1 John 2:26-29
26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
I remember growing up on an old dirt road in the middle of nowhere. We would spend our days down at the river fishing and swimming or just playing in the woods. My mom would always tell me not to go our of “hollering” distance! It was a simpler and safer time. In the world today we want to keep our kids close so we can protect them from those who would try to seduce them away from safety. The news is full of those who have sought out to harm our children so we bring them in close and watch over them. But as careful as we are with our children, we seem to let our guards down when it comes to our hearts.
Just like there are evil people in this world who want to seduce our kids away from us, there are also those who try to move us away from the safety of God’s truth to follow their lies. The internet is full of those saying that they are teaching the Word of God but in fact they are teaching false doctrine and man’s opinions. We must remember that just because a person claims to be proclaiming the truth doesn’t mean that they are. If what they are teaching does not match up with God’s word then it is a lie and should be rejected. The people at Berea were considered more noble because they compared what they were hearing from the apostles to what scripture said (Acts 17:11).
John tells us that we have an “anointing” abiding in us – the Holy Spirit! Jesus was telling His disciples about the Spirit that would come to indwell us when He said in John 16:13, “13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” As we abide in Christ and the Spirit abides in us we will live in the truth of God’s Word! When those who teach false doctrine come and knock on your door it is the Holy Spirit that will bring the truths of scripture that you have learned to your mind so you can recognize the lies! Why do so many get led away from scriptural Christianity? Because they haven’t spent any time soaking in the Word of God and Abiding in Christ!
When Jesus returns for His Church and we appear before Him to give an account for our life (not for salvation but for rewards for faithfulness) will we be able to stand before Him in confidence knowing that we followed in His truth? Or will be bow our heads in shame because we chose to follow those who taught lies, catered to our pride and self-esteem, and led us away from Christ? We will never be perfect this side of heaven, but knowing that the author of our salvation is perfect should motivate us to live in His truth and strive to be like Him! We can only do that as we study and apply His word to our lives!
Today as we ReFocus our hearts and minds on Christ we need to take a close look at who we are allowing in influence our Christian walk so that we can one day come before Christ in confidence, knowing that He has been the standard for our life!
