Sermon Tone Analysis

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/18 //Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come.

Therefore we know that it is the last hour.//

//19 //They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.

But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.// //20 //But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.//

//21 //I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.//

//22 //Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.// //23 //No one who denies the Son has the Father.

Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.//

//24 //Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.

If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.//

//25 //And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.//

//26 //I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.//

//27 //But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you.

But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him./

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One thing that has become obvious in our study of 1 John is that John is not dealing with insignificant things.

There is an air of urgency and seriousness in his words.

At stake is the salvation of man from sin and the wrath of God.

John wants his readers to know whether or not they have been reconciled to God and so have found fellowship with him.

So we have been warned about sin and the threat it is to our fellowship with God.

We have been told that our response to God’s commandments is an indication of whether or not we have experienced the love of God.

We have been encouraged to consider our relationships with other people and our affection for this world as true tests of where we stand with God.

The reason John has been speaking this way and with such earnestness is because there was a real problem going on in the church to which he was writing.

Some were leaving the church and at the same time trying to deceive others into believing a lie.

John apparently believes that this was a serious threat.

So in this passage he writes 1) to warn his readers about the danger of apostasy, and 2) to help his readers form a defense against this threat of apostasy.

!

THE WARNING OF APOSTASY

The word /apostasy/ refers to the willful turning away from God’s revealed truth, and especially by those who had at one time apparently received it.

It is clear that apostasy happens.

Yet the doctrine remains a controversial one among Christians.

John’s depiction of apostasy in this passage helps us understand some very important things about it.

!! A sign of the times

First, apostasy should not be a surprise because the Bible clearly predicts that it will take place.

In fact, apostasy will typify the current era as we get ever closer to the end of the age marked by the return of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote that “in later times some will depart from the faith” (1 Tim 4:1).

He also said that “the day of the Lord” would be preceded by a great apostasy (2 Thess 2:3).

John declares that “it is the last hour,” because “many antichrists have come.”

He will tell us shortly who these “antichrists” are, but notice first the connection he makes between the appearance of these antichrists and the designation “the last hour.”

What John is describing here is not the precise chronology of the end of the world, for roughly 2,000 years have elapsed since he wrote these words.

Instead, John wished to make a theological statement, noting that since Christ had come, the final era of human history had been inaugurated, and the end of the age was now imminent (it could come at any time).[1]

So we should not be surprised by apostasy.

It will become more prevalent as time moves on.

It is a sign of the times.

!! Departure from community

Another thing that John points out about these apostates is that they have departed from the church: “They went out from us” (v.

19).

It is not clear from this text why they left.

The grammar suggests that they did so on their own.

We might guess that they departed only after they had failed to win over the leadership of the church to their heretical views, for in verse 26 John says he was writing about those who were trying to deceive those in the church.

But although these “antichrists,” as he called them, apparently left the church on their own, John says that their departure resulted in it being made clear that they were really not a part of the true Church.

“They went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

So one of the warning signs that John gives us about apostasy is that it will cause separation from the church.

Though apostates may harbor in the church for a while, they will eventually walk away from it.

Their true colors will come out.

They cannot hide there forever.

!! Theological error

Skipping down to verse 22 we find out something else about apostasy and its dangers: “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”

John now tells us why he calls these apostates “antichrists.”

It is because they have denied the Father and the Son.

And how have they done that?

By denying that Jesus is the Christ.

In 2 John 7, we find out more: “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.

Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

We know from verses like this that John was combating a growing heresy in the church called Gnosticism.

One segment of Gnosticism, called Docetism, denied that Jesus had come “in the flesh” but only “appeared” to be human.

Their view of Jesus was too high: he was God but not man.

Another segment of Gnosticism taught that Jesus was a human being upon whom the Spirit of God came at his baptism but left before his crucifixion.

Their view of Jesus was too low: he was a man but not God.

It is not clear which of these two heresies is in view here, but in either case the problem was a Christological error.

These “antichrists” held a belief about Jesus that was not right.

He can call them “antichrists” because in spite of what they might say about Jesus, because of their heretical views about him they are perverting Christianity and in reality opposing Christ.[2]

For John, right theology mattered a whole lot.

Although there are many theological things that we can and should debate among ourselves, there are a few things that we cannot afford to be wrong about.

And one of them is before us in this text.

We cannot afford to be wrong about who Jesus is.

John argues in the second half of verse 22 and in verse 23 that if we deny something that is true about Jesus we have also denied the Father.

To be wrong about Jesus is to put yourself at odds with God.

Conversely, the acceptance of Jesus automatically leads to fellowship with God.

In other words, John calls these apostates “antichrists” primarily because they deny an essential truth about Christ.

Theology matters.

It matters a whole lot.

!! Deceptive lies

In verse 26, we find one more truth about apostasy: it is deceptive.

“I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.”

So “it was not enough for the readers to recognize that there were heretics around; it was vital for them to realize that the heretics constituted a danger to themselves.”[3]

These “antichrists” were trying to deceive by propagating lies about who Jesus really was.

It is important for us to realize that this is what heresy is: a /deceptive lie/.

Why is it that thousands of people sacrifice millions of dollars to “faith healers” who cannot deliver what they promise?

Why is it that almost 7 million people today actively spread the lies of the Jehovah’s Witnesses?

And why is it that evangelical Christians are now re-considering some of the most basic tenants of the faith such as the virgin birth of Jesus, the Trinity, and the atonement?

Deception.

No one knowingly believes a lie.

And the deceptive lies of apostasy are all around us. John wanted us to be aware of the danger.

So did Jesus: “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand” (Mark 13:22-23).

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GUARDING AGAINST APOSTASY

So what should we do to protect ourselves from apostasy?

John wrote not only to warn us of the threat of apostasy, but also to give us some hope that we will be able to overcome its deceptive lies.

Those who overcome the threat of apostasy will be those who continue in the church as verse 19 describes.

They will be those who confess the Son and so possess the Father as verse 23 describes.

They will be those who abide in the Son and in the Father as verse 24 says.