Scripture tells us that one of the major characteristics of the end times is apostasy - people abandoning and renouncing the true Christian faith. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Jude, and John all warn of this.
Immediate Context/background: In John’s day, there had been a group that had left the church to proclaim a different Christ. (ref 2:19 - They went out from us….)
As you can imagine this would have been traumatic for the recipients of this letter to have those who they considered brothers, to not only leave the faith but to actively teach a contrary message.
This would shake us up
Pastor, teacher, mentor, solid Christian brother or sister reject the church and actively work against it!
This passage addresses this situation. It is both a warning and an encouragement. It warns us to be on our guard and to look out for false teachers giving us a very practical way to identify, and to protect ourselves from these false teachers. It also comforts and encourages us by showing that our security ultimately does not lie in ourselves (our own strength) but in the power of the Holy Spirit. It tells us that true believers are ultimately secure.
We are going to look at: 1) How do we identify these false teachers. 2) How we protect ourselves from falling victim to their heresy. 3) Lastly, we will look at our security in the Holy Spirit.
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