Verses 18 to 27, which is on page 1226.
1226.
1 John chapter 2, and we're going to read verses 18 to 27.
Okay, verse 18 of 1 John chapter 2.
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.
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
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.