As we continue our consideration of 1st John, we read together, first of all, John chapter 15. John chapter 15. And then turning over to read a portion of 1st John chapter 2 with the text being 1st John 2 verses 18 to 23. But first of all, John chapter 15. Hear now the Word of God. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in Me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this, love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than He lay down His life for His friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends. For everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command. Love each other. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belong to the world, it would love you as it is. You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you? No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their law. They hated me without reason. When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you also must testify, for you have been with Me from the beginning. And then turning over to 1 John 2, our text again, verses 18-23, but we read verses 18-27. 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 belong 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 do 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. Beloved of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is Jesus? Who is Jesus? A simple question, right? One that even the young children can answer, I trust. This is a question that seems to be asked more and more, even in our modern day. There have been TV programs and magazine articles that speak about the search for the historical Jesus. There's a fascination with the historical Jesus. There are those who call themselves biblical scholars who have asked this question and they've come up with the wrong answer. Some of you have heard of the Jesus Seminar made up of these so-called biblical scholars. The Jesus Seminar which teaches that Jesus was only human. That Mary was not a virgin when Christ was born. That the resurrection is not a fact, but it's simply a story. that of all that the Gospels record that Jesus said, they say that He really only said about 18% of it. And most of the deeds, the wonders and the miracles recorded in the Gospels that Jesus did, they say that most of them are questionable. In fact, they reject most of them. This information came from a newspaper article from the Orange County Register in May of 1997, only five years ago. Who is Jesus? You see, the early New Testament church struggled with those who came up with a wrong answer to this question. But in God's providence, the church defended against these wrong answers. In fact, that's why we have some of our creeds, like the Nicene Creed, which was penned by the church in answer to those who had a false Christology, Actually, many false ideas about Christ. But even before His death and resurrection, His own disciples basically asked this question, didn't they? You may recall that after Jesus calmed the storm, when He and the disciples were in the boat in the middle of the lake, Matthew records, the men were amazed and asked, what kind of man is this? That even the winds and the waves obey Him. Now we know that by God's gracious revelation, the disciples represented by Peter, except for Judas Iscariot, they came to the correct answer. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Who is Jesus? You see, the answer is a matter of life or death. The answer is a matter of having fellowship or not having fellowship with God. Now by God's grace as believers, we have the right answer. We've sung about it tonight. We've read about it in the Scriptures. And we'll see in this text why we have the right answer as well as in the next text next week, the Lord willing. But many don't have the right answer and many didn't have the right answer in John's day either. For example, the Gnostics had a dangerously wrong view of Jesus. And after all that John had said so far in this epistle, there may still have been some who were deceived into thinking that they knew God and that they had fellowship with God. But John lays the truth on the line as he teaches that a proper Christology determines fellowship with God. Now don't let that word Christology make you nervous. There's a lot of words out there that end with ology. Some of them that I'm uncomfortable with. Oncology, for one. Radiology. Just to mention a couple in the medical field. But there's theology, the study of God. Anthropology, the study of man. Ecclesiology, the study of the church, the doctrine of the church. And eschatology, the study of last things. Christology, the doctrine of Christ, the teaching of Christ. What is your Christology? What is it you believe about Christ, you see? Because only a proper Christology determines fellowship with God. We notice these things. First of all, the warning of those who deny Christ. Secondly, the comfort of those who know the truth. And finally, the test of fellowship with the Father. Now, I know that I've relayed this story to you before, but let me do it again regarding R.C. Sproul. I heard this on his radio program a couple of years ago. He talked about when he was in graduate school, I believe, and in class, in a secular university, he was being persecuted because the professor was able to draw out from him. He was nervous to say it, but was able to draw out from him that he believed that Jesus Christ is the one and only way of salvation. That there is only one way to be saved. And afterward, the professor was talking to him and said, I just don't understand how you can believe in a God that would only provide one way to be saved and not many. And his answer was, the question is not why didn't God provide 10 or 15 or more ways to be saved, but why did He bother to provide even one way to be saved? pointing to our urgent need, beloved, for Jesus to be who He is and for us to acknowledge that. You see, John opened this epistle talking about the believer's fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And he gave the comforting news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, and the atoning sacrifice for our sins is also the one and only who speaks to the Father in our defense. In other words, this Jesus has a peculiar or a special relationship with God the Father. But there were those who didn't agree with what John and the other apostles and all believers know to be true and believe, and that's why John gives the warning of those who deny Christ. Verse 18 says, 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. Now you remember from verse 17 that John said, The world passes away, and evidence of this is the Antichrist. But first of all, John speaks of that time in which he lived as being the last hour. Now I take this to mean the time between Christ's ascension and His second coming. It's a long hour. You see, beloved, we live in between. Jesus already ascended. He's busy with His work during this in-between time and He is preparing for His final act of appearing for the redemption of the world and the final destroying and putting away forever of His enemies. But also during this in-between time, His enemies are busy. But this was nothing new to John's readers. He says, you have heard. You see, the church had been warned of a long and a fatal adversary to Christ and His church already in the Old Testament. The prophecy of Daniel. In Daniel 7.25, we read of the one who will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times in the laws. And this appears to be a description of the last great ruler of the world, one who is opposed to Christ. And although only John uses the term anti-Christ, Paul's man of lawlessness seems to fit here. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 4 says, He will oppose, the man of lawlessness will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped so that he sets himself up in God's temple proclaiming himself to be God. Now based on the evidence of Scripture, which we don't even have time to begin to consider, it seems that the Antichrist will be a single person that will rise up before Jesus returns. And the Antichrist is so closely associated to Satan that it has been said of him that he will be to Satan what Christ is to God the Father. The Antichrist's coming will be the final coming together of all evil against God. And as Paul says, his coming will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. But he will be destroyed by Christ when Christ comes again. Paul also says in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the man of lawlessness is doomed to destruction and he will be the one whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming. Yet the Antichrist has not yet come. Some thought that Nero, or Hitler, or many others throughout history have been the Antichrist, but they are more in line with the many Antichrists who have come, as John speaks of. I believe that it's correct to say that the last hour, this in-between time, is characterized by a number of different individuals and anti-God movements that possess the spirit of Antichrist. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 7, for the secret power of lawlessness is already at work. And our Lord Himself said in Matthew 24, verses 5 and verse 24, For many will come in My name, claiming I am the Christ, and will deceive many. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible, Scripture says. Because of the great signs and miracles that could easily deceive many, believers must know how to recognize these Antichrists. And that's John's goal here. You see, it's not his intention to identify the Antichrist, to point his finger at a particular individual, but to point out that the spirit of Antichrist was already at that time and is for us today. It's already here. What is that spirit? Verse 22 says, 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. Antichrist literally means against Christ. One who is opposed to Christ. One who is Antichrist is one who denies the person and the work of Jesus Christ. who He is, and what it is that He has done or accomplished. And first of all, as John says, he denies that Jesus is the Christ. Now throughout history, many have attacked the person of Jesus Christ, who He is. Whether that attack consisted of rejecting the truth that the man Jesus was also God, also divine, or the opposite, rejecting the truth that the divine Christ was also human. Some of the Gnostics, as we said I think in our first sermon in the series, were Docetists, which meant that they rejected the humanity of Christ. Boys and girls, they said that Jesus only seemed to be human. He looked human. He may have felt human, but that He wasn't really human. All kinds of false, wrong Christologies have circulated throughout the history of the church. Even some in the Gnostic movement said that Jesus was just a man, but God came upon him when he was baptized, but the divinity left him again before he was crucified, died, and was buried, and therefore it wasn't God who died for man, but the man Jesus was the one who died on the cross. The Antichrist. And those who have the spirit of Antichrist Deny that Jesus is the Christ. Christ, you know, means anointed. The Old Testament word is Messiah. These deny that Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. They deny that He is the anointed of God the Father through the Holy Spirit to be as Lord's Day 12 beautifully says our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of our God for our deliverance or redemption. Our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of His body and who continually pleads our cause with the Father and our eternal King who governs us by His Word and Spirit and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom or salvation. He is one for us. They deny that He is the anointed prophet, priest, and King. They deny His very work. They reject the kind of mediator and deliverer that sinful man needs. The only one that will do. And that is one who is truly human and righteous on the one hand, because man sinned, therefore man must pay, but he must be sinless. And at the same time, he must be true God, because only God can bear the weight of God's anger, God's own anger, and to do this in the humanity of Christ. And in doing so, remove our sin from us and give us the righteousness and the life we need. Those who embrace the spirit of Antichrist are liars because they reject the truth who is Jesus Christ. And they reject the truth about Him. And as John says, no lie comes from the truth. And they are sons of the devil because the devil is the father of lies, as Jesus said. John says in verse 19, 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 they're going, showed that none of them belong to us. You see, whoever the Antichrist of John's day may have been, they appear to have been in the church, in the visible church, as a part of the fellowship of God's people. As Hebrews 6 says, they were those who tasted of the goodness of the Spirit. But they were never really a part of the church spiritually. And now, according to John, they were no longer even physically included in that fellowship of God's people. But they were no longer there. Now, some suggest that they may have come from the Jerusalem church or any of a number of other churches in Judea. And that they may have come to John's readers claiming to have been rooted in the same soil out of which Christianity grew. And that may or may not have been. But John quickly denies any connection with them because they were not really a part of God's leaders. They did not fit the apostolic doctrine, the truth of Christ. They left the church. They went away from the fellowship of God's people. But not just silently, they went out to openly oppose and preach against the true Gospel. And their very walking out the door was an open rejection of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. They were included in the branches of John 15 that were cut off. But you know something? They could not remain in the church alongside of God's people. Why? Because of the faithful believers who stood firm on the truth of Christ and walked in the light of that truth and held on to this Jesus as the only way of salvation. You see, the lie cannot share space with the truth, at least not for very long. Because light exposes darkness. Truth exposes the lie. But unfortunately, I think one of the things we can learn from this is that there will always be those, until Christ comes again, who rise up in the visible church and deny that Jesus is the Christ. There will always be, as he said in John 15, wolves in sheep's clothing. Unfortunately, even some pastors in Reformed churches, and I know this to be true because of one in Central Michigan a couple of years ago, but even some pastors in Reformed churches have embraced the lie that says Jesus is not the only way of salvation. But you know, whether a false Christology is subtle by saying He's only one of many, or whether it's very bold outright denying Him. Either way, it's a false Christology. But you see, until Christ comes again, there will never be complete harmony in the visible church. And as well, visible membership in the church is not a guarantee of salvation. And that's why we must stand firm and preach only this Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God. John makes it clear that the fact these liars left the church proved that they were liars. They were counterfeit Christians for a time and that which is counterfeit, like counterfeit money, is always discovered sooner or later. Jesus said in Luke 12 verse 2, there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. And the truth is if they had had the sacred root in their hearts, they would not have left. They would not have gone out from the church. How do we know? Because Jesus said that of all that God gave Him, He loses none of them. And that's because Jesus Christ is our anchor of hope, anchored securely in the very presence of the Heavenly Father. And we are attached to that anchor by that instrument called faith. The greatest lie that exists is that Jesus is not the Christ. But by the grace of God, that lie does not exist in the believer's life because John also speaks of the comfort for those who know the truth. Verses 20 and 21. 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. The spirit of Antichrist preaches only the lie, but John's readers and all believers, you see, are well fortified and strengthened against the lie and those who preach the lie because they have an anointing from the Holy One. That's how we know that we know the truth. God's people receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit who regenerates them, giving them a new life, turning them away from the former wide path of destruction of the natural man. the path of the lie, and leading them on the narrow path of eternal life, the path of the truth. Now, anointing in Scripture points to two things. First of all, it meant a divine appointment to a certain officer task in the kingdom. It meant being set aside to a particular task. And this anointing, of course, is in opposition to Antichrist, which again means against Christ. This anointing puts one with Christ. It makes one a part of Christ. And that's why we call ourselves Christians, right? And that's why we may call ourselves Christians. We are anointed to be prophets who profess the name of Christ. Priests who present ourselves as living sacrifices of thanks to God and kings who strive to fight against sin and the devil in this life with a good conscience. 2 Corinthians 1 verses 21 and 22 says, 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. Beloved, this anointing with the Holy Spirit is also a spiritual eye salve, you see, which removes the scales that blind one from the truth so that now they see and understand the truth. That's what John confidently says. He says, you know the truth. I write to you because you know it. The scales have been removed. You see, the second thing this anointing pointed to was the divine equipment or equipping to make one able to function in the office to which that one was called. God's people are able to stand firm in the faith and fulfill the duties of prophet, priest, and king because they are equipped by the Spirit of truth who testifies of Christ and who does not lie. John 15, 26 and 27 says, When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. All believers, each and every one, all believers know the truth of Jesus Christ. Not just a few who have achieved a so-called higher knowledge as Gnosticism taught. Boys and girls, if you know Jesus Christ, if you know that He is God's Son, that He is God Himself, if you know that He became man and died on the cross to save you from your sins, and if you believe all of this, then you know the greatest truth there is to know. And no one can ever take that away from you. And when someone says to you that Jesus was just a good man, but He's not God, and He doesn't save us, you've got to do it yourself. You can say, you're wrong. And unless you believe in Him, you cannot, and you will not be saved, and you will not have fellowship with the Father. Why? Because that's the test of fellowship with the Father. Notice the last part of verse 22 and 23. Again, the one 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. Very simply, you see, by denying that Jesus is the Christ, you also deny that He is the Son of God. And you also deny God the Father Himself. In fact, to deny Christ is to call the Father a liar. And everything that He has said, that He's a liar. And it is to deny His work through His Son. It is to deny that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The holy, inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God makes the intimate connection between the Father and the Son clear. Jesus said, I and my Father are one. And in John 14, verse 1, Jesus said, Trust in God, trust also in Me. And in John 15, verse 23, as we read, Jesus says, He who hates Me hates the Father as well. There are many places in Scripture we can go to see this intimate connection, but John also makes this connection quite clear throughout his epistle. Again, chapter 1, verse 3, We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us, And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Chapter 2, verse 1. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin, but if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Chapter 2, verse 24. 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. Chapter 4, 15 and 16. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. Then finally, chapter 5, verses 9 to 12. We accept man's testimony. But God's testimony is greater. Because it is the testimony of God which He has given about His Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. Now earlier you recall, I trust, that John taught that the true test of knowing God was obeying His commandments. And now He teaches that the true test of having fellowship with God is acknowledging His Son, Jesus Christ. John 5, verse 23 says, He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Jesus Himself tells us how to come to the Father in John 14, verse 6. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. That verse alone drives home the point that to deny the Son is at the same time to deny the Father. To have the Son is at the same time to have the Father, without a doubt. The clear teaching of Scripture is that in Jesus Christ we are to see God the Father acting for man's salvation. That's the truth that gives us life. That's the truth that is to cause us to live this life differently than the world, recognizing that God is sovereign over all things and that all of life is to be dedicated to Him. That's the truth, boys and girls and young people, for example, that gives us the desire to do our homework faithfully, to study faithfully for a test, to use our talents for the glory of God, first of all, to surround ourselves with godly friends. That's the truth, beloved. that gives us the desire to tell of that truth to those around us. There are really only two kinds of people in the world. Those who by God's grace understand the truth of Jesus Christ and embrace and believe that truth, and those who don't. To those who believe, theirs is salvation. But to those who reject Him, theirs is damnation. God's people are anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the salt of the earth, that flavors our surroundings and the light of the world through which the light of Jesus Christ is to be seen. And our joy, beloved, is that we can stand up for Jesus without fear. Because as John says a little bit later in this epistle, greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world. The world of sin wrongly and foolishly anoints Satan as its ruler. He cannot save. He can only destroy. There's only one name under heaven given among men by which we might be saved, the name of Jesus. How do you know you're saved? Not because you're happy all the time, or because you're helpful to others, or because you do good things. Indeed, these are to be a part of the evidence that one is saved. But how do you know that you're saved? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? That He's God's Son? That He became man and suffered the punishment and hell of the cross for you? That your sins are all forgiven in Him? And that even today He prepares a place for you in His Father's house? Do you believe this? And that there is absolutely no other Savior? If you say no, then you are earnestly and urgently called tonight to repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And His guarantee is that He will not cast you away. But if you can say yes, then you can have the assurance without a doubt that you're saved. What a reason to rejoice, huh? What a reason to sing His praises. What a reason to live for Him who is Christ, the Son of the living God. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, for most of us here tonight, from a very early age we were taught, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. And as we grew, you made that truth real in our lives. Others came to this by your grace later on in life. But yet such a precious truth that salvation is there in Jesus Christ. That all hope is not lost, but that there is a way of salvation provided from God Himself, the one who has been violated and sinned against and opposed. We thank You, O Lord, that You provided that one way and that You brought us into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work. That even tonight, we have been able to confess our faith in the triune God through the words of the Apostles' Creed. And Father, we pray that You would strengthen our fellowship with You through Jesus Christ, our Lord, by the powerful operation of Your Holy Spirit. Draw us ever closer to Yourself. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.