1 John 2:18-3:10

You know, NEW is one of the best advertising buzzwords you can get. It's right up there with FREE and SEX. One of those words they put on soap powder packets and breakfast cereal boxes is big bright writing. Cause we love it, don't we. New. Improved.

PINEOCLEAN… spray for the kitchen bench. NEW - TOUGHER ON GREASE AND GRIME. Antibacterial too. So we bought it.

NEW COLGATE MOUTHWASH. Longer lasting freshness. So we bought it. You can check me later.

The danger is if you start looking for the same sort of thing with the GOSPEL. Same old thing. How about we rev it up a bit? How about we change it a bit to keep with the times. How about we forget about the stodgy PURITY STUFF and get with the times. How about we disentangle GOD from MORALITY. So we can do what we like. How about we REDEFINE JESUS… to suit our more modern ideas.

Which is exactly what was happening at the time John's writing the letter we're working through at the moment. And I want you to see right from the start that there's one key idea that keeps running through everything he's saying. Because when it comes to God and Sin and Us, there's nothing NEW TO ADD. When it comes to GOD AND SIN AND US, there's only ONE SOLUTION. Nothing new to add. And that solution is JESUS CHRIST. The Son of God. Really God. Really Man. Who came and died… to take on himself the penalty of sin.

And there's one thing John wants to say over and over again. Take a look. He says you've heard the truth already. So don't let ANYONE lead you astray with ANYTHING NEW.

Chapter 2 Verse 24. He says, "So make sure… See to it that what you heard from the beginning REMAINS IN YOU." Don't let it go.

Verse 26. "I'm writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray." So you won't be.

Verse 28. "And now, dear children, CONTINUE IN HIM." Don't stop. Keep going.

Chapter 3 verse 7. Same again. "Dear Children, do not let anyone LEAD YOU ASTRAY."

A CLOSER LOOK…

a) Some have left… because they didn't belong

So let's break it down a bit and have a closer look at what he's saying. From verse 18. And if you're following the outline, the heading: SOME HAVE LEFT… because they didn't belong.

That's the situation. And I guess you've heard stories, you've seen it happen. Churches where there's been a terrible split. Maybe over the colour of the carpet. And some leave. Walk away. Usually it's almost impossible to pick who's in the right and who's in the wrong. But in the case John's talking about, the ones who are leaving, they're leaving because they disagree with the TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. Like John himself.

Which is a scary thought, isn't. Here's John, who walked and talked with Jesus, John the apostle. And they're saying, WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW. YOU'VE GOT IT WRONG. We're getting out of here.

Interesting, because they've left their own little trail in history; a little sect called the GNOSTICS. And they're still around today. In small numbers. A sect that crosses the boundaries of Hinduism and Christianity and the new age. Who have the idea that getting in touch with God is all about having HIGHER SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. That the spirit world and the physical world are like opposites. In some sort of cosmic balance. And you get the yin and the yang, the light and the darkness; and the SPIRITUAL is GOOD and the PHYSICAL is evil; and you've somehow got to learn to ignore the physical and just get in touch with the SPIRITUAL. And be initiated up the grades til you reach the heavens.

Sounds nice. Fits in beautifully with ancient greek thought like the philosophies of Plato. And if you re-work Christianity a bit, you can merge them both together so you can hardly see the join. Just change JESUS… so he's not fully God and fully man. Because you can't be, you see, because SPIRIT AND FLESH are like OIL AND WATER. Don't mix. Let's say he's just a SPIRIT. And they made a MISTAKE when they thought he was man.

And we'll fool around with this stuff about SIN as well. Because I mean, sin's not so much a MORAL THING… it's just the PHYSICAL. No point trying to make your body less SINFUL. Because YOUR BODY DOESN'T MATTER. It's like that pair of old boots you wear while you're gardening. Get dirty as you like. Just get the higher knowledge, get the GNOSIS, get the SPIRIT RIGHT… and YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU LIKE.

John says, people like that, they've walked away. Verse 19, they went out from us, but they didn't really belong to us. For if they'd belonged to us, they would have REMAINED WITH US; but their going showed they didn't belong.

YOU, OF COURSE, know better. Don't you?

YOU KNOW BETTER…

At least, that's what John goes on to say. Maybe one of those power of positive suggestion things they say you're meant to use on your kids. But it's what he says, verse 20 right through to 28. He says, You know better! He says, They've gone off chasing after something new. BUT YOU, you've heard everything you need to hear. You've been ANOINTED INTO THE TRUTH. So make sure you stick with what you know.

Pick it up in verse 20. And notice how whenever he talks about their ANOINTING… which I take it as about the work of the SPIRIT IN THEM… it's an ANOINTING THAT BRINGS THEM TO THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS. An anointing that makes them HOLD ON TIGHT TO THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS. Which is what the Holy Spirit will ALWAYS DO. If it's the genuine Holy Spirit at work.

Verse 20. "But YOU HAVE AN ANOINTING from the Holy One, and ALL OF YOU KNOW THE TRUTH. I'm not writing this to you to tell you stuff you don't already know. I'm writing it because YOU DO KNOW IT. The danger is, you're going to let it go.

He says, there are people who are denying that JESUS IS THE CHRIST. Saying that JESUS THE MAN couldn't possibly be THE CHRIST the SON OF GOD. Because flesh and spirit can't mix. Don't listen. They're liars. They're the ANTICHRIST.

Verse 22. "Who is the liar? It's the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ; such a man is the Antichrist… he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."

It's a package deal. And an interesting thing, I mean, I suspect not many of us are tempted these days to run off and join the gnostics. But there's a similar temptation. Another way to DENY THE SON. And just as dangerous. Maybe you heard it on the news this week. Not a huge fanfare… but significant. That at the Vatican this week there was a meeting… between all the faiths. Looking to find their common ground. So an American Red Indian Sharman, a Spirit Man, he was dancing in St Peters Square… warding off the evil spirits. While the hindu leaders and the Jewish leaders and the buddhist leaders and the Moslem leaders met with the Pope. United in their common search for truth.

You think that's nice? Most people do. After all, we all serve the same GOD, don't we? NO WE DON'T. Because if you DENY JESUS, then you cut off any hope of knowing his Father. If you turn him into just another prophet, if you paint him out of the picture, if you say Jesus is ONLY ONE WAY and there are OTHER WAYS, you're denying JESUS. And the God you might think you know isn't the real God at all. Verse 23 again. It applies no matter HOW you want to drop Jesus out of the picture. "No one who denies the Son has the Father - whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." You can't know THE REAL GOD… unless you know the REAL JESUS FIRST.

You know better than that. Or you should. Because the gospel you heard in the beginning, the Spirit at work in you, the anointing from God, tells you to STICK WITH JESUS. John says, see to it that you don't let go.

Verse 24; see to it.. make sure, that WHAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING remains in you. If it does, then you're remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he's promised… if you remain in him, you're heading for eternal life.

And anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is leading you to death. We're playing for high stakes, aren't we? It's worth putting the time into sifting out FALSE TEACHING FROM TRUE. Because eternity's at stake.

John says it again in verse 26. And I hope you're getting sick of hearing it. He says "I'm writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. Because he says, the anointing you received REMAINS IN YOU, and you don't need anyone else to come and teach you anything new.

We need to take this to heart. Because there are whole spiritual movements that are totally devoted to finding the NEXT NEW THING. They say it's the next outpouring of the spirit. Some of the things I mentioned last week. Gold dust. Laughing in the Spirit. Animal noises in the spirit. The key word for that sort of movement these days is NEW NEW NEW. The key word for John is REMAIN REMAIN REMAIN. Verse 27. "As for you, the anointing you received from him REMAINS IN YOU, and you don't need anyone to teach you. You don't need anything new. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real and not counterfeit, just as it has taught you, REMAIN IN HIM. Don't move an inch.

And that's the test of the REAL SPIRIT AT WORK, isn't it. That the REAL SPIRIT is going to help you KEEP ON KEEPING ON. Ignoring the new things; holding on to Jesus. Ignoring the new things… keeping on in the gospel you heard at the start. How embarrassing if you let it go. What are you going to say to Jesus? I mean, yeah, I know you died on the cross for me, but I WANTED TO MAKE ANIMAL NOISES IN THE SPIRIT. I know YOU PAID THE PRICE FOR MY SINS, but I want to see GOLD-DUST IN THE AIR. John sums it up in verse 28. He says, how embarrassing it would be when JESUS COMES… if you haven't stuck with him. He says, AND NOW dear children, CONTINUE IN HIM… so that when he appears, we may be confident… and unashamed before him at his coming.

Children of God

You know, for John this is more than just a theoretical debate. And it's not just one of those sort of theological issues you toss round the camp fire late at night over a coffee. It's all about WHOSE FAMILY YOU'RE PART OF. And the marvel that because of Jesus, people like us can become CHILDREN OF GOD. It's something we shouldn't take lightly. And something that actually ends up shaping our lives in a very practical way.

Funny, I pulled some sort of a face last Sunday night at nightchurch, and someone laughed and said to me, YOU LOOK JUST LIKE YOUR MADELEINE. More accurate, I guess, to say, when she pulls that sort of face, my Madeleine looks JUST LIKE ME. The family likeness. Poor kid.

John says, this stuff isn't just theoretical. Because the great privilege for us is, we're children of GOD. And that means, people should start to see a family likeness in US.

The GNOSTICS said JESUS WAS AN ILLUSION. And what you do with your body doesn't matter. To which John says, look at them, and you'll see their family likeness. Look at US… and you should see something DIFFERENT.

Pick it up in verse 2; Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we WILL BE has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see him as he is. EVERYONE WHO HAS THIS HOPE IN HIM... PURIFIES HIMSELF... just as HE IS PURE.

Is that your ambition? More like Jesus?

Nice when people say sin doesn't matter, isn't it? Liberating. Reassuring. Especially when it comes from a RELIGIOUS EXPERT. Don't have to feel bad about it then. No more struggle. Purifying yourself can be tough going if you're serious about it.

Richard Holloway, the Anglican Bishop of Edinburgh has just written a book. It's going to sell like hotcakes. It's called GODLESS MORALITY. Because he says, that's what we NEED. He says, issues of right and wrong, why bring GOD INTO IT?

John says, if you're in the FAMILY OF GOD, you'll start looking MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS. If you're not in the family of God, you'll look more like someone else. Read from verse 9. He says, it's a family thing. No one who is BORN OF GOD... will continue to sin, because God's SEED remains in him. He can't go on sinning, because he's been BORN OF GOD. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the DEVIL ARE; anyone who doesn't do what's right is not a child of God. Nor is anyone who doesn't love his brother.

Want to define GOD right out of the picture when it comes to what's SIN and what isn't? Want to just DO WHAT YOU LIKE? Want to just not have to struggle with sin? Want to not have to bother with this "loving your brother" business and just do what suits you? John says, You're a child of the Devil. You take after your dad. With the smell of sulphur all over you.

CONCLUSION

Friends, don't be misled. By any sort of false teaching. That wants to redefine Jesus. Or redefine sin. Or redefine the GOSPEL. Because we're dealing with matters of ETERNITY here, aren't we.

Jesus the Christ came among us to DEAL WITH OUR SIN. So remain in him. Remain in him. And if you want to say you know him, if you're part of the family, you can never be contented to just keep going in your sin. If you're part of the family, you WON'T BE contented with that. If you're part of the family, YOU'RE NOT contented with that, are you?

But don't give up. Keep on keeping on. The same old gospel. The same old forgiveness. The same old growing to be more like Jesus.