Title: The Truth About Liars.

Audience: Ages 18-25; believers, Pentecostal Focus Passage: 1 John 2:18-27 Big Idea: The world is full of religions promoting one doctrine or another. In the midst of all these religious views how can we know who it telling the truth and who is not? (ME) A few weeks ago my wife and I watched a movie called, Jakob the Liar, starring Robin Williams. Williams plays Jakob, a Jewish man who is forced by the Nazis into the ghetto. The Jews living in the ghetto were forbidden to own or listen to a radio. One day Jakob is in the office of one of the Nazi commanders and overhears a radio broadcast. He then goes back to the other Jews and relates the message that the Russian army is advancing and will soon liberate them from the ghetto. Those who hear Jakobs recounting of the broadcast think Jakob secretly has a radio and pressure him everyday to give them more good news. Jakob does not have a radio but he sees how much joy he has brought to others by telling them what he heard. Jakob then begins to lie about all sorts of news because it appears to bring hope. Eventually, Jakob is discovered to have lied about everything and hope is lost. In the end the lies, though they brought comfort, were just lies and the comfort was only temporary. (YOU) Have you ever met a liar? Have you ever met someone who struggled to tell the truth? What about a religious liar? How do you know if someone is telling you the truth about God or simply trying to make you comfortable but offering nothing that would give you eternal hope? (TRANSITION) The Apostle John faced the problem of religious liars and he left us with some advice as to how to recognize religious liars and how to remain in the truth. (GOD) 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. 19They 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. 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 the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichristhe denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 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. 25 And this is what he promised useven eternal life. 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 counterfeitjust as it has taught you, remain in him. John wrote this letter to the church at large and not to a specific congregation (i.e. Romans, Corinthians). Apparently there had been some teachers traveling throughout the churches who were saying that Christ had no part of God but was just a man John calls them antichrist. John instructs the church in how to recognize these religious liars and how to remain in Gods anointing. Lets look I. Recognizing the anti-Christ (2:18-23) (v. 18-19) John begins this portion of the word by telling the dear children they are living in the last hour. How do they know it is the last hour? Because we have heard that someday antiChrists would come and they are now here. It appears John is saying these anti-Christs are not just here but they are among the believers. What is anti-Christ? Despite what you may have heard antichrist is not necessarily some individual political/religious leader who ushers in the end times and the mark of the beast (although Paul and Revelation seem to imply this kind of person in his writings). When John uses the term antichrist in this letter (and he is the only writer to use this term) he is talking about false teachers who have come from among the church but are now at odds with the purpose of Christ and the message of the Apostles. John really gets specific about these false teachers (antichrists) in John 2:19look at it. 19They 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.

Notice the words they and us? The us refers to the true believers and the they are those who have gone out. They went out and did not belong. Its like John is writing the plot to an old Cowboy movie. The they are the guys wearing black hats and masks and the us are in white hats and everyone can see their faces. In other words John is saying, There are some bad guys who were among us but now we recognize them because they went out and revealed they were not really a part of us. John really focuses on the words remain and belonged then contrasting them with the words went out and going. The true believers remain and they belong which implies they were in unity of purpose and doctrine. Those who went out have separated themselves from the purpose of Jesus and His doctrines. First SIGN of antichrist: they were a part of us but went out from us teaching a different message and different purpose. (vv. 20-23) John then addresses the church by saying, you have an anointing from the Holy One! Now, this word anointing among Pentecostal circles has really gotten misconstrued and twisted. Today everyone is talking about the anointing as if it were some magical potion by which we can command God to do what we tell Him to do. This is not the anointing John (or any other Biblical writer) is talking about. What is the anointing? Basically speaking the word anointing or as the KJV says unction was the oil smeared on the OT priests when they were ordained into service; and sometimes kings and priests were anointed when they were installed into office. However, this covering of oil was seen as symbolic of these priests, kings and prophets being endued with the Holy Spirit and divine gifts. 1 So this anointing that has come to the believers from the Holy One is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and not some unexplainable power upon a certain person. The anointing is required in order to help tell the difference between the truth and a lie. This
1

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for chrisma (Strong's 5545)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. 26 Oct 2009. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm? Strongs=G5545&t=KJV >

connects back to John 16:13 where we are told But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. The anointing or the Spirit will guide us into the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God who was ultimately God manifest in the flesh (John 1:14). The Spirit will guide us into the truth that Christ is the Word incarnate; the God-man who is both human and Divine. If someones anointing is telling you different then you need to recognize you are being ledastray. Because the believers have the anointing they know the truth and because they know the truth you can recognize who is the liar. The liar is anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ. The liar is anyone who denies that Jesus was and is the anointed Messiah of God. John sort of plays on words in this verse anointed referring to believers who know that Jesus is the anointed of God or the Messiah. (Christ = Anointed the anointed know who the anointed is) Second SIGN of antichrist: they deny Jesus is the Christ. They deny that Jesus is both human and divine the anointed Son of God. By openly confessing that Jesus is the Christ we openly confess our belief that He is the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father - full of grace and truth (See John 1). We can join with true believers throughout the centuries who boldly confessed: [We believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

(TRANSITION) We now understand that anyone who teaches or preaches that Jesus is not the Christ - the anointed of God who possesses both humanity and divinity is antichrist. Now John will tell the believers how to remain in the anointing. II. Remain in the anointing (2:24-27) In some sense we might say that to remain in the anointing is to strive to remain (abide, continue) in THE ANOINTED Jesus Christ. But how do believers remain in Christ? First, you make sure that what you heard from the beginning remains in you (v. 24). What is it that was heard from the beginning? This does not mean what we may have heard from the latest book or video but John is telling his audience that what they heard from the Apostles is right. In the beginning the Apostles (which includes John) taught them Christ was the Son of God, the Word incarnate and not some mere human or some angelic being He tells the believers to remain, abide, continue in the teachings of the Apostles. Just as Luke tells us about the early church They [believers] devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42 emphasis mine). This exhortation to remain in what was heard from the beginning is followed by a promise eternal life (v. 25). This seems to suggest that remaining in Christ will ultimately bring us to eternal life but NOT TO remain in what we have heard will NOT give us eternal life. Believers remain in the anointing by knowing the Word and by knowing truth. Not knowing truth is a result of not remaining in Christ and then we fall prey to liars. (vv. 26-27) John then summarizes the purpose for writing this section: so the believers will not be lead astray (v. 26). Then he says something rather curious that has caused some to be led astray because they have failed to or refused to understand. John tells us to remain in the anointing (v. 27a) but by remaining in the anointing we will not need anyone to teach you. This has been construed to say that Christians do not need anyone to instruct them in the ways of God. Nothing could be further from the truth after all is this not what John is doing by writing this letter? We have to connect this back to the idea that the anointing or the Spirit will guide us into all truth.

A part of the guidance comes from teachers who also have received and are remaining in the anointing. On the other hand this does not do away with the need for each believer to study the Word of God for him or herself in order to grow closer in relationship to Jesus. (TRANSITION) The ability to recognize religious liars begins by knowing Christ and walking in the Spirit. We know Christ through the Bible and through His Spirit that lives within us. Recognizing antichrists is simply a matter of lining up the Word with someone's teaching and then trusting the Word. (WE) As a Pastor I find many are deceived because of a lack of knowledge. But what would happen in this church if we committed ourselves to being people of the Word. People who not only read the Bible but learn how to study it and get the most out of it? Can you envision a church of people who know the scriptures and who are ready to give an account of the hope that is in them (1 Peter 3:15)? I am not talking about a bunch of people who are constantly in the library with their noses in a book; but a group of believers who get together and really learn how to study and then do study the Word. Then when someone tells you something about the scriptures or about their view of Christ you are equipped with understanding to recognize the error of their words. Not to debate or argue but to simple recognize the liars and walk away from them. (YOU) What will you as an individual do to become a student of the Word? Can I challenge you to two things today? First, let me challenge to set a goal of reading one chapter of your bible each day this week. Start in one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and just read one chapter each day. Secondly, I want to challenge you to join a Community Life Group. During the month of February we are going to be learning how to study the Bible for your self. Now we are not talking about theological/Bible school training but just some simple tools to help us understand the power of Gods Word.