1 John 2:18-25

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.  But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.  I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.  Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.  No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.  Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

There are certain marks that define true believers and different characteristics of unbelievers.  These things are not always obvious and there may be times that it is difficult to discern the difference between a true believer and a professing believer.  However, time will almost always reveal the truth.  The cost of following Christ eventually becomes too great for those who are “faking it.”  This passage helps us be able to distinguish between true and fake belief.

ANTICHRIST ABANDONS THE CHURCH: Christ is the central focus of the church.  The people and leadership make up the church, but Christ is the only true focus of the church.  Antichrist is obviously against Christ and therefore has no place in the church.  John recognizes that there will be a specific antichrist that will emerge in the end times.  He also warns that there are many antichrists that have infiltrated the church. However, they were eventually revealed as antichrist because they left the fellowship of the church and returned to the world having denied Christ.  God cares deeply about the integrity of his church.  It is vital that antichrists be exposed and expelled from the fellowship of the body of Christ.

CHRISTIANS KNOW THE TRUTH: True believers know and affirm the truth about Christ.  They affirm He is the Son of God.  All true believers are inhabited by the Holy Spirit and He is actively working to affirm the followers of Christ in the truth.  That truth is found in the Word of God which the Spirit inspired.  Christians recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah who became a man and offered His life as payment for our sins and receive forgiveness of their sins through faith.  They understand the love of God and respond to that love by loving one another and being obedient to the Word of God.

ANTICHRIST DENIES JESUS AS CHRIST: The key identifying factor of antichrist is that they deny Jesus as Christ.  There are many people who admire the love of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus.  They believe that Jesus was a great example of a man and strive to follow His words.  However, they deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who came to save us from our sin.  They deny the deity of Jesus and do not recognize Him as God.  Those who deny the Son also deny the Father.  You cannot have one without the other.  Confessing Jesus as a good man but not recognizing Him as Christ is a lie from the pit of hell and is the very definition of what it means to be antichrist.

CHRISTIANS INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE: Those who know and affirm the truth of Christ as the Son of God and place their faith in Him as their only source of salvation are eternally saved.  They abide in that truth as their only hope, and they walk in fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as with the body of Christ the church.  There are some who may say that they affirm these truths, but they will eventually deny them because of the price associated with following Christ.  True believers will stand firm on the truth of the Gospel and not turn away.  As a result, we are promised eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ.

APPLICATION: Be on the alert for those who may seek to infiltrate the church for a time but who do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God.  Stand firm on the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done to save us from sin.  Praise God for the eternal life that is our hope because of the work of Jesus on our behalf.

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