14. 1 John 2:22-28: Truth or Consequences

1st John chapter 2 verse 22. Hear now the inspired Word of God. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father.

The one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father.

This is the promise which he himself made to us, eternal life. Verse 28. Now little children, abide in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming.

Let's pray. Father once again as we look into your Word and especially on this important topic of avoiding heresy that has crept into the church that John addressed, pray that you'd open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts that we would abide in him and he in us and that we would know the truth.

We pray this in Jesus name, amen. Please be seated. If you're driving in the west of our nation and you find yourself driving south on Interstate 25 just north of Las Cruces, New Mexico and you pass exit 79, take a good look at the exit sign because it reads truth or consequences and yes that's the legal name of the city formerly known as Hot Springs, New Mexico.

It was renamed Truth or Consequences after a popular radio show back in the late 1940s which was called Truth or Consequences which incidentally became the first game show from radio to be aired on television.

The first host, Ralph Edwards, challenged a listening audience that he would broadcast the 10th anniversary show to the first city that changed its name to Truth or Consequences. Hot Springs won, they changed the legal name and they did in fact host the show.

In 1956, Bob Barker of Price is Right fame, he took over as the host until 1965. Now the premise of that show was quite simple, answer a question correctly, tell the truth or suffer the consequences. But here's the gimmick, the questions were rigged so that no one could answer them and the crux of the show consisted of the contestant performing some stunt that made them look absolutely ridiculous.

The show was quite entertaining, it lasted for many many years, both radio and television, but the name of the show implies a real truth. When truth is rejected, there are consequences and this is true in almost every aspect of life.

If you reject the standards of society you will suffer the consequences. If you fail to obey safety standards when you manufacture automobiles, you can expect there's going to be more accidents on the highway.

If you fail to adhere to safety standards when erecting buildings in cities such as New York, a crane may fall and serious injury or even death may occur. So you get the point, hold to the truth or suffer the consequences.

Now remember that the major theme of First John is to encourage the readers by telling them that they can be assured of their salvation. One of the great benefits of the gospel is restored fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.

In the second chapter of John's first epistle, he has introduced three tests to apply to ourselves, not to judge others, but to apply to ourselves to be assured of our salvation. If you remember, the first was the moral test.

That is, the Christian is marked by obedience to the commandments of the Lord. Second was the social test. Do you love one another? Third is the doctrinal test. Do you hold fast to the truth of God's Word?

In other words, truth matters and that's where we still are in the text. Truth matters. John continues in that theme and shows us that there are consequences for abandoning the truth and believing a lie.

Let's look again at our text. First chapter 2, verse 22. John says, who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Now those are some strong words that John uses to describe those who have walked away from the faith.

They are liars. They are Antichrists. You know this, those words seem almost to mitigate against the fact that Christians are to be marked by love. We're to love God first, then our neighbors, and as Jesus taught, even our enemies were to love.

Fact is, in our society today, it is marked by those who say we must always treat people with love, even those who are different views. We must be, and what's the buzzword? Tolerant. Isn't that the buzzword today?

Tolerance. Tolerance in everything. It doesn't matter what it is. In fact, the critics of Scripture would avoid a text such as the one we just read, would even call it unchristian-like. It's not loving to call someone a liar, to call them an Antichrist, but the reality of the situation is these words of John are not an exception or a slip of the pen, so to speak.

They are not inconsistent with the commands to love our neighbors, and yes, even to love our enemies. The most loving thing you can do for a non-believer is to confront him with the truth. Granted that truth is to be given in love.

Proverbs says that, let kindness and truth not depart from your lips. Paul says that, that we are to confront one another in love, but when the error is so great, so egregious as to render the person an Antichrist, then strong words such as this are warranted.

Proverbs 133 verse 1 says, Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. That is a noble goal, and how true that psalm is. We can dwell in unity with brothers and sisters who hold to even different doctrines than we do.

Baptism, for instance. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who hold to infant baptism, and we strongly disagree with them, but we love them. We have different church governments as a source. We would never seek to break fellowship with the church that holds to just a different form of church government than, of course, is the real hot-button topic, eschatology.

We have at least three different millennial views represented in this small congregation, and that's not a cause to break fellowship. And when we discuss these issues, our speech should be well seasoned with grace, though we may have strong differences.

But that's not what John is talking about here. Remember the context. Those that have left the fellowship of the saints denied that Jesus was the Christ. They were the Gnostics, and we'll look at that a little bit more a little bit later.

John uses strong words to describe those who have shown themselves not to be wayward Christian brothers, but heretics. They were enemies of the cross. That's exactly what he says. Who is the liar but one who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. If you tamper with the doctrine of the Trinity in any way, you are outside of the faith. If you deny that Jesus is the Christ, you'll wind up denying the Father as well.

And while John doesn't mention it here, I suggest that you will also deny the look at that a little bit later as well. For you cannot separate the persons of the Trinity. God is one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And so John uses strong, strong language, because the situation calls for a strong rebuke. And John is not the only one who recognized this and used strong language. It's the consistent message of Scripture.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Galatia, writes these words, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed.

Accursed. The Greek word anathema is what's used there. That's strong wording. And so Paul is concerned that we don't miss the point. He immediately repeats himself in verse 9. He says, as we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, he is to be accursed.

Notice his words carefully. If someone is preaching a different gospel, let him be accursed. Paul is not describing someone who disagrees on a single point of doctrine. This is someone who is preaching a different gospel.

That means that those who will follow after this different gospel will be lost. Then we have John the Baptist, as Luke records it in chapter 3 verse 7. So he began saying to the crowds who are going out to be baptized by him, and he looks at them and says, you brood of vipers.

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? John the Baptist was addressing those who were trusting in the fact that they were descendants of Abraham. That was their point of salvation. They were trusting in that, and they were teaching that, and drawing people away from Christ.

John calls them a brood of vipers. He doesn't just call them snakes. He says, you're the offspring of snakes. Not a very flattering description, but it's rife with meaning. Then, of course, we have Jesus addressing the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23.

There, you remember, he describes them as hypocrites, and he too pronounces a curse. He says, verse 27, woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites. He says, you are like whitewashed tombs. You're beautiful on the outside.

You've got all the right words on the outside, but inside you're dead. You have putrid corpses. That's the essence of what he's saying. So Jesus called them tombs, the places of the dead. Then he describes them in graphic terms.

Notice, there's a similarity. There's a common thread running through all of these harsh words. He's addressing people who are leading other people astray. These were not those confused over a non-critical doctrine of the church.

These were enemies of the cross, and the danger was that they were leading other people astray. That is clearly seen in verse 15 of the same chapter in Matthew, where Jesus says to the Pharisees, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

So truth matters, especially when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, and that would apply to all critical or central doctrines of the church. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the good doctor, he had this to say, there's a danger that we may confuse sentimentality and doctrinal laxity and looseness for a spirit, a true spirit of charity.

In other words, there are certain doctrines where there can be no compromise, even if it appears to be unloving, which leads to our next point. Why does Jesus, why does John, I'm sorry, why does John call these men liars?

Well, there's several reasons. The first is the simplest, what they believe is a lie. That's what he says in verse 22, who is the liar, the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. And don't forget the context of verse 22 in verse 21.

He says, just prior to calling them liars, he says, I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. John says that what these men are saying and teaching is contrary to the facts surrounding the person of Jesus Christ.

I want you to keep in mind this fact. John is writing this epistle within the 40-year period from the crucifixion and resurrection to 70 AD, the destruction of the temple. That's when he's writing, some more towards the end of it.

Now, I keep reminding you of this because it's germane to our understanding of the text. Here's what I mean. Forty years ago from today, 1984, no and I'm not going to get into 1984, but 1984, Ronald Reagan was president of the USA.

The Macintosh computer was introduced and sold for $2 ,500. The Winter Olympics were hosted in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and the Summer Olympics opened in Los Angeles, California. These are all facts that can be verified in history books, but besides that, anyone in this room, about 50 years or older, can attest to those things having occurred in their lifetime.

If someone says Ronald Reagan was never president of the USA, I can refute that saying I have lived under his presidency. I can know firsthand that he was president. The events concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were still recent history when John was writing this letter, and that's not irrelevant.

Remember how he opened this epistle. He says, what was from the beginning, what we have heard, the we being the Apostles, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at, what we touched with our hands concerning the Word of Life.

John says, I know the truth and so do you. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that he was crucified. I saw him on that cross. I know he was raised from the dead. I saw the empty tomb on that Sunday morning, and then I saw him personally in that upper room.

And those are the facts surrounding Jesus Christ. And then he says, and you know them as well. So yes, those who deny that Jesus is the Christ, they're liars. The truth is not in them. And then he says, and besides my eyewitness testimony to the facts, I heard the voice of God from heaven on that mountaintop.

When Jesus was transfigured before my very eyes, and the bright light came, and the voice from heaven said, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. So John is, you wonder why John is so strong in his testimony.

He says, I know the truth and so do you. So the first reason to stand against any heresy that takes away either the divinity or the humanity of Christ is that it is false on its faith, and it must be confronted by the church and demonstrated to be the lie that it really is.

But there's another reason, or let's call them consequences that follow this heresy. If you deny that Jesus is the Christ, you lose the work of Jesus Christ. Let me continue by first giving a brief explanation of what the Gnostic heresy really says, because it's important.

The Gnostics believed that Jesus was born a human baby and nothing more than that. There was no virgin birth, there was no miracle, he was just a regular baby. Then as an adult, when he was baptized by John the Baptist, the eternal Christ descended upon him and elevated him to more than he was at his birth.

This eternal Son of God influenced the man Jesus in his earthly years of ministry until he came to the cross, when before he was crucified the eternal Christ left him, and it was only a man who died on the cross.

Think about this teaching for a minute. It eliminates the doctrine of the incarnation. The story of the birth in Bethlehem becomes a fairy tale. It's a nice sentimental story, but it has no theological importance or value, and by extension it denies the two natures in one person of Christ, and that's an essential doctrine in Christian theology.

So the essence of this heresy not only denies the doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ, it denies the work of Jesus. If it was only a man who died on the cross, there's no atonement for sin. Since the sacrifice for sin had to be perfect, without the real Jesus on the cross, there is no forgiveness of sin.

That means that you and I are still in our sins. We're still under the law, and therefore we are hopeless. Is it any wonder why John uses these words and says, these men are liars? And there's another reason.

This particular heresy and those related to it must be exposed for the lie that they are, and John explains that in the text. Look at verses 22 and 23 once again. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

And then in verse 23, following, he says, whoever denies the Son does not have the Father. The main heresy is denying that Jesus is the Christ. However, if you deny the Son, John says, you don't have the Father either, in verse 23.

So in other words, if you deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that's Christology. You also lose the doctrine of God, theology proper. This is not new teaching. Jesus taught this as related to John and related in John's gospel.

Remember what he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. If you don't have Jesus, you don't have the Father. If you want to know the Father, you only have access to his Son, Jesus Christ.

In the fifth chapter of John's gospel, we have some rich theology. It's very important to the text. I'm going to read a few verses. Listen carefully. John chapter 5, verse 19. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself unless it is something he sees the Father doing.

For whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself is doing, and the Father will show him greater works than these so that you will all marvel.

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son. And then in verse 23, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.

He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. So once again, we see the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. You can believe in a creator of this world. You can even believe in an intelligent designer, but you will never have a relationship with God as Father unless you go through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Back to John 14 for a minute. Philip asked Christ, show him the Father, show us the Father. And what does John, what does Jesus say? He who has seen me has seen the Father. That shows the unity of the relationship between the Father and Son.

So if you believe the liars, they rob you not only of a relationship with Jesus, but of the Father himself. And there's a fourth reason why this is so crucial. Believing the lie robs you of the comfort the gospel offers.

John 112, very important verse in our theology, but as many, this to them he gave the right to become children of God. When you come to Christ, you enter into an intimate relationship with him. That relationship includes not only the forgiveness of sin, but the comfort and watchful care of a loving heavenly Father.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus comforted the disciples by telling them, there's no need for you to be anxious about the daily affairs of life. Anybody here have daily anxiety because of the affairs of life?

Money to pay the bills, sickness, this and that, and the state of our nation? It's enough to give you anxiety, isn't it? You know what Jesus said? Why are you worrying? He says, verse 32 of chapter 6, for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

And he tells them that the extent of that care is limitless. In verse 29, he says, are not two sparrows sold for a cent, and yet now one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father? But the very hairs of your head are numbered.

Some of us are making that job easier for them. So do not fear. You are of more value or more valuable than many sparrows. If you believe the lie, you lose that comfort. One last reason for calling them liars.

If their doctrine loses the person and the work of Jesus Christ, if it negates the doctrine of God the Father, there goes the Trinity. They have effectively stolen the Trinity. It is only as we understand the Father and the Son that the person and work of the Spirit comes into view, because the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son.

And if they deny these doctrines, the Trinity is gone. And that too is an essential doctrine of Christianity. So John says, these who went out from us were not of us. That's almost an understatement, because he follows it up as they are antichrists.

They are liars. Again, Martin Lloyd-Jones sheds some great light on this topic. I'm going to just read a brief quotation from his book. He says, Beloved people, says John in effect, don't believe the lie.

It not only robs you of doctrine, it robs you of life. It is that which robs you of God's greatest gift, which has been made possible by the incarnation of his Son. If the eternal Son had not come from God and been made flesh, if there is no union between human nature and the Son of God, how can I have a new nature?

I cannot be born again, because to be born again means to receive the nature of Christ. And if the nature of Christ is unreal, if there is only the coming of the Son of God upon the man Jesus, and then his leaving him, there is no union, and therefore the rebirth is impossible.

But that is the wondrous thing that is offered, and is possible to me. It is the very thing that God does promise us, even eternal life. These are not the only consequences of their denial of Christ. I can make a good case for many other doctrines, especially the doctrine of Scripture, for the Scripture testifies to the real Jesus, who is the Christ, the perfect God-man.

And if Jesus is not the Christ, then the Scriptures err, and they are not infallible. And there are many other doctrines that fall. But I have one last point, and this I will state as a positive consequence for believing the truth and rejecting the lie.

And the promise is this, it comes in verse 24, where John admonishes his readers, as for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and the Father.

What did they have from the beginning? Was that Jesus is the Christ, and to be faithful to him means to abide in him. Now we've already examined in a previous sermon what it means to abide in him. Remember, in Scripture, the word abide indicates permanence, not just remaining for a short time, but a long-term commitment.

In context, that means taking up residency in him. And there's the promise associated with that admonition. Here's the promise that has to be, I could not do this in a negative, I had to do it positive.

Verse 25, this is the promise which he himself made to us. Eternal life. That is a promise to be treasured. And there are many benefits that come with the promise of eternal life. John gives us one more in verse 28, where he says, now little children abide in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming.

The believer in Jesus Christ who is abiding in him is confident. This, and I mean confident, not arrogant. You will know the difference between the truth and the lie. And that confidence in Jesus Christ will serve you well in all of life.

And then John gives an added benefit. You will not shrink away from him at his coming. I want you to think of something for a moment. On that final day of history, when the Lord comes in power and glory with all the angels of heaven, think of those souls who have rejected Christ, have made a mockery out of him, have used his name in vain, and as we have read here today, they have lied about him.

At his coming they will shrink away from him in shame. They will be fearful. They will do whatever they can to try to avoid him, all for naught. But not so the true believer. That will be a glorious day when we see him face to face, and we will bask in the glorious presence of Almighty God, our triune God, forever and ever and ever.

That's the promise that he gives. So as both the name of the city in New Mexico and the name of the old television show states, it's truth or consequences. Reject the truth and there are consequences.

So I encourage you to heed the words of the Holy Scriptures. Abide in him. Reject the liars. Reject the Antichrist in whatever form they come. The consequences they face for rejecting the truth are eternal damnation.

Abiding in truth brings eternal life and confidence in the day of his coming. If you're here this morning and you're not a believer, you've never come to that place in your life, I just must encourage you that life is not a game show.

Failing to grasp the truth does not result in a funny consequence, but in real eternal consequences. Repent. Call upon the name of the Lord, the name of the real Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and be saved.

Let's pray. Father, once again we bow before you and how grateful we are that you sent your Son, the real Jesus, the Jesus of the Scriptures, the second person of the Trinity, that you sent him to atone for our sin and because of his atonement that only he could make, we have eternal life, we have fellowship with you, and we know the truth.

I pray for anyone here who doesn't that today, Father, you'd be pleased to take away their stony heart, give them a heart of flesh that they might repent and believe. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.