I John 2:22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
24  Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
25  And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
26  These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

It is important to know the true God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many false religions that talk of Jesus. John was directed to remind us that we must believe that Jesus is the Christ. The name Christ is in reference to Jesus Christ being the Messiah. He is the anointed One of the Father. In John 3:16 John wrote that Jesus is “the only begotten Son”. He is not created. He is eternal. He has no beginning and He has no end. He is the Second Person of the Godhead.
In John’s day there was already the heresy of gnosticism. Gnosticism suggests that truth is spiritual and not physical. Since Jesus Christ came to this earth in the form of a man, He could not be the Christ, according to this heresy. Gnosticism has many “daughters”. There are cults that deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Catholics deny that Jesus is the Christ. They teach that Mary is the co-redemptrix with the Lord Jesus Christ. They teach that Jesus was not capable of saving us on His own. He needed His mother to assist Him in this work. That is heresy.
John tells us here that those who deny Jesus is the Christ are antichrist. They deny the Father and the Son. You cannot have the one without the other.
In verse 23 we are further reminded that the one who denies the Son does not have the Father. It is not possible to have salvation by rejecting that Jesus is the Christ. The Godhead cannot be divided. The one who acknowledgeth the Son has the Father also. It is important to believe what God tells us. Believing is more than just giving mental assent. To acknowledge Jesus is the Christ is to know Him as Saviour and Lord. Those who truly know Him follow Him.

John 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

We live-streamed the memorial service of a relative this week. The person who died was presented as a faithful servant of God. The service was certainly not a demonstration of faithfulness to God. The dead person would not have any say in that now. Whether her wishes were adhered to or not we do not know. We know she was cremated, which is already an indicator of the lack of rightly dividing the word of truth. Those who watched that service were certainly given a false view of what faithfulness to God is.
There is a great lack of right teaching today for most. It is sad that so many people are willing to believe the deception that is being taught. As we have noted before, the Holy Spirit will guide the true child of God into the truth. The truth is not a smorgasbord of ideas. It is clearly defined in the Bible. It does not change with each generation. It is established and it will be the same in each generation. It is important to teach the truth and it is also important to believe the truth.
In verse 24 we are reminded that we need to let the truth abide in us. The word translated as “abide” means “to stay”. God’s truth is not a fleeting thing. It is not an imaginary thing. It is absolute and it is life giving and the place of rest for the saints.
God gives us the meaning of the word “abide” further on in verse 24. It is spoken of as that which remains in you. If a person does not truly believe the Word of God, he or she cannot continue in the Son, nor in the Father. There needs to be more than an emotional feeling that comes over a person for a short period of time and then moves on. Christianity is life. It is eternal life. It is that which remains with the saved person. It is given as a gift from God and it is precious to the true saint.
In verse 25 we are given that promise. Those who believe the Word of God have eternal life. Those who walk in truth have eternal life. By contrast, those who reject the truth, never had the truth. They were exposed to it but they chose to call God a liar.
In verse 26 John was directed to warn of those who would seduce the saint. To “seduce” is “to cause to roam”. The true child of God does not want to roam. He or she wants to be close to their God and Saviour. The indwelling Holy Spirit will also work to guide the true saint in the right way.
In verse 27 we are again reminded of the anointing that we have received in Christ. Those who are saved are not dependent upon man for the truth. We need evangelists, pastors and teachers. However, we do not believe them rather than the Word of God. The evangelists, pastors and teachers need to teach the truth. Those who are saved examine all things in the light of God’s Word. God shows us this in Acts 17:11. The saints there readily received the words of the apostles. However, they also examined those words by the Word of God, to see whether their words were true. They discovered that the apostles spoke the truth. That is important and it is essential. The Holy Spirit works in the heart of the true child of God to convince them of God’s truth. The true child of God does not need to be seduced. He has the light in him and if he follows that light, he will know when he is being lied to and when he is being given the truth. Those who reject the truth are obviously not saved. They are not allowing the truth to bear fruit in their heart.
It is possible for a true child of God to be deceived. This deception will happen when the saint does not pay attention to what God has declared in His Word. When the saint is not walking close to God as he should, he will be confused as to what God says. God tells us:

James 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

There is no need to be church hoppers. A true church will not always be right because it is made up of fallible people. However, a true church will seek to be right and will correct its errors when they are revealed. That is not a crime. That does not make it an untrustworthy body. God’s Word is truth. We need to study and know the truth and abide in the truth.
Today is another opportunity to go to a true church. God will guide you to one if you let Him. He wants you to know the truth. He does not want you to be deceived. Will you ask Him to guide you today? Keep in mind, the Word of God, the KJV for the English speaking world, is the established Word of God. If you insist on one of the many perversions, you will get conflicting answers. Don’t be a dumpster diver. Go to the source of truth. Let God bless you today with His truth as you go where He wants you to be.
Pastor Bartel