It is interesting to observe that antichristian groups rarely try to lead lost sinners to their false faith. Instead, they spend much of their time trying to convert professing Christians (and church members, at that) to their own doctrines. They are out to “seduce” the faithful.
The word seduce carries the idea of “being led astray.” We have been warned that this would happen: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [teachings of demons]” (1 Tim. 4:1).
Jesus called Satan the “father of lies” (John 8: niv). The devil’s purpose is to lead Christians astray by teaching them false doctrines (2 Cor. 11:1–4, 13–15). We should not accept everything a person tells us simply because he claims to believe the Bible, for it is possible to “twist” the Bible to make it mean almost anything (2 Cor. 4:1–2).
Satan is not an originator; he is a counterfeiter. He imitates the work of God. For example, Satan has counterfeit “ministers” (2 Cor. 11:13–15) who preach a counterfeit gospel (Gal. 1:6–12) that produces counterfeit Christians (John 8:43–44) who depend on a counterfeit righteousness (Rom. 10:1–10). In the parable of the tares (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43), Jesus and Satan are pictured as sowers. Jesus sows the true seed, the children of God, but Satan sows “the children of the wicked one.” The two kinds of plants, while growing, look so much alike that the servants could not tell the difference until the fruit appeared! Satan’s chief stratagem during this age is to plant the counterfeit wherever Christ plants the true. And it is important that you be able to detect the counterfeit and separate the teachings of Christ from the false teachings of antichrist.
How does a believer do this? By depending on the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Each believer has experienced the anointing (the “unction,” 1 John 2:20) of the Spirit, and it is the Spirit who teaches him truth (John 14:17; 15:26). False teachers are not led by the Spirit of Truth; they are led by the spirit of error (1 John 4:3, 6).
The word anoint reminds us of the Old Testament practice of pouring oil on the head of a person being set apart for special service. A priest was anointed (Ex. 28:41), and so was a king (1 Sam. 15:1) or a prophet (1 Kings 19:16). A New Testament Christian is anointed, not with literal oil, but by the Spirit of God—an anointing that sets him apart for his ministry as one of God’s priests (1 Peter 2:5, 9). It is not necessary for you to pray for “an anointing of the Spirit”; if you are a Christian, you have already received this special anointing. This anointing “abides in us” and therefore does not need to be imparted to us.
We have seen that false teachers deny the Father and the Son; they also deny the Spirit. The Spirit is the Teacher God has given us (John 14:26), but these false Christians want to be teachers themselves and lead others astray. They try to take the place of the Holy Spirit!
We are warned against letting any man be our teacher, for God has given us the Spirit to teach us His truth. This does not deny the office of human teachers in the church (Eph. 4:11–12), but it means that under the guidance of the Spirit you must test the teaching of men as you search the Bible for yourself (see Acts 17:11).
A missionary to the Native Americans was in Los Angeles with a Native American friend who was a new Christian. As they walked down the street, they passed a man on the corner who was preaching with a Bible in his hand. The missionary knew the man represented a cult, but the Native American saw only the Bible. He stopped to listen to the sermon.
“I hope my friend doesn’t get confused,” the missionary thought, and he began to pray. In a few minutes the Native American turned away from the meeting and joined his missionary friend.
“What did you think of the preacher?” the missionary asked.
“All the time he was talking,” exclaimed the Native American, “something in my heart kept saying, ‘Liar! Liar!’”
That “something” in his heart was “Someone”—the Holy Spirit of God! The Spirit guides us into the truth and helps us to recognize error. This anointing of God is “no lie,” because “the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6).
Why are some Christians led astray to believe false teachings? Because they are not abiding in the Spirit. The word abide occurs several times in this section of 1 John, and it would be helpful to review: • False teachers do not abide (“continue”) in the fellowship (1 John 2:19). • The word (message) we have heard should abide in us (1 John 2:24). • The anointing (the Holy Spirit) abides in us, and we should abide in the Spirit (1 John 2:27). • As we abide in the Word and in the Spirit, we also abide in Christ (1 John 2:28).
We noticed this word abide earlier in John’s letter too: • If we say we abide in Christ, we should walk as
He walked (1 John 2:6). • If we love our brother, we abide in the light (1 John 2:10). • If the Word abides in us, we will be spiritually strong (1 John 2:14). • If we do the will of God, we shall abide forever (1 John 2:17).
“To abide” means to remain in fellowship; and “fellowship” is the key idea in the first two chapters of this epistle. From chapters 3 to 5, the emphasis is on sonship, or being “born of God.”
It is possible to be a child in a family and yet be out of fellowship with one’s father and with other members of the family. When our heavenly Father discovers that we are out of fellowship with Him, He deals with us to bring us back into the place of abiding. This process is called “chastening”—child-training (Heb. 12:5–11).
A believer must allow the Spirit of God to teach him from the Bible. One of the major functions of a local church is the teaching of God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:2; 4:1–5). The Spirit gives the gift of teaching to certain individuals in the fellowship (Rom. 12:6–7) and they teach others, but what they teach must be tested (1 John 4:1–3).
There is a difference between deliberate deception and spiritual ignorance. When Apollos preached in the synagogue at Ephesus, his message was correct as far as it went, but it was not complete. Priscilla and Aquila, two mature believers in the congregation, took him aside privately and instructed him in the full message of Christ (Acts 18:24–28). A Christian who spends time daily in the Bible and in prayer will walk in the Spirit and have the discernment he needs.
The Spirit teaches us “of all things” (1 John 2:27, italics mine). False teachers have a way of “riding a hobby”—prophecy or sanctification or even diet—and neglecting the whole message of the Bible. Jesus implied that we are to live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4, italics mine). Paul was careful to preach “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27, italics mine). “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable” (2 Tim. 3:16, italics mine).
If you ignore or neglect any part of the Bible, you invite trouble. You must read and study the whole Book, and be able to rightly divide it (see 2 Tim. 2:15); that is, you must handle it accurately (see nasb). You should discern in the Bible what God says to different people at different times; there are passages that apply specifically to the Jews, or to the Gentiles, or to the church (1 Cor. 10:32). You must be careful to distinguish between them. Though all of the Bible was written for you, not all of it was written to you. False teachers, however, pick (out of context) only what they want, and often apply to believers today passages that were given only for ancient Israel.
John’s second epistle gives further warning about false teachers (2 John 7–11). A Christian who meddles with these deceivers is in danger of losing his full reward (2 John 8). You should not even say goodbye (which literally means “God be with you”). You are not to be rude or unkind, because that would not be Christian, but you are not to let them into your home to explain their views. Why? Because if you let them in, two consequences may follow: First, they will plant the seeds of false teaching in your mind, and Satan can water and nourish these seeds to produce bitter fruit. But even if this does not happen, by entertaining false teachers in your home you are giving them entrance into other homes! The deceiver will say to your neighbor down the street, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith let me into their home, and you know what good Christians they are!”
John has now concluded his message on fellowship and is about to begin his message on sonship. He has pointed out the contrasts between light and darkness (1 John 1:1–2:6), love and hatred (1 John 2:7–17), and truth and error (1 John 2:18–27). He has explained that a real Christian lives a life of obedience (walking in light, not darkness), love, and truth. It is impossible to live in fellowship with God if you are disobedient or hateful or untruthful. Any of these sins will lead you out of reality and into pretense. You will have an “artificial” life instead of an “authentic” life.
First John 2: and 29 are a bridge from the fellowship section into the sonship section (“born of God”); in these verses John used three words that ought to encourage us to live in fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
• Abide. This is a word we have met twice before. You must recognize the importance of abiding in Christ. In fact, this has been the theme of the first two chapters of this epistle. You abide in Christ by believing the truth, obeying the truth, and loving other Christians—“the brethren.” Obedience—love—truth. If you are a believer and find yourself out of fellowship with God, it is because you have disobeyed His Word, lacked love for a brother, or believed a lie. The solution is to confess your sin instantly and to claim God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
• Appear. This is the first mention in this epistle of the promised return of Christ. The book of Revelation deals in detail with future events. The epistle (1 John 2:28–3:3; 4:17) merely mentions the return of Christ and a coming day of judgment.
Not all Bible students are agreed as to the details of future events, but evangelical Christians agree that Christ is returning for His church (1 Thess. 4:13–18). Though Christians will not then be judged for their sins, they will be judged on the basis of their faithfulness in serving Christ (1 Cor. 3:10–15). Those who have been faithful will receive rewards (1 Cor. 4:5), and those who have not been faithful will lose rewards. This event is called “the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10); do not confuse it with the “Great White Throne Judgment” of unsaved people at the end of time (Rev. 20:11–15).
The fact that Jesus Christ may return at any moment ought to be an incentive for us to live in fellowship with Him and be obedient to His Word. For this reason, John used a third word:
• Ashamed. Some Christians will be “ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28). All believers are “accepted,” but there is a difference between being “accepted” and being “acceptable.” A disobedient child who goes out and gets dirty will be accepted when he comes home, but he will not be treated as though he were acceptable. “Therefore also we have as our ambition … to be pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5: nasb). A Christian who has not walked in fellowship with Christ in obedience, love, and truth will lose his rewards; and this will make him ashamed.
No matter in which direction a Christian looks, he finds reason to obey God. If he looks back, he sees Calvary, where Christ died for him. If he looks within, he sees the Holy Spirit, who lives within and teaches him the truth. If he looks around, he sees his Christian brethren, whom he loves; he also sees a world lost in sin, desperately needing his godly witness. And if he looks ahead, he sees the return of Christ! “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). The return of Christ is a great inspiration for godly living.
John has written about light and darkness, love and hatred, and truth and error, and in 1 John 2: he summed up the whole matter of Christian living in one phrase—“doing righteousness.”
The life that is real is a life of doing, not simply talking (“If we say,” 1 John 1:8—2:9) or giving mental assent that a doctrine is correct. “Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21, italics mine). Christians do not simply believe the truth; they do it (1 John 1:6).
A person who professes to be a Christian, but who does not live in obedience, love, and truth, is either deceived or a deceiver. A child bears the nature of his father, and a person who has been “born of God” will reveal the characteristics of the heavenly Father. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5: nasb). “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy” (1 Peter 1:14–15).
A Sunday school class seemed to be having constant problems. The pastor and the superintendent met with the teacher and officers, but made no apparent progress. Then, one Sunday morning, the teacher of the class came down the aisle during the closing hymn of the service. “I suppose she wants to dedicate her life to the Lord,” the pastor thought.
“Pastor,” she said, “I want to confess Christ as my Savior. All these years I thought I was saved, but I wasn’t. There was always something lacking in my life. The class problems were my problems, but now they’ve been solved. Now I know I’m saved.”
“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” (2 Cor. 13: nasb). Does your life bear the marks of obedience, love, and truth? Is your Christian life something real—genuine—authentic? Or is it counterfeit?
It is a question of truth—or consequences!
And if you do not face the truth, you must pay the consequences!