Sermon Tone Analysis

Who is real?

In the 1950s, Bob Stewart created the TV show, "To Tell the Truth".

Three people claimed to be one person, but only one person told the truth.

The other two made up lies to convince four guests that they were the real person.

The game ended when the host asked, "Will the real person please stand up?".

John gave the believers tests to evaluate those who were causing problems in the church.

Earlier, he gave them tests to consider their actions, and now he focuses on incorrect teaching concerning Jesus.

John’s words are still essential for us today, for we too experience the influence of people and movements that reject and reduce the primacy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

May we know the truth of God and who is telling it.

Concern for the Children of God

The “children” of God that John mentions are those who have come to faith, repentance, and obedience to God through Jesus Christ.

The church community is made up of those who have come into the new relationship.

They were formerly separated from God, but through Christ, they are now part of the family of God.

As we learned, John addresses a serious situation within the church, to whom he is writing.

False teaching caused division within their community.

This group believed differently from the gospel.

They saw no need to live differently from the world (life lived apart from obedience to God).

They did not see the need to admit their sin and sinful desires.

They lived in open hate toward others in the church.

They believed they had superior knowledge and insight beyond the fundamental teaching of the gospel.

They endeavored to entice others toward their special knowledge.

John saw this and sought to warn the “children of God” and prepare them to discern truth from error.

The Last Hour

John encourages the believers to recognize the time.

They are living in the last hour.

This is not so much a chronological characteristic but a theological one.

We are living in a new age that God had promised in the Old Testament.

This new age is a reality because of Jesus Christ.

We are in the final stage of God's plan for the world.

Although we are in the last days/hours, we still await the fulfillment of God's plan to renew all things.

Until then, we are in the last hour.

One of the characteristics of the last hour is the presence and influence of the antichrist.

To understand antichrist, we should clearly understand the term, Christ.

Unfortunately, in English, the term Jesus Christ does not carry the same impact as in Hebrew or Greek.

The term Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew term that means "anointed".

In the Old Testament, only a small group of people were anointed with oil.

This anointing was both symbolic and spiritual in identifying God's call to serve in a particular capacity within God's plans.

Prophets, priests, and kings were often anointed to serve in their calling.

Anointing was physically accomplished by pouring oil upon the head of the person.

But anointing was spiritually accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Old Testament foretold someone who would come and fulfill a special role as an Anointed One.

Isaiah 61:1, Daniel 9:26.

Jesus claimed for himself the words of Isaiah 61, declaring himself as anointed.

And the New Testament emphasizes that as the Anointed One, Jesus is the solution for our sin and separation from God.

He is the one who unites us to God, cures the problem of sin, and is exalted as God.

Antichrist?

John gives us a clear and simple definition of what he means by "antichrist".

It is anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah (Anointed One) of God.

Rejecting Jesus carries serious consequence.

John declares that if you reject Jesus, you also reject God the Father.

This is the fundamental teaching of Christianity, namely that only have access to God through Jesus.

If we reject Jesus, then we will never have a relationship with God as Father.

John's focus is on a group that denies the nature and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Since the arrival of Christ, this last stage of history will have a continual line of people who act as antichrists.

And there will be a specific individual who ultimately embodies the role of antichrist, a man of lawlessness, and a person who is called the Beast in Revelation, who will oppose the truth and lead others under the influence of Satan.

Identifying Jesus as Christ is the fundamental difference between world religions.

Some would rather unite different faiths or reduce them to simply the same goal with different paths.

But this is an incorrect and naïve assumption.

Islam rejects Jesus as God and is limited to only another prophet.

Mormonism states that Jesus is a spirit child of God along with Satan.

Jehovah's witness list Jesus as one of the smaller gods alongside God.

They may recognize the importance of Jesus, but they are not willing to give Him the rightful position he holds as God, Creator, Savior, and Lord.

Nearly every deviant view begins with a misunderstanding of Jesus.

Jesus warned that this would occur.

Matthew 24:5

We need to hold to this essential truth and never negotiate for other alternatives.

When we confess (agree, declare, and hold to) the truth that Jesus is the Christ, we are on the path of truth that leads us to God.

All other variances or directions will never lead to God.

Abiding in the truth

John focused on errant actions, beliefs, and teaching from others.

He considers them all expressions of antichrist (against, opposed, or rejecting Christ).

So what does he encourage them to do when confronted with this?

John has given us tests to check people, leaders, and movements.

Do they:

deny the reality of sin and separation from God?

deny the need to recognize and repent from our sin?

see Jesus as the only solution for sin?

emphasize a love of the world?

live in hate toward other believers?

deny that Jesus is the Christ?

If they fail to pass the test, then you better be on guard.

How does one stay on guard?

John gives us the following things to consider.

In verse 20, John uses a play on words (making a connection of ideas based on words that are similar or sound alike).

John reminds the people that they have an anointing from Christ (the Anointed One).

What does this mean?

It essentially points to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Unfortunately, some believers have made the "anointing" to be something that can be acquired through intense teaching or activity.

While the anointing is very special, it is also very common for those who are in Christ.

In the Old Testament, a small group of were anointed people and had Holy Spirit working in and through them.

But Jesus taught that He would send the Holy Spirit to all believers.

In John 14:25-26, Jesus encouraged the disciples about His departure by promising the presence of the Holy Spirit which fulfilled God’s promise in Joel 2:28 and realized in Acts 2.

In the context, the Holy Spirit will do the following:

The Spirit of Truth (Holy Spirit) will be with the believers and dwell within them.

The Holy Spirit will teach believers and be present to help the believer grow in the knowledge of the truth and teachings of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit will bear witness (affirm and confirm) the truth of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit will convict the world (all people) concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

John has emphasized the promise of the Gospel concerning the Holy Spirit.

Because they received the truth, they are already on the only true and right path.

There is no need to pause, reconsider, or make a detour.