I am very thankful that we finally had a little rain here in the central U.S. this week. It wasn't enough to save the corn crop, but we may have received enough in my area so that the soybean crop will at least be average.
In last week's message, we looked at John's idea of antichrists. Antichrists are those who deny the truth about Jesus Christ. Jesus is divine. He is the Messiah. Jesus is Lord.
Today we continue in I John chapter 2 starting at verse 23 where John continues his discussion about the implications of denying the reality of who Jesus is. I John 2:23 states, "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."
What John is trying to make clear is that the Father sent His Son into the world. Jesus was God's gift of love to this world. When we refuse to accept Jesus as Savior, or when we refuse to acknowledge the truth about Jesus, we are turning our back on the Father. We are refusing the gift that He has given us.
Look at it from an entirely human perspective. If someone speaks badly about your son, you aren't going to like it. In essence, if someone rejects your child, they are rejecting you.
John goes on to encourage his readers to remain strong and steadfast in the faith. They should follow the correct teaching about Jesus and remain faithful to the Father and to the Son.
In verse 25, John tells us what the promise is for those who are faithful to the Lord. Those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord and do not turn their back on Christ will live forever in the presence of Jesus.
At this point, John speaks about how we as believers can recognize those who teach doctrines about Jesus that are in error. This in an important teaching because in this day and age there is a great deal of false teaching concerning the person and work of Jesus. Unfortunately, some nominal Christians are drawn away into false systems of belief.
John speaks about the Spirit abiding in believers and believers abiding in the Lord. When we accept Jesus into our life, we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them another comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would be with them always. Jesus also said that the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit would lead the children of God into all truth.
The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts as believers and tells us what is truth and what is error. The Spirit through His abiding presence leads and guides us.
I'll give you a couple of examples of how this has worked in my life. Sometimes when I listen to a sermon on the Internet I will hear a minister make an assertion about Jesus. For instance, I was listening to a sermon the other day and the preacher was questioning the omniscience of Jesus. Immediately, the Scripture concerning Jesus encounter with Nathaniel came to mind. Also, the Scripture about Jesus knowing what was in the heart of men came to mind.
Another example is when I often hear teaching about Jesus from the Fundamentalist teachers of my youth. As I've said before, these ministers preached a Jesus that was not a Lord of love and forgiveness but was just waiting to punish you for anything. I was so frightened of Jesus when I was a boy that I almost left Christianity as an adult. Now, when I hear this type of teaching, I feel the Spirit reassuring me about who Jesus really is. I am able to remember the words of Jesus and His great love for me.
I believe that these are instances of the Holy Spirit leading me in the truth and keeping me from going down the path of error. The Holy Spirit teaches us the things we need to know.
John also speaks about our abiding in Christ. We have the responsibility as believers to abide in the true vine Jesus Christ. We need to be people of prayer engaged in intimate conversation with the Lord.
We also need to be people firmly committed to the in depth study of the Word of God. I know that I make this point a lot, but it is so important that I don't believe that I can stress this point enough.
Most people are led into error because they simply don't have a firm grasp on the truth. If you study and learn the Word of God, you won't be mislead by those who preach unorthodox doctrine.
Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth and by our abiding in Jesus we will be strong and we will stay on the right course with our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus who is the author and the perfecter of our faith.
John concludes chapter 2 by urging his readers to live in such a way that they will not be ashamed at Jesus' coming. The way we accomplish this is to live a life of righteousness in imitation of the righteousness of Christ.
Jesus is our perfect example. When we read the Word we learn how Jesus responded in a variety of different circumstances. We learn about His teachings and commandments. If we follow Jesus and His teachings, we can't go wrong in this life or in the life to come.
I hope that if you don't know Jesus as your Savior that you will give your life to Him today. May God bless you. Amen.
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