Some people appear like they know Christ, but over time, the masks come off, and we see who they truly are. Beware of deceitful people who claim temporary or modifiable association with Jesus.
1 John 2:18-27
Deconstruction – A growing movement to disassemble the Christian faith and replace it with cultural trends
Deconstruction (2:18-25)
- The less mature you are in the faith, the more susceptible you are to being deceived (2:18).
- While there will be an Antichrist at the end of time, plenty of others are doing the same work now (2:18).
- If people ultimately leave the Church, that means that they were never genuinely a part of it in the first place (2:19).
- We receive truth – not create it (2:20-21).
- If we deny Jesus as the Messiah, we audaciously attempt to replace Him as the source of truth (2:22-23).
- Eternal life is not proven by a one-time decision but by a consistent abiding (2:24-25).
Deception (2:26-27)
- Beware if your faith isn’t developed enough to withstand people and powers seeking to confuse it (2:26).
- Any anointing from the Spirit will always coincide with the truth from the Word (2:27, cf. 24).
- Eternal truth from Scripture does not require temporal opinions from us for improvement (2:27).
Just because you have experienced bad versions of Christianity doesn’t mean you need to abandon it.
- Jesus isn’t in need of correcting – we are.
- If you’re going to deconstruct anything, start with the idea that you are the surest source of truth.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.