John’s focus is on the Church “of the last hour, ”for which it is crucial to distinguish between “the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” It is that Church that must be prepared to meet the demands of the Last Hours.

Michigan Camp Meeting 2022: Knowing the Time

<p>John’s focus is on the Church “of the last hour, ”for which it is crucial to distinguish between “the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” It is that Church that must be prepared to meet the demands of the Last Hours.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

Sean Brizendine

C. Raymond Holmes

01 Studies in 1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

You are about to enjoy a presentation recorded at the 2022 Michigan Conference Camp Meeting held at Cedar Lake, Michigan.

We pray that the Lord will bless you as you listen.

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that we can be here at Michigan Camp Meeting this year.

And as we open your word this morning, may your spirit be our guide, and may we hear Your truth and apply it to our lives for Your glory.

I want to begin with a little background.

It comes from the Greek, gnosis, which means knowledge, esoteric knowledge, which is knowledge reserved for a special group alone.

It was a combination of mythology and Jewish, Oriental, and Greek philosophy that was a major threat to Christianity during the first 3 centuries.

It claimed that all matter was evil, including humans.

And that was in contrast to Genesis 1.31 that says, and God saw everything that he had made, including humans, and behold, it was very good.

So because all matter was evil, according to Gnosticism, divinity could not be united with humanity.

So the incarnation was rejected, replacing the idea that the divine Christ entered into the man Jesus at his baptism and departed sometime before the crucifixion.

Furthermore, Gnosticism borrowed Christian terminology and used it to camouflage ideas that were not in harmony with Christian beliefs.

Now, positively, Gnosticism served Now positively, Gnosticism served to stimulate Christian thinking and actually compelled the early church to crystallize their beliefs based on the teachings of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles.

It stimulated a development of the New Testament.

The Gospel of John and the 3 letters of John, all by the same person who also wrote Revelation, were actually written to resist Gnosticism.

An example of this is that in this letter, 1 John, he makes it very clear that the spirit of Antichrist and the form of Gnosticism was already at work in early Christianity.

He says in chapter 2 verses 22 and 23, he says, Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

We can thank God that we have some of the most doctrinally powerful literature in the New Testament because of this intense need to clarify Christian truth in the face of the Gnostic threat.

So that's what Gnosticism did positively.

But negatively, it introduced ideas into the developing church and the remnants of those ideas are still with us today.

Gnosticism's emphasis on spirits in the unseen world can still be found in the idea of the conscious state of the dead and the immortality of the soul.

The soul, which is good, you see, is separated from the flesh matter, which is evil.

And it's separated from the flesh at death.

That's not the teaching of the New Testament.

If you look at 1 Corinthians 15, but don't turn there now.

Also, Gnosticism's idea of a hierarchy of spirits can still be found in the church's veneration of saints, which is also not a teaching of the New Testament.

And also the influence of Gnosticism led to the acceptance of tradition and the ecclesiastical authority of the church as equal to the authority of the Bible, at least up until the Protestant Reformation.

And it also rejected, Gnosticism did, the Old Testament and the law of God in the 10 Commandments, which is not a teaching of the New Testament, as the apostle Paul makes very clear in Romans.

And It is to this in particular that John speaks in 1 John 3, 4 through 10.

Biblical Christianity recognizes that although matter is not intrinsically evil, humans have inherited moral corruption through Adam and Eve's disobedience.

The Bible identifies that as sin, and John gives us a very clear biblical definition of sin.

He says in chapter 3, verse 4, sin is lawlessness.

The King James says it's the transgression of the law.

Sin is the transgression of God's law, and all transgression of His law is sin.

Is that why Jesus said to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount at the very beginning of his ministry, speaking of the law and the prophets, Matthew 5, 18, 19, he said, for truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until it is accomplished.

Therefore, whoever relaxes 1 of the least of the commandments and teaches others to do it, to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

No law, no sin, and no need for a Savior.

If you throw out the law of God, you throw everything out.

You throw out the gospel, you throw out the cross.

Because law and gospel are intimately related, theologically and experientially.

And speaking of Jesus, John says, chapter 3, verse 5, And listen carefully, Jesus says this, or John says this of Jesus, He appeared to take away sins.

He doesn't say to take away the guilt of sin, but to take away sins, as he says in chapter 3, verses 4 and 8 and 9.

And notice also that John does not say that Jesus came to take away the law, but to take away sin.

And while retaining the law, Jesus said in Matthew 5 17, do not think that I have come to abolish The law.

What Jesus removes is the transgression of the law.

He empowers the believer not to habitually practice sinning, but to habitually practice righteousness instead.

He saves us from transgressing the law of God.

Jesus came, John says, chapter 3 verse 8, to destroy the works of the devil who has been sinning since the beginning.

And the proof of the power of His grace is 1 John 3.6.

No 1 who abides in Him, Jesus, keeps on sinning.

No 1 who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.

And then in verse 9 he says, no 1 born of God, Listen, makes a practice of sinning.

For God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

So the born-again believer lives and behaves differently because he or she is a new person and further proof of the power of Jesus' grace is that 2.29, Everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.

Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as He is righteous.

Now I want you to notice that John does not say that 1 is righteous because he or she practices righteousness, but because he or she has been born of God.

He says that the 1 who is righteous by virtue of the new birth, practices righteousness.

Now what is the secret of this divine power, this tremendous life-changing power, how is it possible to practice righteousness?

John says, chapter 3, verse 6, no 1 who abides in Him keeps on sinning.

And also, In chapter 3, verse 9, and listen to this, no 1 who abides in Him keeps on sinning because God's seed abides in Him.

Therefore, 1 who has been born of God cannot keep on sinning, because in chapter 2 verse 14, verse 14 he says, The Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil 1.

And listen to what he says in chapter 2, verse 24 to 27.

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.

If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.

But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, that is the knowledge of Christ, and you have no need that anyone representing the Antichrist's deception, should teach you what his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true and is no lie, just as He has.

There you have the awesome and the enduring gift of the gospel that 1 who habitually abides, that is to say, continues in union with the Savior in whom there is no sin, is not just forgiven, but is empowered and enabled by His grace not to keep on sinning, but to practice righteousness instead.

He keeps the born-again believer from habitually sinning.

And nothing else and no 1 else can do that.

And He is the source of our righteousness.

1 who abides in Christ will grow in Christ and develop a character like His.

02 Studies in 1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

The blessing of Your Holy Spirit on all the meetings, and all the seminars, and all the fellowship.

I pray that You would bless our time together, and lay your healing hand on me so that my voice doesn't get any worse.

Well, we'll continue where we left off yesterday.

I think I mentioned that by the time John wrote his first letter, he was an old man, and he had seen it all, and he was the last survivor of the 12 disciples.

And he had lived through some pretty rough years in the life of the early church, and through a lot of religious opposition and Roman persecution.

And he seems to be very much aware that times like that would come again for God's people.

In Revelation, he calls those times the Great Tribulation.

And it's no wonder that Jesus chose John to receive and pass on his message in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1, 1 and 2 says, He, Jesus, made it, that is the things that must soon take place, known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus, even to all that he saw.

Now obviously John loved the ones to whom he wrote his letter, and his love and concern for the last hour is very much apparent all through the letter.

Chapter 1, verse 4, so that our joy may be complete.

Chapter 2, verse 1, so that you may not sin.

Chapter 2, verse 12, because your sins are forgiven.

Chapter 2, verse 13, because you know Him who is from the beginning.

Also because you have overcome the evil 1, and because you know the Father.

In chapter 2, verse 26, he says, he warns about those who are trying to deceive you.

And then in verse 13 of chapter 5, he writes to assure and give confidence confidence in the future, no matter what it may hold.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

And so this grandfatherly man takes his little children by the hand, as it were, on a journey of preparation for the mission that's required by the demands of the last hour.

So by faith, let's join our hands with John and with each other and see where the journey takes us.

Because just at the time he wrote, the church of today is threatened by forces that would destroy it at the very time its clear and courageous witness is much needed, is so much needed in the world that God so loved.

The church of the last hour is facing popular philosophies that threaten its very life and its witness.

And that's why we need to be clear about the biblical message and certain about our mission.

And before we go any further, we need to observe that this apostle of love does not begin this letter by talking about love.

He mentions it briefly 4 times in chapter 2, but not until chapter 3 does he talk about love more fully.

Instead, the apostle of love begins by talking about walking in darkness, walking in the light.

He talks about not practicing the truth, about deceiving ourselves, about confessing sins, about being cleansed of unrighteousness, and about making God a liar.

Now let's read together chapter 1, beginning with verse 5.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with 1 another.

And the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

How do we hear these 5 verses in the context of the last hour?

And in relation to fulfilling the mission that is required by the last hour, the first thing that John makes very clear is that The message he is communicating does not originate with himself or with any other human being.

It was given by the Father and by the Son.

And that message and none other is what John heard and what he passes on.

He says, God is light and in him there is no darkness.

Light illuminates, shows the way, exposes things for what they are, reveals falsehood, but darkness obscures.

And spiritually speaking, people prefer darkness to light.

He says in the third chapter, beginning at verse 19, and this is the judgment.

The light has come into the world And people loved the darkness rather than the light.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light.

And I think that everybody knows the truth of that.

Now what exactly is the mission demand for the church of the last hour?

First of all, it's not to walk in spiritual darkness.

Instead, it's to practice the truth, put it into effect that God has revealed in his Word.

And so to claim fellowship with Jesus while walking in darkness is to deliberately mislead and deceive people.

It's hypocrisy, pretending to be something that 1 is not.

Not just giving lip service to the truth, but to live it.

No matter what the personal consequences might be.

Because such faithful living strengthens the That's why.

Chapter 1, verse 7, he says, If, if we walk in the light in the midst of the world's darkness, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with 1 another.

So understanding the nature of the church as 1 body and understanding the mission required by the demands of the last hour, could we truly be in fellowship with 1 another if we're not on the same page when it comes to message and mission, if the members of the body cannot be trusted and dependent upon by each other, we're in trouble when it comes to fulfilling our mission.

Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 5, 14, You are the light of the world.

Then he says, let your light shine before others.

So that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

And such works are good only if they are of the light and not of the darkness.

Jesus said to the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day, John 8, 12, the gospel, I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.

That is to say, in spiritual, theological, doctrinal, philosophical, ecclesiastical, theological, doctrinal, philosophical, ecclesiastical, cultural, or moral darkness.

But they will have the light of life, he says, to illuminate, to guide, to show the way, to direct people.

After John talks about walking in the light and practicing the truth, as opposed to walking in darkness and not practicing the truth.

And when you read it and you think about his logic, his logic is relentless because the hypocrisy of claiming to be in fellowship with Jesus while walking in darkness misleads and deceives.

And that, my friends, is the worst kind of sinning.

And such hypocrisy and deception will not serve the mission that is required by the demands of the last hour.

Chapter 3, verse 8, he says, whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil and is doing the devil's work.

In chapter 1 verse 8, he says, if we say we have no sin, what sin?

Look at the context, saying 1 thing and doing another, living a lie, walking in spiritual darkness, not practicing the truth.

Remember that his focus is on the church of the last hour, and we would deceive ourselves.

And you know, self-deception is the worst kind.

Because if you deceive yourself, you will not hesitate to deceive others.

03 Studies in 1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

Jesus to safely bring us through these trying times in this final hour before Jesus returns in glory, and I pray that you will hide me behind the cross of Jesus and Dr.

Holmes as well, as Lord, he has given me the opportunity as his associate in ministry, as fellow pastor in the UP of Michigan to take the mantle, so to speak, today given that his voice is not what he would like it to be to share, but I encourage and strengthen him and each 1 that's here, Lord, and those that will hear this message at a later time, that your Holy Spirit be the 1 to guide us now, we ask in Jesus' name, Amen.

Holmes and I have been serving in pastoral ministry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for about 7 years, and his voice is not what he would need it to be to give this important last hour message.

And so I was praying about it and I offered that I would be willing to give the seminar in his behalf.

So he is right here with us, and I have his Bible, and I have his notes, but we have the Holy Spirit ultimately to guide us.

And so I appreciate that you're here with us and I consider it a privilege to have served with this pillar of the faith for as many years as I have.

And let's just continue to pray that God's message go out with power, and we know it will.

So as we've prayed and asked for the Holy Spirit to guide us, I just want to, before I delve into the message, just share a testimony of thankfulness that I've had the opportunity to minister with Dr.

I had specifically prayed when I was completing my studies at Andrews University for a call in northern Michigan and that's exactly where God sent me.

And so we had a very close ministry relationship, I would say more like a father-son, Paul-Timothy type of a ministry friendship and relationship and that's been a gift from God.

So just know that my heart is knit with this message as well.

As 1 John is also my favorite book of the Bible, that was well before I even knew him.

So, God's providences are always evident in his working.

So, as we delve into the Word of God today in 1 John, it's notable that the Apostle John has made us aware of 2 major theological issues faced by the Last Hour Church.

2 issues that impinge on its understanding of both its message and mission in that hour.

For 1, we have the rejection of the biblical concept of human sin.

And if you turn to 1 John 1.8, we see this, where John the apostle writes, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

And then secondly, we have the rejection of the biblical concept of victory over the power of sin to dominate and control human life.

We see this in 1 John 1.9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So, we see that both of these are major deceptions.

The first deceives the world, which then is led to think that it needs no Savior.

An atheist would accept the idea of God if he were not a moral God, If God had not established standards of righteousness by His law, and if He did not hold mankind accountable, it is not the idea of God that is disliked, but the idea of sin.

Bertrand Russell, an atheist philosopher, says, and I quote from his book, Why I Am Not a Christian, on page 50, the Christian God may exist, But he also goes on to state on page 205 of the same book, kindness is inhibited by the belief in sin.

And so now we look at the second major deception that John is addressing, and the second deceives the church, which then is led to be content with, and if you'll turn to 2nd Timothy 3 verse 5, so 2nd Timothy 3 verse 5.

If you have your Bibles, we'll turn there.

We don't want to be deceived by this error that will hit the church.

2 Timothy 3 verse 5 warns us, "...having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power, avoid such people.

So this appearance of godliness while denying its power is going to be the deception the devil will use on the church in the last hour.

So to his preface he adds a but and this is in back in 1st John 2 verse 1.

If you turn back to our key text 1st John 2 verse 1.

John the Beloved writes, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

In other words, don't say you have no sin.

Receive the forgiveness and cleansing of a faithful and just God.

So repentance is what leads to relationship restoration both with God and with those that we've wronged that we make things right with.

Then we can live in the atmosphere of righteousness because as John says in 1st John 3 10, if you turn there, 1 John 3 and verse 10, by this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil.

Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the 1 who does not love his brother." So, the key thought brought out here is, whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God.

Christian believers ought to know on the authority of the Word of God that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God, that is Jesus, protects him and the evil 1 does not touch him." That's in 1 John 5 and verse 18.

But if you do sin, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, as we saw in 1 John 2 and verse 1, who will then represent you in his presence.

John does not hold to the mistaken idea of sinless perfection.

He understands the fallenness of mankind.

He says this not to condone sin or to diminish its offense to God as a moral evil, but to uplift and glorify the only 1 who can save from the consequences of any sin 1 may fall into.

Because he, Jesus alone, is, and we turn now to 1 John 2 verse 2, 1 John 2 and verse 2, the key word that we're looking for in 1 John 2 too is, He is the propitiation, And the Greek brings out to be merciful in that word.

He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

He reconciles us to God because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So, these are basic teachings, truths, and doctrines of the New Testament.

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1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

01 Studies in 1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

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1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

03 Studies in 1 John: The Church of the Last Hour

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