HOLD TIGHT

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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By the end of the Apostle John’s long life (some say he ministered and lived into his 90’s), he had no doubt seen a great many pseudo-Christian movements pop up and fade away. History is replete with examples of people who attempted to damage the true family of faith with their many offshoots, divisions, and bold-faced lies.  

Like today’s cultic religions, many of these offshoots were wildly popular and even grew to outnumber those of the Christian church. It would seem that we as a people love the idea of receiving God’s gifts in ways that either tell us in great detail how we should live, or we love those religious expressions that place no real demands on us. 

In today’s passage we can hear how the Apostle John encourages the true church to hold tight to what has truly come from the Lord and to turn away from all other pretenders.

18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 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. 22 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. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 

24 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. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

(1 John 2:18-25 NIV11)

Last Hour

From the moment of Pentecost forward, the church of Jesus Christ has lived under the tension of knowing that the Lord would be returning to collect his church and bring an end to the sin and evil of the surrounding world. 

In this passage we see evidence that even the Apostle John lived under this expectation. There can be no doubt that the world is ripe for harvest and for discipline and that the Lord’s return is nearer now than ever before. But, John thought this way as well and yet the Lord has delayed his promised return so far. 

What Should We Do?

John tells us that as we await the return of the Lord, we should continue to be about the business of abiding in the truth. We should be in our scriptures daily, allowing the Lord to mold and shape our hearts by the truth of his word so that we might be used by the Lord to help bring in the harvest of souls lie before us. 

As we are being filled with his truth, we should allow the Spirit of Truth to help us weigh up what we hear from those who would presume to stand in the place of God and tell you what the future will hold. There have always been liars and deceivers in the world as well as in the church body. We need to allow the Lord to confirm the truth of his word in the mouths of those who would take on the calling of being a teacher for the church. 

Wolves

These anti-Christs are simply the hypocrites and wolves in sheep’s clothing that the Lord Jesus spoke about in the following passage:

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-16a NIV11)

We cannot be naive and believe that our church or our Christian school or our favorite online preachers have not become something other than under-shepherds of Christ. The lure of money and the worship of self, have led many astray and those who follow these lost ones blindly are going to fall along with their canine heroes. 

Hold Tight

In verse 24, John exhorts his reader to, “see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you”. We must return to the pure truth of scripture as often as we can. We need to learn the truth of the Gospel for ourselves and become confident in that which we have professed our faith. 

To become lazy and simply follow the opinions and advice of others when it comes to knowing the heart and mind of God as revealed in his Word is to put yourself in danger. 

Hold fast to the truth of God’s word and you will never fall into the trap laid for these anti-Christs. 

Prayer

Lord, help me develop a hunger for your truth. Help me seek what is real from your word rather from the opinions of others. Thank you for giving me access to your character and mind as I engage with your word. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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