There are errors, and then there are errors. There are many almost, but not quite in our lives. One day this past summer, it was about 100 degrees, and one of my neighbors was out front and walking his dog, and we started talking. He said, Savannah is as hot as hell. I said, oh no, Savannah can get very hot, but it's not as hot as hell. You may be terribly uncomfortable today, but I assure you that Savannah is maybe almost, but not quite as hot as hell by hundreds, maybe hundreds of degrees. We talk about blades of grass because by casual observance, it may be thought of, we look outside at grass and it looks like a blade, it comes to a point, it has two edges. But when you examine it carefully, it's almost, but not quite. It really doesn't come quite to a point, and it will cut absolutely nothing. So it's almost a blade, but not quite. And we call the Earth a terrestrial ball. It is spherical. It's roundish. It's sort of ball-like. But when we really look at our planet from the perspectives we have from space now, we see that it's really oblong. So it's not a ball at all. It's almost, but not quite. and being savannah the weather changes and this week one of the neighbors told me that that savannah was like heaven the weather was like heaven and i said oh no it's not like heaven at all it's not eternal it's going to change it's it's daytime now it's going to get dark in heaven i can see god the father god the son and god the holy spirit and and the best i can say is that the temperature alone in in savannah is is almost heaven-like But not quite. You see, there are many almost, but many not quite's in our lives. And some almost, but not quite's may come our way as a normal course of life when we talk about them and we laugh about them. But there are some almost, but not quite, that are very dangerous, that we must recognize, and that we must resist, we must deal with them. In verses 1 to 6, we read a few moments ago, in those 6 verses, John establishes the fact that truth and love, and love and truth are inseparably joined, and they're always the foundation for a stable and secure relationship. that love and truth are always and forever the ways of God, and that's not an almost, that is fully the truth. Truth and love are intertwined and dependent on one another. But we leave verse 6, which we've talked about in the previous two sermons, and the apostle John moves almost with stunning speed and focused precision from love and truth to warn us of people who are filled with treachery, and deception, and are ready to pounce and bring destruction. That's what verses 7 through 11 are about. Now here, John has just spoken about love and truth, and truth and love, and now he's talking about treachery, and he's talking down about people. Is that a loving thing for him to do? Well, it's a very loving thing for him to do. Notice verse 7, and this is what's going on in his mind. For many deceivers have gone out into the world. You see, he's telling you that there are deceivers, and that's something that you need to know. Everybody in a robe, everybody in a suit, everybody behind the holy desk. will not tell you the truth. There are many deceivers in this world. Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver. And an Antichrist. An Antichrist, one who wants to replace Christ, one who wants to resist Christ. That's what an Antichrist is. And there are, first of all, those who are deceived, and there are those who are deceiving. There's people who are both deceived and deceiving, and people about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's one sign of the true Redeemer and the Savior. The true Redeemer, the true Savior, is the One who came from God into the world, took on flesh, and became man, and sacrificed Himself on the cross for His elect people. And that is called the Incarnation, and the Incarnation is an essential doctrine of Christian faith. And it used to be the only thing that Christmas was all about all around the world, but of course that's changed and that'll be one of Ray's sermons in just a few weeks, you just wait and see. And why would Christians, who are true Christians, focus on this teaching called the Incarnation? Well, the answer is because if you get this almost right, The result is eternally devastating for you. Your eternity in heaven or hell depends on Jesus being the God who took on flesh to accomplish a particular purpose, a particular way. He accomplished our salvation from the wrath we deserve by doing these very things that we've talked about already in your confession of faith. and in this passage today. So here's how it works. Here's what the Bible teaches. We get this from our catechism. If you want to take your bulletin and go back to the confession of faith, you can follow along with me because I'm going to run through it real quickly to show you what's going on here. It says, since according to God's righteous judgment, we deserve punishment both in this world and forever after in hell, actually in hell, mistype. Can we do anything ourselves to escape this punishment and return to God's favor? Well, your answer was that God requires that his justice be fully satisfied. Ezekiel 18-20, the soul that sins must die. The full requirements of God's justice must be met. R.C. Sproul used to ask the question in class, he'd say, what does God have to do in order to take you into heaven without you being punished? Or without anyone being punished? What's the answer? That's impossible. Justice has to be met. Somebody has to pay for your sins. Either you pay for them or One qualified pays for them. That one qualified happens to be the Lord Jesus Christ and none other. You're not even qualified to pay for your own sins, which we'll talk about in a second. You have to do it forever and ever and ever without interruption if you start paying for your own sins. You see, that's what God's just requirements demand. Perfect justice. And perfect doesn't mean just pristine, pure. It means full and complete and eternal. Next question. Can we pay this debt ourselves? We are certainly not able to pay the debt for our sin. Even our eternal damnation would fall short. That's why it's eternal because it's never done if you're paying it yourself. That's why eternity is forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever without end? Instead of being able to pay our debt, we actually increase our guilt every day by imperfect obedience. Mark 12 30, we read this a while ago, the first great commandment. Can another creature, any at all, pay our debt for us? Well, the answer is no. Why? Because, what's the key word there? Creature. Jesus is not a creature. Jesus is the Creator. There's never been a time when He was not created. He is the Creator. So, there's no creature. All of the animal sacrifices, they were just pictures of the Creator paying the price for us as Jesus took on flesh, as the Lamb of God paid the price for the sins of the world. And He's the only one, Acts chapter 4, as we read. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for to deliver us from the wrath we deserve? Only a mediator and deliverer who is truly human and truly righteous. Who could that be? Only one who was born without a sin nature. Only Jesus was born without a sin nature. Only Jesus fits this requirement. Only Jesus is God. He had to be truly righteous and more powerful. One who is also fully and truly God. Romans 9.5, it talks about Jesus descending humanly from the patriarchs. Through them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised. Amen. And Titus 2.13, we wait for the great and glorious appearing of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He's our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Next question, why must he be truly human and truly righteous? Well, because God is holy, holy, holy. You must be holy for I am holy. Adam had sinned, he was unholy. You have sinned, you're unholy. You were born in sin, you're unholy. So one who is holy must pay for your sin. must redeem you, ransom you for Himself. Why must He also be true God? He must also be true God so that by the power and strength of His divinity, He might bear the weight of God's anger and His humanity. God, man together. the deity holding up the humanity in the space of a few hours, all of the wrath and all of the punishment for all of the elect people for all of eternity was paid for in that moment that the father turned his back on the son and poured out his wrath on the son so that he would not have to pour out his wrath on us. That's how magnificent Jesus is, and that's why He was the God-man. Not God alone, not man alone, but the God-man. And who is this Mediator, true God and at the same time truly human and truly righteous? This Mediator, what is a Mediator? One who represents. Jesus represented God to us and He represents us to God. He stands in God's place to us. He stands in our place to God. This Mediator who is true God and at the same time truly human and truly righteous is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ who was given by the Father an amazing gift, right? and came willingly to set us completely free and give us right standing with God. When you were standing here and we were praying a while ago, I was thinking about this, that you're standing there and God is listening to you for what reason? Only one reason, and that one reason is what Jesus Christ has done for you. That's the only reason and none other. You didn't come here, you didn't sashay through that door and come in here and sit down and think, oh boy, God must be privileged to have me here today. You know, I could be playing golf with these fellows out here. But no, I'm here because... No. You know why you're here? You're here because God overcame your reluctance. That's why you're here. That's why I'm here. How do you come to know this? The Holy Gospel tells me, 2 Timothy 3.16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for a proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for every good work. John 17, 17, "...sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth." You see, without the Bible, the Holy Gospel, we would not know these things about God. "...and are all saved through Christ, just as all were lost through Adam." The answer is no. Sadly, from my perspective, no. Only those are saved who by true faith, Now, what is true faith? True faith is the faith that embraces Jesus as He is. Not as we want Him to be, not as deceivers would tell us He is. We've got to embrace Jesus as He is offered to us in the gospel. That is your duty. Now, how are you going to do that? You've got to know who He is. You've got to know what He is. You've got to know what He's done. You've got to believe what He is and believe what He's done. And how are you going to do that? By reading the Scriptures. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the voice of Christ. So, you are accountable. That puts Jesus the one who does the work, but it makes you accountable to appropriate what Jesus has done. And to appropriate it rightly. Now, we're not into Gnosticism. Gnosticism, special knowledge where, you know, if you know enough, if you get it, you know, all that. No. But you certainly have to agree, admit, and embrace that Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior, that He is the God-Man, that He has done these things for us without our help. Now, this is God's news for us. And it is spectacular news. It's so spectacular and it's so good, and it's so pure and it's so perfect, that the devil hates it. And not only the devil hates it, the world hates it. And not only does the world hate it, but your flesh would hate it unless you were redeemed. The world, the flesh, and the devil are the enemies of these truths, the enemies of the Scripture, the enemies of Jesus. I mean, the world did kill Jesus, didn't it? And did He do them any wrong whatsoever? No, not one thing did he do wrong, and yet he was killed. And if you are a follower of Christ and you embrace Jesus Christ as He is, then you have enemies. And it's a very sad thing, but I want you to notice in our text here that the deceivers are numerous. It says, many deceivers have gone out. So there's many of them and they've gone out, which means they've gone out and they're busy. You can turn on your TV today and you can see deceivers on the TV. You can see some good ones too, but you can turn on the radio. When I lead somebody to Christ and they say, what should I do? I say, first thing you do is turn off the radio for two years. Don't listen to what you hear on the radio because there's a bunch of baloney out there. Well John is pointing out people who split off from the church. turned against her teaching, but do so as either the deceived or the deceiver." And 1 John 5.11 says, and this is the testimony, this is the record, this is the proof that God has given to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. What is the record? 127 times in the scripture, I forget, 127 times. The Bible talks about the record and the deceivers are going against the record, they're going against the testimony, they're going against the Bible. Why? Are they denying the testimony outright? Well, some do. I was on the internet looking at who would deny these things. Jehovah's Witnesses deny these things. Mormons deny these things. United Church of Christ denies these things. United Methodist denies these things. United Presbyterians deny these things. United Pentecostals deny these things. I can go on. But some deny Him outright. But some don't just deny it outright, they just distort it. They're in this almost but not quite category. When the deceiver talks about Jesus, they may speak of the great teacher that Jesus was, and they tell you that you need to believe that He was a great teacher. But that, as true as it is, is not the whole story. It's almost, but it's not quite. And if Jesus is the Great Teacher, then why don't you believe what He said about Himself? And why don't you believe what He said about those who spoke of Him? They spoke, Jesus said, all of the prophets spoke of Him. Why don't we believe them? People talk about what a leader Jesus was, or is. Well, He is a leader. But that is an almost but not quite statement. And if He's a leader, then why don't we follow? If He's truly the leader that the Bible says He is, then why don't we just... just fall in behind Him, get in step and do what we should do and march into battle, march into life right behind Jesus and step with Him. And some say that Jesus was a good man but not God. No, that's not even close. Some people say that Jesus was a good God, but not man. That's not close either. He is a good man, He is a perfect man, and He is a perfect God. He is God. And someone with such a view may be persuasive and they may be sincere. And the person that's telling you these things may have great personality, but the test is in verse 7. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. Who is this person? He is a deceiver and he is an antichrist. Now, what part of that And I will read it again. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. What part of that is your Jesus? It's certainly, I have to leave out the first part of that. I believe that Jesus Christ, God, the Son, has come in the flesh. And you and I are supposed to believe that Jesus alone accomplished all that was necessary for us to be saved. There is no other way for us to think about Jesus Christ except as Him alone accomplishing salvation. He accomplished salvation by the Father deserting Him. Think about that. The Father turned His back on His own Son, so He would not have to turn His back on you and on me. Jesus did it all. All to Him I owe. And then we look at verses 8 and 9. Look at verse 8 for a second. Look to yourselves. That means, in the Greek, y'all be careful. Okay? that we do not lose those things we work for, but that we may receive full reward." He does not want them to lose all that they've gained so far. They, the church. Is John here warning them that they're about to lose their salvation? Look again at the verse very carefully. Look to yourselves, again, y'all be careful, that we do not lose those things we work for, but that we may receive a full reward. So, we don't want to lose what we've earned by working, right? Clear. Don't lose what you've earned by working. Question, did you gain your salvation by your works? Titus 3.5, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. Ephesians 2, for by grace you have been saved through faith. 2.9, not by works, lest anyone should boast. So the next question, do you have the power to escape salvation that's given to you by God? Now, hear me well here, and we're nearing the end. If God gave you salvation, can you escape that salvation? What did God do to give you that salvation? He didn't do it in you, He did it for you. Outside of you, objectively, 2,000 years ago, it's part of history. It's like ringing a bell, you can't unring the bell. Once it's wrong, it's wrong. Once salvation is accomplished, it's accomplished. And once it's applied to you, it is yours because what happens in you is you are brought to life, you're given faith, and you believe, and you repent of your sins. Now, of course, some people are better repenters than others. Some people have a faith that's more... Oh, bigger. It's bigger than others. But if it's true faith and true repentance, the size of a mustard seed or the size of a golf ball. It's still true. All of that is a gift. And when God saves you, He converts you. And because of what He's done for you, then you do good works. But the good works are not meritorious and you do not earn anything. So here's what's going on. Once He gives this to you, you are His. He has adopted you. You are His child and He will not let you out of His family. You can't change your name. Listen to Jesus talk in John 10. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. If you're a true Christian, you will be following Him. You don't become a Christian by following Him, but if you're a true Christian, you will be following Him. And I give them eternal life. Give. It's a gift. And they shall never perish. How long before they perish? It's not like going to the meet and having to look at the label to see when it expires. There's no expiration date on your salvation. They shall never perish. God is not an Indian giver. You know, we have a tulip. Total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. That's our flower. The Armenians also have a flower. Loves me, loves me not. Loves me, loves me not. Loves me, loves me not. Maybe the day God loves you, maybe the day He doesn't. That's the view. But no. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. You can't get out of His hand. Nobody can take you out of His hand. The devil can't take you out of His hand. The world can't take you out of His hand. My Father who has given them is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. You're in the hand of Jesus, and you're in the hand of the Father, and they have a grip on you, and you cannot get away if you are a true Christian. A true Christian. And then, verses 9 and 10 of 2 John, says this, Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, nor greet him. You see, What is the doctrine of Christ? That is the doctrine of, who do people say that I am? That's the very question that John speaks of in this passage, that John speaks of in his gospel, that Mark speaks of in Mark 8. Who do people say that I am? Jesus asking His disciples, and Jesus asking you. Who do you say that He is? Is He, in your mind, the eternal God? There is either He is the eternal God or He is not. And there is no room for almost, but not quite eternal. Is Jesus co-eternal with the Father? There is no room for almost, but not quite. John 1.1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And in John 1.14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Does your Jesus have all authority in heaven and earth? Is He a member of the Trinity? Is His name to be included with the Fathers and Holy Spirits in baptism? Does He have the power and authority to give you commands? Listen to this. And Jesus came and spoke to them, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Is your Jesus truth itself? John 14, 6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but through me. Is He God? We wait for the great and glorious appearing of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We're looking for that blessed confidence. Did He offer Himself as the sacrifice for your sins? That's a question that you must answer as not an almost, but not quite. Either Jesus paid all of the price for your sins and did everything to bring you to the Father, or you are not there. You are not there. The apostle is uncompromising. To jettison the premier place of Jesus as the exclusive self-declosure of God and to deny that Jesus has full humanity is to be deceived altogether. So, as we come to our next and last sermon on 2 John, where are you today? Almost, but not quite? What is your foundation? Is it Jesus, or is it almost Jesus, but not quite? And probably the bigger question for this congregation, what are you building your life on? I'm talking about your business. I'm talking about your homeschooling. I'm talking about everything that you're doing, your military career, your retirement, Is it Jesus or is it almost Jesus? Because you see, the reason that the church is in so much trouble today is because the church is playing the almost Jesus. Jesus is almost good enough. Jesus is almost authoritative enough. Jesus is almost God enough. Jesus is almost good enough. But no, either He is all or He is nothing. Amen? Amen. Prepare yourselves to receive the Supper of the Lord.