1 John 4:3 And every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not from God; And this [spirit] is the antichrist, which you heard because he is coming, and now is already in the world.
καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.
It seems that more and more people today are being vocal in rejection and ridicule of Jesus and his followers. Media people seem to line up to make fun of believers and their Lord. There are many groups today that believe an aberration of orthodoxy about Jesus. There is a fundamental distortion about the Incarnation. The second century Christian, Irenaeus, battled similar heresies in his day. There are mysteries about the personhood of the Triune God. When we begin to speculate beyond what is revealed in the Bible, we will find ourselves on shaky ground. Lowering any person of the Trinity distorts theology and will lead to a deterioration of ethics. One does not need to be orthodox to live holy outwardly, but one must exalt Christ Jesus as Lord to be holy inwardly. Outward holiness without the inward holiness degenerates into legalism and works righteousness. Interestingly, when we look at a heretical group like the Mormons, they look righteous and holy on the outside, yet they seek this holiness through works and obedience. Obedience is the outcrop of what God’s grace does within us. It is our response to God’s love. It is working out our salvation with fear and letting our faith grow into response. Just as in John’s day, there are people and groups today who oppose Christ through outright antagonism and rejection, and inward distortion from heresy. True Jesus followers must be aware and know the truth of the gospel in order to see these false messages and not be deceived by them.
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