The Second Divine Test of Fellowship
Intro:
1. ILL: How I lost a family to the Jehovah’s Witness.
2. Remember the First Divine Test of Fellowship was love. But is love enough? If that were true, then it wouldn’t matter what you believed or committed yourself to. Everyone in a sect or cult would be your brother. Cults practice love for one another pretty well!
3. Four characteristics of a cult.
a. They have left the faith.
b. They reject the deity of Christ.
c. They recognize only themselves as Christians & attempt to evangelize everybody else.
d. They recognize other “revelations” besides the Bible & often adhere to them in preference to the Bible.
4. So - the Second Divine Test of Fellowship is commitment to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ!
I John 2:18-27
I. What Do You Mean When You Say “Jesus is the Christ”?
A. When you make the Good Confession, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matt 16:16), what do you mean?
1. The Old Testament name Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ ) & the New Testament name Christ (Χριστός) both mean = anointed (ceremonially rubbed with oil) &, thus, set aside for a divine purpose.
2. Who were the anointed ones in the Bible?
a. Prophets were anointed to speak for God. I Kgs 19:6 - Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
b. Priests were anointed to mediate between men & God. Ex 40:15 - Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests.
c. Kings were anointed to rule for God. I Sam 9:15-16 - Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel: “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines.
B. Jesus became the final anointed prophet/priest/king.
1. In Acts 2 Peter convinced the people to become Christians when he said, Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Act 2:36)
2. In Acts 17 Paul told the Thessalonians, This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ (Act17:3)
3. What this means is Lord Jesus was set apart to function these ways!
a. As prophet. Jn 7:40 - On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet”. If He is the Prophet, you need to follow His teachings!
b. As Priest. Heb 5:6 - And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Ps 110:4) If He is the Priest, you need to approach Him as the only mediator between you & the Father!
c. As King. I Tim 6:14-15 - to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ ... the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Romans 10:9 - If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If He is King, you need to obey Him completely!
II. Church People Can Be Either True Christians or Antichrists!
A. Both true Christians & Antichrists claim to be Christians.
1. Jn 14:6 tells us that the only way to the Father, & eternal life in heaven, is to commit your life to Jesus.
2. But not all professing Christians are true Christians. Matt 7:21 - Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
B. How can I recognize the difference between a true Christian & an Antichrist?
1. True Christians remain in the revealed truth “once & for all delivered to the saints”. (Jude 3)
a. v24 & 27 - They remain with the teachings (anointing) that they had from the beginning, so they also remain with the Son & with the Father.
b. v19 - The antichrists separate themselves from true Christians because of their peculiar “knowledge”.
2. True Christians are the ones who actually have the knowledge.
a. v20-21 - Christians are the ones who know the real truth (all things) because we remain true to the Bible only.
b. v22 & 26 - The antichrists try to pull Christians & others away from just the Bible revelation to a different or extra truth. So I John calls them the liars!
3. True Christians are the ones who proclaim the Good Confession.
a. v23 - True Christians confess the Son.
b. v22 - Antichrists deny that Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One).
C. What are the consequences of remaining true to the Good Confession?
1. v23 - By confessing the Son you have the Father as well.
2. v23 - By denying the Son you can’t have a relationship with the Father. Jn 14:6-7 - Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
3. v25 - Only true Christians have the promise of eternal life in heaven!
You must be careful never to make a test of fellowship out of something not found in God’s Word! But you must also be sure that you recognize those things which God’s Word does make a test of fellowship so you won’t be led astray by the Antichrists!
http://biblelifemessages.org/