Of the Church, or Not of the Church, That Is the Question
Dr. Jerry Branch
1 John 2:18-19
1 John 2:18-23 (ESV) 18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20
I want us to visit verses 18-19 some more today, and look at another thing this passage both warns of us, but also encourages us.
As we noticed last week, John reminds us that we, as Christians, are facing or better yet...we are engaged in a spiritual battle. A lot of people come to Christianity and think it's all about just good living, a free ticket to heaven, learn some nice stuff about this guy named Jesus Who took the hit for us, and then we just pick up some good principles to live our lives by, and we then go through life not really having to worry about much.
But the reality of becoming a Christian is this...the moment we listen to the Holy Spirit, and we repent of our sin, and we turn to Jesus, and put our faith in Him...we moved 'from the world' into the spiritual battleground where the battle is still raging between those who are of God, and those who are of Hell.
So what we find John doing here, is speaking to the people to understand that this is the reality of being a Christian...and we is warning them to be ready, and he's telling them that they're on the front lines.
As I shared with you last week, John was telling that it's really important to understand what the nature of this battle really is...it's of the powers of darkness, even though it may come through people...but these are people who are being used by the enemy, Satan, himself. We also saw that John told the people that they have been equipped so that they can see the attacks coming, and be able to stand firm ...
Dr. Jerry Branch
1 John 2:18-19
1 John 2:18-23 (ESV) 18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20
I want us to visit verses 18-19 some more today, and look at another thing this passage both warns of us, but also encourages us.
As we noticed last week, John reminds us that we, as Christians, are facing or better yet...we are engaged in a spiritual battle. A lot of people come to Christianity and think it's all about just good living, a free ticket to heaven, learn some nice stuff about this guy named Jesus Who took the hit for us, and then we just pick up some good principles to live our lives by, and we then go through life not really having to worry about much.
But the reality of becoming a Christian is this...the moment we listen to the Holy Spirit, and we repent of our sin, and we turn to Jesus, and put our faith in Him...we moved 'from the world' into the spiritual battleground where the battle is still raging between those who are of God, and those who are of Hell.
So what we find John doing here, is speaking to the people to understand that this is the reality of being a Christian...and we is warning them to be ready, and he's telling them that they're on the front lines.
As I shared with you last week, John was telling that it's really important to understand what the nature of this battle really is...it's of the powers of darkness, even though it may come through people...but these are people who are being used by the enemy, Satan, himself. We also saw that John told the people that they have been equipped so that they can see the attacks coming, and be able to stand firm ...
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