“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. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect sister greet you.”

I began last week’s outline pointing out that John was addressing not a specific woman, but a specific church. This is what occurred to me in reading the passage, and it’s what many commentators hold to, however it was also pointed out during my Pastor’s sermon last Sunday that this could actually refer to a person – that John may be addressing a woman who provides a matriarchal role in the hospitality of her house church. What’s interesting is that whether John addresses a church as a whole, or a woman who is prominent in caring for her church, the message remains the same, as John reaffirms what we read in the letter of 1 John, and calls us to walk in the Truth. This has been a heavy week, and despite the fact that I don’t believe I’ve really addressed current events in these outlines before, it feels like I’m ignoring something that deserves to be addressed if I sidestep this. The nation was rocked in a variety of ways by the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Since this occurred the subject has dominated many of my conversations, and has weighed almost constantly on my mind. Through discussing this tragedy, seeking the understanding and comfort of Scripture, and ultimately using the way God has blessed me to try to comfort and minister to those around me, I’ve had to slowly and carefully process what occurred – something I’m still not finished with. I realized at some point that the reason the whole thing was having such a profound impact on me, why it felt so raw, and close to my heart wasn’t just because what happened was terrible, and tragic, and senseless. It’s because Charlie Kirk wasn’t a man who was a political commentator who was also a Christian, but rather a Christian who was also a patriot, and a political commentator. This blesses my heart, to know that a man who did what we are all called to do in standing in and sharing the Truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is now in the presence of his loving Redeemer, that for Charlie, Paul’s words from 2 Timothy 4:6–8 are entirely applicable,

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

While there is great peace and comfort in knowing the resting place of our brother, that he is home in the presence of our God, and we will join him one day in eternity, his murder is deeply troubling, if for no other reason than that we do not live in a nation where Christian martyrs have been seen with any degree of consistency – and I can’t see Charlie Kirk as anything other than a Christian martyr. While he was certainly someone who was highly involved and influential in politics, by all appearances and testimonies, his faith led his political opinions (as it should), and not the other way around. To paraphrase one article I read, “Charlie wasn’t killed because of his stance on income tax, or energy policy.” He was murdered because he stood for and communicated truth, because the Truth lived within him. Of course, in the aftermath of Charlie’s assassination, there has been a beautiful outpouring of love and, prayer, and seeing his friends and loved ones draw closer to God in their pain – there has also been a lot of shouting and finger pointing, as well as some absolutely disgusting celebrating. The matter is frequently trivialized as Republican versus Democrat, conservative versus liberal, red versus blue – it’s not that those things aren’t relevant, but it’s so much more than that. Seeing Charlie as a martyr grants clarity beyond simply viewing this as only a political assassination. This is good against evil, light against dark, it’s truth against lies, all of which is why viewing this has to go beyond any political party. The conservative movement has historically been far more in step with the church than the liberal movement – this doesn’t mean that to be conservative is to automatically be a Christian, but tenets of Judeo-Christian religion are woven into the foundation of conservatism. It is an error to say that liberalism murdered Charlie Kirk just because liberalism has more counter Biblical elements woven into its foundation – evil ended Charlie’s mortal life. It is our calling and responsibility as Christians, not to become bogged down in party lines, but with eyes to see and ears to hear, see and know evil for what it is, regardless of its packaging. We have to remember what we’ve read in 1 John 1:5–6,

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

There is no marrying of dark and Light, no blending of lies and Truth – there is no mixing of them, no small amount of one in the other, they are completely and entirely opposed to one another. Lies have no response to the Truth other than to attempt to destroy it – either through twisting and distorting so that it’s no longer the Truth, or through suppression and violence, vying to erase it outright. But of all the fools to ever walk the earth, there is none greater than Satan, there is no being more profoundly stupid than the father of lies. Cunning and treacherous, manipulative and beguiling, yet more colossally idiotic than I can even begin to capture with words. Because in the untold centuries that the enemy has existed, he has not learned anything. Evil sought the life of Charlie Kirk because Charlie lived a life marked by the Light of the world, he shared a message that was breathed by the Truth of God, and in bringing our brother’s mortal life to an end, evil accomplished nothing. If Charlie’s message had been his own, then his end would mean its end, and the message would dwindle and die. But his message, and his life were not his, but one redeemed by God, and the Truth of the gospel that was professed through him has not, and will never end. John wrote in John 1:4–5,

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

And in John 3:19–21,

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

There is no victory in darkness, there is no foot hold it can claim, or leg up it can gain – it savors supposed victories, failing to acknowledge or possibly even comprehend that it fights a war that it lost an eternity ago. And this is what we have to know as Christians – God uses us as good and faithful servants, but is in no way dependent on us. He holds victory through His own perfect power, and there is no defeat for those who abide in Him. This is what we see in today’s passage, a message just as relevant to the church two thousand years ago as it is today – that we wage a spiritual war that is already decided, and we serve a Truth that stands against the darkness, without fail or compromise.

The Truth that Stands Against Darkness

1. The Truth is not Deceived

“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. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.”

We saw in 1 John 2:18–19, 22,

“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. 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.”… “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.”

This warning against deceivers, against those who operated as antichrists is repeated here, and again we see an embedded warning against the Gnostics who were so problematic for the early church. We’re given this clarifying benchmark – that to confess that Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son and incarnation of the Living God, came into the world in the flesh is the cornerstone of the Truth. If we deny this, if we take in the Gnostic teaching that all that is physical is corrupt, and that Jesus never walked the earth in a flesh and blood body, or any other revision of the gospel, then we are denying Truth and cannot call ourselves Christians. I’ve written before, and I undoubtedly will write again, that we as Christians should be confident in our salvation, but not complacent. Paul writes in Philippians 2:12–16,

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

This passage does not mean, as some will twist it to say, that there is some work involved on our part in the sense of receiving or maintaining our salvation, at least not in a literal, “works” sense. Rather it reminds and cautions us concerning the seriousness of our redemption. Through Christ we have a relationship with God that is familial, and familiar – we are welcome in His presence, we are saved and loved and led by Him, however there is nothing casual about this relationship. Regardless of our redemption, God is always God – Maker, Master, Holy and Sovereign Lord of creation and reality itself, the Ancient of Days who is worthy of endless praise. We are blessed that we can be comfortable in God, but we can never afford to grow careless. To regard God carelessly fails to acknowledge Him for who and what He is, it denies Him that which He is entirely due. The moment God becomes lesser in our hearts or minds, the moment we have lost sight of the Truth. We are redeemed by God, made new creations in Christ, but in this life we remain at war with the temptations and impulses of our flesh. Paul writes in Romans 7:22–25,

“For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

We are at war with the sinful world, but this is a fight that begins for each individual within ourselves. We cannot be lax in our relationship with God, we cannot be complacent in walking in His commandments. We do not work our way into heaven, but the transformation of the Holy Spirit within us brings forth the work of a child of God. There is a persistence, a constancy to our faith, and in this, we are refined in Christ to know and live the Truth. Paul writes in Galatians 6:7–9,

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

In Ephesians 6:10–13,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

And in 1 Thessalonians 5:13–22,

“… Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

Our faith is not frozen, it’s not static, it’s not dead – rather it is alive. When we are constantly before God in prayer, when we are constantly drinking in His Word, when we are constantly surrounded by the body of our fellow believers in fellowship and worship, we are held fast to the Truth of our God, and we are not deceived. Not deceived by the darkness that the Light has vanquished, not deceived by the lies that the Truth has cast out – but if we are lax in our faith, if we are complacent in our worship, if we take for granted the God who has saved us from the agonizing and eternal death of sin, then we have poised ourselves to be deceived. John cautions,

“Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.”

If we look at chapters two and three of Revelation, we see as Jesus addresses the seven churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Five of the seven (Smyrna and Philadelphia excluded), have developed issues – they have grown complacent, lost sight of their purpose, or adopted false teachings into their midst, and because of this, they face judgement, and in some cases, the possibility of ceasing to be a church altogether. We cannot coast as Christians – the joy of the Spirit that indwells us compels us to persist, to seek the face of God continually. If we lose our thirst for Truth, our love for the Word, and our awareness that we did not save ourselves, but were bought with a price, then we leave ourselves open to deception. But when we are thriving and growing in the sanctifying power of the True Vine, then we are born of Truth, we know Truth, we are watchful and obedient to the commandments of our Father, and we are kept from any deception.

2. The Truth Rejects bad Teaching

“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”

Across the four gospels we see a vast amount of teaching from Jesus, however His message can be summarized within a few verses. First is Matthew 5:17 where Jesus says,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Despite what many would have said at the time, and some maintain to this day, Jesus’ teachings were not counter to the Law. The words of Jesus were not contradictory, or revisionist of the Law, but clarifying. He would later say when questioned by the Pharisees in Matthew 22:37–40

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus came to teach, to clarify, and to fulfil the Law in its entirety, and the entirety of the Law, along with the Prophets (in other words, all of the Old Testament) stands upon these two commandments. There is much to understand from the teaching of Jesus (more than we can understand, for that matter), but everything stems from this foundation. Jesus says to the disciples in John 15:12–15,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

And we read in 1 John 3:21–24,

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

And so bearing all these things in mind, if we have in our hand the Truth of the Word of God, the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and yet adopt bad teaching and false doctrine because of the comfort it brings our flesh, then what relationship can we claim with God? As Paul warns Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3–5,

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

If we know and follow the Son, then we know and follow the Father because the Father and Son are One. But if we have rejected the teaching of Christ who is the Way to the Father, what hope can we have? We see from John in today’s passage this strong warning against inviting false teachers into the church. Bearing in mind that in this era of the early church, we’re not dealing with a specific building as is so common today, but rather a house church where a traveling minister may come and stay for a time. If we look back to Acts, we see that from the time the gospel began to spread and was joyfully received by many, that some saw it as an opportunity to seek personal gain. Acts 8:18–22 tells of Simon the magician after he saw Peter and John laying their hands on new Christians, that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

“Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.”

This was an issue to be contended with from the start of the church, it remained a problem into John’s final years, and it persists today. We cannot disregard our discerning eye and ear the moment any celebrity, influencer, public speaker, or even pastor says that they are a Christian – their walk has to match their words, and if their gospel isn’t the gospel, then they are an imposter, not a brother or sister. In a previous line of work, I was at a customer’s house for an inspection. It was peak COVID, and just before I left, we spoke briefly and topically about the comfort of reading Scripture, of praying, and of knowing that God was in control. She handed me a small flyer from her church, I tucked it in with my iPad and walked out the door, thinking that had been a nice conversation. I got in my van, looked at the flyer and saw the Jehovah’s Witness watchtower logo at the top… We had a conversation using the same words, but meaning two entirely different things. The words we use to identify things matter, but the doctrine behind them is what establishes their definition, and bad teaching, bad doctrine, means heresy. Serving Truth means that we know Truth and are kept from bad, ineffective, distracting, ear tickling teaching. Inviting a false teacher, welcoming them into our midst with open arms, simply because the things they say are gratifying, is like willingly inviting a disease into your body. To reject Truth is to court death, while to embrace and delight in Truth above all else is to follow the Way that leads to eternal life.

3. The Truth Brings Complete Joy

“Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect sister greet you.”

The Truth is heavy. It is something to be approached with reverence and sincerity, not taken lightly or for granted, not abused or misused, at the penalty of utter, just destruction. The Truth also holds the most complete, greatest, most amazingly unfathomable joy that could ever exist. It is reiterated multiple times through Scripture as something realized through Christ, and Christ alone. While in the upper room, in the final hours before His crucifixion, Jesus says to His disciples in John 15:9–11

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

In John 16:22–24 He goes on to tell them,

“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

And in John 17:12–13, while praying to the Father before the disciples, we see Jesus say,

“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”

When John pens the letter of 1 John he begins chapter 1, saying in verses 1–4,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

John, the last Apostle, the elder of the church as a whole, now ends 2 John with the same sentiment he started 1 John with. His desire is for fellowship, to join in person with the congregation that he might share the message, and Love, and Truth of Christ with those who are his brothers and sisters, over whom God has blessed him to shepherd. This is a joy we’re all invited to know, to be joined lovingly to our brothers and sisters, to praise, and worship, and delight in the great wonder of the Truth that we’ve been given – to honor the commandments of Christ in earnestly loving one another. John’s final words,

“The children of your elect sister greet you.”            

Again lead me to believe that he writes to one church, the “elect lady,” while residing with another church, her “elect sister.” But again, while this seems the most probable to me, there is also the possibility that he is writing to a woman central to her house church, while in the company of another woman in the same standing with her own church – either way, the message is not diminished. The joy of the believer is found in the Love and unity of the Truth, and in all places, at all times, through victory and tribulation, at times of elation and in seasons of unimaginable pain, that Truth prevails, the Light shines, with God working all things to the good of those who serve Him, and the darkness has never, and shall never overcome it.

Pastor Chris’ Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie067yMXp6o