Truth or Consequences: What You Believe about Jesus Really Matters

John knew that Christology is the heart of Christianity. If you are wrong on who Christ is, you will be wrong everywhere. John therefore issued a strong warning to be on the lookout for anyone who challenged the full deity, true and perfect humanity, sinless life, and completed work of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.

Verse 7 is closely connected to verse 6. We must walk in the truth because "many deceivers" have gone out to evangelize in the evil world system. These spiritual defectors are Satan's missionaries on assignment. Their message is that Jesus is not the Messiah, the Son of God coming in the flesh. Their message is a denial of the true gospel, attacking the factuality of the incarnation and the genuine uniting of deity and humanity in the person of Jesus.

The heart of all false teaching will be a defective view of Jesus. It will distort who He is and what He has done. Such teaching will, without exception, deny His full deity and reject His perfect work of atonement through His crucifixion and resurrection. Take as an example the "Jesus Seminar," which in 1998 released the book The Acts of Jesus and arrogantly proclaimed that the resurrection of Jesus did not involve the resuscitation of a corpse, that belief in Jesus' resurrection did not depend on what happened to His body, that the body of Jesus decayed like all other corpses, and that the resurrection was not an event that happened on the first Easter Sunday. They explained that it was not an event that could have been recorded by a video camera. In addition, they assured us it is not necessary to believe in the historical veracity of the resurrection narratives.

To such opinions John fires back, "This is the deceiver and the antichrist." The word "antichrist" means "against" or "in the place of" Christ. Here "against" is clearly the meaning. The word itself occurs only in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3 and here in 2 John 7. While interest in this sinister figure's coming is as popular as ever, John informs us that his minions are here and have been here since the first century. New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall puts this teaching in perspective when he notes,

The deceivers, John says, are many and their message is destructive. Look and listen carefully, for their true colors are revealed in what they say and in the One they oppose: they are enemies of the truth about Jesus.

"Watch yourselves" is a present tense imperative. It means to continually be on guard. It is intended to come across as a strong warning. John implores his readers to not be lulled into a spiritual stupor. Why? Their "full reward" is at stake. What does this mean? One option is the possible loss of salvation. The other is the loss of some reward. The latter seems more likely, given the context and that it is a "full reward" that is mentioned. While the exact meaning of the reward is unclear, what we do know is this: John believes perseverance is the proof of possession (cf. 1 John 2:19). As Vance Havner said, "Faith that fizzles before the finish was faulty from the first."

There is a theological tension here we must understand. For those who have been born from above by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ, it is certain that you will persevere. It is also essential that you do persevere. Day in and day out, we must be on guard and resist destructive persons and philosophies that deny the truth about Jesus and that would take from us our full reward. Such spiritual destroyers 159will deny the complete truthfulness and sufficiency of the Bible. They will deny the person and work of Jesus Christ—His full deity and/or perfect humanity; His work of atonement on the cross as the perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for our sin. They will deny His sinless life, virgin birth, bodily resurrection, and future return in glory. They will deny that salvation is a free gift received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And they will deny Jesus as the only Lord and Savior of mankind. Knowing these things, we must recognize the deceptive and resist the destructive.

Anyone who does not remain in Christ's teaching but goes beyond it offers what I call a "Bible plus" doctrine and a "Jesus plus" theology. They leave the basic, biblical truths about Jesus and claim to offer something new and something better. John's judgment on such persons is quick and to the point: they are lost. That person "does not have God." John is clear. There is no ambiguity. When you take Jesus as your Savior, you get God as your Father. But if you say "No" to Jesus, you are also saying "No" to the Father who sent Him. The two always go together. They are one and they cannot be separated. Only one road leads to the living and true God. That road, that way, is Jesus.

What does the theology of the destitute look like? You only need to look at the thousands of cults and the liberal theologies and modern ideologies of our day and you have a fairly accurate picture. Yet they are not as complex as they appear. All deceivers, all false teachers, practice a very similar "spiritual mathematical strategy" (Walker, personal correspondence).

The Mathematics of the Cults

160These four simple principles will enable us to spot and expose those spiritual movements that, regardless of their profession, do not know or have God.

John's use of "anyone" here is comprehensive. And the "teaching" John referred to is our doctrine, what we believe and confess concerning the gospel and the person and work of Jesus. John commanded his readers to "not receive" a false teacher. We are not to give them a base of operation from our home, nor are we to "welcome" them as friends and fellow laborers for the truth of the gospel. To do so is to "share in his evil works."

What was John saying? He was instructing them to not provide support and assistance to these false teachers. Do not help them along in their evil assignment because if you do, you go with them (cf. 3 John 8). John was not unloving or unkind. He was being both pastoral and practical. We cannot pray God's blessing on those who deny our Lord and reject the teachings of God's Word.

What is John not saying? He is not saying that we cannot allow them in our home for a visit whereby we share the gospel of Jesus with them. Indeed, we most certainly ought to be doing this. You might say, "I can't; I'm not equipped." This is a common fear, but here is a simple and sure strategy that anyone can use who truly knows Jesus as Lord and Savior as they witness to someone involved in false teaching. There are a few principles to remember. First, always be kind. Second, be a good listener. Third, pray for them. And fourth, love them. These will guide you as you share truth in love.

Here also is a general procedure to follow. Give them 15 minutes uninterrupted in which they can tell you what they believe you must do to be saved and go to heaven when you die. Then, ask them to give you 15 minutes uninterrupted so that you can tell them how you believe a person can be saved and go to heaven when they die. Then pray with them, praying evangelistically so as to share clearly and completely the gospel in your prayer. Afterwards, invite them (and their friends) back to do it again!

We Must Long for the Truth

2 John 12-13

John has shared his heart but there is much more that he wants to say. Paper and pen have been sufficient for the immediate situation, but 161they are a poor substitute for a face-to-face meeting. In closing, John reminds all of us of two precious truths never to be taken for granted.

"Face to face" is a beautiful Greek idiom, which is literally "mouth to mouth." When believers who love the Lord Jesus and each other come together, there is indeed a fullness of joy (cf. 1 John 1:4) that words on paper cannot express. John loves this people and they love him. Their coming reunion was something all looked forward to. It could not happen soon enough.

The letter closes with a greeting either from the elect lady's sister or more probably a sister church. They stand with John in what he has said. Indeed, the truth about Jesus brings together brothers and sisters from every tribe, language, people, and nation (Rev 5:9; 7:9). We are one big family with the same Father, Savior, and Spirit. Nothing should tear down the walls of sinful bigotry and prejudice like the gospel of Jesus. Love and truth flow freely from Him to us all. Love and truth should flow freely from all of us to one another.

Conclusion

I was on an airplane some years ago when I looked over and saw a woman reading the Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (1902) by William James (1842-1910), the American psychologist and philosopher. Being prompted, I believe, of the Lord, I sought to engage her in conversation and so I commented on the book, pointing out that there were things in it with which I agreed, but also there were things in it with which I strongly disagreed. She very graciously responded that she had never read anything or met anyone with whom she completely agreed. I responded and told her I had only met one. She asked "Who?" I told her, "His name is Jesus." From there we engaged in a calm but intense dialogue for almost an hour. As the conversation moved toward closure, I told her that the bottom line, the crucial issue of history, is Jesus and His resurrection. If the resurrection is true, it does follow logically and quite clearly that (1) there is a God, (2) Jesus is that God, (3) all of humanity needs to know this God, and (4) this Jesus and the message about Him is the focal point of all history, all knowledge, and all life.

162Ravi Zacharias says that former television talk show host Larry King was once asked who he would like to interview from history. One of the persons he named was Jesus. When questioned as to what he would ask Jesus, Larry King said, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin born, because the answer to that question would define history" (Can Man Live Without God, xviii). I believe Larry King is right. When the virgin birth is wedded to His resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son of God, does define history. He also defines eternity.

We must love this truth. We must live this truth. After all, it is Jesus who said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

Reflect and Discuss