2 John 1- Deceivers

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For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 2 John 1:7-8

We live in an era of “fake news”, where the majority of people can be persuaded by false information. This has been a tactic of Satans since the beginning of time, Satans relies upon people’s laziness and ignorance to the Word of God, therefor he plants deceptive ideas with smooth talking deceivers, which formulates into alot of people being misled, 

One thing I would like to ask or challenge you, what are the core beliefs of the religious group you worship with? Do you even know their core beliefs? Most Churches have a statement of faith or go by a creed, you should know where they stand on foundational doctrines of Christianity. Secondly, have you compared those beliefs against the Word of God? Seems like a simple concept, but surprisingly most people have no clue what their community  believes, they have no idea if its Biblical , many people don’t know their Bible well enough to discern truth from error

I bring this up , because as the Apostle John stated “many deceivers are entered into the world” Remember the word Satan means deceiver, He has been deceiving people since the garden of Eden. And these false teachers are children of Satan,  they deceive people for temporary power or gain, yet have sold their souls to Satan. They have no interest in the truth or serving The Lord Jesus Christ, beware this has infiltrated the Churches beyond comprehension

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh! Sounds like that would be a standard belief, by if you actually do digging, there are many groups who call themselves “Christian” who deny that Jesus is God in the flesh, and they deny Jesus Christ has physically risen from the dead. Does your Church affirm these? Many take for granted that all “Christian groups” believe Biblical doctrine, this is farther from the truth. There are many deceivers planted throughout the world who openly deny Jesus Christ as the physical Son of God who died for our sins on the cross and rose from the grave on the 3rd day!

Anyone who rejects the core gospel beliefs is not only a deceiver, but an anti-Christ. As I wrote about earlier in the “He Gets Us” post, many are worshiping a false Jesus, an idol made up of their own mind, they are not worshiping the Jesus Christ of the Bible. There is a difference, worshiping a false Jesus wont save you, don’t be deceived, don’t be misled by an anti-Christ, there agenda is to take you away from the real Christ. 

As the Apostle Paul states “God was manifested into the flesh, justified by the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16) If your not worshiping the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) you are worshiping a false god, don’t be deceived, read your Bible! Amen!

2 John 1- Walk in Love

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I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 2 John 1:4-6

As we look at the Apostle Johns second epistle, we see a different tone. The first thing we notice is he opened The Letter with a description of himself as “Elder”. Remember the Apostle John was the youngest of the Apostles, but this is now a later point in his life. The tone appears The Apostle is expecting to come closer to the end of his calling, and wants to make sure the next generation of the Church remains in the faith

This reminds me alot of Moses when he was coming to the end of his life, retaught the commandments of God to the Israelites, so they wouldn’t forget Gods commandments and pass them down to the next generation. This is what the Apostle John appears to be doing also, as the Apostle is reminding the Church of Christs commands to “Love One Another”

As we know this was not a new commandment “which we had from the beginning” Gods commandments have always been Love God and Love Your Neighbor, but in the New Covenant, Christ has fully explained what this all means. We also see the Apostle John addressing a “lady”, most believe he is addressing a Christian woman named Kyria. It’s possible he didn’t use her name because of persecution of the Church. But the Apostle is providing Christian wisdom for the Church and family

So what is the Love of Christ? The Apostle says “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments” This coincides with what Jesus said “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) People love to throw around the word love, but did they truly walk in love as Christ commanded? Do you truly love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, and soul?

The Apostle John wants to remind the Church not to lose their love for God and love for their neighbors, including themselves. Often times the Church can get preoccupied with other things such as budgets and programs, and forget about our true calling to be the body of Christ, the salt and light, the hands and feet of Christ.

“This is the commandment,  that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it” Are you walking in the love of Christ? Are we staying gospel centered in our Churches or are we preoccupied with worldly things? Walk in love just as Christ has walked for you! Amen!

1 John 5- He Gets Us?

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Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 1 John 5:21

When we think of idolatry, we often think of the Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites to refrain from idols, to not make gods of their own image! However as we see throughout the Old Testament, over and over again, Israel made and worshiped false gods and idols. 

Even at Mt. Sinai, where the presence of God was with Moses and the Israelites, while Moses was talking to God face to face, what were the Israelites doing? They created a false idol of the golden calf, and they began worshiping the golden calf as their own god. What was the response from God? He was angry, in fact he wiped out a good portion of the people whose hearts fell away. What happened? They loved their idols more than they loved the real living God

This statement from the Apostle John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit seems out of place , right? This is the New Covenant, we don’t still worship idols anymore, do we? Recently during the Super Bowl, a campaign called “He Gets Us” spent millions of dollars to air commercials promoting a “liberal Jesus”. A Jesus that doesn’t care what you do or who you are, He just accepts you for whatever you want. But the question should be “Is this Biblical”?

What the commercial didn’t convey was the actual words of Jesus Christ, such warning as “Repent or Perish” (Luke 13:3) or “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15) or “You must be Born Again to see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) Jesus does “Get Us” which should be the scary part, but Jesus is telling us we need to change, we need to be “Born Again”.  Why do you think Jesus died on the cross? Why do you think Jesus rose from the grave? Do you think Jesus did this so we can remain in our spiritually dead state?

What “He Gets Us” is doing is creating an idol, they are creating a false god of their own mind that they want to worship. And many people have been doing this since the dawn of time. What do all false religions and cults have in common? They all have a false Jesus, an idol they have created to fit their own minds and agendas. So what’s wrong with this? Because these idols won’t save your soul, their is only one way to salvation, and that’s through the real Jesus Christ of the Bible (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)

So my question or challenge for you today, are you following the real Jesus Christ? Or did you make up an idol of your own mind? Have you repented of your sins and become Born Again? Is Jesus Christ truly The Lord of your life? Brothers and sisters, keep yourselves from idols, and turn to The Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!

1 John 5- Jesus Is The Truth

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And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

We live in what is probably known as the “information age” . With technology today, information is available at our fingertips, literally. When we are having conversations with people today or giving sermons, people are “fact-checking” while we are talking. Which is good, we all need to know the truth. The problem is most of the information available online is false. People rely upon Google or AI as their source of truth, this is a grave mistake, as you will easily be deceived and misled

So how can we know the truth? Well Jesus said “I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life” (John 14:6) Christ is the living Word of God in the flesh, there is no better source of truth than the living God. If you truly want to “fact check” someone, compare what they say against scripture. The Word of God is our source of truth, if what people are saying contradicts the Word of God, then don’t believe them. You might say “Why should I put that much faith in the Bible”? Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, affirming who He is, affirming that every word in the Bible is true, as Jesus said ““These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (Luke 24:44)

The Apostle John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says this “the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true” Jesus Christ is the truth, and Christ will also give us the understanding of truth, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth,  to be our teacher , guide, and counselor (John 14:26) If you don’t want to be deceived, put your faith in Christ as your Lord

Jesus also said “I have come into this world to testify of truth” Pontius Pilate responded rhetorically “What is Truth”? (John 18:37-38) This is the same attitude of the world today, people want to believe there is no foundational truth, that whatever we believe in our mind becomes truth, this is why we see the insanity of the world today. But we know this is not logical or reasonable, we know their is inherit truth in the world. For example the laws of mathematics will always be true, 0+0 will always equal 0, even though Atheists like to believe otherwise, it goes against all logic and reasoning

The Apostle John finishes by saying “And we are in him that is true” If you want to know the truth, then seek the truth, and Jesus Christ is the truth. If your tired of being deceived by this world, if your tired of being misled by mass confusion of this world, turn to Jesus Christ and put your full faith and trust in him! Amen!

1 John 5- What is wrong with the world?

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We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 1 John 5:19

The question that most people are asking these days is “What is wrong with the world”? Doesn’t matter if you are a believer or an atheist, everyone can sense and see , that this world is in a great fallen state. Evil and wickedness has overcome this world, everywhere you look, there is one abomination after another. The total depravity of the human state, is at the point where we fight for the right to murder our children and we can’t decipher the biology of our own gender. The moral foundation at most homes is non-existant, therefor its not surprising to see the lawlessness at an epic scale

The Apostle John reveals to us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what is wrong with the world. The world lies in the power and sway of the evil or wicked one. When you understand this, its not a surprise then why the world has such an “Anti-Christ agenda” Everything influenced by this world is to go against God. That’s why the Apostle James said “a friend of this world, is an enemy of God” (James 4:4) You can’t walk with God and hold hands with the devil, as the Apostle Paul said “Don’t conform to the ways of this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2)

Notice what else the Apostle Paul reveals here “The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers they cannot see the light of the gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:4) As RC Sproul always famously says “What is wrong with people”, what is wrong with people is they have been blinded by Satan, they have been deceived by the “god of this world” God has allowed Satan to “roam wild like a roaring lion looking to devour people “ (1 Peter 5:8) This life we are living is not a game, we are in a spiritual warfare for our souls (Ephesians 6) Satan is looking to rob, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)

The Apostle Paul also says this “You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” Again Paul is revealing by the Holy Spirit that Satan is controlling and influencing this evil world. If you are not walking with Christ, you are walking with Satan, that’s the bottom line. Many people will say “No I don’t believe any of this stuff, I’m not religious” If you dig down to the roots of your belief system, if they are from this world , they are from Satan. You are either Born Again or dead in your sins. 

Now with all this doom and gloom, I would like to end with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ “In this world you will have tribulation or trouble, BUT be of good cheer or take heart, I (Christ) has overcome the world” (John 16:33) This is why the gospel is good news, because Christ has defeated Satan, sin and death forever! Amen!

1 John – Sin No More?

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We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 1 John 5:18

When we first look at this scripture , it may seem challenging or even to some it may seem like a contradiction. How can we still in the flesh never sin? Well I don’t believe this is the intent of this message. While studying this scripture, I encourage you to look at multiple translations and commentaries to get a full context of the scripture.

The first thing we see is the Apostle John makes the statement “Whosoever is Born of God” so what does that mean? Well if we go back and also reference the gospel of John, particularly John Chapter 3, we know the Apostle is referencing being Born Again in Christ. Those who have Born of God, those who are Born Again in Christ, those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, this is the group John is referring to. Remember Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you can’t see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3)

Now the next phrase “sinneth not”, “does not keep on sinning”, “does not continue in sin” , this is where looking at the various english translations of the original Greek word “hamartanei” gives us a rounded meaning. So going back to being Born Again, if we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we are not expected to continue in our same old sins, as we are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) The world will say “I’m born this way” but Jesus is saying “You must be Born Again” becoming a Christian is not just a religion or profession, its a total transformation in Christ

The question I think most will ask then “Does that mean we never sin as a Born Again Christian”? And of course the answer is no, until we are resurrected into our glorified bodies, we will continue to battle with the flesh (Romans 7) As the Apostle John said earlier “If we say we have no sin, we deceived ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8) However we don’t continue to live in habitual sin as the Apostle Paul taught “And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Now another way to look at this also is, as we talked about the last post. The only unforgivable sin is “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” if you are Born Again, you will not blasphemy the Holy Spirit as God already lives inside of you. You are already a new creation in Christ, this may be what the Apostle is referencing. It’s also important to remember what the Apostle John taught earlier “I write this that you may not sin, if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ , the righteousness”

Getting the full context of the scriptures, the Apostle is not saying we will never sin again, however if we are Born Again, we won’t remain dead in our sins of before because we are now Alive in Christ (Ephesians 2),as the Lord Jesus Christ said “Go and Sin No More! (John 8:11) Amen!

1 John 5- Pray for the Church

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If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. 1 John 5:16-17

One of the many reasons you should belong to a Church community is to be held accountable in your walk with Christ. Alot of people don’t want to “go to Church” simply because their conscience has the guilt of their sins upon them. Many people feel by neglecting the Church they can neglect their sins. We need to remember Jesus said this Christian walk would be a “Narrow path and very few will find it” (Matthew 7:14) 

We must remember God is full of grace and mercy, his forgiveness is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) Don’t allow your sin to keep you away from Jesus, as Christ paid the penalty for your sins on the cross, we need to repent and turn away from our sins and turn to Christ as our Lord (Mark 1:15), we have been reconciled back to God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:18)  Allow the Holy Spirit to continue to work in you and conform you into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29)

As the Apostle John says here “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin, he will ask, and he will give him life” When you see a brother or sister stuck in sin, what is your response? Do you gossip about them behind their back? How about praying for them? Have you prayed for your brothers and sisters to deliver them from the temptation of the evil one? A praying Church is a powerful Church as Charles Spurgeon said, as we read the words of The Lords Prayer , every day is going to be a spiritual battle!

Have you talked to your brother or sister in Christ? Being part of a Church is being part of a family of God. If you see someone struggling, why don’t you reach out to them and talk about it. What’s going on in their life? Are they going through a great battle they feel like they can’t overcome? Let them know we are united in Christ, there is power in the blood of Christ and the sanctification Holy Spirit. 

Now the Apostle John mentions there are some sins that we shouldn’t pray for? “There is sin leading to death, I do not say we should pray about that” What sin is the Apostle referring to? I think we can speculate he is referring to the “Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 12:31, Luke 12:10, Mark 3:29) If someone rejects Christ, there is no hope for them, “God has give them up over to their own depraved and reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28)

Our responsibility as the Church is with each other, we need to be there for one another, and they will be there for you also. To neglect the body of Christ, is to allow your brothers and sisters to fall away, sometimes into eternal damnation. Don’t forsake the Church (Hebrews 10:29) Amen!

1 John 5- Gods Will

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And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1 John 5:14-15

Today’s Christianity has become a “consumer Christianity” it’s all about what can God do for me? What can the Church do for me? It’s all about keeping us entertained and feeling good. But people who fall for this false gospel will quickly be disappointed and realize, Gods not here for him to serve us, we are here to serve God. As Jesus said “If anyone wants to be my disciple (Christian) they must deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow me (Christ)” (Matthew 16:24)

Most Christians are familiar with The Lord’s prayer, and most of you recite it on Sunday or maybe everyday, but do you actually take the time to listen to these words of Christ? “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10) When you declare these words to God, do you really mean them? Are you really asking for God’s Kingdom to come now? Are you really asking to do God’s will? Because the reality is , most Christians want their own will be done and to build their own Kingdom where they are the King, this is not Biblical Christianity

As the Apostle John says “If we ask anything according to His will, he hears us” Many people will complain “God didn’t answer my prayer”, the question you should ask yourself, did you ask in the will of God? Everything we do should be in the will of God, remember when Jesus told his disciples he was going to the cross, Peter rebuked Jesus and said “may it never be” What was Christ’s response? Get behind me Satan, For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:32-33)

Gods will was Jesus was going to the cross to pay for the penalty of our sins and to rise again on the 3rd day defeating sin and death. Peter’s will was for Jesus to neglect the cross and establish the Messianic Kingdom now. Peter’s heart might have been in the right place, but he was wrong, Christ needed to die for the sins of the world to bring salvation to the world. God knows better than us, this is why we ask for Gods will to be done. 

If we ask anything according to Gods will , God will hear us! We must be obedient and stay in the will of God. This will sometimes disappoint us, as we often believe we know best, however we don’t. To be a disciple of Christ we must be in obedience and submission to Christ, as Christ is our Lord and King. Christianity isn’t just a checkbox you check off on a form, Christ is your life, and you live to fulfill the will of God

I’ll end with the Apostle John “We know that we have the petitions or requests that we desired of him” We are praying for Gods will to be done, not the requests we desire of ourselves, because we are not our own, we were bought with a price, by the Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Corinthians 6:20)  Amen

1 John 5- Eternal Life

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And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:11-13

The question or challenge I would like to ask you today, is do you believe in eternal life? Often this question makes people stop and think, because this question isn’t about religion or beliefs, this is about the state of your soul. Many will try to run away from God by stating their distrust in religion, however nobody can run away from death. We are all under the death sentence because of the curse of sin. This is the reality of everyone’s world, however God has provided a solution for sinners just like you and me

As the Apostle John says “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” The next question is “Do you want eternal life”? Alot of people have endured great pain and suffering in this world, to the point of eternal life doesn’t sound very good. But realize this eternal life is an eternity of no more pain, no more death, no more sorrow (Revelation 21) This is an eternal paradise where we can return to our glorified state, in which God intended for us in the beginning

As the Apostle John says “He that has the Son has life, and he that has not the Son has not life” There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) If you are not Born Again in Christ, you don’t have salvation. The world will promise you many different paths to eternal life, however there is only one way to eternal life, Jesus Christ. You might ask why? Because Christ is God who became flesh, and paid the penalty for your sins, there is no other who can do this for you! God has provided the way, and that way is Jesus Christ!

“Believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life” Put your full faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and you will be saved! It sounds so simple, yet many don’t fully trust in The Lord for salvation. They rather trust religious works or worldly schemes, but do you fully trust in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul? Did you completely surrender your life to Christ? Is Christ truly your Lord or Master?

“Believe on the name of the Son of God” If you want eternal life, repent of your sins and put your full faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. There is no other way for salvation, live for Jesus because Christ has already died for you! Amen!

1 John 5- The Voice of Truth

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If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 1 John 5:9-10

The Word of God is greater than the word of man. Ever since the beginning, man has been trying to make themselves “like God”, man has followed the errors of Satan to believe they can exalt themselves, man believes he doesn’t need God, that he can rule over himself. And what happens is what we are seeing today in society, total depravity overruns the human race as God has given them up to a debased or reprobate  mind (Romans 1)

As the Apostle John says under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit “The witness of God is greater than the witness of men ” Today we see liberal , progressive “Christians’ ‘ who want to rewrite and reinterpret the Bible to fit their agenda. They will say “The BIble is not the Word of God” they will say “These are not literal stories in the BIble” and so this gives them their justification to rewrite the Bible in their mind and make up a false god of their liking. 

This is the same thing Satan has been doing since the garden of Eden, “You surely won’t die” (Genesis 3:4)  Satan tried to rewrite the Word of God to Adam and Eve, however Satan is a liar and Adam and Eve spiritually and physically died in paradise. The Word of God stating “In the day you will eat of it, you will surely die” (Genesis 2:7) The Word of God will always be true and the words of man are false. Don’t put your faith and trust in a fallen world with fallen people, salvation is in Christ alone

So how do we overcome this curse of death from the wages of our sins? (Romans 3:23) As the Apostle John states “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself, He who does not believe has made him a liar” There is the dividing line once again, are you Born Again in Christ or are you still dead in your trespasses? (John 3, Ephesians 2)

Who is the witness that lives inside of you? It’s the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, that shall regenerate you and indwell inside of you, teaching you the things of God. Without the Holy Spirit you are walking in darkness, being deceived by the lies of this world and Satan. The Word of God is our standard of truth, without the Word of God how do we evaluate truth in a deceived world?

As Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32) Jesus Christ will set you free from sin and death, and will give you the Holy Spirit to guide you through this life, Amen!