12. 1 John 2:18-27 The Doctrinal Test

1 John chapter 2, we'll read just two verses this morning, verses 18 and 19.

Hear now the inspired word of God. Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many

Antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be shown that they are all not of us.

Let's pray. Father, once again, as we look into your word, we ask that just as you've promised, that your word as it goes forth would not return void, but would accomplish for every purpose for which you send it.

And we pray, Father, that that purpose this morning would be the edification of the saints, that it would be the building up of your church, that sinners would be saved, that you would be glorified, and that the name of Christ would be exalted.

Hence, in his name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. In 1956, a new primetime television show was introduced.

It was called To Tell the Truth. Now, the show gets its name from the courtroom oaths that witnesses must swear before giving testimony.

They're admonished. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Used to be, so help me God, but they've eliminated that. The show had a panel consisting of four celebrities and a host.

Three guests would file out and ask for their name, and each one gave the same name, for example, my name is

John Doe, and each one would say that. Then a sworn affidavit was read detailing the accomplishments of this particular person, and they were usually something like they were a test pilot or something unusual.

Then the panelists were allowed to question the three guests. Now, the real

John Doe was sworn to tell the truth, while the other two were allowed to lie, as they assumed the other person's identity.

After a time of questions, the panelists voted for whom they believed was the real John Doe, and prize money was awarded based upon how many panelists were deceived.

The more deception, the larger the amount of the prize. The show was very popular and ran for 11 seasons, and then it was brought back three times, in 1968, 2000, and again in 2016.

What was it that made this show so popular? Now, I'm sure the psychological community would have a field day analyzing that question, but as I think about it, the whole idea of the show was the better the deception, the greater the prize.

That was the point of the show. In fact, let me suggest an alternative name, if the show ever returns again.

May the best liar win. But if you think about it, lying is nothing new.

It has been with mankind since the fall of Adam. In fact, speaking to hypocrites or liars,

Jesus is recorded as saying in John chapter eight verse 44, you are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

Then he says, whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

On that same note, one of the psalmists looked around his society, and made this rather striking rebuke of his culture.

In Psalm 116 verse 11, the psalmist says, I said in my alarm, all men are liars, but lying is simply the result of the fallen nature of man.

Now, with that thought in mind, remember the context of the epistle that we have been studying.

The Gnostic heresy had infiltrated the church, and remember, they denied the reality that Jesus was

God incarnate. They taught a strange doctrine that separated the spiritual from the material.

They taught that this special Gnosis, or special knowledge, that only they had, enabled one to be sinless spiritually, but committing all kinds of abominations physically.

That caused John to write the following, in this epistle in chapter 2 verse 4,

John says, the one who says, I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

You could say that the Gnostics were playing an early form of to tell the truth. They would stand and say,

I am a Christian, but they were lying, according to John. And that brings us to our text once again.

In verse 18, John reminds the church that we are in spiritual warfare, and in warfare there are casualties.

People were leaving the faith, having been seduced by various heresies. I want you to consider something for a moment.

During this time in church history, the Gospel was expanding rapidly.

It was unprecedented. In fact, it caused Paul to write in Romans chapter 1 verse 8, he says,

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

In the first century, the whole world, the whole known world, was aware of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So much so that the men in Thessalonica describing Christians said, these men have upset the world and have come here also.

Yet, while the Gospel was spreading, and many were being converted, it was accompanied by a time of great persecution, great tribulation.

You know, sometimes living in 21st century

America here on Long Island, we tend to forget the situation of Christians around the world.

Oh sure, we experience opposition when we evangelize, we'll have the police called on us and park rangers and such, and it's not a pleasant experience.

But in other parts of the world, today, Christians are being persecuted, and it's widespread and deadly.

And believe it or not, that has been the history of the church throughout the ages. And that opposition comes not only from outside the church, but from within the church.

Remember the words of Paul to the elders of the church in Philippi, he met them at Miletus as he was leaving them.

And he says, I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

And that's what John is warning his flock about in this letter. Let me read verses 18 and 19 again.

He says, children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many

Antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us.

For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it would be shown that they are all not of us.

Now this is a reminder of several important points. First, the battle will continue.

And yes, there will be those who leave the faith. Jesus foretold this truth in the parable of the sower, which we read this morning in Matthew 8, 13.

When the gospel is preached, there will be some who just reject it outright.

That's the seed that's being on the road or the byways. There's no soil for it to grow.

So they just reject it right away. Some receive the word with joy.

And they appear to be Christians. And they're even happy to tell other people about their, quote, newfound faith.

But when trouble comes, they quickly desert the faith.

They didn't understand the nature of the kingdom of God. They wanted the blessings, but they didn't understand what it meant to be a disciple of Christ.

So they went out from us, says John, because they were not of us. Then others, when the gospel is preached, they too make a profession of faith.

Those are the ones who the seed falls upon thorns. But their profession is soon to be demonstrated as being false.

Because when the cares of the world become too great, they desert. But there will be seed that falls on good ground.

The heart that has been generated by the Holy Spirit. And that seed will produce fruit.

And Jesus says, some will produce 30. Some even 60.

But some will produce a hundredfold. But there will be fruit.

And so with those thoughts in mind, even though there are troubles, the church will be victorious in the end.

But here's the thing. The victory of the church of Jesus Christ will not look like the victory of the armies on earth.

Because the weapons of our warfare and the circumstances of the spiritual realm are quite different than those of the physical armies.

In the hymn, The Church is One Foundation, we only sang it last week. Written by Samuel Wesley.

He captures the thought of what spiritual warfare looks like. In verses 3 and 5 of his great hymn.

He says, though with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed.

By schisms rent asunder, by heresies distress.

Yet saints their watch are keeping. Their cry goes up, how long?

And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song. And again in verse 5.

Mid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore.

Till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blessed. And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.

Christian warfare, spiritual warfare is different than anything else that mankind is not used to seeing.

So the first point John is making for us today is, don't be surprised when you look around this world and see all of this happening.

Peter put it in very succinct terms. He says, don't be surprised by the fiery ordeal that has come upon you.

As though it were something strange. What was true in the apostles day is no less true today.

The Gnostic heresy for example is still with us in one form or another today.

And is still infecting the church. But that's only one antichrist philosophy.

The whole world system is set against the church of Jesus Christ. Two weeks ago we examined these verses, verses 15 and 16.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the father.

But is from the world. And we saw that when the biblical writers spoke of the world, they meant the whole world system that is set in opposition to God and his kingdom.

So John rightly calls it, there are many antichrists. And if we look around us, as John did in his day, what do we find in our society?

We find the world system's philosophies infiltrating the church.

If you look around this world today, it's hard to imagine that things that were once hidden in dark rooms are now practiced publicly.

In fact, they're celebrated by national proclamations, parades, and celebrity endorsements.

And these philosophies have embraced by our educational systems. And they're being taught in the lowest of the primary grades.

This should be no surprise to us. It should make us angry, but it should come as no surprise.

Because it's inevitable in a society that rejects the Lord God, Jehovah. Paul says it so well in Romans 1, and we have to keep this in mind.

Paul says, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer,

God gave them over to a depraved mind to do things which are not proper.

Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice.

They're gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful. Inventors of evil.

Disobedient to parents. Without understanding. Untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.

And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death.

They not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. What does that sound like?

Is that not the society that we live in? So this should be no surprise.

What is a surprise? Is that so many churches have embraced, supported, and welcomed these ungodly philosophies into their midst.

And John addresses this in verses 18 and 19. Look at verse 19 once again.

They went out from us, but they were not really of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us.

But they went out so that it would be shown that they are all not of us. Let me start by saying that John is not lamenting the decline of church membership in these verses.

For in the face of people leaving the faith, he doesn't offer a three -point plan to build up the membership of the church.

Rather he says, these people left? Good, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

That's if he was a New Yorker. He says it's a good thing.

Why is this a good thing? Because it demonstrated that they weren't really true Christians in the first place.

One of the priorities we find in this epistle is that truth matters.

Remember, this is the third test for the assurance of faith. We've had the love test.

We've had the obedience test. And now we see that truth matters. Doctrinal purity is more important than having a large church.

In our day, we see many churches compromising on doctrine to keep members happy or to bring in new members.

They even take polls. What would it take to get you back to church? And there are all kinds of rationale for doing so.

You'll hear the call periodically for ecumenicism. We must put our doctrinal differences aside and work together because we have a common enemy in the world system.

After all, we're all Christians. You will hear the call go forth, put doctrine aside for the sake of unity.

But the reality is that apart from doctrinal purity, there can be no unity.

Jesus said that in his high priestly prayer. Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.

As we have seen, just because a person says they're a Christian doesn't make it so.

They went out from us because they were not of us. And according to John, they were in fact antichrist.

Many who call themselves Christians today are not in fact true believers.

You might ask yourself, why would some claim to be Christians? If they're not really

Christians. There's a number of reasons, business reasons, culture.

There are men who use the pulpit to get rich quick. People like the power or political clout of being part of a bit large

Christian church. In some corners of society, it's good business to belong to the first Baptist church of wherever.

So the admonition is to beware. Remember, they are all not of us. And we must be willing to let them go out from us.

Doctrinal purity is more important than numbers in the pews.

There's a theme throughout scripture that you don't hear preached much anymore.

We see it first in the prophecy of Isaiah as quoted by the apostle Paul. It's the theology of the remnant.

In Romans 9 .27, Paul says, God doesn't need large numbers of people to accomplish his plans.

He uses faithful people. Remember the story of Gideon.

I love the story of Gideon. I'm going to skip over him testing God. That's another sermon.

But the point for this morning, I want to use Gideon to show how

God used Gideon and a small ragtag army to defeat the

Midianites. So the Lord tells Gideon, call up an army.

Gideon shows up with 32 ,000 people. That's a pretty good draft.

But God looks at Gideon and he says, that's too many. He says, because the people who are with you are too many for me to give

Midian into their hands. For Israel would become boastful saying, my own power has delivered me.

He says, now therefore come proclaim in the hearing of the people saying, who's ever afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.

22 ,000 people returned. That left Gideon with 10 ,000 men.

Still not a bad army. But God told him, that's still too many. And he gives

Gideon instructions to test the men according to how they drink the water. That pared it down to 300.

And the Lord said to Gideon, I will deliver you with the 300 men who leapt and will give the

Midianites into your hands so let all the other people go. And to his own home.

And of course, you know the rest of the story. God used 300 men. And a good battle strategy.

Which came from the Lord, by the way. And he used those to defeat the entire

Midian army. There's a couple of poignant points to this story.

First, you need to understand, this is an actual historical event. This was a real battle.

With real people. With real weapons. And real casualties.

This is not an allegory. God was fulfilling his promise to the Israelites that if they followed his instructions, they would occupy the land of Canaan.

And so he wanted to show them that the victory in battle was his and not their own.

This was true in each battle to occupy the land.

If you go through the history of the Israelites. Whenever they obeyed the instructions from God, they prevailed.

When they disobeyed, they suffered loss. That being said, the events of Gideon do have relevance in the spiritual realm.

The history of the church is rife with examples of one individual or a small number of Christians accomplishing great things for the

Lord. Think of Joseph. Willing to stand before the powers of Egypt.

And holding true to his principles. How about Daniel?

Who wouldn't compromise. When he's told he shouldn't pray, he goes in front of the open window and prays three times. Daniel wouldn't compromise one iota.

Of truth. And he influenced two great empires while preserving the people of God.

We can look at that history from a perspective now that it is history.

And we can see exactly how Daniel was used by God to preserve two of the major empires of the

Middle East. What was important?

Zachariah the prophet said in chapter 4 verse 6 of his book. Then he said to me,

This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the

Lord of hosts. Truth. That is doctrinal purity and the work of the

Holy Spirit go hand in hand. Because he is the spirit of truth.

But that's the subject of next week's sermon. The apostle Paul knew this fact very well.

I love what he says in 1 Corinthians 1 starting in verse 26. By the way, whenever you think that you're getting there, you're arriving at being a

Christian, and you've done something, go back and read these verses. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 26.

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has shown the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

And God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. And the base things of the world, and the despised

God has chosen the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.

So you think you're something? I had somebody say, I'm a proud Christian. I said, well then, you're not really a Christian.

That's an oxymoron. This teaching is all throughout scripture.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul cautions him regarding a similar matter to what

John is addressing in the present text. People were leaving Pastor Timothy's church, believing the error that the final resurrection had already taken place.

And Paul tells Timothy, avoid these men. Why? Because their talk will spread like gangrene, he says in 2

Timothy 2 .17. Among them, Imonaeus and Philetus. How would you like your name put down in scripture which will endure forever?

Shows the error of their ways. Men who have gone astray from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.

Notice the similarities to John's case. These men were propagating a serious error. And what does

Paul tell Timothy is the importance of doctrinal purity. The foundation of God stands firm.

Notice that the early church was played with the same problems as the contemporary church.

And Paul's remedy, 2 Timothy 2 .15. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed.

Accurately handling the word of truth. The word of truth, and handling it accurately.

When it comes to the truth of God's word, there can be no compromise for the sake of unity. We see

John's attitude quite clearly. They went out from us. Why? Because they were not of us.

And their leaving is the very proof that they were not of us. So it was necessary in the plan of God that they left.

Which brings us to our third point of the morning. What should the church do in times like these?

The answer from scripture is clear. And that's very simply, develop a biblical world view.

What does that mean? First, it means understanding that God does not do things that always make sense to us.

Nor is he obligated to explain it to us. One of the greatest examples in scripture is

Job. Job goes through all of that suffering. And if you read the whole book through,

God never explains to Job why he did it. He just shuts him up and says, where were you when

I created the world? Where were you when I did this? Where were you when I did that? And what is

Job's response? Shut your mouth. I think we need to shut our mouths more often than we really do.

So that's a biblical world view, is that God doesn't always do things that we understand.

In God's plan, he often uses times of trouble to purge error from the church. That's what we're seeing in the present text in First John.

As we've seen it already, it was necessary for the heretics to leave for the spiritual health of the church.

The words of John are meant to both comfort and encourage that early church.

So we need to develop a biblical world view. What else does that mean? It means times of testing are used by God to build spiritual character in the saints.

Paul goes through this in Romans chapter 5, starting in verse 3. He says, not only this, but we exult in our tribulations.

Wow. Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. Perseverance, proven character.

Proven character, hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the

Holy Spirit who has given to us. In other words, the very circumstances that we most likely are complaining about have been intentionally given to you by God to bring you to spiritual maturity which leads to a stronger assurance of faith.

And those very same troubles that come into your path from the evil one God uses for his ultimate good.

You all know Romans 8, 28. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love

God, to those who are called according to his purpose. And we see that at work in practical ways in the life of Joseph.

Remember he had become a second in command in Egypt. And his brothers, the ones who plotted to kill him and ended up by selling him into slavery are brought before him.

And they're in fear. They are really afraid of what's going to happen when

Joseph sees them. And rightly so. Because they were guilty.

They deserved the death penalty. But Joseph had a biblical worldview and he forgives them.

And he says to them in Genesis 50, verse 20 As for you, you meant evil against me.

But God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive.

Ever try to figure out what God's doing? For those of you who try to figure out what

God is doing in your life. Sometimes we can, but more often than not, we can't.

And the reason for that is very simple. And Isaiah gives us the answer when he quotes

God. He says, this is God speaking. For my thoughts are not your thoughts.

Nor are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

How can we possibly understand the mind of God? We may see certain things that are beneficial as a result, but we can't figure out what

God is doing. He continues, For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bare and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will my word which goes forth from my mouth, it will not return to me empty without accomplishing what

I desire to do with it. That being said, while we can't figure out the mind of God, we can understand those things he has revealed to us.

The secret things belong to the Lord. Deuteronomy 29 .29 But the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever.

That we may observe all the words of this law. Now we already mentioned earlier that we are in spiritual warfare.

And we must understand that as Christians we are in a spiritual battle of cosmic proportions.

We are part of the Lord's army. When you become a Christian you are in the battle you don't have a choice.

You don't just say, well I want all the benefits of Christianity but I'm not going to get involved in that spiritual warfare. That's too heavy.

You are part of the army of the Lord. When you become a Christian you are going to serve your

Lord. There will be times when it appears that you are on the losing side. But that only means that you are looking through carnal eyes and not spiritual ones.

Like Elisha's servant sitting up on the hills and lamenting that the

Arameans were surrounding Jerusalem. He says, oh we are going to be destroyed. And Elisha prays that his eyes are open and what does he see?

The Lord of hosts army encamped way overpowering the Arameans. We need to look at life with spiritual eyes.

Things are not always as they appear. This is where having a biblical world view is important.

Remember God's word will never return void. Now what we have seen in the text is

John's concern for the church manifested in intangible ways. Keeping the church pure was of utmost importance to all of the apostles.

When someone became an offense either in doctrine or in behavior steps were taken to remedy the situation.

Today we find it hard, you're hard pressed today to find a church that would practice discipline let alone excommunicate someone.

And that is one of the reasons the church today is ineffective in effecting any moral change in our society.

One of the marks of a true church is that it practices church discipline. And the goal of any discipline in the church is threefold.

The first is reconciliation or restoration. Church discipline is an act of love and we need to understand that.

So the first goal of any discipline is reconciliation or restoration of the wayward

Christian. To convince the wayward member to return to the faith through repentance.

Second goal is to keep the church free from sinful behavior. In other words, to keep the church pure.

And third, to serve as a warning to others. To demonstrate that there are consequences for sinful behavior both temporal and spiritual.

You cannot have one foot in each world. To love the world is to hate

God. So love not the world, neither the things of the world.

To tell the truth. No, I'm just naming the games. I have been telling the truth.

I pray I've been telling the truth. It was a very popular game show.

Actually aired during primetime, one of those few game shows. And it was a challenge.

I have to be honest with you and say that I enjoyed watching it and trying to figure out who was the liar.

It was fun. It was good entertainment. But in reality, lying is very hurtful.

It causes damage and heartache. And that is doubly true in the spiritual realm.

What have we learned from the apostle today? Lying is not compatible with being a

Christian. The Christian, the church, must never compromise on the truth of God's word.

And the third test to know that you are saved is the doctrinal test.

Truth matters. But that is tempered with the social test that love matters.

And the moral test that obedience matters. If you're here today and you're not a believer, you've never come to that place in your life.

Don't believe the lies of the evil one which permeate this world. Repent of your sin.