THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Sadly, we have a new phrase in our American lexicon: “fake news.” At one time, news publishers made large financial investments in reporters, editors, marketing, and printing presses. But today, thanks to the Internet and digital technology, virtually anybody can set up a professional looking online newsletter that rivals the websites and digital newspapers of legitimate news sources. One person can twist the facts, express his views as factual, and present it in a way that seems legitimate. Even though it looks good or sounds legitimate, it’s still fake news. But that doesn’t keep people from passing the stories along—especially when it falls in line with what they believe.
The fake news continues to spread.
A religious leader can sound equally convincing. His doctrine may carry an air of legitimacy and even contain elements of truth, but if it is not grounded in Scripture, it’s fake. And people will flock to such religious teaching if it appeals to what they want to believe. It doesn’t matter how many people believe it, if a religion is not grounded on the truth of God’s Word and the reality of Jesus Christ, it’s false—and dangerous.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
1 John 2:18-20
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. 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 their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
In the first century AD, the apostle John warned, “this is the last hour.” We can’t sit here in the twenty-first century and think John was sorely mistaken. Throughout the New Testament, references to “the last days” (2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3-4) or the last hour speak about a period of time. These refer to the time between the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ—the beginning point of salvation—and that moment when He returns and brings the culmination of that salvation.
In the last days also comes the “antichrist.” John was the only New Testament writer to use this word, but he used it in different ways. Sometimes it referred to one person, and sometimes it referred to many.
One person. Sometimes the word refers to one individual. Daniel called him “the ruler who will come” (Dan. 9:26). Paul called him “the lawless one” (2 Thess. 2:9). John referred to him as the “beast” (Rev. 13:1). Whether the antichrist is alive now or not, we do not know, so there is little benefit to trying to identify him.
Multiple persons. The world also has “many antichrists”—those who live by the false idea that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who opposes Christ and biblical teaching about who He is can be called an antichrist. In verse 18, John mentioned “antichrist” but his focus was on the group of people who had risen up to tear apart the church with their false teachings.
These antichrists “went out from us,” abandoning the church. Since these individuals stand against Christ, they have no reason to be a part of His church. We’ve all seen people who claimed to follow Jesus for a time but eventually leave the church. Their departure is not just evidenced by their absence and lack of involvement; they abandon truth or twist God’s truth to fit what they want to believe—and their “truth” is a lie. Additionally, many also abandon biblical morality.
These antichrists are not Christians who lost their salvation. They were involved in the external things of the church and the Christian life, but were void of any internal transformation. They were never saved to begin with. When they “went out from us” they proved “they did not really belong to us” in the first place.
What keeps the child of God from falling for the lies and half-truths of the antichrists? We “have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” Non-truths, partial truths, and distorted truths are everywhere. Just like you’ve heard of a lie detector, we have a truth detector! When we get saved, God puts His Holy Spirit in us. When we let the Holy Spirit fill us, we become increasingly sensitive to His truth. Like a red warning flag, He helps us discern something that is not true.
1 John 2:21-25
21 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. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, 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. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
False teaching and false teachers are everywhere. Their doctrines can vary, but they universally deny one core truth. They twist and even deny what the Bible tells us about Jesus. They may express their denial in a variety of ways: they do not believe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one; they want to add to the teaching about Jesus; they want to take something away from the teaching of Jesus; they believe Jesus is fully God but was never a man; they believe Jesus was a man and nothing more.
To deny any or all the truth about Jesus is to deny the Father. No one can say they love and follow God without loving and following Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself stressed this truth:
“Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me” (John 6:45).
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (14:6).
Later in this epistle, John told us how we could discern false teaching. We test teachers on the core truth that Jesus is fully man and fully God. He invited us to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (vv. 2-3).
The truth of Jesus—fully man and fully God—is central to the gospel and to salvation, and we are never to lose sight of that. “What you have heard from the beginning remains in you.”
1 John 2:26-29
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received 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. 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
No one likes to be deceived; then again, that’s what makes it deception. If we knew deception was happening, we wouldn’t be deceived! John gave us the remedy in dealing with “those who are trying to lead you astray.” The remedy is to rely on God’s Holy Spirit who lives in us. “The anointing you received from him remains in you.” Because of the presence of God Himself, John said, “You do not need anyone to teach you.”
John did not mean human teachers are unimportant. Even as the apostle wrote this, for example, he was teaching his readers! What John was saying, however, was that the same Spirit of God who anointed him to teach and inspired him to write these words, lives in all who are saved to help us discern the truth.
To stay in tune with what the Spirit is doing and teaching, we must “remain in him.” I once heard Tony Evans explain this principle by comparing it with making hot tea. People make hot tea either by dipping a tea bag in hot water or by letting the tea bag remain in the cup. Dipping the tea bag will give you tea, but it’s weak. But if you let the tea bag fully submerge in the water and leave it there, you come away with stronger tea.
We must remain in His Word and in His Spirit. As false teachings arise, we can rely on the Spirit of God to show us what is right and to help us overcome so that we may help others do likewise.
LIVE IT OUT
We must rely on the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word to overcome and stand strong in the face of false teaching. Choose one of the following applications:
Pray. Ask the Lord to reveal to you any lies you may have believed. Ask that His Spirit would make it clear when the enemy tries to get you to believe things that aren’t true.
Study together. Immerse yourself in the study of God’s Word. Surround yourself with other Christians in group Bible study. Encourage one another as you grow deeper in your knowledge of the truth.
Research. If a certain cult or religion is prominent in your area, do some research and learn where they differ from the truth of the gospel. A good place to start for information is at 4truth.net.
There are many ways to be led astray these days. There really always have been. But the Truth remains the same—and His name is Jesus.
Hope to see you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
Teacher Notes:
Teacher Notes:
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“When the legend becomes fact…print the legend.”
Why are people drawn to “Fake News”?
· We’re not too worried about it if it lines up with what we want to believe.
· Messages may be appealing to people because they respond to their wishes and desires. In these circumstances, messages may be accepted on faith, without much evidence and without extensive verification. Two types of motivation are particularly relevant here: the need for certainty (activated especially in times of turmoil and change), and the need for specific outcomes.
· When the need for certainty is activated, people are attracted to simplistic messages that can deliver it (e.g., immigrants are responsible for all societal ills; that we are good and others are evil). So, fake messages phrased with simplistic certainty, are more likely to be believed and accepted without much scrutiny.
· In a similar manner, messages that assert a specific outcome—whether fake or true— may appeal and be readily accepted, if consistent with what a person would like to believe. Some examples: messages that the coal industry can be revived, that Scaramucci was involved with the Russians, or that global warming is a hoax.
· There is no shortage of false teachers, religions, cults, and even bad theology among Christians. Yet people gravitate to them because the false teaching fits what they already think … or fits what they want to believe … or “it just sounds right to me.”
You may have read about a letter Abraham Lincoln wrote on November 21, 1864. During the Civil War, Lydia Bixby lost all five of her sons. Casualties of war. So, President Lincoln sent a letter to the grieving mother.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln.
Newspapers picked up the letter and printed it. Copies were printed and sold as souvenirs in the years after Lincoln died. And why not? It shows the heart and compassion of the president everyone loved and admired.
Lincoln likely did not write the letter. It’s Fake News in the 1800s.
Here’s what we know.
· An original letter in Lincoln’s hand does not exist.
· If the letter did come from the White House, it was likely written by John Hay, the president’s secretary.
· Lydia Bixby made the initial claim that her five sons died. However, only two died during the war, and a third may have been a deserter. Two sons came out of the war unscathed. Mrs. Bixby was later reported to be a woman of questionable character.
Wherever the newspapers got the story, they ran with it because … well, it made good copy. We love heart-wrenching stories. It made the president look saintly, especially in the years after his death when the nation grieved. So, what if it may or may not be quite accurate?
“When the legend becomes fact…print the legend.”
It was fake news, and the story got a second life when it featured prominently in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998).
The Setting: John believed the world was already fading away. Time was short until the Lord’s return. False teachers were attempting to deceive true believers and lead them to deny Christ. True believers needed to stay focused on the truth. Truth was grounded in the reality of who Jesus is. Therefore, to resist those who would deceive them, they were to keep on abiding in Christ and live under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who would enable them to persevere to the end.
What false idea about Jesus or Christianity have you heard recently?
This can be a problem when it comes to our spiritual lives as well.
I. Many have denied that Christ has come in Jesus. 1 John 2:18-20
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. 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 their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
What does John mean when he says, “many antichrists have come” – I thought there was only one?
· Anyone who opposes Christ is an antichrist.
· The antichrists were not total strangers to the church; they once had been in the church, but they did not really belong to it.
Why is fellowship so important for a Christian?
· An important reason for Christian fellowship is its impact on unbelievers. Jesus told His disciples, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). The love Christians have for one another can influence others toward faith in Jesus Christ.
· A false religion will have nothing to do with the fellowship of the church.
· Those who voluntarily leave the fellowship of believers in Christ and reject Him as Christ are giving evidence that their so-called profession of Christ was only pretense.
· True believers live with the atoning of God on their lives.
How can we identify false teachers?
· We must be aware that they are in our midst, they are not total strangers.
· We should anticipate being opposed by those who reject Jesus as Christ, Lord, and Savior.
· The Holy Spirit will show us their errors.
Understand John’s teaching on the antichrist. 1 John 2:18-20 Commentary
2:18-23 John is talking about last days, the time between Christ’s first and second coming. The first-century readers of 1 John lived in the last days, and so do we. During this time, antichrists (false teachers who pretend to be Christians and who lure weak members away from Christ) will appear. Finally, just before the world ends, one great antichrist will arise (Rev. 13; 19:20; 20:10). We do need to fear these evil people. The Holy Spirit shows us their errors, so we will not be deceived. However, we must teach God’s Word clearly and carefully to the peripheral, weak members among us so that they won’t fall prey to these teachers who “come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matt. 7:15).
2:19 The antichrists were not total strangers to the church; they once had been in the church, but they did not really belong to it. John does not say why they left; it is clear that their reasons for joining in the first place were wrong. Some people may call themselves Christians for less than the best reasons. Perhaps going to church is a family tradition. Maybe they like the social and business contacts they make there. Or possibly going to church is a long-standing habit, and they have never stopped to ask themselves why they do it. What is your main reason for being a Christian? Unless it is a Christ-centered reason, you may not really belong. You don’t have to settle for less than the best. You can become personally acquainted with Jesus Christ and become a loyal, trustworthy follower.
2:20 Anointing usually refers to the pouring out of special olive oil. Oil was used to consecrate kings and special servants for service (1 Samuel 16:1, 13), and also was used by the church when someone was sick (James 5:14). “You have an anointing from the Holy One” could read, ‘The Holy Spirit has been given to you by the Father and the Son.” When a person becomes a Christian, they receive the Holy Spirit. One way the Holy Spirit helps the believer and the church is by communicating truth. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), and the Holy Spirit guides believers to him (John 16:13). People who are opposed to Christ are also opposed to His truth, and the Holy Spirit is not working in their lives. When we are led by the Spirit, we can stand against false teachers and the antichrist. Ask the Spirit to guide you each day.
II. True believers need to stay focused on the truth. 1 John 2:21-25
21 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. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, 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. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
What are the essential truths the Bible teaches about Jesus?
· Truth was grounded in the reality of who Jesus is. Christ was God’s Son, He died for our sins and was raised to give us new life, and that He will return and establish His kingdom in its fullness.
· To deny any or all the truth about Jesus is to deny the Father. No one can say they love and follow God without loving and following Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself stressed this truth: “Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to me” (John 6:45). “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (14:6).
What is a clear sign of a false religion?
· A false religion denies Jesus is the Christ.
· The truth of God is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
· To say that one can be in right relationship with God apart from Jesus Christ is a lie; hence, the one who declares it is a liar and is to be shunned.
· To deny Jesus is the Christ is to call God a liar.
· True believers who hold firmly to the truth of the gospel will live in Christ and receive God’s promise of eternal life.
Should Christians be tolerant of other people's religious beliefs?
· In our age of “tolerance,” moral relativism is touted as the supreme virtue. Every philosophy, idea, and faith system has equal merit, says the relativist, and is worthy of equal respect. Those who favor one faith system over another or—even worse—claim a knowledge of absolute truth are considered narrow-minded, unenlightened, or even bigoted. Of course, different religions make mutually exclusive claims, and the relativist is unable to logically reconcile outright contradictions. For example, the Bible makes the claim that “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), while some Eastern religions teach reincarnation. So, do we die once or many times? Both teachings cannot be true. The relativist essentially redefines truth in order to create a paradoxical world where multiple, contradictory “truths” can co-exist.
· Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). A Christian has accepted Truth, not just as a concept, but as a Person. This acknowledgment of Truth distances the Christian from the so-called “open-mindedness” of the day. The Christian has publicly acknowledged that Jesus rose from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). If he truly believes in the resurrection, how can he be “open-minded” concerning an unbeliever’s assertion that Jesus never rose again? For a Christian to deny the clear teaching of God’s Word would indeed be a betrayal of God. Note that we have cited the fundamentals of the faith in our examples so far. Some things (such as the bodily resurrection of Christ) are non-negotiable. Other things may be open to debate, such as who wrote the book of Hebrews or the nature of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” We should avoid becoming bogged down in disputations over secondary matters (2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9).
· Even when disputing/dialoguing over prominent doctrines, a Christian should exercise restraint and show respect. It is one thing to disagree with a position; it is quite another to disparage a person. We must hold fast to the Truth while showing compassion to those who question it. Like Jesus, we must be full of both grace and truth (John 1:14). Peter strikes a good balance between having the answer and having humility: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
1 John 2:21-25 Commentary
2:22-23 Apparently the antichrists in John’s day were claiming faith in God while denying and opposing Christ. To do so, John states plainly, is impossible. Because Jesus is God’s Son and the Messiah, to deny Christ is to reject God’s way of revealing Himself to the world. A person who accepts Christ as God’s Son, however, accepts God the Father at the same time. The two are one and cannot be separated. Many cultists today call themselves Christians, but they deny that Jesus is divine. We must expose these heresies and oppose such teachings so that the weak believers among us do not succumb to their teachings.
2:24 These Christians had heard the gospel, very likely from John himself. They knew that Christ was God’s Son, that He died for their sins and was raised to give them new life, and that He would return and establish His kingdom in its fullness. But their fellowship was being infiltrated by teachers who denied these basic doctrines of the Christian faith, and some of the believers were in danger of succumbing to false arguments. John encouraged them to hold on to the Christian truth that they heard at the beginning of their walk with Christ. It is important to grow in our knowledge of the Lord, to deepen our understanding through careful study, and to tech these truths to others. But no matter how much we learn, we must never abandon the basic truths about Christ. Jesus will always be God’s Son, and His sacrifice for our sins is permanent. No truth will ever contradict these teachings in the Bible.
III. Abide in Christ and live under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:26-29
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received 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. 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when
he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
What are some specific steps we can take to “remain” in Jesus each day?
· Some people approach the Bible like the person who just dips a tea bag into hot water over and over. We must remain in His Word and in His Spirit. As false teachings arise, we can rely on the Spirit of God to show us what is right and to help us overcome so that we may help others do likewise. We avoid deception by remaining in Christ and relying on His Holy Spirit.
· Those who are in Christ can anticipate Christ’s return with confidence they are secure and accepted in Him.
· Those who are born of God into new life in Christ will show proof of it by living in ways that correspond to His will and purpose.
How does knowing Jesus is coming back encourage yet challenge you in your walk with Christ?
1 John 2:26-29 Commentary
2:26, 27 Christ had promised to send the Holy Spirit to teach his followers and to remind them of all that Christ had taught (John 14:26). As a result, Christians have the Holy Spirit within them (the anointing) to keep them from going astray. In addition, they have the God-inspired Scriptures, against which they can test questionable teachings. To stay true to Christ, we must follow His Word and His Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit help you discern truth from error.
2:27 Christ lives (remains) in us through the Holy Spirit, and we also live in Christ. This means that we place our trust in Him, rely on Him for guidance and strength, and live as He wants us to live. It implies a personal, life-giving relationship. John uses the same idea in John 15:5, where he speaks of Christ as the vine and His followers as the branches.
2:28, 29 The visible proof of being a Christian is right behavior. Many people do good deeds but don’t have faith in Jesus Christ. Others claim to have faith but rarely produce good deeds. A deficit in either faith or right behavior will be a cause for shame when Christ returns. Because true faith always results in good deeds, those who claim to have faith and who consistently do what is right are true believers. Good deeds cannot produce salvation (see Ephesians 2:8, 9), but they are necessary proof that true faith is actually present (James 2:14-17).
Wrap it up: False teachers – deceivers of the truth of Christ – are not a thing of the past. They rage as strong as ever. We even have greater access to their false teachings through television, internet, and other digital communication. Hence, we need to stand strong against those who would lead us astray by denying Jesus is the Christ. We can do so only if we truly abide in Him and He in us through the anointing of His Holy Spirit.
