What are you against?

The prefix, anti, literally means against. People who are antiabortion are against abortions. People who are antiguns are against guns. People who are antiwar are against war. And...people who are antiChrist are against Christ.

Read 1 John 2:18-23

Now I know you're thinking, "Wait a minute, Wayne, I thought there was just one Antichrist who was supposed to take over the world and try to destroy all the Christians!" Well, you're right...the Bible does seem to make it pretty clear that at some point in the future there will be an Antichrist who will do all of that (note the big "A"). But according to John there are many antichrists running around right now - all an antichrist is is someone who doesn't believe in Jesus...and who may try to get you to think the same way he or she does (any of your biology teachers pop into your mind?) Here's the deal: this world literally filled with people who deny that Jesus is who He claims to be and there are even those who deny the existence of God altogether - this world is swimming with antichrists!

Want to know what's even scarier? They want to convince you to think the way they do, so they come up with their own theories of how the world got here, ideas about what's right and wrong and why, and concepts of what it means to be human...and then they try to convince you they're right! Why's this so important? B/c yesterday John revealed to us in 2:15-17 that there is a worldview that is completely opposed to God and his Church and we have to be very careful not to buy into that worldview...now he's telling us in 2:18-23 that a great way to determine whether we should believe something that someone is telling us is to find out what that person thinks about Jesus...if they don't believe in Him then you really can't trust ANYTHING they say! John is trying to get his readers to understand that they must always be on the lookout for lies that the enemy is trying to sell them! Our world today is no different...everywhere you look, there is someone with an idea they want you to buy into! Our job is to make sure we don't allow ourselves to believe anything that conflicts with what the Bible says...that means you've always got to be on the lookout for the antichrists of this world!

FAQ
- Can you identify someone in your life who's tried to get you to believe something that goes against what God says is true?
- How did you respond to that person?
- How does knowing that there are people in the world who want to convince you to believe lies make you feel? Why?
- As you pray today, pray that God would open your eyes to the lies of this world and help you to have a firm grip on His truth.

"Faith is reason grown courageous." - Sherwood Eddy