False Christ and False Christians  I John 2:18-23

                Richard Mouw, the president of Fuller Seminary said that at a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being “judgmental.”  He found this pattern very upsetting.  “As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental.  And that’s it- end of discussion.  Everyone is intimidated!”  The fear of being judgmental has become the unforgivable sin of our age.   Being civil is very important, but civility does not mean that we have to be quiet about what we believe. 
                It is so important to be able  to balance and draw a line between using our heads in discernment and being judgmental.  To some they would never say that anything is wrong- especially their side.  They would never say that their child is wrong, or that their political party is wrong, or that their church is wrong.  On the other hand, there are those who are hyper-critical and cannot stop saying things are wrong- so much so that you wonder if they believe there is anything right. There is a balance between Jesus’ sayings- “Judge not lest ye be judged” and “By their fruits you shall know them.”  There is a line between his saying- that we shouldn’t see the speck in our brother or sister’s eye- but not see the plank in our own eye; and to shake off our coats and leave when people despise our message.  The balance is found in holding both things in our hand that John emphasizes- light and love; truth and grace.  In this particular passage, John is talking about people who leave the Church, and about those who actively oppose the gospel message.
                First there are those who leave the Church.  This is very discouraging, and the Bible seems to predict, that many will leave the church before Christ comes back at the end of history- which is why he says it is the last hour.  The last hour is not the last 60 minutes- but the last age.  When the number of the elect is complete- and God has given us every chance to come to him, and the gospel is spread to every people, then Christ comes again.  But before he comes there is what is called a great apostasy, when people stop believing in his coming, stop having faith, and people live for themselves, quit the Church, and go their own way.  You get a taste of this today.  Many who used to go to church- who used to go to our church are not going anywhere.  When you stop having fellowship, and you stop getting encouragement to believe there is a tendency to downplay the importance of Christ and fall completely away.  Since 9-11 there has been a 10% decrease in those who come to church, and those who profess the faith.  The church has brought some of this on herself by discouraging belief, by trying to approve things that are called anathema in scripture, by frankly leaving God out of her life- so that some churches are no more than Kiwanis or rotary clubs with a few songs thrown in. Some church are so involved in earthly causes that they seem like political parties.  But let me say this- the Church has always been imperfect.  Those who leave this church looking for a perfect church will not find it.  The church always stands in need of grace, and has always had people who leave.  That is what John is talking about.  He says that if they belonged here they would have remained here (vs. 19).  Basically he is saying- focus on Christ not on those who have left.
                Second he speaks of people who oppose Christ and the gospel.  He calls these people “the antichrist.”  The word “antichrist” is used only in 1 & 2 John in the scriptures.  In other places like Thessalonians it speaks of a “man of lawlessness” coming at the end of time, and Jesus spoke of false christs coming.  Here John says you have heard of the single antichrist coming- but the spirit of the antichrist is seen already in those who oppose him (vs. 18).  We see this today.  90 years ago the Jehovah’s Witnesses said that Jesus isn’t God, but just the archangel Michael.  The Mormons say that Jesus is a Christ for this world, but there can be many Christs for many worlds. Then there is the new age movement that indicates that Christ only means “anointed one” and you can be anointed too- so you can be a Christ too.   I read fifty years ago no one in L.A. claimed to be Jesus, twenty years ago 10,000 in L.A. claimed to be Jesus, now it is 50,000 who claim that they are a christ.  Then there is the Gnostic Christ of the DaVinci Code that came out about 2003 that discounted the divinity of Jesus;  Sometimes I get the feeling that if enough people say 2 + 2 = 5, or 2 + 2 = 3; then maybe we will stop believing 2 + 2 = 4.  John says, “who is the liar?  It is the one who denies that Jesus is THE Christ” (vs. 22).  Not that Jesus was just a good teacher, or that Jesus was just a prophet, or that Jesus was a Christ- but that Jesus was THE Christ.  Two of the things that can lead the sheep out of the flock and away from their shepherd are other sheep going astray, and wolves dressed in the shepherd’s clothing.  The solution, John says is to see that what you had in the beginning remains in you (vs. 24)- keep your eyes fixed on the truth and on Jesus.  Read the scripture, pray, seek communion with Christ and his people.  Do not forsake your first love.

                The best protection from a cold is to stay healthy.  The best protection against false doctrine is not to study false doctrine, but to study the true doctrine.  Someone says that the way the FBI trains people to recognize counterfeit bills not by studying the multitudes of false ones, though some of that is done.  But the majority of time is spent studying the true bills.  If we know the truth well, we can recognize falsehood.   C.S. Lewis used to say the best safeguard against bad literature is a full experience of the good; just as a real and affectionate acquaintance with honest people gives a better protection against rogues than a habitual distrust of everyone.
                Earl Palmer said to “Keep your weight down upon what is the center of the boat.  From  that center you will be able to stretch out in response to the various pitches of the wind.  Most people who go adrift in their lives do so because they lose a living relationship with the living center of life, and they throw away the ballast.  Today- I invite you to be aware that the sailing toward our destination is not always smooth.  Many boats wreck, and many boats call you to join them in unsafe harbors.  When I was a boy I went to my uncle’s house on the coast of Maine and somehow rowed out in the middle of the harbor in his rowboat.  I wanted to come back in- at first I kept going in circles because I used only one oar.  You have to use both oars to go straight- this is truth and love- we need both of them.  When I finally got going- if I didn’t keep my eyes straight toward where I was going- I would go in the wrong direction.  We must keep our eyes fixed on our destination- Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.  Keep your compass true to Him, and your eyes fixed on where you are going.  Communion is a gift or a tool that Christ has given us so that we might remember Him, and focus on Him who died and rose again.