The most important question anyone faces is this: What do you believe about Jesus Christ? That single issue determines everything else in life and eternity. The apostle John wrote to believers surrounded by deceptive spiritual messages that sounded religious yet twisted the truth. In 1 John 2:18-28 he gives a straightforward test. The test is Christ Himself.
John begins by reading the passage aloud and praying that God would apply His Word, bring the unsaved to faith in Christ, and stir believers to keep Jesus central. The message that follows shows why every teaching, every group, and every personal belief must be measured by one question: What does it say about Jesus?
Test Every Teaching by Its View of Jesus (vs. 2:18, 22-23)
We test many things in daily life. Banks warn customers they will never ask for PIN numbers over the phone. Emails that look official sometimes prove to be phishing scams that steal money and personal information. These deceptions are serious, yet spiritual deception is far worse. A false spiritual message can keep a person from trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour and send that soul to eternal judgment.
John addresses this danger directly. “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18). The word “antichrist” describes both the coming final deceiver and anyone who opposes Christ or offers a counterfeit in His place. John then asks, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (1 John 2:22-23).
Every false road includes a false view of Jesus. Some deny His full deity and teach that He was only a prophet. Others attack His true humanity or claim He never actually died or rose again. Still others present Him as a created being, one of many spirit children, or merely a great moral teacher among many paths to God. These errors are not new. In the fourth century Arius taught that the Son was not eternal with the Father. Athanasius defended the biblical truth that Jesus is of the same substance with the Father, a position the church affirmed at Nicaea in 325.
Today the same test applies. When someone knocks at the door, shares a video, or invites you to a religious event, the first question to ask is simple: What do you believe about Jesus? Sincerity, morality, or religious language cannot replace a right view of the Son of God. Those who deny the true Christ do not know the Father, no matter how sincere they appear.
Keep Abiding In The Gospel (vs. 2:24-26)
John next urges believers to remain in the truth they heard from the beginning. “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you” (1 John 2:24-26).
The message heard from the beginning is the gospel itself: the truth about who Jesus is and what He has done through His death, burial, and resurrection. Abiding means continuing in that same gospel. The person who proves genuine faith by continuing in Christ possesses eternal life.
This continuing faith shows itself in daily trust. When someone shares a testimony of salvation, the key question is not only what happened years ago but what that person is trusting right now. If faith in Christ was real then, it remains real today. A genuine believer keeps trusting the same Saviour.
A compass is useful only while it points true north. If something pulls the needle off course, sincere effort will still lead to the wrong destination. In the same way, religious sincerity and moral living cannot save if the heart holds a distorted view of Jesus. The gospel that first saved us must remain the truth that steadies us every day.
Stay Faithful to Christ (vs. 2:19-21; 27-28)
Some who once gathered with the early church later walked away. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19). Their departure revealed they had never truly believed.
Believers, however, possess an anointing from the Holy Spirit. “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things… But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:20, 27). The Spirit confirms the truth about Christ through Scripture. No higher or secret knowledge is required.
John therefore calls every believer to abide in Christ. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28). Faithfulness to the true Christ keeps us ready for His return.
Stories from childhood and ministry illustrate the warning. People once active in church sometimes joined groups that denied the deity of Jesus or His saving work. Their departure was painful yet clarifying: those who do not truly believe on the Son will eventually believe something else. The lesson remains urgent. Do not assume everyone who attends church or uses Christian language truly knows Christ. Ask the simple question: What do you believe about Jesus?
Jesus is the eternal Son of God who took on human flesh. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the substitute for our sins, and rose again the third day. Salvation comes only by trusting Him and His finished work. Jesus paid it all. The one who believes this in the heart and trusts Christ alone receives forgiveness and eternal life.
Conclusion
The test is Jesus. Every false teaching distorts who He is or what He has done. Every true believer continues in the gospel received from the beginning and stays faithful to Christ until He appears.
Examine your own heart. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? If you have never trusted Him as your personal Saviour, turn to Him today. Admit you are a sinner. Believe that the sinless Son of God died in your place and rose again. Place your faith in Him alone. He will save you and keep you.
For those who already know Him, refuse to let anything pull your focus away from Christ. Keep abiding in the truth about Jesus. In a world full of spiritual deception, the test remains the same. The test is Jesus.
