Almost forgot to transition that thing over. Okay, take your Bibles one last time and turn back to 2 John, 2 John. I've entitled this message, Surprise, Surprise, Abiding in Christ, this will be part four. It has been a very enlightening study to me as I have studied to prepare and preach these messages to you. I hope that they have been of some encouragement to you. They have been an admonishment to myself, and I hope they have been to you, to our continued dogmatic uncompromising continuance in the doctrines of grace. We've got to the verses this morning that I've been waiting to get to since I started this study three plus weeks ago. So we want to pick up this morning, we're gonna pick up in verse nine, we'll get there and begin in just a moment, but let me give you just a few words as we begin this study. John had encouraged this elect lady, you know, he referred to her, and I think that's amazing, and especially amazing in the time and in the date that we live to where people don't want anybody to know that they have eternal life. They don't want anybody to be sure and certain that they are God's children. When God's Word tells us that really in reality, based on what God has told us in His Word, it is our responsibility as justified saints, those redeemed by His blood, justified by His righteousness and obedience unto death, sanctified fully and completely, ensured and certain for glorification based on our oneness with the Lord Jesus Christ, to know we have eternal life. We glorify and honor Him as we take Him at His Word, believing what He has said in spite of what we feel. And that's one of the things that's so deceptive to the children of God. We cannot get beyond this idea that we still have in us this old sinful nature. that is prone as a song, prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, prone, listen to this. And this is the truth. Prone to leave the God I love. That's ever present in us. Every one of God's children are but for God's grace one step from departing. Praise God, he won't let us. He's able to keep us and present us to himself wholly. Listen to this. Even though we're doing everything we can to damn ourselves, he's able to present us to himself wholly, unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight. My question is, how can he do that? Well, I know the answer. He can do it one way. In Christ. If any man be in Christ, he or she is a new creature. So he says to this elect woman and to her children, he encourages them and he admonishes them to walk in, listen, mutual love and mutual appreciation with all those who are of like precious faith. And this elder admonished them and he admonished us, he admonished them to watch over themselves. to guard and protect themselves. But not only that, to exercise our responsibility as God's blood-bought children to examine the message of every single solitary person who comes into our fellowships claiming to speak for the Lord God. He said to her last week, to you and me as well, for many deceivers are in the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come into flesh This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that you lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Like I told you last Sunday, these many deceivers whom John has declared have entered into the world, who were they? I think they're false professors is what they are. It's those false professors that John had written about in his first epistle. He said this, little children, it is the last time. And as you have heard, these antichrists shall come. Even now are there many antichrists, whereby we know it's the last time. Now, where are they coming from? Well, let me give you a hint. It ain't Jerry Falwell, it ain't Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, and it ain't nobody that's on the Trinity Network. These ain't the deceivers. You hear me? Most people think of the deceivers, they think of bad ungodly people running around with horns on their head. Those folks I just mentioned, they don't offer any deception to the elect of God. So if it's not them, where are they coming from? Here's where they came from. They went out, these antichrists, these deceivers, they went out from where? They were in the church. They had identified as brethren at one time. They had claimed to believe the same gospel, have the same hope. They went out from us, but they weren't part of us. For had they been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us. But they went out that they might be... What does it do? It revealed that they might be made manifest, that they might be revealed to be what were they. Judas Iscariot, his whole time, the whole three years he spent with Christ, what did he look like? What did he act like? What did he talk like? What was his message? Now, I've thought about this long and hard. over the years that the Lord has revealed himself to me and in me, he had to be saying the same thing they were saying. Otherwise, at some point along the line, those other guys would have figured it out. And when they're sitting around that table, when our Lord looked and said, one of you around this table is going to betray me, every one of them, to the man, what'd they say? He'd have been preaching something different. They'd all sit back in their chair and they'd say, It's Him. We know. God's fixing to reveal Him. And praise God, you know what God does? God reveals these antichrists. It's not somebody running around yet to come that's got 666 on him somewhere. It's a religion. It's a religion that dishonors God, that points men away from the true Christ and points them where? To something else in its entirety. You think about it, they had entered into this world, they'd gone out into this world of those who profess to believe the gospel and as impostors, remember I told you this word deceivers means impostors. as deceivers, they denied that the Lord Jesus Christ had actually come. They had claimed that because they identified with it. Those that went out from us to make manifest, they were part of what they at one time said, at least with their mouths. Oh, Jesus Christ came. He lived. He died. He rose again. He's sitting in heaven. And now they go out and what do they deny? He hadn't come in the flesh. He hadn't satisfied God's law and justice. Remember what our Lord prayed in His high priestly prayer concerning His elect, those that the Father had given Him in an everlasting covenant of grace? He said, For I have given unto them the words which thou hast given Me, and listen to this, they, His elect, they have received them, and have known surely, in other words, they've been assured, that I came out from thee And since they have assurance that He had been sent of the Father to do the work, they have believed that Thou didst send Me. What did He say in verse 3 of that chapter? What's life eternal? This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. He said these, they had believed that God did what? Sent Him into this world. These imposters, folks, they could do a lot of things. That is to say, they could be what the world considers Christians. You know them, too. I've got friends and family members that are Christian. Tell you real quick. And they would probably be one of the first ones to sing that song. They'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. But you know one thing they could not and they cannot and they will not do? They will not confess that Jesus Christ, Jehovah, our salvation, the Messiah, the anointed of God, has actually come into this world and did exactly what he was sent to do. He doesn't, he didn't, this just irritates me. This galls every nerve that I have spiritually. Christ did not create the potential for you to be saved. He didn't come here and do what He did to put you in a savable situation. He saved His people. He redeemed them. He justified them. And anything that comes in that fashion saying there's something for you to do, whatever it is, it's the spirit of antichrist, which was the goal of these deceivers. To do what? To deceive and destroy the very elect of God. But thank God, what does he say? It's not possible. If it were possible, they'd deceive the very elect of God, but it's not possible. But here's the thing, even though it's impossible, children of God can't and shouldn't determine these things based on sentiment, based on emotions. We have to determine these things based on God's instructions concerning our responsibility. This is your job, my job. Try the spirits. Everybody come, try them. Now notice how it begins, verse nine. This is what we've been trying to get for three weeks and we're here. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Do you see the comparison and the contrast? There's two groups. I've told y'all for 36 years, 37 years now, there have always been two groups. The sheep and the goat. The wheat and the attire. The elect, the non-elect. You better call it this way. The elect and the reprobate. Those chosen by God, eternal salvation, and those vessels of wrath fitted before the foundation of the world, before they'd done any good or any evil, fitted for destruction. Now this original word translated transgresseth, it means to go by the side of, or to go past, or pass over without touching a thing. Now keep that in mind. Because when I read this, when I was reading this definition this week, a thought popped into my mind when I read that. Pass by or pass over something without touching the thing. I'm going to get to it and just say, you know what popped into my mind? The story of the Good Samaritan. Passing over a thing unwilling to touch a thing. And you know what? It means, to go on it means this, it means to overstep, to neglect, to violate, to transgress, to depart, to leave, be turned from, or for one to abandon their trust. Now keep that in mind, for one to abandon their trust. The writer of the book of Acts, you remember when they were trying to choose an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot who fell by way of purpose. They were standing there and in Acts chapter 1 verse 25 it says this, it's how they describe Judas Iscariot, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas, here's the same word translated transgressive, by transgression fail. That he might go to his own place. What did he do? What did Judas Iscariot do? He abandoned his trust. He abandoned the hope. And you think about this, the Jews used the same word to try and charge Christ. And then Christ, our Lord, being the eternal wisdom God, he turned around and used the same word to describe their deception. Listen to this. They came to him, our Lord's disciples on the Sabbath day, they were passing through and they were eating, pulling the corn off. Yeah, corn's got to be cooked for me. They're walking out. I guess when you're hungry, you eat corn anyway. They're eating raw pit, pulling it off, which that's at work under their law. For them to shuck, to pull it and shuck it, that's work. And so they say to him, why do thy disciples transgress? There's the word. Transgress the traditions of the elders. Not the word of God. Why do you transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress, there's the word, the commandments of God by your traditions? John next to use this word, he says, whosoever transgresseth and abideth. Which means, we've already seen that, which means to remain. or to continue or to not depart. And that word translated whosoever, whosoever, just like John 3, 16 throws people off, it means everyone. So everyone that forgets his trust, forsakes his trust, doesn't remain, doesn't continue in the doctrine of Christ. What does he say of them? They don't have God. And this is what got me. John didn't say anybody who transgresses or abides not in the law hath not God. Because you know what? Every one of us, if we're honest, what have we all done? In thought, word, and deed, just about every minute of our lives, what have we transgressed? I guarantee you every one of us here this morning have transgressed God's law as we've said here. Not me, oh yeah, you too, me too. Because the commands are clear. Love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, all your life. This is the first and great commandment. And what our Lord said, what does that mean? That means as you're sitting here this morning, what should your mind be totally consumed with? Every moment. Now be honest with yourself. Has it been? And the second's likened to it. Love thy neighbor, which includes, there's another one in Wasp. The second's likened to it, namely love thy neighbor, which includes your enemy, your worst enemy, the one who'd do the worst evil to you. Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two hang the whole law. Both of them. You put all this together. Think about what he said. I mean, you think about our violating the law. Wisdom in his, Solomon said, Solomon in his wisdom said this, who can say I have made my heart clean? I am pure from sin. The answer is what? Nobody, not one. The Spirit moved John to be very clear on what these deceivers, these antichrists transgress against. and won't continue in. What is it? The doctrine of Christ. Folks, this is very specific. It's not speculation. We don't have to assume or try to figure out what this means. Here's the most important question of all. What is the doctrine of Christ? Is it important? Do you know it? Well, that word translated doctrine, it simply means this. teachings, the teachings of Christ. And I know this much. I know on multiple occasions, and you look this up for yourself in all four of the Gospels, when our Lord spoke His doctrine, spoke His teaching concerning salvation and eternal life, the Scriptures tell us the response by both who heard Christ's doctrine. You know what it was? It was astonishment. Listen to this. And when the multitude heard They were astonished. They were amazed at his doctrine, at his teaching. Christ told the Jews on another occasion, my doctrine, now listen to this, my teaching is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, what's the will of the Father? To believe on him whom God has sent. If any man will do his will, listen, he will know the doctrine. He'll know the teaching, whether it be of God or whether it be of himself. Because Christ said, I don't speak of myself, what I speak of, I speak of what my Father told me. Salvation is through the way God the Father intended and purposed and the three-one God established before the foundation of the world. The doctrines of Christ, what is it? It's the teaching or instruction which he received from his father as his people's representative and substitute and surety, which he in turn, what'd he do? He delivered it to his disciples, of which he himself was the sum and the substance. He said this, and I, if I be lifted up, Exalted to the penultimate position, the highest place, I'll draw all unto myself. Christ's doctrine, folk, is our doctrine. And it concerns his person as the Son of God. Truly God, the one that the scripture said, thou shalt call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. This doctrine, the doctrine of Christ, it's a teaching that Christ was both God and man, and that he is the one mediator between God and man. This doctrine is the preaching out of Christ in all his offices, is the God-sent Messiah, is his people's mediator, surety, the messenger of the covenant of grace. This doctrine is the preaching out of His incarnation, His obedience, His suffering, His death, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to heaven, His intercession for His people, and His second coming. This doctrine of Christ, it preaches out, listen to me, it preaches out obedience. Not ours, but His. through his obedience unto death, atonement through his sacrifice, justification by his righteousness, and complete salvation in him. Paul stated it this way, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the principle of life, That's what that word law means. The principle of life, which is in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Apart from the preaching out of this doctrine, there is not and there cannot be any salvation for any sinner. Paul stated it about as plainly as it could be stated. He said, but God be thanked, you were the servants of sin. You see that? We were bond slaves of sin. But you have obeyed from the heart. Listen, what did we obey from the heart? That form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin. When? When we believe that form of doctrine. Being then made free from sin. you became servants of righteousness. I got to look at that verse this week, found a literal translation of it, and it makes that statement, that form of doctrine which was delivered you. I was always puzzled in the way that was written. Listen to you. Thanks to God that you were servants of sin and were obedient from the heart to the form of teaching To which, here's the literal translation, to which you were delivered up. To which you were delivered up and freed from sin by what? Us being delivered to that doctrine, that teaching of Christ. You became servants of righteousness. You say, well, what are you saying, preacher? This is what I'm saying. In other words, God always delivers his teaching to his people. They shall be all taught of God. But look at John's verdict on any and all who no longer walk in his doctrine, who refuse to continue in it. He says, they hath not God. That word hath means to have or to hold in the sense of wearing. Those who transgress and don't abide in Christ accomplished work, they are without God in this world. But notice the flip side of it. He that abides or continues in the doctrine of Christ, what has he got? What has she got? He has both the Father and he has the Son. Remember those two absolutes that we started out with three Sundays ago? What were they again? First of all, none of God's chosen people. None knows God the Father chose. None knows that Christ the Son redeemed by his obedience unto death. None of those that God the Holy Spirit regenerates and converts in time under the preaching of the gospel can ever lose their salvation. And the second absolute is this, all those God saves through his almighty sovereign grace in Christ Jesus, they will continue, they will live, and they will die where? In the faith of the gospel of Christ. You cannot make them leave it. I can't help but think of Peter. in his words to Christ. It says, it is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh, profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. There are some of you that believe not, but Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. And he said, therefore said I unto you that no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me, except it were given unto him of the Father. From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you go away also? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." Folks, that's what it is to abide or continue in the doctrine of Christ, continue in His person and in His work. Truly, the just, the righteous, how do they live? They live by faith in that one foundation, which is Christ Jesus our Lord. Look at His warning to this lady and her children, if there come any unto you and bring not this This teaching, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed, for he that bid him Godspeed is a partaker of his evil deeds. And I'd point out to you again, at the beginning of it, looking at this verse, notice that these deceivers, they don't operate or they don't go out into this religious world. What does he say? If there come any unto you, where are they coming? Like I told you last Sunday, you don't have to deceive those that are out in the world. They're deceived already. They're in darkness. His goal, his purpose in sending his Antichrist, those false deceivers, is to... Listen, Satan can't have any of God's elect, but he can sure destroy their comfort and their encouragement and their witness and their testimony while in this world. They come to where Christ's church is. where they worship. Think again of Paul's word to those elders at Ephesus right before he left. He said, take heed unto yourself and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the flock, the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own self shall men arise. speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. John told this elect lady and his children, as well as all of God's children in every generation, if any preacher or any teacher or those who call themselves Christian come to you and they don't bring the doctrine and teaching of Christ, we ought to receive them into the house. And I, from everything that I looked, from every commentary I looked at, and I'm of the same opinion, this house that we're not to let them into, it's not just our home that I live at at 900 Wedgwood. This lady, this is a church, this epistle's written to the church of God. He said, don't let them where? Don't let them in the pulpit. Don't ever let them stand up and speak for God, ever. But if we do, now think about it, if we do defend them, And if we do bid them Godspeed, like what he's talking about here, John dogmatically states to them, for he that biddeth him Godspeed is a partaker of his evil deed. That original word translated Godspeed, it means to rejoice, to be glad, to be well, to thrive, or it's a salutation of hail, or like brother. First John 3, 13, John wrote, Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you. Our Lord told his disciples, you and me included, if you were of the world, the world would love his own, but because you are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of this world, therefore the world hateth you. The question we need to ask and answer is, Why do the world hate Christ? And why do they hate his children? That's an absolute. You realize that? He said, if they hated me, who else are they going to hate? They're going to hate you as well. So the question is why? Well, let Christ answer that question. Listen to you. The world cannot hate you. He's talking to his physical brethren who had not believed on him. They were encouraging him to do what? To go up to the Feast of the Tabernacles. Go do the miracles that you've done everywhere else. Go to the center of religion and do the miracles there to confirm. And he tells them, his natural brethren, he says to them, the world cannot hate you, but me it hates because I testify of it. that the works thereof are evil. That word translated testify means to be a witness or to bear witness like in a trial. You know what? They hated our Lord Jesus Christ because he bore witness against them. What was his witness against them? That the works thereof are evil. What were their evil works? Huh? In the context of John 7, which I read that verse from, tells us that evil works, what were they? Their participation in the Feast of the Tabernacles, which was established by God, was part of the first Old Covenant, ordained by God, that like all the law and the prophets, what did the Feast of the Tabernacles point to? What did all of Moses point to? The whole first five books of the Bible. Heck, the whole Bible, what does it point to? Old and new. Point me into the promised Messiah. But these Jews, they thought, well, since we're Jews, and since we think we've kept the law, and since we participate in all the ceremonies and sacrifices and rituals, we're saved. Paul wrote to those at Hebrews. We'll read it next Sunday when we take it to the Lord's table. He says it's not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to put away sin. Could not. He said that they stand only in meats and drinks and diverse worst washings and carnal ordinances imposed until the time of Reformation. What's the time of Reformation? When the promised Messiah came. and fulfilled it all. As a child of God, those redeemed, justified, and saved by God's mercy and grace in Christ accomplished work of redemption, we cannot and we will not speak peace to any sinner apart from the only hope, ground, and cause of salvation, which is the Lord our righteousness. What does that mean to you and me? I thought about this a long time before I wrote this down. This morning as I was going back over my notes and highlighting things, wrote out in the margins slowly, so I'm gonna read to you what I wrote, because to me, this is the most important thing that I can stress to myself and to you. What does this mean, that we will not compromise Christ's glory and his honor? This is what it means. It means if we truly love our unbelieving spouses, and if you have a believing spouse, be grateful for it. If we truly love our unbelieving spouses, or we truly love our children, or we truly love our in-laws, or we truly love our brothers, our natural brothers or our sisters, or we truly love our moms and our dads, we can't allow them to think for one second that we believe and trust and follow the same Lord. See, and there's no hope of salvation in any other person, in any other work, any other accomplishment. Listen to this. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved." Which one? The Lord, our righteousness. Jehovah said it. Well, what about if we do? What about if you or I, we continually speak peace to and enter into religious fellowship with those that do not abide and transgress the doctrine of Christ. He says you're a partaker of his evil deeds. That word translated partaker, it means partner. It means fellowship. It means, this is one that got me, it means you're a companion with him. Here's the same word. But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not, here's the same exact word, I would not have you fellowship with devils. Huh? You let that sink in. If I bid anybody, Godspeed, who believes another gospel, who's resting in something other than Christ-imputed righteousness alone. You know what I am? I'm a partner with them. I'm a companion with them. I'm in fellowship with them. And you know what that reveals of my current situation? I'm dead in trespasses and sin. And I'm ignorant of, and I myself am not submitted to the righteousness of Christ as my only hope and cause. a salvation because of those who are submitted to Christ's righteousness? Here's the reality. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every man that believe it. I'll ask you a couple questions and I'll quit. Is it God's will that any sinner seek justification in eternal life based on the deeds of the law? Is that the will of God? Is it God's will that any sinner sincerely and morally go about seeking to establish a righteousness of his or her own? Is it God's will that any sinner believe salvation conditioned on the sinner in any way, to any degree, at any time? I hope to God your answer to all three of those questions is absolutely not. Those who do such things, who compromise on those three questions that I've asked, they're not our brethren. They're not. And we're to love them. We're to be concerned for them. We're to point them not to a church, point them to where? Point them to Christ. And we ought to continually pray to our Father as long as they're alive, as long as they're above the grave, that if they are His, He will be pleased in His appointed time to bring them to true faith and true repentance. But I tell you what we cannot do, we cannot cry peace to them, and we cannot encourage them in their false profession. What I'm saying is this, we are never, ever, to take sides against those who do the will of God. That is to say those who believe God's gospel and seek to enter into judgment with God based only on the imputed righteousness of Christ. We should never be on the side against those people. How do we know that? We know we have passed from death into life in that we love the brethren. We'll quit right there. You can read verse 12 and 13. I had to read verse 12 and 13. Just read it. He says to them, I got a lot of things that I want to say to you. But he said, instead of me writing them down, when I come to you. Now, I don't know if he ever made it. I guess we could ask Robert. Robert could probably tell us if he made it to here. But he said, when I get to you in person, I'm going to talk to you about these things in person. And he pronounced a blessing on them in closing this book. I hope and I pray that that has been of some value to you. Let's stand together. And we dismiss. Appreciate your presence. Lord bless you. Keep you till we see you in the next Lord's Day. Donald, if you would, please dismiss us, sir.