So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 1 John 2:24
Watching young kids play basketball can be quite funny, there is always one kid who scores in the wrong basket, isn't there? It is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking to watch the kid be so proud of him or herself to find out that they scored a point in their opponent's basket. They had drive and passion for the game, but they were playing for the wrong team. You see, that drive and passion were not enough to make them effective players. They had to fight against the other team. On a grander scale, when considering sin, there comes the point when believers have to move beyond hatred for sin and actively fight against it.
Chapter two of 1 John ends with a call to remain faithful. After calling followers of Christ to live consistent lives and not living in sin anymore, John issues this plea, "Remain faithful to what you were taught from the beginning" (verse 24). In saying this, John is calling believers to faithfully obey the calling that God has given us to reject sin and run after Christ. It is a call not to grow weary or tired of obeying and following Christ, but to remain in Him.
Part of rejecting sin means actively fighting against it. After all, when you reject something, you not only ignore it, you fight to keep that thing away and out of your life, and out of the world. This means, my friend, that we have to be intentional about the way we fight against sin. We have to actively work to keep it away from our lives and to fight against its devastating effects on the rest of the world. Let's commit to playing our part in the fight against sin in the world.
My friend, it's time today to join the fight against sin. It's not enough to just hate it; we have to act against it. Take a stand and fight against sin today. Tell someone an area where you are struggling and ask them to hold you accountable. Kindly and gently hold someone else accountable for a sin they are struggling with. Spend time reading Scripture that specifically addresses the sin you are struggling with. Whatever you decide, let us commit to fighting against the sin in this world that we hate so much. Make time to be with us this weekend online or in person. See you soon!
Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.
But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
