If you'd like to follow along,
if you would, turn to 1 John chapter two. 1 John chapter two. I'm gonna begin reading, let's
go ahead and begin reading in verse 20. 1 John chapter two
and verse 20. But ye have an unction from the
Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because
ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is
of the truth. Who is a liar? But he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ. He is Antichrist that denieth
the father and the son. Whosoever denieth the son, the
same hath not the father. But he that acknowledgeth the
son hath the father also. I'm gonna stop right there. I said a few years ago that I didn't want to be too
negative. I didn't want to just preach
against things. I hope I have done that, and
that's even though I am against some things, but that's not the
message. Jesus Christ and him crucified
is the message. Our message is a person, but
now, The title of this message, Paul, is Who is a Liar? So I'm
gonna have to be a bit negative. Can't get around it. Because
I'm gonna preach about liars. And hopefully preach Christ at
the same time. It's gonna be tougher to be positive,
but we never forget, never forget, there's always good news for
sinners, always. But verse 21, John starts off
with this, it says, I have not written unto you because ye know
not the truth, but because ye know it. And no lie is of the
truth. No lie. You know the truth. If
you know Christ, you know the truth. That's as clear as I can
be. So is the opposite also true?
Yes it is. If you don't know Christ, you
don't know the truth. You may know the correct facts,
you may know the correct doctrine, but that doesn't mean you know
the truth. Because doctrine doesn't save,
the truth does. Because Jesus Christ is the way,
the truth, and the life. That's a fact. That's a fact. You don't know the truth, though,
because you're so smart. Although you are. But your brain
power, your intelligence, is not the reason you know the truth. Because let's be honest, folks.
The truth was around for a long time before we ever knew You know the truth as a person,
Jesus Christ. You know that Jesus Christ spoke
the truth. His apostles and his disciples
wrote the truth. And by God's grace, his preachers
preached the truth. But the reason you know the truth
is because of the Holy Spirit. Look back at verse 19. They went
out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of
us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went
out, that they might be made manifest, it might be made known,
it might be shown forth, that they were not all of us. Then
he says, but you, have an unction. What? From the Holy One. And ye know all things. That's
when he says that. You have an unction, the Holy
Spirit whom Christ said. You know because the Holy Spirit
knows. I said that a couple of weeks
ago. And what is it you know? First and foremost, the first
thing he lists here, right here, no lie. is of the truth. Not even little white lies. That
you might tell, yes, I fibbed. You know what a fib is? A fib
is a lie that better close. That's what it is. A fib is a
lie. You might not tell the whole
truth. You might pass over a few things. No lies
of the truth, absolutely none. No fib, no little white lie,
no trying to spare someone's feelings by not telling them
the truth. Because see, this is the thing
about the truth. An omission of the truth is a
lie. You understand? Leaving something out. of the
truth is a lie just as much as adding something in. That's a lie. And no lie is of the truth, not
a one. So then John writes this phrase,
this question, and he answers it. Who is a liar? Who is a liar? Well, very simply,
a liar is a person who tells lies. That's what it is. You can look at the Greek. You
can look at whatever. That's what a liar is. Now, I'm not
going to talk about politicians and salesmen. I probably won't leave them out,
but I'm not going to talk about politicians and salesmen, because
that's not who John's talking about. He tells us. There are
liars around, though, all kinds. Every type and every ilk. And this is the thing though.
John is writing here about a specific type of lie. And a specific liar
in particular. Who is a liar? But he that denies
that Jesus is the Christ. The Christ of God. Now I'm gonna tell you about
three ways they lie about Jesus, that they lie saying Jesus is
not the Christ, put it that way. Because the word of God is clear.
Acts 2.36, you don't have to turn there. And I'll speak about
it a little bit later, but God has made, Peter was preaching
at Pentecost, God has made this Jesus. This Jesus of Nazareth,
both Lord and Christ. So, first of all, we'll cover
three things. They deny that Jesus is the Christ
by denying his word. Secondly, they deny that Jesus
is the Christ by denying his work. And thirdly, They deny
that Jesus is the Christ by denying his person. Let me quote you something. We don't really have the words
of Jesus Christ. That's a quote. And that is the
majority opinion today of Bible scholars. Bible scholars, people
who interpret the Bible. I watched the documentary on
Amazon. I probably shouldn't have, but
I did. Because all I heard them do was
to deny the truth. This is the funny thing. The title of this documentary
was Who Wrote the New Testament, okay? That was the name of it,
Who Wrote the New Testament. So the first thing they mentioned
in this documentary about who wrote the New Testament was this. Well, we don't think Moses wrote
the books of the Pentateuch. What in the world does that have
to do with the New Testament other than this fact? Jesus Christ
words that are recorded in the New Testament says this, Moses
wrote of me. They're denying the word of Jesus
Christ. Then they said, Mark just made
up stuff. Luke copied Mark and Really,
in the Book of the Apostles, the Acts of the Apostles, the
Book of Acts, Luke was a propagandist. So you really don't have to pay
any attention to what he said. You understand? Paul just founded very, very
small churches. There was none of this uproar
about people turning the world upside down. That's all made
up stuff. It was propaganda. All that uproar
and turning the world upside down was just exaggeration. These are the people that are
translating the scriptures now into different languages. And
guess what? Newer versions. They don't think Paul wrote 1
Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. Because maybe they might have
been wrote after Paul was dead. So we have to throw them out.
They also said they don't think he wrote the book of Ephesians.
And they know he didn't write the book of Hebrews. I don't
know how they know anything. They admit that Paul wrote the
book of Romans, but the book of Romans just contradicts itself
all over the place, so you can't pay attention to that. These
people are in the business of denying that Jesus is the Christ. That's their goal. Why? Because
they don't believe that Jesus is the Christ. They're denying
his word. And then, God, I don't even know
if I should mention this, but this was a new thing to me. Have
you ever heard of the infancy gospel of Thomas? I had never
heard of this before. It was one of the gospels of
Thomas, now it's not the regular gospel of Thomas, But it's the
Gospel of Thomas written about when Jesus was a child. Well, Jesus supposedly killed
a couple of kids and an adult who made him mad. But he grew
up a little bit, thought about it a little bit, whatever got
him feeling bad about it, so he raised him from the dead. You're going to have a problem
with the gospel of luke and the gospel of mark, but you're going
to bring this up They're out to deny that jesus
is the christ They do all this and I'm convinced
to actually cast doubt upon the scripture and to cast doubt upon
the word of God. So they can say, we don't know
exactly what the truth is. And here's the thing, you can't
use this book that God has preserved as your sole authority. But it
is the sole authority. It is the preserved word of God.
And it is the preserved word which teaches that Jesus is the
Christ. And that's what they're denying. The second thing these liars
do, who is a liar? The liar denies the Christ, Jesus
Christ, work. Because the liar can, and some
actually do, deny Christ ever existed. He wasn't a real person,
you know. And if he was real, he wasn't
very righteous or very holy or very good. The liar teaches that
Jesus wasn't holy, wasn't perfectly sinless. He was maybe a prophet,
but he wasn't the anointed one. See, we don't know what he did
or he said, so he can't be our example. And he wasn't a priest,
so he can't be the high priest. They deny his death, they deny
his resurrection, and they deny his ascension. and they deny his life. They
deny the work of Jesus Christ. They deny his blood sacrifice
and offering to the Father and the eternal redemption of Jesus
Christ, which he has obtained for us. They deny that he saved anybody
from his sins, that he saved his people from their sins. They might say that he tried
to make it possible, or he did make it possible, or he did make
it available. But they will not say that Jesus
Christ has saved his people from their sins. They state that Jesus Christ
had a different work. I've heard this. He was there
to overthrow the yoke of Rome. That's why he was there. This is what they want to relegate
the Christ of God to. This is where they deny that
Jesus is the Christ. They deny that his sacrifice
and offering accomplished anything. They just want to say it made
it possible, it made it available. And they want to deny that he
whatever liveth, to make intercession for us. Thirdly, they deny the Christ
person. They'll say he's a good man.
They'll say he's a good teacher, but then not do what he taught. I talked to you guys a few weeks
ago about the ones that say that Jesus was only a man filled with
the Holy Ghost, and that Adam Was God manifest in the flesh? You're picking
up the lies of Satan from Genesis and bringing them back out again
in this day. And people are accepting it and
happy about it and laughing about it. What does it say about this liar?
Who is a liar? He that denies that Jesus is
the Christ. This is Antichrist. He is Antichrist that lies about
Jesus Christ. John is not writing of the Antichrist
that shall come, the Antichrist. He's writing of the Antichrist
of what is now here. The spirit of Antichrist now
works. Where? In the children of disobedience. among unbelievers. And John tells us plainly that
if you deny Jesus is the Christ, you're not only denying Jesus
Christ, you are denying the Father also. The word tells us God spoke from
heaven. This is my beloved son, son in
whom I am well pleased. Hear him. Don't hear a man, hear him. Hear his word. We've got it here
written for us. The words of Christ are plain.
The words of God are plain. The words of this book are plain. If someone denies that Jesus
is the Christ, you're denying both the Father and the Son,
and that's what we've got right now. And that concerns me. To deny Jesus is the Christ is
to deny God above all, the Father, because the Father and the Son
are inseparable. They cannot be separated. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit are one. One and one only. What did Jesus Christ say? I
came to do the will of my Father. What did Christ say? But whosoever shall deny me before
men, him will I also deny before my father. You understand, Christ
knew there were at that time those that denied him. There
is now and there always has been those that deny the Christ. The
serpent started it. in the Garden of Eden with the
first lie. Ye shall be as gods. John is writing of the unrepentant
denier of Jesus is the Christ. The denier, what does he say? Whosoever denieth a son the same,
what? hath not the Father. You know what John said in another
place? He said, he that is of God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Those that would deny Jesus Christ
are not of the Father. They have not the Father. They
have not. I'm saying right now the liar
who denies Christ does not have the Father. Here's the good news. It may not always be so. This is the good news part. What,
do I mean that God can save those who deny his son? Oh, yes. Yes, I do. The best example I can come up
with from the scripture is a fellow by the name of Saul of Tarsus. He was standing there watching
the cloaks and the coats of the people who stoned Stephen to
death. And he says later on himself,
I was consenting unto the death of Stephen. And what had Stephen
done? Stephen had preached that Jesus
is the Christ. Stephen had preached that Jesus
was the very Christ of God. And Paul was consenting unto
his death. Paul was on the road to Damascus,
what? to arrest people who preached,
who believed, who held to the fact that Jesus is the Christ. And he was doing that duty until
that same Jesus, who is the Christ, met him on that road to Damascus. And Paul saw, at that time, told the truth when he said,
who are you, Lord? Who are you, Lord? I'm the one
that you've been persecuting. What? Jesus. He was right. The Lord was speaking
to him. This one who had been denying
Jesus Christ, but God saved him. God saved him. Why? It was his
will. Jesus Christ said, I came to
save sinners. Paul wrote that and added in
the end, of whom I am chief, having persecuted the church
above measure. God saved sinners. Jesus Christ
died for us while we were yet enemies. Look at me. I used to deny that Jesus is
the Christ. Look at yourselves. Look at yourselves. Be honest. You didn't think Jesus
Christ was all that. Didn't think Jesus Christ was
all this In this book You denied that Jesus is the
Christ and yet God saved you how Well in the fullness of time God Revealed his son in me And
if you know Christ in the fullness of time, God has revealed his
son in you. Who used to deny. You understand the lie can be
so subtle as to the fact of where people
will say, I believe that Jesus was the Christ. That's a lie. You think, denying Jesus what? Is the Christ. He's still Christ
today. There's only ever been one anointed
one, one Messiah, one Christ of God. And God has declared
that this Jesus is both Lord and Christ. The liar denies the father and
the son both. They want to denigrate, dismiss,
and lie about the son is to do the exact same to the father.
That's also true. To denigrate, dismiss, and lie
about the father is to do the same to the son. These three really are one, folk.
They really are one. The Lord our God is, is one God,
one God, Father, Son, and Spirit. I can't explain it, but that's
what the book says, and I believe it. I believe Him. Whosoever, there's a whosoever
for you. Whosoever denies the son in any
shape form or fashion does not know God period period They are
lost they are unsaved How can you say that well Christ said? My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me My sheep hear my words Now, believers can be mistaken.
We can be wrong. And when we were young, I was
certainly ignorant. And I don't think y'all were
any different. But Paul wrote it. For the witch
cause, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed.
For I know whom. Have believed And am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day When it pleased God to reveal
his son in me in me Who did you confess with your
mouth? If it wasn't the Lord Jesus Christ, you ain't made
the confession yet. I said it, Peter preached it
at Pentecost. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know, assuredly, assuredly, that God hath made that same
Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. God made him Christ. Man's been
trying to kick him off of that ever since. Man's been kicking against it
since the garden. And when they got out. You know what Cain's sacrifice
said? That Abel's didn't? Cain's sacrifice said, I don't
need the Christ. I got the fruit of my own hands. Not saying there
wasn't a lot of work involved in that. There was a garden to
keep up. But he brought the fruit of his
own works, and he didn't bring any blood. And God had respect to Abel and
his offering, but God did not have respect to Cain and his
offering. What does it say? Let me see
if I got that. Let me find it. Oh, there we go. By faith Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness. that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts and
by it he being dead yet speaking. Abel did not obtain righteousness
by that offering. This is what people think. They
think they can offer to God something and he'll accept them because
of what they offer. No. Abel offered a sacrifice,
by that he obtained witness that he was righteous. And guess what? Cain did not. And that's just the way it is. Cain was denying the Christ. The sacrifice and offering. of the seed of the woman who
was to come. Abel was not. God made him Christ. You can
keep your denials and you can pay the price because God is
not mocked and God will never be mocked. What you sow you're
gonna reap. At the name of Jesus, every knee
shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory
of God the Father. Call upon the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now you can check some of these
new versions. A lot of them will say the Lord Jesus or they'll
say the Lord Christ. They try to separate Jesus from
Christ. And they're trying to separate
Christ from Jesus. Stupid. God has made him both
Lord and Christ. The same Jesus. that is seated
on the right hand of the majesty on high right now is still the
Christ of God and he ever shall be. And one day we're gonna be
up there singing glory hallelujah to the Lamb. The Lamb of God,
the Christ of God, the ever well-beloved Son of God. He is the Christ. He is the Christ. He is both
Lord Christ and Savior. He is our life and he's our sustenance. We are sustained by him. And to deny that, It's to deny
Him, it's to deny the Father, and it's to deny the Holy Spirit.
It's to deny God. But thank God, He has saved us
from that. By His grace, by His Son, by
His Spirit, and by His very will, He has chosen and called out
a people for His name. And we are in Jesus Christ. It don't get any better than
that, folks, until it does. Our Heavenly Father, God above. Thank you, Lord, for your son,
who did come and give himself for his enemies at the time.
While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. When we were without
strength, when we were ungodly, the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth,
gave his life for his people. and to save them from their sins.
Thank you, Lord, for all that you've done. Be with Walter and
Paul as they come and preach your word. Give them your gospel,
the good news that Jesus Christ does save sinners. Help us to
lay hold of it and take it in. In Christ's name we pray, amen.