Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Amen.

Text: I John 4:1-11, but especially these words –

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus:

 In the text for today, St. John is warning us that false prophets and the spirit of antichrist can be hazardous to our spiritual health. Unfortunately, we’re not going to see people or spirits identified with warning labels – so we must learn to recognize them for ourselves. Sometimes it’s relatively easy. Any person, religion, or cult that doesn’t receive Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world – is not of God and is

the spirit of antichrist.

 Sometimes, though, it isn’t so easy. In our everyday lives, we’re confronted with many spirits and attitudes. Some are of God – others are not. Today, we’ll consider the spirit of antichrist as it appeared in the lives of Jesus’ contemporaries. We hope to be able to recognize that spirit when confronted with it in our lives. Then we’ll look at the spirit of God, the spirit of love that Jesus displayed. This is the spirit that can overcome the spirit of antichrist and guide our thoughts, our actions, and our entire lives.

 One of the spirits that Jesus found opposing Him was the spirit of pride in personal accomplishments. Jesus identified that spirit when He spoke about the Pharisee praying in the temple. This man felt good about himself. He was honest, and was a good man to do business with. He was no adulterer. He had his principles – and he wasn’t about to violate them. He was also a religious man – as anyone could see who observed his fasting, his praying, and his giving.

 Would any of us encourage him to change his lifestyle? We wouldn’t want to change his business practices or his faithfulness to his wife. We certainly wouldn’t want to discourage the practice of giving. And yet, with all of his virtuous activity, Jesus still considered this man outside the kingdom of God. His spirit was the spirit of antichrist. He felt that he could earn his place with God by his own accomplishments. This spirit was opposed to Christ – because it kept him from recognizing his need for a Savior.

 There are times when we feel good about ourselves. It may be in the way we conducted ourselves in a difficult situation. It might be some temptation that we resisted. It may be the service that we have rendered. But the moment we expect God to feel as good about us as we do about ourselves and to give us some special reward or recognition – then the spirit of antichrist has appeared in our lives.

 Jesus also saw a spirit opposing Him – in the search to get ahead financially. A young man came to the Lord and wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. To earn it – keep the commandments. This man was sure that he had kept them from his youth. Jesus tells him to do one thing more – to sell what he has and give it to the poor. Then, he was to follow Jesus. We’re told that this man went away very sad – because he was very rich. He couldn’t part with what he had.

 Isn’t reward the American success story? Isn’t this our work ethic? If you work hard – you’ll be rewarded with the blessings of life. We all like the good things of life, but when the emphasis becomes what a person has instead of what he or she is and can be as a forgiven child of God – then we have a problem. In the search and desire to get ahead in the things of this world, Christ saw a spirit that wasn’t of God and that made it very difficult to enter the kingdom of God.

 Our Lord saw a spirit opposing Him in the delaying of decisions and godly activity. I’ll do it when the time is right, but first I must take care of something else. This can be the spirit of antichrist. “But first” are the key words. Jesus invited a man to follow Him. He was willing, “but first” he wanted to bury his father. Another agreed to follow Him, “but first” he wanted to say good-bye to those at home. Jesus’ response to these “but first” situations was to tell them – “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

 We have many willing people. I’ll be glad to come to the meeting if you put it on a night that I’m free. I’ll be glad to help just as soon as I have the time. “But first” there are other things that need my attention. Now these things may all be good and important, but if they compete for the place God would have in our lives – they are the

spirit of antichrist.

 Who would have thought that the spirit of antichrist could be present in the disciples – except, of course, for Judas. When Peter suggested that the Lord should avoid suffering and death in Jerusalem, Jesus called him Satan and told Peter that he wasn’t on the side of God. The disciples also had a spirit of jealousy of which our Lord didn’t approve. They observed a man casting out demons in the name of Jesus. He wasn’t one of them, so they ordered him to stop. Jesus informed His disciples that they were wrong. Anyone who did a mighty work in His name wasn’t working against them. 

“Whoever is not against us is for us.”

 We like special recognition, don’t we? We can become very jealous when others do great things in His name. When we can’t rejoice over the good that is done in the name of the Lord because we’re jealous of the individual who did it – then the spirit of antichrist has reached into our lives. The spirit of antichrist appears in many forms. It’s a real and very present threat to our Christian life of faith.

 Now, let’s consider the spirit of God’s love, which reaches out to save and to change lives so that we may know the blessing of lives lived in love. The Holy Scriptures tell us that God is love and that His love was made known to us in the sending of His Son to be our Savior. And Jesus showed this spirit of love in His relationship with others. The spirit of love in Christ opened the kingdom of God to people.

 One of the amazing aspects of God’s love is that it’s a love for sinners. The Pharisee praying in the temple felt that God should love him – because he was so good. But God’s spirit of love reaches out to guilty sinners. One day the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. According to the law, adultery was to be punished by death. Our Lord said – “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one they turned and went away. No one condemned her. Then Jesus told her – “Neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin.”

 How could He just ignore the Law? Certainly He was without sin.  Yet, He did not condemn her, nor does He condemn us – because He would accept the responsibility for this sin, along with all the others, and be condemned for them. The penalty of the Law would be paid for on the cross. This is still the love that reaches out to us – even while we’re guilty of sin. You never deserve God’s love – it comes because of God’s goodness alone. The apostle Paul writes of this amazing love in his letter to the Romans – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is the spirit of love – and there are no limits to this love. For Christ has erased all boundaries for it.

 Remember Zacchaeus? He was that short fellow who just wanted to see Jesus. He couldn’t see over the crowd so he climbed a tree to see better. Jesus invited Himself to his house. And during the visit, a joy came to Zacchaeus – there was a change of direction in his life. He had been overcome by the love of God. Jesus saw what happened and said – “Today salvation has come to this house.” God’s love

creates love. This spirit brings the change from a selfish love to a desire for all to share in the blessings of God.

 And this love reaches out to all – even those who would be considered enemies. How well this was demonstrated, when our Lord prayed from the cross – “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This is what the spirit of love is all about – Forgive them. He died for all sins – the sins of the woman caught in adultery, the sins of Zacchaeus, the sins of the scribes and Pharisees, the sins that are yours and mine – yes, the sins of the spirit of antichrist. He accepted the responsibility for them all – and He forgives us. This spirit of love has paid our debt and has set us free to be the children of God.

 Only with the spirit of forgiving love can a marriage succeed. Only with the spirit of forgiving love can a family live together as a blessing. Only with this spirit of forgiving love can we work and move forward as a church here in this place. The spirit of antichrist is found in each of us. Those who live in that spirit live in a small world. They are hemmed in by greed, jealousy, and self-interests. But the spirit of God is a spirit of love – it has no boundaries and knows no limitations. God gives this spirit to us through Christ – so that we can know the joy that comes from being His own. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. 

Authored by Reverend Carl Trosien.