CONFIDENCE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
(The Antidote to False Teaching - August 1, 2021)
Series Big Idea: "Close fellowship with Christ silences the destructive beliefs and behaviors of this world"
Sermon Big Idea: "The antidote to false teaching is God's Word, given and established by the work of the Holy Spirit"
Key Scripture (1 John 2:18-23)
When most people think of the word "antichrist" or "false teacher," a cult or wildly fanatic religious group comes to mind. But that is not always the case. False teachers can come from inside the protected walls of the church. From any church. I mean think of it, if you were the enemy, wouldn’t you put your terrorists behind enemy lines? In our passage today, John warns his readers of the danger of false teaching within the church.
(1 John 2:18-23)
18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard, “Antichrist is coming,” even now many antichrists have come. We know from this that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son can have the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.
There was a man named Ken who was a Sunday School teacher at a large church. The church had been known for being conservative. These people had grown up believing the Bible was the Word of God from cover to cover. But over time their focus began to slide away from Christ and the authority of the Scriptures. All kinds of teaching was finding it's way into classrooms and even the pulpit.
Ken grew up being taught the church needed self-help rather than the teaching of God's Word. He was teaching from sources that had no lasting power to transform people's lives. But not long after Ken began to teach at this church, Satan unloaded on the class and Ken became frustrated. Not only were people's lives not being changed in a permanent way but some were slipping away from God and the church. Ken even vented his frustration to a fellow teacher; "He didn’t get it." He teaches his heart out and nothing but blank stares.
His teacher friend replied back, "What do you expect, you don’t teach from the Bible, which is the Christian's ultimate authority and guide, so how can you expect your students to believe it or be changed by it?" "You are teaching man's word and not God's Word."
I believe we can see two marks of a genuine Christian verses someone who is antichrist in these verses.
First, the Holy Spirit "anointing" (1 John 2:27) guards Christians from error (Acts 10:38; 2 Corinthians 1:21). Christ, being the Holy One (Luke 4:34) (Acts 3:14), imparts the Holy Spirit to be our illuminating guardian from deception. This doesn’t mean a Christian will be or is sinless, but it does mean as the Holy Spirit illuminates God's Word as we study it. Ask Him to do that for you.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit guides the believer into knowing "all things" (John 14:26; 16:13). A genuine Christian has a built-in lie detector and perseveres in the truth. People who remain in heresy and apostasy make the fact crystal clear that they were never born again (1 John 2:19). The Christian who is being led by God's Holy Spirit in connection with God's Word will be able to "rightly divide the Word of truth."
(2 Timothy 2:15) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.
CONCLUSION
I heard of a watermelon farmer who's crop was disappearing on a daily basis. He soon come to find out that the criminals were stealing under the cover of darkness at night. He became so desperate to catch these people and save his crop that he put up a sign with scull and crossbones which read "One of these melons is poisoned." He was the only person who knew the truth.
For the next two nights no melons were stolen. But after the third night he noticed his sign had been altered. Someone scratched out the "one" and replaced it with the word "two." Now it read "Two of these melons are poisoned." Although he was trying to save his crop, through deception, the man now lost it all.
You probably remember the quotation by Sir Walter Scott: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." My friends, it is only by knowing the truth of God's Word will we be protected from the lies of the false teacher. Make sure you are being taught the truth of God's Word, no matter who the teacher is.
Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideals for this message, are inspired by:
Holman Christian Standard Bible
English Standard Version Bible
King James Version Bible
Christian Standard Bible
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Walls, David, and Max Anders. I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude. Vol. 11. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999. Print. Holman New Testament Commentary.
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Osborne, Grant, Philip W. Comfort. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 13: John and 1, 2, and 3 John. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007. Print.
Burge, Gary M. Letters of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. Print. The NIV Application Commentary.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003. Print.
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