Title: Letting the Gospel Abide in You
Text: 1 John 2: 24-29

Last week we talked about the last days or the last hour describing the period in which we are currently living, which began with the first advent of Jesus. John warned us of the dangers of false teachers who would seek to move the church away from it's foundational teachings. The key verses were 22-23 where John wrote: "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." (NAS)

To deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny his teachings, it is to deny his divinity. To deny the Father is to marginalize, trivialize, compromise or in any way make the revelation of God - the Bible, or its teachings irrelevant or inconsequential. John makes this clear in the verses we look at this morning.

John's message was that because these are the last days, evidenced by the presence of these false teachers Christians must be watchful and on guard not to be lead away from their fellowship with Jesus Christ.

The warning of John can not be ignored the evidence is all around us. We mentioned in last weeks message the denial from members of the Church of Scotland concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. As Christians I hope you are also aware of other events taking place in our world that witness to the truth of John's warning.

The County clerk in Topeka who is being sued because she displays the national motto "In God We Trust," on her office wall. The Supreme court has just recently refused to hear the case of Elkhart, IN which has been ordered to remove a marble monument bearing the 10 commandments from city property because it violates the constitution, even though those same commandments are engraved in marble on the walls of the Supreme Court. Great Britain is removing Easter as a holiday in its public schools because it represents only one religion and the schools composed of other religions.

In an effort to accommodate the religious heritage or nonreligious heritage of others we are denying our own religious heritage and the importance it had in the founding and the preservation of our nation. The fact we are moving to become completely secular is evidence of the denial of the truth of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

We are seeking to make immorality legal and faith and morality illegal. It's part of what Paul warns of in Romans 1 and 2 where they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, though they know Him they don't acknowledge Him.

It is for this reason John writes in verse 24 "As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." (NAS)

That which John says you have heard from the beginning is the Gospel message. John's original readers may have heard the apostolic message or they may have even heard Jesus Himself. However, for the vast majority of people who have become Christians since the first century, what they have heard is a proclamation of the word of God contained in what we now possess, the written revelation - the Bible.

That John includes the written revelation in what can be seen in the fact he talks about what he has written six times in this brief letter. Also he makes it clear in his gospel written at about the same time. In chapter 20 verses 30-31of his gospel John wrote, "Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." (NAS)

I didn't bother to make a count but if you look in a concordance you will see how many times the Bible refers to what has been written. Paul in Rom 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (NAS)

God has given us a written revelation of Himself that we might believe, that we might have life, that we might be instructed and encouraged so that we might persevere. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of God, the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of truth, the gospel of grace, the gospel of peace, the gospel of hope. John says because these are the last days, because there are false teachers among us, we are to let it abide in us. In verse 28 we are told to let ourselves abide in Christ.

The word translated abide is a word full of meaning and importance in what John is telling us. It means to stand fast, to remain, to stay, to reside to submit to, to continue. We are to stand firm on God's revelation to us. Paul says we are to, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms {and} hymns {and} spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Col 3:16 (NAS)

The Psalmist caught this same idea in psalm 119 verse 11 and I like the way the Living Bible paraphrases it, "I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin. "(TLB)

We are to submit to the Word of God allowing it to judge our hearts and our thoughts and our actions to keep us from sin. Heb 4:12 says, ". . . the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

We are to have such a relationship with the written Word that we are not moved from it's truth by relativism or false teachings or false teachers. Research says the Bible is the most bought and the least read book of all time. To allow it to abide in us means that we must depend on it to guide and govern our thoughts and our actions.

That kind of a relationship with the written Word of God is further evidence of our relationship with the living Word of God. It's another one of those tests John has been giving us to gage the reality of our faith. He writes further in verse 24 "If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." (NAS)

These verses affirm the importance of a high view of Scripture. It is not simply another book. It is not simply a book written by men about God. It is living and active and in conjunction with The Holy Spirit the written word takes us to the Living Word. It's teachings transform us into His image through it's abiding presence in our lives. Allowing it to continue within us or as the psalmist wrote storing it's words and teachings in our hearts enables us to stand fast and continue in our fellowship with the both the Father and the Son.

That's what Paul wrote in 2 Tim 3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (NAS) Again I like The Living Bible paraphrase of these verses. It says: "The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God's way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone." (TLB)

By it's continued abiding presence, and that means it must not only be heard with the ears, but given a vital place in our lives, we are prepared at every point so we will not be moved away from the truth of the entire gospel message or from the continual fellowship we have with The Lord Jesus Christ.

There appears to be  great interest in our day in spirituality. We have the written word of God, the witness of those who saw and heard, to teach us the truth about spirituality. It is not something within man that propels him upward into the presence pf God, it is something from above given by God to man that carries him into the presence of God. It is the provision of God to protect us from false teaching, it is the anointing of God to seal us, to teach us, to guide us, and to assure us. We know of His presence and His power and His ministry not merely by experience, but through the witness of the written word explaining and confirming the reality and truth of our experience. The written word, the Living word, the Spirit, the Father, the Son all working or ministering together fulfilling the promise of eternal life.

That's John message in verse 27. He is simply reminding them and us to hold fast to the teaching which was from the beginning that teaching contained in God's revelation, given by God's Spirit. If we hold fast to these we have no need for new teachers or new teachings.

Paul makes it clear that teaching is a gift of ministry, but what is taught can only be that which was received from the beginning. He instructed Timothy in 2 Tim 1:13-14 "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to {you.} (NAS)

He warned him. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but {wanting} to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths." 2 Tim 4:3-4 (NAS)

The anointing believers have received from God, the presence of His Spirit within us teaches us or bears witness to us the truth of God's revelation concerning everything necessary for salvation and sanctification or living a godly life.

We must ask ourselves is the word of God abiding in us. Have we allowed it to become and be a vital part of our lives to lead us guide us direct us teach us? Paul said we must hold fast to the word of life. The Psalmist said I will hear what God the Lord will say. Are you holding fast? Are you listening? Are you allowing God to speak to your heart?