CONFIDENCE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
(Stick with the Stuff - August 8, 2021)
Series Big Idea: "Close fellowship with Christ silences the destructive beliefs and behaviors of this world"
Sermon Big Idea: "Faithfulness to God's Word produces joy in the Lord"
Key Scripture (1 John 2:24-27)
Stick with the stuff! That is what I was told by one my most influential professors in Bible college. He meant for us to stay with God's Word and not to stray from preaching anything else. In our text today we see that the Apostle John continues his discussion about false teachers in the church. But what stands out in this passage also is his focus on personal holiness. He repeats the phrase "remain in you" three times in these verses.
(1 John 2:24-27)
What you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life. 26 I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.
Last week we learned that false teachers were infiltrating the church with contradicting beliefs about Christ and this was causing a breach in the fellowship or "joy" they had with God. John encourages them here to remain in what they had been taught from the apostles. Hold on to the Christian truth that had changed their lives. If they would resist these teachers and let the truth they had heard "be at home" in them, then they could "abide" in the fellowship of God the Father and God the Son.
Christian truth is fixed. Jude 3 says God delivered His revelation in one unit; once for all. No one may add or delete any part of it. In Revelation 22:18 John says if anyone adds to Scripture, God will add to the plagues that are written in the Book. Scripture is complete! Scripture is sufficient. Scripture is finished! Nothing else is needed.
These verses are a call for believers to stay in the truth of God's Word. This is the only way to remain in God. It's not enough to believe the gospel at one point in life and then develop your own theology beyond Scripture. Only people who stay in the teaching of the apostles about Christ will have assurance of eternal life because these people continue to embrace the message of Christ and remain in the Son and in the Father.
If you and I love God then you and I must reject false teachers and false teaching. The issue here doesn’t concern the loss of salvation. The real issue is being reassured of salvation in the face of false teaching. False teaching always brings questions about your salvation. But true teaching that is based on God's Word from the beginning will reassure us of our salvation.
Our responsibility as Christians is to study the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15). It is to preach the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:2). And our responsibility is to fight for its perseveration. If we will stay faithful to His Word we will experience fellowship with the Lord through His Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION
Famed painter Benjamin West speaking of his fellow painter Gilbert Stuart used to say to his students, "It's no use to steal Stuart's colors; if you want to paint like he does, you must steal his eyes."
The Holy Spirit is the only hope of you and I as Christians remaining in Christ. But trying to match up to the teaching and even the actions of Jesus seen in the Bible is next to impossible by ourselves. Our best efforts will never enable us to be like Him. We need His heart! We need His nature! Only His divinity living within us will we ever live this way. Without the Holy Spirit, we can't know Him as God. The question is, are you giving Him His proper place in your heart and life?
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
Water, Mark, ed. Encyclopedia of Bible Facts. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016. Print.
NIV, Archaeological Study Bible, eBook: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture
Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Duane Garrett, and Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
NIV, First-Century Study Bible, eBook: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context
Zondervan, Kent Dobson, and Ed Dobson
Hughes, Robert B. and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1990. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. Revised edition of New Bible Companion.
MacArthur, John F., Jr. The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006. Print.
Yarbrough, Robert W. “1 John.” CSB Study Bible: Notes. Ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017. 1995. Print.
Barton, Bruce et al. Life Application New Testament Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001. Print.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. Print.
Smith, Jerome H. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word. Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992. Print.
Jobes, Karen H. 1, 2, & 3 John. Ed. Clinton E. Arnold. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014. Print. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament.
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.
Manser, Martin H. Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser, 2009. Print.
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.
Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933. Print.
Akin, Daniel L. 1, 2, 3 John. Vol. 38. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. Print. The New American Commentary.
Vaughan, Curtis. 1, 2, 3 John. Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2011. Print. Founders Study Guide Commentary.
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.
Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887. Print.
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