentially as much thematically. 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:34.500 We've talked about this before. John doesn't always write logically sequentially. He writes 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:41.100 sometimes circularly. And so, I'm going to pull out three ideas about how it is that we should 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:47.519 understand and think about how Christians are to respond to spiritual threats. First, we're going to 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:55.759 have to think clearly about the nature of the Antichrists. The second is we are to know rightly 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:05.839 the nature of the gospel resources we have to face this threat. And third, we must remain steadfast in 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:12.959 the only path of life. So, we're think clearly, know rightly, and remain steadfast. This is the 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:18.439 exhortation that we have this morning. That's your outline if you're a note-taker. So, first, let's look 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:24.779 at, we must think clearly about the nature of these Antichrists. Now, when you look through this passage, 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:33.179 it's very clear. John is writing a word of warning. He is concerned about these people and what they are 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:39.379 teaching because they are seeking to deceive the church that he is writing to. So, there is a real 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:45.860 threat here. And he mentions this is the last hour. And I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:54.539 but basically, the idea here is that John is saying we are now in the end game of God's redemptive 00:08:54.539 --> 00:09:02.840 history. Jesus has come and lived and died and rose again. And now, God is working out that work in the 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:09.240 world. And he's saying this is the last hour where the kingdom will advance and where the opposition to 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:16.879 God's kingdom will also arise in particular ways. And so, he's simply saying this is the hour. Now, 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:23.480 he's not saying I thought that it was going to end at the end of the first century because here we are 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:30.879 another 2,000 years later and we're still in the last hour. We're still in the last days. And we don't 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:37.460 know when that will end. But here's where we are. And he's saying in this, the Antichrist is coming, 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:45.460 a threat. And you might have noticed right at the very beginning in the first passage or in verse 18 00:09:45.460 --> 00:09:52.120 that he actually talks about the Antichrist and then the Antichrists. The first one is singular, 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:58.060 the second one is plural. And that's a helpful observation to make because this is where lots of 00:09:58.060 --> 00:10:02.220 people get confused because they're thinking, well, we've got to know who the one is. Who's the one? 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:07.980 But John clarifies that right from the start. No, the Antichrists are going to be multiple, 00:10:09.220 --> 00:10:15.240 right? And what is the Antichrist? Well, the Antichrist is someone who is Antichrist. And 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:21.320 that could mean two different things. It could be someone who stands against Christ. So, someone who 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:30.220 rises up in power to rival Christ and to say, I am going to be a greater one than Christ. 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:40.879 Or it could be someone who's seeking to replace Christ. So, what is it that John says about the 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:45.960 nature of the Antichrist? What is at the heart of this? Because there have been lots of ideas 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:54.060 throughout history, right? In the past, there have been wonderful people to the extent of Arius, 00:10:54.059 --> 00:11:02.159 the fourth century theologian, to Peter the Great, the leader of Russia, to Napoleon, to in recent times, 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:07.759 both presidents, Obama and Trump, have been called the Antichrist by various people in our world. 00:11:08.819 --> 00:11:14.759 And so, some people think that this is going to be a political figure who's going to lead the church, 00:11:15.359 --> 00:11:20.299 who's going to destroy the church. Some people see it as theological leaders. So, again, 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:25.919 I mentioned Arius earlier. The Pope was a famous target of this during the Reformation. 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:33.719 And many of our Reformation heroes, Calvin, Luther, would say, well, of course the Pope is the Antichrist. 00:11:34.319 --> 00:11:39.439 In modern days, we might point to someone like Senyung Moon, who was the leader of the Moonies. 00:11:39.859 --> 00:11:47.219 If you're familiar with that cult, he also claimed to be Christ and has been identified by others as an 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:55.340 Antichrist. Other people. Charles Manson, the mass murderer, identified himself as the Antichrist 00:11:55.340 --> 00:12:03.259 when he was alive. So, this…so there are lots of…there's lots of confusion about what is this person. 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:13.500 But at its core, what John is saying…look with me in verses 22 and 23. This is what John says. 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:23.259 John says, first and foremost, they are people. In the first century, they were false teachers who were a part of the community of the church. 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:33.559 And the reason that they were identified as false teachers and Antichrist was because they denied that Jesus is the Christ. 00:12:34.059 --> 00:12:42.899 They denied Jesus in his identity and in his work. In his identity, that he was both fully human and fully divine. 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:48.279 The incarnate Son of God who came and lived and died and rose again. 00:12:49.959 --> 00:13:03.100 And in his work then, that his life and death and resurrection were effective to overcome sin and to offer forgiveness to all who had faith in Christ. 00:13:03.319 --> 00:13:08.879 That his suffering was real. That his death was real. That his resurrection were real. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:14.299 And remember, these people were a part of the community, right? 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:20.259 In verses 19 and 20, it says, they went out from us, but they were not of us. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:27.639 And so, this is the bewildering reality that John is trying to help the church navigate. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:38.000 People who used to worship next to one another, now some of them are teaching that Jesus is not who the church has claimed he was from the beginning. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:46.120 They have changed. They have changed. They have shifted. They have re-characterized Jesus as something else. 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:54.559 They claim to be Christians still, but they deny the Christ of Christianity. 00:13:54.559 --> 00:14:06.199 And friends, John says, this is not merely a mistake, something that we can overlook easily. 00:14:06.459 --> 00:14:16.719 This is a grievous error because these were teachers who were intentionally seeking to lead the church astray to believe something else about Jesus. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:20.960 And John is saying, the church is not like that. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:32.460 The church is not something that we have created that we get to choose which and is malleable according to the spirit of the age or the ideas that are prevalent of the time. 00:14:32.680 --> 00:14:37.420 The church is a bounded community by an objective reality. 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:46.199 And therefore, these who teach these things, who used to be a part of us, are no longer part of us. 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:54.519 In fact, they show that they were never a part of us because of their denial of who Jesus is. 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:00.219 Pastorally, here's a note. 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:04.500 The church has often been accused of shooting their wounded. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.600 We often can be the harshest on one another. 00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:14.320 And we need to think carefully about how we do this. 00:15:14.540 --> 00:15:21.080 Because some of us are going to be far too willing to judge, condemn, and exclude others. 00:15:21.779 --> 00:15:26.540 We're going to jump to the end and think someone who's slightly off kilter, 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:30.319 well, they're out completely because they've mischaracterized something. 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:34.219 Or maybe someone who's going through a time of suffering and is questioning. 00:15:34.719 --> 00:15:43.179 We heap upon them the standards of doctrinal purity while they're wrestling through their existential crisis. 00:15:43.959 --> 00:15:47.620 Friends, let us be gracious in these ways. 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:51.379 But some of us have the opposite instinct. 00:15:51.379 --> 00:16:01.279 Some of us have developed too much of a reaction to that and reaction to the battles that have happened 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:05.679 throughout church history about doctrine so that we don't want to draw any lines at all. 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:09.139 And we just sort of, well, if you say you love God, that's good enough for me. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.960 I don't need to know anything else. 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:17.919 And John is saying, no, to know Jesus rightly is essential for your Christian faith. 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:22.979 And so we must draw some lines. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.779 As we think about the 20th century, some of you may think, 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:32.599 who in the world is a Christian and doesn't believe that Jesus is God? 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:34.240 Well, there are lots of people. 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:36.199 It's not that hard, right? 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.799 There are lots of churches that have turned to a view that Jesus was flawed, 00:16:41.019 --> 00:16:43.679 that He was merely human, that He was a good teacher, 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:48.319 but not God, not died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. 00:16:48.959 --> 00:16:50.879 And they deny these things. 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:56.139 Certainly even within the evangelical fold in the last 30 years, 50 years, 00:16:56.219 --> 00:17:01.599 I thought of here a couple who have done exactly what John describes here. 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:06.740 Clark Pinnock was a teacher at the seminary that I went to in the 1970s. 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:14.000 But as his theology developed, he came to the conclusion that Jesus' death no longer was necessary, 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:20.200 that actually what Jesus did was to save absolutely everybody, 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:22.759 and so that all people could be brought in. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.120 That's a gross oversimplification. 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:27.480 I'm sure someone would nitpick at that. 00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:30.740 But fundamentally, he came to a point of universalism, 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.759 where he believed all people will be saved by the death of Jesus. 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:44.119 denying the actual work that Jesus did of saving some from sin by His death and resurrection. 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:48.099 Some of you are too old to remember Clark Pinnock, 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:51.240 but some of you may remember a guy named Rob Bell. 00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:56.579 Rob Bell was a popular writer 20 years ago who wrote about God being love, 00:17:56.579 --> 00:18:02.220 and how if God is of love, how is it possible that He could ever condemn people? 00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:11.279 And suddenly, in this logic, the death of Jesus becomes a terrible injustice. 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:18.700 Nobody, God would never judge someone so severely as to cause them to have to die. 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:26.380 So Jesus' death is robbed of its meaning by Rob Bell's overemphasis on the love of God, 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:30.100 to the exclusion of the justice and righteousness of God, 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:34.100 that when we look at it rightly, we think we want God to be just 00:18:34.100 --> 00:18:36.820 because we want Him to judge evil in the world. 00:18:40.600 --> 00:18:43.220 Thirdly, on a maybe more scholarly level, 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:48.120 there's a chap named Bart Ehrman who is running around today 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:56.299 teaching on a fairly highly sophisticated level in New Testament critical thinking 00:18:56.299 --> 00:18:59.719 that Jesus didn't really claim to be God. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:05.359 And the church has always been misguided by that misunderstanding of who He really is. 00:19:05.459 --> 00:19:09.419 And if you really looked at the Gospels, that's not really what it says. 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.039 And in the end, he denies that Jesus is God. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:18.559 He just says Jesus is a human being, a significant one for sure who started a movement, 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:20.899 but not who God is. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.440 Friends, we need to recognize that all of these men had arguments, 00:19:27.899 --> 00:19:31.779 they had reasons, and there are always parts of these that are attractive. 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:37.379 Usually, heresy doesn't come with a broadside attack on truth, 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:39.619 but usually it takes one part of truth 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:43.059 and then overemphasizes it to the exclusion of other 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:49.119 and molds and reshapes truth in a way that denies it all. 00:19:52.159 --> 00:19:54.119 But John is warning us of these. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.299 John is warning because these arguments, when we see them clearly, 00:19:59.699 --> 00:20:03.359 when they deny the person and the work of Christ, 00:20:04.239 --> 00:20:07.079 they're deceivers and they're liars. 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:11.119 And they lead to destruction. 00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:15.839 Because if you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:20.879 And if you don't have the Father, you don't have eternal life, according to John. 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:26.460 So John says, we must think clearly. 00:20:26.939 --> 00:20:32.899 We must think rightly about the nature of false teachers, 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:37.580 the nature of those who would come in the spirit of Antichrist 00:20:37.580 --> 00:20:43.600 and in various ways deny the centrality and the person and the work of Jesus. 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.420 But we're not only to think clearly about this threat, 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:51.259 but John says, I want you to think, 00:20:51.360 --> 00:20:55.820 to know rightly the nature of the gospel resources that you have. 00:20:55.819 --> 00:20:59.019 Because you might think, Bart Ehrman is a scholar. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:01.000 He knows more than I do. 00:21:01.139 --> 00:21:05.819 How can I, how can I disagree with him? 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:11.460 What resources has God given me to talk against these guys? 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:15.579 John says, brothers, sisters, 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:21.419 you are equipped by God to know the truth for two reasons. 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:23.860 And this is my second point. 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:28.900 We must know rightly the nature of the gospel resources to face this threat. 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:31.519 And friends, you may not be surprised. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.400 These are not rocket science. 00:21:34.860 --> 00:21:40.420 First, I want you to look at verse 24. 00:21:41.900 --> 00:21:45.840 Let what you have heard from the beginning abide in you. 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:53.500 The first resource that we have is the very message of the gospel itself. 00:21:54.679 --> 00:21:57.279 Think about how John opened this letter. 00:21:57.819 --> 00:22:01.399 I'm going to reread the first couple of verses in John 1 so you can remember. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:05.740 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:08.059 which we have seen with our own eyes, 00:22:08.399 --> 00:22:13.019 which we have looked upon and touched with our hands concerning the word of life, 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:17.440 the life that was, that was, the life was made manifest, 00:22:17.879 --> 00:22:22.940 and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaimed to you the eternal life, 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:26.799 which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.960 That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.139 so that you too may have fellowship with us. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:38.839 And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:47.179 John is saying that the message of the gospel is what we have heard from the beginning. 00:22:47.959 --> 00:22:52.879 And the church has always held this, that what Christianity is, 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:56.439 it is not a conjecture or religious imagination, 00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:02.079 nor is it a philosophy that we have carefully constructed and refined over time. 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:05.119 Although it includes both of those aspects of our mind, 00:23:05.439 --> 00:23:07.740 at the core of it, it is a testimony. 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:14.359 It is those who saw and touched and held a man when he was alive, 00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:18.620 and they saw him die, and they saw him rise from the dead, 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:22.599 and they said, this is like nothing we have ever seen. 00:23:24.019 --> 00:23:30.220 And it is the report of this man, Jesus Christ, his teaching and his life. 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:35.900 And it is not up to us to mold or to shape or to retell, 00:23:36.600 --> 00:23:43.319 but it is up to us to simply receive as a testimony and to either deny or accept it, 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:47.480 as it is, objective body of truth. 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:53.620 This is what John reminds the church that they already have. 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:56.660 You have the eyewitness testimony. 00:23:57.720 --> 00:23:59.460 And friends, we do too. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.620 That's what this is. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:06.779 This is a recording of that eyewitness testimony written down 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:11.460 so that we might know more fully this Jesus. 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:17.279 Now, friends, I recognize this is not easy in our modern age. 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:22.100 We live in an age where we distrust authority of all kinds, 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.819 where we don't… 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:26.940 We can't even trust the news media, let alone anyone else, right? 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:31.360 So we figure, only I can determine truth. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:35.299 And if you were at John's… 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:38.000 At the pastoral discussion we had a couple weeks ago, 00:24:38.219 --> 00:24:39.199 the elders' discussion, 00:24:39.899 --> 00:24:44.159 John did a great five-minute history of Western intellectual history 00:24:44.159 --> 00:24:49.419 where you realize how deeply rooted our perspectives today are 00:24:49.419 --> 00:24:53.339 in humanism and individual freedom and self-created meaning. 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.919 These are values that our culture is deeply embedded, 00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:05.039 and it makes us unwilling to simply receive from God truth about who He is. 00:25:07.220 --> 00:25:11.080 But as the great poet and songwriter Richard Mullen says, 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:13.360 there's a danger in this spirit. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:17.560 They said, boy, you just follow your heart, 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:20.039 but my heart just led me into my chest. 00:25:20.620 --> 00:25:22.360 And they said, follow your nose, 00:25:22.360 --> 00:25:26.600 but the direction changed every time I went and turned my head. 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:29.500 And they said, boy, just follow your dreams, 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:32.300 but my dreams were only misty notions. 00:25:33.420 --> 00:25:36.740 But the Father of hearts and the maker of noses 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:38.240 and the giver of dreams, 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:40.620 He is the one that I have chosen, 00:25:40.820 --> 00:25:42.080 and I will follow Him. 00:25:44.360 --> 00:25:48.460 See, friends, when we take the role of determining all truth, 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:50.259 we bear an unbearable weight. 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:54.019 But the testimony of the Christian church from the very beginning 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:56.920 is that it is not up to us to make that. 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:59.259 It is up to us to discover it, 00:25:59.339 --> 00:26:01.759 because there is a God who is there, 00:26:01.879 --> 00:26:04.420 and He has revealed Himself to us, 00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:09.599 and He has made Himself known so that we can receive from Him 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:11.220 this body of truth. 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:17.339 And this gives us an objective and a strong place to stand 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:20.200 in the face of threats. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.460 The second that John tells us about 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:26.700 is that we have an anointing. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:31.039 That is, we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit of God 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:34.960 dwelling in us to teach us all truth. 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:37.600 Now, you might remember that Jesus, 00:26:37.840 --> 00:26:40.360 before He died, as He was teaching His disciples, 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:43.039 according to the Gospel of John, 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:45.660 chapter 16, verse 13 says this, 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:47.420 When the Spirit of truth comes, 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:50.059 He will guide you into all the truth, 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:52.660 for He will not speak on His own authority, 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:54.539 but whatever He hears, He will speak, 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:58.220 and He will declare to you the things that are to come. 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:02.039 What John says is, 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:04.180 not only do we have the objective testimony, 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.360 but we have the very person, 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:08.080 third person of the Trinity, 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:09.220 the Holy Spirit, 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:13.480 dwelling within us to confirm the truth of the Gospel. 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:16.640 Now, these false teachers were coming and saying, 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:17.620 there's another truth, 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:19.360 there's another Gospel out there. 00:27:19.560 --> 00:27:21.039 And maybe they were claiming 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:24.980 some kind of esoteric, Gnostic, special knowledge. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:28.700 In the modern day, we might say something like, 00:27:28.779 --> 00:27:30.779 well, we believe that God is like this 00:27:30.779 --> 00:27:32.940 because that feels right to us, 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:36.740 or because it makes more sense in my human reason 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:38.980 that God must be like these things. 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:45.320 But the Holy Spirit guides us into a truth. 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:48.920 And friends, if you have been around the Gospel long enough, 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:49.860 you should know, 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:51.580 and if you haven't figured this out yet, 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:54.480 the Gospel is never what we think it is. 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:57.519 It is always surprising. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:03.700 It is always when we think about what our human patterns, 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:05.579 how would God deal with sin? 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:07.120 How would God deal with power? 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:09.819 How would God deal with conflict? 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:11.400 How would God do all these things? 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:12.380 Right? 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:14.660 And what we see at the center of it 00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:16.220 is the person of Jesus. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:18.220 How did Jesus do that? 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.839 He came and didn't count equality with God, 00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:23.100 something to be grasped, 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.720 but humbled himself, 00:28:25.180 --> 00:28:26.400 made himself a servant, 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.460 and died on the cross for you and me. 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:33.480 Nobody would have ever thought of this. 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:37.559 The only reason why it's such a storyline in Western history 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:38.980 is because of the Gospel. 00:28:38.980 --> 00:28:42.940 And so, 00:28:43.319 --> 00:28:45.299 the Spirit comes 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:47.819 and He teaches us into the truth 00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:50.200 that God has revealed for us. 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:53.480 And our response is to be receptive 00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:55.120 and to be obedient, 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:58.460 to honor Him above our feelings. 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:03.440 And friends, this gives us great confidence and humility 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:04.920 as we think about our faith, 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:07.160 as we think about interacting with others 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:08.700 who might say something else. 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:11.019 Humility before God and His Word. 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:12.880 If you met a nuclear physicist, 00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:14.819 and I know some of you are nuclear physicists, 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:16.660 so this is going to be a stretch for you, 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:19.039 but maybe you can think of someone else 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:20.819 like a concert pianist, all right? 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:22.900 Someone who's an expert in a field 00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:25.140 that you're not an expert in, right? 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:28.740 And if they tell you these things are true, right? 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:31.000 And you just go, 00:29:31.319 --> 00:29:32.799 nah, I don't think so. 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:34.279 That doesn't seem right to me. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:38.559 Would we really do that? 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:41.960 Hopefully, we'd have the humility to say, 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:44.220 wow, that's really surprising. 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:45.700 I didn't expect that at all. 00:29:45.819 --> 00:29:47.880 But you know everything about this subject, 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:48.779 and I know nothing. 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:52.599 So maybe I can be humble and learn from you 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:55.980 rather than rejecting or denying what you're saying. 00:29:55.980 --> 00:30:02.299 This is what God calls us to do before His Word and His Spirit. 00:30:02.700 --> 00:30:03.720 To be humble. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:05.819 Not to disengage our brain, 00:30:06.360 --> 00:30:09.140 but to engage our brain with a spirit of humility 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:11.740 and receptivity to God's truth. 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:15.759 Friends, I don't know. 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:17.500 I think I've told you my story before, 00:30:17.500 --> 00:30:21.619 but I grew up going to a church, 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:24.319 but I never understood it. 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.900 I never understood the gospel. 00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:28.839 I'm sure I had heard Jesus died on the cross for my sins, 00:30:28.879 --> 00:30:30.539 but it didn't make any sense to me. 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:32.980 And then in the summer of 1986, 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:36.960 the Holy Spirit began to work in my heart in a way. 00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:40.759 And the same truths were repeated in a different way. 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:45.559 And the Holy Spirit helped me understand that I was a sinner 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:48.619 and that Jesus was the only hope for me 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:51.039 to be restored to a relationship with God. 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:54.920 That only on the basis of what He had done 00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:57.960 could I be restored and renewed. 00:30:58.119 --> 00:31:01.579 Could I be forgiven of my sins and given new life? 00:31:02.359 --> 00:31:05.539 Only through His life and death and resurrection, 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:08.660 these truths that I had heard before 00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:10.539 finally made sense to me. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.299 Through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:16.140 I didn't decide it was true. 00:31:17.859 --> 00:31:20.259 It was revealed to me that it was true. 00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:23.900 And all I could do was to deny it or to receive it. 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:31.339 So there's great place for us to find confidence and humility 00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:35.579 as we recognize that God has given us these resources 00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:39.200 and let us stand firm in these ones. 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.220 He's given us His Word. 00:31:41.220 --> 00:31:46.420 He's given us His Spirit so that we can identify, 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:50.259 recognize where there may be false teaching in our midst, 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:55.019 reject it, and continue on with confidence in our faith. 00:31:55.019 --> 00:31:58.000 So we have to think rightly about the threat. 00:31:58.000 --> 00:31:59.400 We need to know rightly… 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:01.700 Think clearly about the threat. 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:04.000 We need to know rightly the gospel resources. 00:32:04.639 --> 00:32:10.339 And finally, we must remain steadfast in the only path of life. 00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:14.359 Because this is John's great desire for the church, 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:19.059 is that not just that they would win the war, the theological battle, 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:22.339 not just that they would be proven right and others wrong, 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:26.939 but because this truth is what leads to life and to God. 00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:30.240 You see this in verse 24 and verse 27. 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:33.680 It says, remain in these things or abide in these things, 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:35.080 depending on your translation. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:41.660 It means to be rooted and planted in these things, right? 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:46.279 Like those pines that grow up in the desert that have deep roots, 00:32:46.620 --> 00:32:50.700 that go deep into the… to drink deeply from the water, 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:54.220 even in the midst of the winds and the waves of the… of the desert. 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:56.759 In the face of a false teaching, 00:32:57.140 --> 00:33:00.360 someone who remains in these things will not be moved. 00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:05.140 And they will not be moved while they're able to be gracious. 00:33:06.120 --> 00:33:09.960 John doesn't here attack them necessarily. 00:33:10.120 --> 00:33:11.940 He simply identifies them. 00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:14.140 And I might even see a tone of grieving. 00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:17.000 They were a part of us and they went out. 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:18.880 How tragic is that? 00:33:20.539 --> 00:33:21.039 Right? 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:24.220 There is a right way for us to oppose truth 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:28.139 and yet not to demonize the people who are teaching it. 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:31.519 We can grieve for them and long for their repentance 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:33.399 and for their return. 00:33:34.899 --> 00:33:37.639 It is gracious, but it is also stubborn. 00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:42.159 On this I stand and I will not be moved, 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:45.639 not wavering from the truth of Jesus. 00:33:45.640 --> 00:33:50.740 Jesus, like a sumo wrestler who sets his stance for the oncoming attack. 00:33:51.100 --> 00:33:54.780 So we want to set our stance in God's word, 00:33:55.100 --> 00:33:56.360 depending on his spirit, 00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:58.940 so that when these pushes come, 00:33:58.980 --> 00:33:59.640 and they will, 00:34:00.080 --> 00:34:01.840 they haven't happened yet in their life, 00:34:02.080 --> 00:34:03.080 know that they will. 00:34:03.860 --> 00:34:05.780 At one point, sometime, 00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:08.599 something will sound right to you 00:34:08.599 --> 00:34:10.440 or attractive to you 00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:11.160 and you will think, 00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:12.320 maybe that's true. 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:18.980 But we're to remain steadfast in these things 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:21.000 because that's where we can have confidence 00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:22.500 in our faith, 00:34:22.640 --> 00:34:24.820 in the midst of these threats. 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:29.120 And friend, this place to stand is a place of life. 00:34:29.640 --> 00:34:31.580 This is what verse 25 tells us. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:33.980 This is the promise that he made to us 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:35.340 that when we have the Son 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:36.940 and when we have the Father, 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:39.620 we have eternal life. 00:34:39.619 --> 00:34:43.179 we have what we most need 00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:44.400 and most wanted. 00:34:45.699 --> 00:34:47.719 What we were created for 00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:49.859 to be in a right relationship 00:34:49.859 --> 00:34:50.980 with our Creator. 00:34:51.739 --> 00:34:53.839 To have the stain of our sin 00:34:53.839 --> 00:34:55.659 removed by the work of Christ 00:34:55.659 --> 00:34:59.460 so that we can enjoy fellowship with Him. 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:01.460 And this then is the church 00:35:01.460 --> 00:35:03.299 that gathers around the fellowship 00:35:03.299 --> 00:35:04.559 that we have with Him 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:06.259 so that we have fellowship 00:35:06.260 --> 00:35:07.660 with one another. 00:35:07.900 --> 00:35:10.540 What joy and freedom this is. 00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:12.520 And friends, 00:35:12.600 --> 00:35:14.540 if you've come to Trinity for a while, 00:35:14.700 --> 00:35:15.720 you might figure out 00:35:15.720 --> 00:35:17.900 this is kind of the only thing we talk about. 00:35:18.500 --> 00:35:20.940 We talk about Jesus all the time. 00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:23.440 We talk about these gospel truths 00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:25.540 over and over and over again. 00:35:26.240 --> 00:35:26.760 Why? 00:35:27.300 --> 00:35:28.480 Because of this. 00:35:28.680 --> 00:35:30.080 Because this is the place 00:35:30.080 --> 00:35:31.420 where we stand firm. 00:35:32.260 --> 00:35:33.760 From the Nicene Creed 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:35.260 to the Westminster Confession 00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:37.340 to the London Baptist Confession 00:35:37.340 --> 00:35:38.900 to the Baptist Faith and Mission, 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:40.320 the center of it 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:41.120 is the person 00:35:41.120 --> 00:35:42.480 and the work of Jesus. 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:44.100 This is what the church 00:35:44.100 --> 00:35:45.420 has always held. 00:35:47.020 --> 00:35:48.280 And for us to be 00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:49.460 a gospel-centered church 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:51.720 is to hold to these things. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.060 We're not going to make up 00:35:53.060 --> 00:35:53.800 anything new. 00:35:54.120 --> 00:35:55.380 We're not trying to figure out 00:35:55.380 --> 00:35:56.660 what else we need to add. 00:35:57.060 --> 00:35:58.300 We just need to go back 00:35:58.300 --> 00:35:59.140 to this place 00:35:59.140 --> 00:36:01.060 over and over again 00:36:01.060 --> 00:36:01.760 and see that 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:03.400 all of the scriptures, 00:36:03.720 --> 00:36:05.120 as Jesus told His disciples, 00:36:05.260 --> 00:36:06.800 in Luke 24, 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:08.380 all of the scriptures 00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:11.400 point to these central truths 00:36:11.400 --> 00:36:12.460 about the gospel 00:36:12.460 --> 00:36:14.060 and about Jesus. 00:36:14.520 --> 00:36:16.020 And this is where we stand 00:36:16.020 --> 00:36:17.360 in our confidence. 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:19.040 Let's pray together. 00:36:21.420 --> 00:36:22.320 Lord Jesus, 00:36:22.460 --> 00:36:24.440 we thank You for Your Word 00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:25.520 and we thank You 00:36:25.520 --> 00:36:27.300 for Your Holy Spirit. 00:36:28.540 --> 00:36:30.000 Lord, I pray this morning, 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:31.239 Lord, 00:36:31.340 --> 00:36:33.079 that if there are those 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:33.780 among us, 00:36:34.780 --> 00:36:35.460 Lord, 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:36.219 who are feeling 00:36:36.219 --> 00:36:37.059 beaten down 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:38.280 and uncertain, 00:36:38.900 --> 00:36:39.059 Lord, 00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:40.139 that You would give them 00:36:40.139 --> 00:36:40.940 confidence 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:43.059 by Your Spirit 00:36:43.059 --> 00:36:44.400 in Your Word 00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:45.659 about Jesus. 00:36:47.420 --> 00:36:48.019 Lord, 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:49.539 I pray that You would 00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:50.199 help us, 00:36:51.239 --> 00:36:51.380 Lord, 00:36:51.460 --> 00:36:52.440 not only to know 00:36:52.440 --> 00:36:53.119 these truths, 00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:54.280 but to treasure them, 00:36:54.860 --> 00:36:55.920 to cherish them, 00:36:56.260 --> 00:36:57.840 to remain in them. 00:36:58.740 --> 00:36:59.440 Thank You, 00:36:59.440 --> 00:36:59.680 Lord. 00:37:01.620 --> 00:37:02.800 We pray these things 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:03.620 in Jesus' name. 00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:04.559 Amen.