Tonight, beloved, as we continue our consideration of 1 John, let's first turn together to Psalm 119. Psalm 119. We read together the verses 89-112 of Psalm 119. A psalm in which the psalmist magnifies the Word of God. Talks about the beauty of the Word of God. And the fact that the Word of God is the only thing that we are to desire. Psalm 119, beginning at verse 89 through 112. Your Word, O Lord, is eternal. It stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations. You establish the earth and it endures. Your laws endure to this day for all things serve You. If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have preserved my life. Save me, for I am Yours. I have sought out Your precepts. The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder Your statutes. To all perfection I see a limit, but Your commands are boundless. Oh, how I love Your law. I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path, so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. I gain understanding from your precepts. Therefore, I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much. Preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word. Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth and teach me your laws. Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. The wicked have set a snare for me. But I have not strayed from your precepts. Your statutes are my heritage forever. They are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. And turning over to 1 John 2. 1 John 2. The text tonight are verses 24 through 28. It fits with what we considered last week, so I'd like to begin at verse 18 and read through verse 28. Again, verses 24 through 28 being the text for tonight. Verse 18, Dear children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the Antichrist. He denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us, even eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you receive from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has taught you, Remain in Him. Dear people of God, there is a beautiful hymn in the Psalter hymnal, actually one of many, but one that is so familiar to many of us that no doubt we could sing it by heart. Many of us learn these words as children. I love to tell the story, it will be my theme in glory to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love. And the third stanza says, I love to tell the story "'Tis pleasant to repeat what seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet. I love to tell the story, for some have never heard the message of salvation from God's own holy Word." Indeed, it may be an old, old story, but it is always relevant. It is always in style. It never loses its truth. It will always be the message of salvation from God's own holy word. Yet as long as Satan, the father of lies, is not yet put away for good, the lies will continue. There will be those, just as in John's day, who have the spirit of Antichrist and deny that Jesus is the Christ and that He is the only way of salvation. Now we know that to be true in our own day. Those who deny the truth of Christ worship a false god. That's true of Muslims. That's true of Hindus. That's true of Mormons. It's true of Jehovah's Witnesses, to name a few. None of them worships the true triune God of the Bible. They reject the only way of salvation, Jesus Christ. But again, this problem is not new to our day. John in the early New Testament church faced it. As you recall, last week we considered the false teachers with the spirit of Antichrist who went out from the fellowship of true believers to preach a false Christology. They left the church to preach on their own something totally different. And now John, once again, in contrast to those who walked out, who left, in contrast, John again addresses believers and preaches to them about remaining in true fellowship with God and His people. And there's only one way to do this, and that is by God's grace to stick to the truth. To stick to the truth. As we consider this Word of God tonight, let's notice, first of all, the abiding advantage of the truth. Secondly, the abiding anointing that secures the truth. And then finally, the abiding confidence from the truth. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, Preach the Word. Be prepared in season and out of season. And he explains why in verses 3 and 4 when he says, For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. This is one of the characteristics of the terrible times in the last days that Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 3, verse 1. We live in a consumer-driven day of convenience. And the predominant attitude out there, and maybe even among many of us, is that I want instant gratification and I want it my way. And the same is true with spiritual things or the religious experience. A minister said to me once, people will stay in a church for the reason they came. And the point being, for example, if they come for the music or the entertainment, they will stay as long as whatever it is they came for feeds that particular taste. But as soon as their taste changes, and it will, it will, they will be off looking somewhere else. But if they come for the Word of God, well, that never changes. Even as we read from Isaiah this morning, The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of God, as Peter quotes, abides forever. John's message is simple. Don't look anywhere else, as the false teachers would have you to do. Instead, stick to the truth. And again, in the first place, he points out the abiding advantage of the truth. I trust that it's clear here, as we read the text, that John's theme in this text is remaining or abiding. Verse 24 says, See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And verse 27, As for you, the anointing you receive from Him remains in you. And in verse 26, John makes it clear that there are those indeed who try to lead God's people astray. We'll talk more about that in a moment. But in the midst of that, his command is to stand firm. A bit earlier in chapter 2, He had already expressed His confidence in what they have already now. They know the Father. They have the forgiveness of sins. They are strong. They have overcome the evil one. As well as we considered last week, they have an anointing from the Holy One by which they possess. They own as their very own the truth. It's their possession. They have a relationship with the truth that has been planted in their born-again hearts And John is now talking about continuing that relationship. The idea of remain or abide is that of taking up residency. The idea of a home. You see, believers are called on the one hand to resist the lies of the antichrists. While on the other hand, the truth that they heard from the beginning, when they first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, that truth is to be at home in them. As Christians, we are not to exchange the truth for novelties or teaching that fits our desires more. We are not to have itching ears for any other teaching that does not agree fully with the teaching of the Word of God. Many today want an easy believism in which I can have salvation my way. I can have the benefits of salvation without any of the duties of a true believer. Or they want a feel-good believism where they can feel good about what they have done for God and the part that they have played in their salvation. Let's be honest. This is the problem with much of what is called Christian contemporary music, which I must confess, I enjoy much of it. By the grace of God, I think I'm learning to listen more discerningly. But it's music. Most of it is music that works to make us feel good about what we have done and about what we want to do for God instead of talking about the glory and the majesty of God and about the mercy and the grace of what He has done for us. Chris Gordon reminded us beautifully in adult Sunday school this morning using the illustration of that, I believe it was a Lutheran talk show, and people calling in about their faith, and the host finally said, okay, you can call in, but don't talk about yourself. And he had no more calls. But this is the kind of music that some say we are supposed to include in worship so that we satisfy and even keep the young people. But young people, if this is what it takes to keep you in the church, then you're here for the wrong reason already. There's a problem in your life. You see, whether we are young or whether we are old, Together, we need to understand that even the songs we sing and the worship that we give is to be according to the truth of God's Word. It is to exalt Him. It is to be governed, guided, and directed by His Word. His Word, you see, is for our protection even in our worship. You see, if we truly understand who God is, and that is to be our goal as a family of God, youngest child to oldest saint. Together. if we truly understand who God is, His majesty, His glory, His power, His sovereignty, and everything else about Him as He has revealed Himself to us, then it's not ourselves and what we have done and what we want to do for Him that we want to sing about first of all. But the old, old story of Jesus and His love is what we will desire to sing about. That Word must take up residency in our hearts. It must be hidden there, as the psalmist says, so that every decision that we make is guided by the Word of God, which is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path. And of course, this includes the whole inscripturated Word of God, His entire revelation to us as we have it recorded in the pages of the Bible. But given the context of our text with regard to those who deny that Jesus is the Christ, John is no doubt particularly talking about the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. That's the message, you see, that the Holy Spirit uses to convert the sin-sick heart to a born-again heart. That message includes the truth of the person and the work of Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done, as well as it includes the apostolic witness. to Jesus Christ. And notice the abiding advantages to those in whom the truth of Jesus Christ abides. You thought I would never get there. I've been talking about this for a few minutes. Notice what the text says. There's two of them, two abiding advantages. You also will remain in the Son and in the Father. That's the first one. And this is what He promised us, even eternal life. The two abiding advantages of the truth. Now remember, the only way to have God as your Father is to have Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. And the believer's comfort and assurance here is that for those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of God, with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and trust in Him alone for salvation, and don't bother to look anywhere else for their security, they are, not will be, They are adopted children of God the Father. They are in, not outside, but in the household of God. They abide in Him and they enjoy protection under His wings as the psalmist says. You see, the truth of Jesus Christ alone is that which severs us from sin and unites us with the Son and the Father. And by faith we are called to exercise a conscious, consistent fellowship with Him as our true life. And do you know what this means, beloved? That means that the Gospel truth is invaluable. It is priceless. A price that you and I couldn't even begin to pay. It's priceless because it alone points us to the greatest salvation there is accomplished by the greatest Savior there is. It is priceless as well because of the second abiding advantage and that is God's promise of eternal life. You see, that's the value that God placed upon His Son and the truth of His Son. Eternal life. And God the Father is both the promiser and the giver of the promise accomplished through His Son, Jesus Christ, applied to you and me already today by God the Holy Spirit. And we never have to doubt this promise because all of God's promises we know are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. They are all fully guaranteed in Him. His promises cannot and they will not fail. God's promise is sure because He also gives us all that we need to realize this promise so that it becomes real for you and me. And that includes the whole of salvation, including regeneration, conversion, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification, and all that those theological terms, all that's included in those beautiful theological terms. And as well, he gives us the gift of faith to receive all of this. Beloved, what a blessing for those who remain in Christ and stick to the truth. But what danger for those who reject this truth, who just can't believe it for whatever reason. It's just not believable. And instead, they follow carefully crafted fables that tickle their ears for a time instead of believing the old, old story of Jesus. Yet John makes it clear that those who do stick to the truth do so because of the abiding anointing that secures the truth. Notice again verses 26 and 27. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you receive from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has taught you, remain in Him. Now you recall that John introduced the idea of anointing in verse 20, and now he returns to this thought. And last week we said that anointing in Scripture pointed to two things. First of all, it pointed to being set apart for a particular task. And then secondly, it pointed to being equipped to be able to perform that task. Now boys and girls, I'm sure that some of you have received birthday or Christmas gifts which had a number of pieces or parts and had to be put together probably by your dad. And he would take the instruction manual, the instruction sheet, and follow it carefully and put together your gift. I always seem to find, though, that there are always certain pieces that don't fit together as smoothly as the directions say they will and therefore there's some frustration involved. And I wonder, why do we buy these things anyway? But we have instruction manuals, don't we? For many, many things in our daily lives. We have instruction manuals for how to set your digital watch. We have instruction manuals for your bicycle. We have them for our car. How to operate the microwave. We have instruction manuals for everything. The Bible is God's instruction manual for living this life. And in His book is everything that we need to know about salvation. But you see, God doesn't just give us His book and say, okay, there you have it, read it, follow it, good luck. No, God gives Himself, gives Himself to us through His Holy Spirit. He gives Himself to us. And He not only gives us new birth, but He illumines us that we might read and understand and believe and obey the Word of God. But the Spirit of God also makes believers able to see error and false teaching when it challenges them. And that's because they know the truth. Jesus said in John 16, verse 13, but when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. And through the anointing power of the Holy Spirit, the believer's heart and mind is illumined so that he knows that truth. And this isn't just a one-time, on-again, off-again, occasional experience. verse 27 says the anointing you received from him remains in you and that's because the spirit himself remains or dwells in god's people he takes up residency in god's people paul makes it clear that the spirit not only dwells in the church as a whole but each and every believer is the temple of the holy spirit and paul says in second corinthians 1 verses 21 and 22 now it is god who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. Boys and girls, you remember a couple of the stories of the Bible. For example, Daniel in the lion's den and the king's seal was put on the entrance. No one was to break that seal. No one was to disrupt the punishment that was taking place. As well, the seal that was put on the stone that was rolled over the tomb of Jesus Christ. The king's seal had authority. It was meant to remain, not to be broken. The seal that you and I enjoy is a seal that cannot be broken. No one can take away from us the Spirit of God. No one can take away from us His anointing. The Spirit of God has begun that good work in believers and He will be faithful to complete it. We enjoy, therefore, a constant witness to our hearts of the truth. This anointing of the Holy One is durable. It's lasting. It abides with us always. We are never without the Holy Spirit. And what comfort that must be to you and me. Because when we must face temptations and toils and snares and persecution and suffering, that confirmation of the Holy Spirit must be there or we cannot survive. Even as we consider this morning, God alone is our strength. But with the Holy Spirit, God's people can defend against those who are trying to teach them heresy and error. Believers are unable to stand strong in the face of those who are trying to lead them astray. And John's point as we consider the original text is that there were indeed those who were trying to lead God's people astray, lead these believers astray. There were, as there are today, wolves in sheep's clothing. But they haven't accomplished their goal. They're trying. But in the original Greek, we need to understand they have not accomplished their goal. The false teachers with the spirit of Antichrist have not been successful. And therefore, John is teaching the believers and reminding them why this is the case. God's people are held firm by the Holy Spirit who anoints them and teaches them the truth. Again in verse 27, he says, You do not need anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things, And as that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has taught you, remain in Him. Remain in Him, beloved, because He is the real thing. Now, unless someone here would misinterpret this to say that we don't need Bible teachers and preachers and catechism or Sunday school classes or Bible studies, after all, it says you do not need anyone to teach you. We need to understand that that's not at all what John is saying here. Look at the testimony of Scripture with regard to teaching and proclaiming. Jesus Himself sent out the 72 with the command, Heal the sick who are there and tell them the kingdom of God is near. In the early chapters of Acts, Peter and John and the other apostles are told to stop preaching and teaching. And we know that they were beaten and they were thrown in prison because of their preaching and teaching. And how do they respond? In Acts 5, verse 29, it says, Peter and the other apostles replied, we must obey God rather than man. And what is implied, rightfully so, is that God commanded them to preach in the teaching. And again, we know that's true. With what we call the Great Commission, Jesus said, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And in Romans 10, Paul says, How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. Now, I'm not simply fighting for job security here. I'm really not worried about that, to be honest. But the truth is, God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to teach the good news of the Gospel. As well, we know that elders must be able to teach. Paul says in Ephesians 4, verse 11, it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers. The biblical proof is clear that the truth of the Gospel is to be taught by those called of God. But that teaching can only be done by those who are anointed by the Holy One. Now, of course, on the one hand, that includes all believers, doesn't it? Each one of us is to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within us to anyone who asks. It includes all of us. It doesn't necessarily mean that we all have the gift of teaching in the classroom setting or from the pulpit ministry. But the point is, John's readers have no need to be taught by false prophets with the spirit of Antichrist. They have God Himself, the true teacher, who teaches the truth that remains in them. The ministry of teaching is the Spirit's gift. The means God has chosen by which He provides for the instruction of His people. But the ministry cannot be carried out by just anyone and it's not the anointing all by itself that makes one know the truth. The Holy Spirit and the Word must go together. They are never separated and never to be separated. And He uses those who themselves share in this anointing to teach others. Those outside of the fellowship with God and His people cannot teach the truth because they don't know the truth. But the anointed ones who are taught by those called and anointed to teach, they know the truth when the truth is taught because they have been anointed. The Spirit teaches and guides the believer in distinguishing truth from error. You see, we believe what is called the perspicuity or clarity of Scripture, that the Scriptures are clear with regard to the doctrine of salvation and that this is clear enough for you and me to read and understand. But in this life, we are still prone to wander. And at times, we need to be corrected. And also, God provides teachers to help us as we dig deeper into His Word and mine the treasures that can be found there. But all of this teaching and all of this learning is a product of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And John says this anointing is real. It's genuine. It's not counterfeit or fake, but it comes from the Spirit of Almighty God Himself. The truth of Jesus Christ confirms its realness. And beloved, this anointing secures the truth in the heart of the believer and it secures the believer in the truth of the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Finally, John considers the abiding confidence from the truth. Verse 28, which I realize I forgot to read. And now, dear children, continue in Him so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. Now verses 28 and 29 are sort of oddball verses. Some say they really don't fit anywhere. Except for the fact that verse 28 is basically a summary of what came before and verse 29 introduces what comes after. But I trust you see along with me that verse 28 still includes the idea of remaining or abiding. John says, continue in Him. And this is a reference to Jesus Christ. In other words, don't go out from fellowship with God and His people like the Antichrist have done, but remain in Him and for a very good reason. He's coming again. He's coming again. You see, beloved, this life is more than just the spiritual experience of prayer and meditation, but the fellowship that we enjoy through the Spirit in this life will find its fulfillment in the physical return of Christ when we will see Him as He truly is in all of His majesty and all of His glory. In Luke 18, verse 8, after telling the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus says, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? And verse 28 of our text is John's exhortation of encouragement to the church so that Christ will find such faith. Believers are to remain in Christ, to exercise fellowship with Him, to live from Him, in Him, and through Him to walk as He walked. The whole of our life is to be devoted to Him in thanksgiving for His giving of His life for us. Those who remain in Him will be confident before Him when, not if, when He comes again. But those who reject Jesus Christ will be ashamed before Him at His coming. They will be ashamed of their suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. They will be ashamed of their unbelief, ingratitude, and foolishness in forsaking such a great and glorious Redeemer. They shall be ashamed of their wages of sin. They will cry out for the mountains and the hills to cover them so that they might try to escape from the Judge. Beloved, the truth of Jesus Christ will appear to one and all. It will be plain for all to see, but those who rejected Him, they will bow down before Him. Every knee will bow. And they will have to acknowledge, they cannot help but to acknowledge that He is indeed the only Savior and Lord. But for them it will be too late. But for those who repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for those who are saved by the grace of God through faith, what a wonderful blessing. It will be ours to stand confidently before Him when He comes. Not being confident in ourselves and what we have done. We're not going to want to stand there and talk about us and what we have done. But our confidence will be only in Him and what He has done. And our desire will be perfected in that we want to praise Him for His glory. The idea of confidence here carries with it the idea of openness. Nothing to hide. Speaking freely and opening. Those who will be ashamed. will have everything to try to hide from the just judge. One who is ashamed in a certain situation cannot speak freely and openly. He doesn't dare. But God's people will stand before Him with nothing to hide. Nothing to hide. Because He has atoned and satisfied for all of our sins. Nothing will be left to be counted against you and me. Oh, what grace, huh? What amazing grace. This life may be tough at times. Our friends may seem to reject us for a season. Our jobs may not always be as pleasant as we would like. We sometimes make bad or wrong decisions in our daily lives, but what comfort that all of that cannot compare to the joy of knowing that Jesus paid it all. And as believers, we will stand confident before Him. And may the words of Paul in Romans 8 have greater meaning for you and me when he says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The old, old story of Jesus and His love. May we never stop hungering and thirsting to hear it. Because there's no greater message for us to hear than the message of salvation, the message of Jesus and His love from God's own holy word. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You and praise You that though once we were blind, now by Your gracious hand we see. We see the truth, the truth of Jesus Christ and His saving sacrifice. And Father, we pray that we would see that truth more clearly each and every day until we see it perfectly one day in glory. That indeed our prayer would be that when we see you as you are, that we would praise you as we ought. Lord God, confirm us in the faith which you have given to us. Increase the assurance of our salvation. Strengthen our faith. Cause us to walk closer with you. And to hold dear to our hearts the old, old story of Jesus and His love. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.