1 John 2:26-29

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.  But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.  And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.  If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

The work of the Gospel belongs to Christ.  We are simply required to abide in Him.  Those who strive to “earn” their salvation have no salvation and will eventually fall away.  Salvation is a gift from God that can only be received by grace through faith.  We are called to abide in Him as our principle means of standing firm.  He has promised to save us and keep us.  Abiding in Christ delivers two amazing benefits to us.

ABIDING IN CHRIST PREVENTS OUR DECEPTION ON EARTH: Satan is a deceiver and the entire system of the world that is under his control seeks to deceive people.  The lies he spreads range from the non-existence of God to the hopelessness of man.  Satan fabricates lies about God, himself, mankind, the world, heaven, hell, and pretty much anything else you can think of.  Deception is at the core of Satan’s strategy.  It is vital to be prepared for that because he is using every avenue imaginable to spread these lies.  Our defense against all this deception is the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all believers.  We have been anointed with the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures and abides in our hearts to apply the truths of Scripture to our lives and confront the lies that surround us.  It is our responsibility to believe the Spirit’s truth, obey the truth, have confidence in the truth no matter how many lies might strive to contradict it.  That is what it means to abide in Him.

ABIDING IN CHRIST PREPARES OUR RECEPTION IN HEAVEN: When the Lord returns, all who have placed their faith in Christ will be received into the presence of God.  All sin and temptation will be eliminated from our presence, and we will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ.  However, as long as we are on this earth, we all vulnerable to Satan’s deceit.  The impact of sin on our lives stretches beyond the life and impacts our entrance into the kingdom of our Lord.  The deceptions we have believed due to not abiding in Christ and responding to His Spirit will cause us to “shrink from Him in shame” instead of entering into His presence with confidence.  When we trust Christ, we become partakers of His divine nature.  His righteousness becomes our righteousness positionally so falling for Satan’s lies does not change our standing before God in the righteousness of Christ.  It will impact our eternal rewards and be a source of shame.  The proof of all true abiding in Christ is the practice of His righteousness.  This is how we can tell who the true members of the family of God are.

APPLICATION: Beware of the deceitfulness of Satan that surrounds us.  Be prepared to detect His lies by being a faithful student of Scripture and being sensitive to the promptings of the Hold Spirit in our lives. Recognize that the implications of being deceived as well as the abiding in Christ are eternal.

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