Sermon Tone Analysis

We are in a sermon Series in the Epistles of John entitled Radical Community.

This morning we are going to be talking about, “the battle for truth.”

To be honest the subject of TRUTH is a huge subject..… we are just going to be skimming the surface morning of the meaning of truth… What we are going to establish is that there is Battle for truth in our world…

If you followed the News about Brett Kavanaugh the past few weeks — You got to see a Battle for truth… You had these allegations from 38 years ago of sexual misconduct…which pushed on Kavanaughs Character — and it questioned whether or not he would be fit to serve on the supreme Court…

You had two testimonies had Kavanaugh and Ford and both were sincere…but obviously one of the testimonies is false and the other true…

What amazed me is how quickly people jump to conclusions…including myself.... the outcome of all this was that Kavanaugh was sworn into the supreme court yesterday…

We are living in a day.. when the concept of truth is under fire....

where the concept of truth has been dying a slow death for many years and has become more noticeable in the past decade or so.

In the early 2000s, comedian Stephen Colbert picked up on this cultural phenomenon by coining the term "truthiness," which went on to become Merriam-Webster's word of the year in 2006.

Similarly, in 2016 in the wake of our presidential election, Brexit, and accusations across the political spectrum about "fake news," Oxford Dictionaries named "post-truth" its word of the year.

We heard during the elections phrases such as "alternative facts."

In April 2017 Time featured article with the question "Is Truth Dead?"

As long as we live in a fallen world there is always going to be the question of Truth… Philosophers from Socrates forward have question whether truth is Absolute?

Pilate when confronted with the claims of Christ asked the question -

What is truth?

Truth can be understood both from what it is and from what it is not.

There are many inadequate views of the nature of truth.

Let me give a few examples of what is not truth,,

Truth is not “what works.”

- One popular theory is the pragmatic view of William James and his followers that truth is what works.

According to James, “Truth is the expedient in the way of knowing.

A statement is known to be true if it brings the right results.

It is the expedient as confirmed by future experience.”

--- Just because something works doesn’t mean its true...

Truth is not “what is comprehensive.”

Another idea is that the view that explains the most data is true.

And those that are not as comprehensive are not true—or not as true.

Comprehensiveness is one test for truth, but not the definition of truth.

One can have a comprehensive view of what is false or a superficial or incomplete view of what is true.

Truth is not “what feels good.”

The popular subjective view is that truth gives a satisfying feeling, and error feels bad.

Truth is found in our subjective feelings.

One of the popular views of truth today is that truth is Relative - Relativism says what may be right for one person may not be right for all people… In other words truth depends on the person… if it feels good to you then that is your truth… Each of us has our brand of truth… truth is relative the person.

What is truth?

Truth is what corresponds to reality… Truth is the way that things really are… “telling it like it is”.

If something its true then all the facts should line up — basic mathematics - 2 + 3 = 5..

There is a story of a man who came to his old friend, a music teacher, and said to him, “What’s the good news today?”

The old teacher was silent as he stood up and walked across the room, picked up a hammer, and struck a tuning fork.

As the note sounded out through the room, he said, “That is A. It is today; it was five thousand years ago, and it will be ten thousand years from now.

The soprano upstairs sings off-key, the tenor across the hall flats on his high notes, and the piano downstairs is out of tune.”

He struck the note again and said, “That is A, my friend, and that’s the good news for today.”

The point is that Truth does not need updating ---

As Christians we talk about Absolute truth - which says that what is true for one person is true for all person, times and places...

What we are saying is Truth is not subjective.

It does not shift or change with culture or society.

What is true for one person is true of all persons times and places.

T/s In our text in 1 John The early Church found themselves in the cross hairs for the battle for Truth.... John is writing out of concern for the church that they would be able to distinguish and discern Truth... John is answering the question of how we know Truth?

T/S How do we have confidence in Truth?

1. Discern the Deception in the World

John is writing this letter with serious concern over Truth… He wants these believers to succeed in their personal relationship with Christ and in their relationships with each other… but he knows how easy it is to be deceived by half truths and liars… These things can impact us deeply…and negative ways… so to avoid…truth is to walk in the knowledge of the Truth…

The church was being impacted by philosophy of Gnosticism that basically said had they possesed special knowledge illumination of truth…

They insisted that they alone had an inside track with God, that they alone really understood the true knowledge (gnosis), that they alone enjoyed the true anointing

The were themselves above doing wrong because they had deeper knowledge… Discounted the deity of Jesus… because Jesus was matter and all matter was considered bad…God could never have manifested in the flesh… The problem is this teaching was coming from within the ranks of Christianity and it was bringing confusion about Faith…

This is often the case when false teaching enters the church is… some new and shiny new truth or doctrine… special revelation…When ever you hear some talk about New Truth or New revelation… red flag should go up…

John is not introducing a New Truth or teaching but rather amplifying something they already had been taught… John started off

This is teaching that was initiated by Jesus himself… John is expounding the words of life…Now John is gives the Church tools on how to discern Truth from Error..

John begins by reminding them that they are living in the last days.

… When John talks about time....He uses the word Beginning - what you have heard in the begining… then he talks about last days..

In a sense God himself bounds history with the beginning and the end…two book ends... the first and the last… the Alpha and the Omega.. John’s view of History is a continuiom moving to a definite end...

The End times began with the coming of Christ and will conclude in Christ…

- The Greek word Last means Eschtos.. where … It speaks of the last series of objects or events…it’s where we get he word eschatology the study of End Times.. The last hour is an hour in which the spirit of antichrist will be increasingly active....

In the last days there will be the coming of the anti-Christ… John makes the distinction between the Antichrist and many antichrists.

There is a “spirit” of antichrist, and this “spirit” of antichrist will one day find its ultimate fulfillment in the Antichrist, who will lead humanity in an end-times rebellion against God.

The only place in the New Testament where this Greek word antichristos appears is in 1 John and 2 John.

The ordinary meaning of the word anti in Greek is “against,” or “opposite.”

It is interesting, however, to note that the preposition also carries within it the meaning of “instead of,” “in the place of”

John gives us Two methods to discern between Truth and Error..

The first Method is to ask the question.

a. Have they remained faithful steadfast discipleship?

Remember Truth is what corresponds to reality…

John says look at these teachers --- Look at Where they started and where they have ended up… Have they stayed the course…

If truth was a Straight line A-B truth continuum… you would expect what was true at the begining would be true at the end… like train tracks… truth should mirror itself...

John explains that these teachers… Started with them but did not “Continue with them..-- The word continue is the same word as ABIDE…

When it came to the Fundamentals or the absolutes of Faith they got off at an exit....

No longer were they mirroring truth… they got off course....

We talking doctrinally.. here…

There are times when you someone leaves our church and attends another church… Sometimes that happens…and it obviously sad to see someone leave our church… but when it says they started with us… He is talking about the Truth....

John says that it became Plain to us that they are not of us.

Because they have ended up in a different place…

Second method..

2. The Inner Witness of the Holy Spirit

20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

So look at the last part of this verse.. “You have all knowledge.”

The ALL is important… If you are a believer you have the deposit of the Holy Spirit.... you have been regenerated…Made alive in Christ and born again and the Holy Spirit dwells in you… If the Holy Spirit lives in in you have knowledge…

John uses a different word for know than he mostly used before.

Previously John used the word meaning knowledge by experience; here he used the word meaning knowledge by intuition.

We know some things intuitively by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Every Christian has a Holy Spirit filter in his conscience.

You have an anointing (unction) from the Holy One.

John asserts that it was believers, not the gnostics, who had the anointing (special initiation) from deity.

John takes up his opponents’ term.

He pretty obviously uses chrisma, an anointing, to indicate the Holy Spirit.

We note what the Apostle says, not about the Gnostic anointing (which he calls “counterfeit”), but the Christian one.

It is God, described as the Holy One, who grants the anointing that enables believers to know the truth.

The false teachers were claiming a special revelation from God (i.e.

special anointing).

John asserts that all believers already have the true anointing when they trust the Anointed One and are filled with His Spirit

John makes the promise to us that we are anointed by God Himself.

God is the one who has confirmed and sealed His people and therefore these Christians do not need to seek out other anointings in order to be equipped for their age…

We are reminded of the Lord Jesus’ promise that he would ask the Father to send “the Spirit of truth” who would be with his followers forever.