1 John 2:20-25
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
Do you remember who first told you about Jesus? For me, it was my parents, who were both believers from before I was born. There were also Sunday School teachers who told me stories from the Bible and helped me understand who Jesus is. If you grew up in a Christ-following, church-attending home, your first memories of Jesus may mirror mine. Or maybe you first encountered Jesus later in life, and you can remember a specific conversation when you started to understand why the news about Jesus is so good. John tells us that coming to know about Jesus is like an anointing from God, as though the oil of salvation and faith is poured over your head. What a blessing and joy to know the truth of God’s grace through Jesus Christ!
Many people have not yet received or accepted that anointing of truth. We all know people who haven’t made a deep, lasting commitment to follow Jesus. We pray for them, and as God gives us opportunities, we share our faith with them, hoping that one day their hearts will open to receive the truth that Jesus is the Christ. John, like all evangelists, longed for unbelievers to become believers, for those who don’t yet know Jesus to come to know him as their Savior. John was, however, also aware that some people who have heard the Gospel reject it, thinking they can find another way to God or denying God’s existence altogether.
Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). That truth is repeated all through the New Testament and clearly affirmed in this passage. Believing that Jesus is the Christ and living according to that truth is the only way to eternal salvation. In that essential, spiritual sense, a dividing line runs down humanity separating those who follow Jesus and those who do not. We may feel uncomfortable with the language John uses here about liars and antichrists, but we affirm the uniqueness of Jesus as the only way to salvation. At the same time, we affirm the universal offer of salvation. No one is unwelcome or uninvited. Jesus is the Christ who died and rose again so that all people can be offered God’s grace and the assurance of eternal salvation. Some repent and believe. Some haven’t yet heard the good news. Some have heard and haven’t yet believed. Some have heard and rejected Jesus. Our desire, and God’s desire (1 Timothy 2:4), is that all will open their hearts to the truth that Jesus is the Christ.
Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. Thank You for sending someone to tell me Your good news. Now, help me to share Your love and message with others. Amen.
____________________________
Pastor Mike Mirakian
