Untitled Sermon (9)

Sermon • Submitted a year ago

0 ratings

· 2 views

Notes

Transcript

Hard Lines: the Antichrist and Our Response

Was there ever a time in your life when you had to draw a hard line with someone? I have a story of someone drawing a hard line with me. It was the first time—first time—that I went to ask Amanda’s parents for their blessing to marry her. After driving eight hours from Norman to Houston, I stepped across the threshold, and her dad greeted me by saying, “Now, Trev, there’s one conversation that we are not going to have this weekend.”

Before you feel sorry for me—know that I got her in the end, and that he was totally right in moment. We had been dating two months, and he didn’t really know me. Amanda was about to leave the country for 7 months, and he thought circumstances might be forcing my hand.

When you have the best interests of someone in mind, someone you love, you draw hard lines to protect that person. We do not always do that well. Sometimes we draw the wrong lines, or fail to draw the right ones.

In the Scripture we are about to read, we will continue in 1 John, and we will see John drawing hard lines. The right kind of hard lines. So if you would, stand with me as we read 1 John 2:18–28.

18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know 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 know the truth. 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 Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.

24 What you have heard from the beginning is to 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 concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, 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 it has taught you, remain in him.

In the passage we just read, we glimpse what has been lingering in the background since the beginning of the letter—false teachers. We are calling 1 John a letter of “light, love, and life,” and perhaps these false teachers are the reason John draws such hard lines in his letter—between light and darkness, love and hatred, life and death. This is very similar to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which likewise draws hard lines between old and new, God and man, faith and works, and Christ and the law. We should read 1 John similarly to how we read some of the letters of Paul—with opponents lingering in the background. So, who are these opponents, and what have the done? That’s our first question, and we turn to it now.

The Work of the AntiChrists

John highlights three acts of these opponents: they deny the Son, desert the community, and deceive the believers.

Denying the Son

The people John writes against did not deny the name of Jesus, but they denied that he was the Messiah, who came in the flesh to die on the cross for our sins. Four things, at least, they rejected: the Old Testament roots of Christianity, the incarnation, the atonement, and the need for forgiveness. In these denials, we can recognize John’s opponents as precursors to the Gnostic Christian movement, when eventually developed into Marcionism. If you are interested in learning more about this chapter in church history, let us now. For now, I want to return to what John has to say.

And John says that if you deny Christ in this way, you are truly denying the Father, because it is through the Son that the Father is made known.

Deserting the Community

After denying the Son, they desert the community. “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.” (1 John 2:19). In describing them as “going out,” we learn that these false teachers were formerly part of John’s community, though not the same as the church he writes to. The language reminds us of John 6:66, “From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him.” And actually, the word “went out” is the same as that used to describe Judas leaving the Lord’s Supper on his way to betray Jesus (John 13:30).

What interests me is that John describes this departure as a form of judgment. Not that they left under church discipline, but that their leaving revealed their inner nature. The judgment of God reveals things that are hidden on the hidden for now (Luke 12:2–3; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5). By using the word “become apparent”or “made clear” (φανερόω, 1 John 2:19), John signals that they effectively encountered divine judgment ahead of time. And yet it was their choice to leave. In a sense, they drew the hard line.

Deceiving the Believers

Although they left, John remained concerned about their influence on the church. Earlier in this letter, John warned us not to deceive ourselves—“If we say, ‘we have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:9). He also warns against deception from without. Later in the letter he writes, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world… This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception (1 John 4:1–6).

Just like we don’t always know we are lying when we deceive ourselves, so these false teachers didn’t think they were deceiving others. But John says they are, because their teaching opposes the truth.

“AntiChrist”

John draws hard lines against these false teachers. They deny the Son, desert the fellowship, and deceive believers. But why does he call them “antiChrists”? Paul met opposition, but called them “agitators” (1:7). Peter did, too, and called them false prophets. So why the designation “antiChrist?” This can be especially confusing for us, who hear the word “antiChrist” and immediately think of the end-times emperor who receives false worship and persecutes true Christians.

Satan, the AntiChrist

The term “antiChrist” can refer to three entities. First, it can refer to the devil. We just read 1 John 4:3, which refers to a spirit of deceit as a spirit of (or from) the antichrist, “which is already in the world.” This identifies the antiChrist as the “ruler of the world,” and later says, “the whole world is under the sway of the evil one” (1 John 5:19)—a clear reference to the devil. Herbert Lockyer once said, “True it is that all who deny the Father and the Son are antichrists. It is also true that there are many antichrists abroad today; and that ‘the man of sin’ of the tribulation period will be known as ‘the Antichrist.’ But seeing that Satan is at the back of all anti-Christian forces, and the instigator of all open hatred to God and to His Christ, he can be fitly termed—Satan, the Antichrist.”

The Last AntiChrist

Second, the antiChrist can refer to that imperial pseudo-Christ of the last days whom Jesus defeats at his second coming. Paul writes extensively about this person in 2 Thessalonians—

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.

5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? 6 And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming” (2 Thess 2:1–8).

The book of Revelation famously captures the essence of this AntiChrist through its imagery of the beasts from land and sea, who, with the dragon, make war against the saints.

This end-of-times figure is never called “antiChrist” in Scripture, but he took on that name very early on in Christian history.

Many AntiChrists

The last usage of antiChrist is of the false teachers who deny the Son, desert the community, and deceive Christians. John refers to them again in 2 John 7, “Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

For John, these people are spiritually related both to Satan, the “Arch-AntiChrist,” and to the evil, eschatological emperor, the Last AntiChrist. John has given us clues that he is putting these into the same category—for one, they are associated with “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4), and I think it is hard to explain John’s use of the term “lawlessness” unless he were echoing the “man of lawlessness” tradition which Paul also references, in 2 Thessalonians 2, which we quoted earlier. Second, he refers to “the antiChrist,” probably a reference to the “Last AntiChrist.” Third, he says that these false teachers are signs that the church exists in the “Last Days.” In New Testament teaching, the “Last Days” fill the space between Jesus’ first coming and his second coming.

I think John calls these false teachers “antiChrists,” on the one hand, because that is simply what they are. They are “opposed to Christ,” and that is what the Greek αντιχριστοςcan mean. And their heresy, unlike the Galatian agitators or Peter’s false prophets, is directly related to Jesus. It’s a Christological heresy, so they are aptly called “antiChristian.” On the other hand, he calls them antiChrists to highlight the heinousness of their evil. One commentator said they are not just guilty of “evil,” but they are themselves a manifestation of “eschatological evil.”

Applying “AntiChrist” Terminology

John’s use of AntiChrist terminology is relevant today. There are too many believers speculating about the identity of the AntiChrist, without recognizing that we have been living in the last days for two thousand years, and that many antiChrists have come, gone, and are still among us. Instead of speculating who this final AntiChrist will be, who comes from outside the church, what if we put that same amount of energy into opposing the antiChristian false teachers who abound inside the church? What if the best way to prepare for the eventual coming of the AntiChrist is to devote ourselves to guarding against the antiChrists of our present moment? The best way to guard ourselves against the future deceiver is to stand against present ones.

But there is an overreaction, caused by embarrassment, of Christians who distance themselves from mention of the antiChrist altogether. John does not shy away from alluding to this tradition, “you have heard that antiChrist is coming,” he said. His critique of these antiChrists, with a lowercase “a,” makes the sense it does in light of tradition about the final AntiChrist, with a capital “a.” If we are embarrassed of that tradition, then we shall be unable to properly regard false teachers in our own day. From the beginning of the Gospel’s spread, the good news was accompanied by warnings that it would be opposed, both by false prophets, but also by the final persecutor. These two warnings work together.

Too Harsh?

John is the beloved Apostle, and one whose teaching centers on love. Is it hypocritical of him to be so harsh then in calling them “antiChrists”? We read of a similar charge in Matthew 16, in the exchange between Jesus and Peter after the Transfiguration. Jesus reveals that his mission will climax in the crucifixion, and Peter takes Jesus aside and says, “this will never happen to you.” Matthew 16:23 says, “Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

It is interesting that both John’s opposition and Peter before Jesus make the same move—to deny the crucifixion. And both receive the same rebuke—Peter is called Satan, the opposition, “antichrist.” This was not a way of writing off Peter or consigning him to destruction—it was a description of his work.

Responding to AntiChrists

We have seen who the antiChrists were, and what the term “antiChrist” means. The remaining question is how to respond to them. Our response should not be one of fear, for “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world,” as John himself says (1 John 4:4).

Instead, our response is to persevere. This is not John’s unique take, it is the prescription of all New Testament authors.

· Matthew 24:13—But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

· Hebrews 3:14—For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.

· Revelation 14:12—“This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”

And along with these are encouragements that God, in grace, will keep us:

· John 10:28–29—“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

· Philippians 1:6—I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

· Jude 24–25—Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

So, we could say that our response to antiChrists is “perseverance.” But John doesn’t just say that. He has special vocabulary for perseverance. He calls it “remaining” or “abiding.” Twice John tells us in our passage, “remain in him” (1 John 2:27–28). Of course, John gets this expression from the words of Jesus himself: “4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me” (John 15:4–5).

Remain in the First Things

I want to encourage you to remain in three things. The first is, remain in the first things.

This comes from verse 24, “What you have heard from the beginning(ἀρχή) is to 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.” The “first things” are something you received, the message about Jesus, “what you heard from the beginning.” But that word “beginning” has already shown up three times in 1 John as a reference to Jesus. He is the one “from the beginning” (1:1; 2:13–14).

So, remain in Jesus. I like how John puts it in Rev 2:4–5, remember your first love. I think we would be less prone to drift, less prone to be swayed by antiChrists, if we remembered our first love for Jesus. If we remembered the message that saved us and moved us, we wouldn’t feel the need for false teaching.

Remain in the Fellowship

Second, remain in the fellowship. The antiChrists marked themselves as unbelievers not only by denying the Son, but deserting the fellowship. There’s Judas, who left dinner early; and there’s John, who reclined against Jesus until it was over. Remaining in Christ means remaining with his people.

Do you treasure your relationships with other believers? Are you investing in relationships with those God has put in your path, or are you waiting for the perfect friend? Have you considered becoming a church member?

I am not saying, “If you leave our church, you’ve left the faith.” How arrogant would that be!? But I am saying that your relationships with each other are your best indicators for how your relationship with God is. More than Bible Study. More than prayer. That’s why John stresses love for your Christian brothers and sisters, because your love for one another shows that you have grasped God’s love.

Remain in community with others. Resist the antiChristian undertow of individualist religions. Reject teachers who play on fear and hatred to garner a following. Remember the exhortation of Hebrews 10:25, “not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

Remain in the Faith

Lastly, remain in the faith. Verses 26–27 of our passage say, “26 I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, 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 it has taught you, remain in him.” The “anointing” that we Christians received is the Holy Spirit, who confirms the truth of the Gospel (cf. 1 John 5:6; John 14:26; 15:26).

In these verses, John is trivializing not only the false teachers but also his own role as a teacher. He says, “I do not have anything else to give you beyond what you have already received. You do not need a new commandment or revelation” (cf. 1 John 2:21). Very similar to Paul, John says, “since you received the Spirit when you first came to faith, you should reject those who attempt to add or subtract from that faith” (cf. Gal 3:3).

In his book, The Thrill of Orthodoxy, Trevin Wax writes—

The Christian life begins with spiritual astonishment at the glory of the gospel and the goodness and beauty of Christian truth, with the wide-eyed surprise of the infant brought into a new world of grace. But over time, our eyes grow heavy and our tastebuds dim—and that’s when errors creep in. Spiritual sleepiness results in a sagging sense of God’s love and diminished commitment to pass on the faith to the next generation. We become sluggish with the Scriptures; bored with the Bible; drowsy toward doctrine. Overfamiliar with the truth, we gravitate toward “exciting” new teachings or practices that promise to awaken us from spiritual slumber. And error—always dressing itself up as more attractive than truth—seizes opportunity when we are most prone to wander.

Let us not lose our wonder at the fact that Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament promises, and continues to fulfill them, that the Bible is one story with the Son of David at its center. Let us not, like the antiChrists, unhitch Jesus from the Old Testament.

Let us not lose our wonder at the fact that Jesus came in the flesh. That, as one fully man, Jesus could pay the debt of humanity and, as one fully God, he had the resources to pay it. That as one fully man, Jesus shares our bodily weakness. And as one fully God, he will fill our bodies with strength in the resurrection. That, as one fully man, we could know him, and as one fully God, to know Him is to know the Father. Let us not, like the antiChrists, deny the grounds for our redemption, resurrection, and true knowledge of God.

Let us not lose our wonder at the fact that Jesus died for sins. That in doing so, he broke power of the devil over us and the power of death along with it. And that in dying on our behalf, for our benefit, he also revealed the reality of sin, the overwhelming reality of God’s love for us, and our reason to love one another. Let us not, like the antiChrists, deny the faith that has been entrusted to us, and that should never cease to amaze us.

Conclusion

Ø We are about to end, so, could the band come up and Joe and Kerry come down?

Remain in the first things—your love for Jesus. Remain in the fellowship. Remain in the faith. In this way, you will resist the antiChrists present in these last days, and so prepare yourself to resist the AntiChrist of that final day.

John has drawn hard lines for us. He has the voice of a shepherd, which he raises to call in the sheep but also to drive away wolves. I think perhaps God has given us this text today because some of us need to draw hard lines as well. There may be some relationships you need to break as a result of this passage—there may be some relationships you need to make.

John ends this section by calling us “little children” (1 John 2:28). At first I thought this might resonate with Paul’s vision casting in Ephesians 4:15—Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. That would certainly be fitting in a passage about antiChrists.

But John actually uses a different word for “little children” than Paul (teknia instead of nepioi). You see John is not highlighting our vulnerability, as little children, as prey for the opponents of the Gospel. Instead he highlights our identity, as little children, as precious to God. He invites us to remain in that love.

Related Media

Related Sermons