I invite you this morning to
turn back with me to 2 John. I don't know that you know this,
but at the heading of the book of James and 1 and 2 Peter and
1 John and Jude, it says that these epistles were
epistles in general. And when you hear sometimes people
say this is the general epistle of James or the general epistle
of John, this is what they're talking about. It was written
to all the churches. Everybody that he knew in general
in that area, that letter was sent out and it wasn't directed to one individual,
but it was directed to everybody. These are general epistles. And all of the other epistles were directed
to certain individuals or groups. Romans. Paul wrote to the Romans. He wasn't talking to the Corinthians.
He wasn't talking to the Philippians. He was talking to the Romans.
He wrote this letter, sent it out to Rome, to those churches.
Same thing to the Corinthians. He deals with problems in specific
to those churches that were in Corinth. Galatians, same thing. Deals with an individual problem.
Writing to the Galatian people. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,
Thessalonians, all directed to individual churches. And then
Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and 2nd and 3rd John were written
to individuals. They were written concerning
individuals. And then Hebrews, off all by
itself, was written specifically to Jewish believers. Now the
epistle of 2 John is addressed to the elect lady and her children. We're not told her name. except
to say that she was one of God's elect. But what a description
of the church. Is the church not the elect lady
and her children? And so we see even in this epistle,
we see the overriding of the Spirit of God conducting John
in his writing here to this lady. And we're not told her name. There are some men whose names
the Lord has been pleased to preserve, and some women, but
not this one. But if you think about it, even
the ones whose names were preserved, what made those names worth preserving
was because they were elect of God. So here is the emphasis,
the elect lady. The elect lady. The sanctification
of this dear lady's name lay in this. She was elect of God. And then secondly, John knew
her election of God as well as many others by this statement. She knew the truth. She was loved
and loved in return for the truth's sake which dwelt in her and dwelt
in him and abided with them forever. Our Lord said, according to John's
Gospel, in chapter 8, verse 31, I'm talking now about the Gospel
of John. Our Lord said to them, if you
continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed, and
you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. And the truth that John's talking
to this lady about is not necessarily the facts of it, although those
are involved. But he's talking about the incarnation
of it. The truth that dwells in her.
He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. You shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. And not too long after that,
just a few chapters more, he said, I am the truth. I am the
truth. And John and others like him
rejoiced in this lady's election of God and in the work God had
done in her. She was a faithful woman, raising
her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And I'll
tell you something else I was thinking about this morning.
There's no mention here of her husband. And I think the reason her husband's
not mentioned is not that he's dead. That was possible. Maybe
he died. Maybe he had some kind of disease
and died. But I believe that her husband
had separated himself from her over the gospel. If you read
this letter carefully, you might see what I'm talking about. Paul's
talking to her now about the influence. Being alone. Raising
her children. Being faithful. He's talking
to her now about false prophets. That's what he's going to get
into. That's what he's going to start talking to her about.
And if she had a husband, her husband, that would have been
his duty to do that, is to protect her and keep her from these things. But there's no mention of a husband. So for whatever reason, he's
gone. He's either dead or he left. or he was too sick to do his
duties as a husband. She was a faithful woman, raising
her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. John
said in his letter to her, I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children
walking in truth as we have received the commandment from the Father. See that in verse 4? Now the reason John wrote this
dear faithful woman is to warn her about deceived men who think
they have a saving knowledge of God. They think that they know the
truth and have a good hope before God, and who think that they
have your best interest in mind. These are not men who are like
cult leaders who project themselves as cult leaders, but these were
men who were deceived into believing that they knew God. Deceived
into believing that they were ministers of God and that they
were there and had your best interest in mind. And so he tells
her in verse 7, I'm writing these things for many deceivers are
entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come
into the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Now the word antichrist means
against Christ. That's what it means. I'm not
talking about some spiritual character who's going to become
incarnate and come into this world and resemble Christ. It
just simply means it's contrary to Christ. It's against Christ. It's the opposite of Christ.
And if a man comes claiming to know Christ but denies his person
and work, denies his offices, denies his accomplishments, he
is an antichrist and he is deceived. Verse 9, Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine or teaching of Christ hath not
God. Now sometimes I talk to you about
other religions, and I talk to you about their beliefs, and
I talk to you about their ministers who are claiming to have these
things in mind, and claiming to have your best interest in
mind, claiming to be ministers of Christ. And here John tells
this dear lady, as clearly as words can be told, if they bring
not the doctrine of Christ, the teaching of Christ, the gospel
of Christ, They don't have God. He hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. To know the truth is to know
who Christ is. It's to know why He came. It's
to know what He did and where He is now. It's to know Him,
savingly know Him. Jesus Christ said to His disciples
who were struggling with His doctrine in the light of how
they'd been raised, And they didn't know the way.
They didn't know where he was going. They didn't know what
this... He's talking about going to Jerusalem and dying and being
raised from the dead. And he's talking to them about,
I go to prepare a place for you. In my Father's house are many
mansions. I'm going to the Father. I'm
going to send a comforter back. They said, we don't know where
you're going. We don't know what... We don't
know the way. He said, I am the way. And I
am the truth. And I am the life. Jesus Christ... I want to establish
something here with you. This is what's going on in this
letter. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. In the book of Revelations, John
depicts him as writing off, and that name upon him is called
the Word of God. He is the Word of God. John knew
this above everything else, that the Son of God was made flesh
and dwelt among men, and when he starts out his gospel, he
said, in the beginning was the what? Word. That was His title. The title
of the second person of the Godhead is the Word. The Word. Apart from Him, apart from His
appointments of God, apart from the purpose of God to save sinners,
apart from this eternal purpose of God, the grace of God, there
is no Word. And all the words in the world
won't do you any good apart from Christ. The Word of God is the
testimony of God concerning His Son. That's what the Word is. When we read the Word of God,
that's what it is. The Book of God is written of
Him. In John chapter 5, you can read this this afternoon when
you get home. Take your time and read this. It's worth your
reading. In John chapter 5, our Lord said
to the Jews who viewed the Word of God as a means to help them
save themselves. It was a book of the law, and
it gave them certain commandments, certain ceremonies to keep, and
all of these things. And if they did those things,
then basically saved themselves. So they viewed the Word of God
as a means to help them save themselves. They viewed the Word
of God as a means to sanctify and reform themselves, and as
a means to pay for their sins. It was a how-to sort of book.
Isn't that how it's viewed today? Isn't that how religion presents
the Word of God? It's a how-to book. But here's
what he said to them over in John chapter 5. He said, search
the Scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life. Now listen to this. And they
are they which testify of me. But you won't come to me that
you might have life. You won't receive the testimony
of this book. Because this book is God's testimony
of me. If you were reading this book
right, you would come to me. You'd come to me. Jesus Christ
is the Word of God. He told the Hebrews. God spoke
to our fathers in different times and by various manners. He spoke
to them by the prophets. He spoke in terms of future prophecy. He spoke in terms of types and
symbols and patterns of things not yet made manifest. But in
these last days, He has spoken unto us by His Son. And if you read what goes on
carefully after that, He tells us His Son is the fulfillment
of all things. He is the fulfillment of the
prophecies. He is the fulfillment of those
things which God spake to our fathers about. He's the fulfillment
of those things. He's the brightness of the Father's
glory. He's the express image of His
person who, upholding all things by the word of His power, justice,
holiness, righteousness, goodness, and love, when He had by Himself
purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of God. And you
cannot rightly divide the word of truth and teach another gospel. This is John's message to this
lady. You cannot rightly divide the
word of truth and deny the accomplished redemption of Christ. You can't
do it. It's an impossibility. To preach
Christ is to preach the whole counsel of God. All God's counsel
is in Him. You take Christ out of the equation
and you just took everything out of the equation. And I see
Pentecostal churches around with these words on their signs, a
full gospel church. Well, let me tell you something.
Spiritual gifts is not what makes the gospel full. Jesus Christ
is what makes the gospel a full gospel. Deceivers confess not, John said,
that Jesus Christ has come into the flesh. This is a deceiver. This is Antichrist, 2 John, verse
7. Now, without argument, the Apostle
John specifically speaks of men denying the incarnation of the
Son of God, being made of a woman, born of a virgin, living as the
God-man. The Jews were guilty of this
very thing. They denied the doctrine of the
incarnation even though it is plainly taught in the Word of
God. Job said, I know my Redeemer
liveth, and He will stand at the latter day upon the earth.
Isaiah said, Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. The government shall be upon
His shoulders. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God. the everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. He said, the Lord Himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and you shall call His name Immanuel, God with
us. And any man who denies the incarnation
of the Son of God is a deceiver. He's an antichrist. But there's
more to it than that. There is more to this statement
than that. Our text also includes all those who deny our Lord's
eternal deity and who deny the necessity of His incarnation. To deny the necessity of His
incarnation is to deny His incarnation. and even the reason for His incarnation,
and also the efficacy of His redemptive work, the sufficiency
of His work as our federal head and representative. And our text
may also include all those who deny the glory of His exaltation,
of His dominion over all things as God's mediator can. Our text
is, in fact, inclusive of any man who in any way perverts the
gospel of Christ. He is an antichrist, and he is
a deceiver. Grace and truth, listen, grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ. And I am tired of hearing about
rebels being confused brothers in Christ. They are not confused.
They don't have God. They don't know God. They are
antichrists. They are deceived. I'm not saying
they don't believe what they preach. They do believe what
they preach. They believe it because they're
deceived. They're not confused. They don't
know God. Turn with me to this verse. I
want you to read this. Isaiah chapter 52. According to the prophet Isaiah,
God's preachers are all in agreement concerning His person and work. Is that clear enough? I don't think
I can make it any clearer than that. They are all in agreement
concerning the person of Christ and His redemptive work. One
hundred percent in agreement. Can you make good on that? Isaiah
52.8, thy watchman shall lift up the voice, with the voice
together shall they sing. Four, are you listening? They
shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again thine. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
Huh? They're not in opposition with
each other. They see eye to eye. When the Scriptures speak of
bringing the doctrines of Christ or preaching Christ, what does
that mean? What does that mean? It means that our message is
to be prepared for the purpose of revealing Christ to seeking
centers. That's what it means. It means
to set him forth as God has set him forth in His Word so that
chosen sinners can see him and believe on him and worship him. A young pastor took over the
pastorate of a church in his first pastorship. And the boy
was fresh out of seminary. And he ran up to that pulpit. He had prepared for this all
of his life, for this sermon. And he got up there and he brought
this sermon. And he was so proud of himself. And the old pastor, whose place
he was taking, was sitting there on the front pew. And when he
got done, he went down there and sat down beside him. And
he said, Pastor, what do you think about my sermon? And the
old man said, not much. And his mouth fell open. He said, what? He said, not much. And he said, well, did I misquote
the Word of God? No. He said, you read the Word
of God. He said, you cleared the bell. Or was it my illustrations? He said, no, it wasn't your illustrations.
Your illustrations was right on point. He said, you did a
good job and they was all clear. Why are you so disappointed in
my message? He said, son, there wasn't any
Christ in it. And he said, well, Pastor, Christ wasn't in my text.
He said, son, Christ is in every text. He's in every text. And that's what he's talking
about when he's talking about bringing the doctrines of Christ. Preaching Christ is called in
the Scriptures, the revelation of the mystery. Huh? The revelation of the mystery.
And my friend, this is not a denial of the work of the Holy Ghost,
but rather the very means He's pleased to use to call out God's
elect. God has from the beginning chosen
us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. And brethren, there's many men
who have gone out into the world being deceived, being beguiled
by Satan and anti-Christ religion. And by their personalities, and
by their conduct, and by their character, they creep in unnoticed. Unnoticed. That's what it says
in the book of Jude. Unnoticed. Unawares. They somehow get to
an influential place in your life and then they begin to do
the harm. And most men and women who are
deceived don't know it. I might say all men who are deceived
don't know it. Paul told Timothy, he said, evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, listen to this, deceiving
and being deceived. No man can more affectionately
deceive than the man who has deceived himself, because he
carries with that deception a sincerity. Paul said to the Jews, you are
competent. Now he was saved out of that
religion. He knew what he was talking about. He was a Pharisee.
And he said to the Jews, you are competent that thou thyself
art a guide to the blind, A light to them which are in darkness,
an instructor of the foolish, and a teacher of faith. But all
you've got is a form of the truth, just a hollow form. And you know
nothing of the power of it. You know nothing of the glory
of it. You know nothing of the Son of God who is the truth. Some men are deceived and they
make merchandise of men's souls. doing what they do for gain.
But knowingly or unknowingly, they all deny the person and
work of Christ. The doctrine of this book is
the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I be faithful to my calling
and faithful to your souls, I must set before you the eternal Son
of God made flesh. There is no salvation anywhere
else except in and through and by the Lord Jesus Christ. Not
some high church authority. He. Not some effort that you
put forth to reform your life. He. Not some decision you made,
some act of your will. He shall save His people from
their sins. Isn't that what the book says? He was ordained to this end before
the foundation of the world. He was appointed to His offices
and titles to accomplish our salvation. He was made of a woman
and made under the law to redeem them that were under the law.
It became Him, Paul said, for whom are all things, and by whom
are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the
captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. He's our
federal head. I'm made perfect in Him. He's the Word. And a man who
does not preach Christ as God has testified of him has no God
except himself and his imagination. He doesn't know God, and God
does not dwell in him, nor has God sent him to minister to your
soul. This is what John's writing to
this woman who knows the truth, who's being preserved of God.
And he's telling her, for her soul's sake, about these false
prophets. The Jews said to Christ, we have
God to our Father. And our Lord said, if God were
your Father, you'd love Me. For I proceeded forth and came
from God. And brethren, the Spirit of God
testifies of Christ. He takes of His and shows it
unto us. The Spirit of God, when He has
come, our Lord said, He will glorify Me. How then can God's messengers
and the presence of the Holy Ghost be known? How can that
be known? They abide in the doctrine of
Christ. Isn't that what John told her?
That's how you know. They abide in the doctrine of
Christ. And if there come any unto you
and bring not this doctrine, He said in verse 10, Receive
him not into your house, neither bid him God's feed, or God be
with you, or God bless you. For he that biddeth him God's
feed is a partaker of his evil deeds. Well, what about if he's
my cousin? Especially if he's your cousin. Or what about if he's my dad?
Especially if he's your dad. What if I went to school with
him? Especially if you went to school with him. If there come
how many? Any unto you. Isn't that what
that says? And Paul said this, he was even
stronger than John. Paul said, though we are an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel than that which we preached
unto you, you count him accursed of God. And somehow in our day,
men and women think it's better to go somewhere to hear than
not to go at all. Is that true? There's no evidence
that this lady and her children had a pastor. None whatsoever. Yet she was commanded to send
this man on his way who was a false prophet. It didn't say you'd
be better off to hear him than not to hear at all. It said put
him on the way. Not to hear him at all. You'd
be better off to stay at home and teach your children as you're
commanded of God as a wife and a mother of these children. You're
better off to stay at home and teach what you've been taught
than to listen to a man who don't know God. Let me leave you with
this. 2 John 9, the last part of the
verse. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. God is His Father,
and Christ is His Redeemer, if he abides in this doctrine. I
mean, if he loves it, if he cherishes it, if he rejoices in it, if
he rests in it, if he preaches it, publicly identifies with
it. If he abides in the doctrine
of Christ, God is his Father, and Jesus Christ the Son is his
Redeemer, is his Savior. In him, the Scripture says, dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete
in him. And he's the head of all principality
and power. so you can rest in Him. The woman
or man who has the Son has everything God has for sinners. They have God. They have God. And in God they have salvation,
eternal life, and no man can pluck you out of their hands.