• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"I have not written to you because you do not know the truth..."

Text: 1 John 2:21

THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH

What was the ministry of the Apostle John? Indeed, what was the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? John had followed the Lord Jesus Christ most carefully and was just as deeply committed to battle for the truth.

“I have not written to you because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.”
1 John 2:21

1. “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth”

a) John had a very clear sense of purpose as to why he wrote.

b) In his gospel he shared why he wrote (John 20:31).

i) To help people believe that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Son of God.

ii) To help people come to a faith that will enable them to find life in Christ.

c) Knowledge of the truth was of paramount importance (John 8:31-32)

i) To know the word of the Lord was to know truth.

ii) A true disciple will always remain in the Lord’s word.

iii) The truth that he has would make him free.

d) John had written to his readers.

i) They had known the truth.

ii) What he had written about those who had departed was not anything new at all.

iii) They would have understood the truth that John had written.

2. “But because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth”

a) John appealed to knowledge obtained.

i) They had prior knowledge.

ii) They must make full use of the knowledge obtained.

iii) Past knowledge must make an impact on the present.

b) “And that no lie is of the truth”

i) The word “lie” is “pseudo”.

ii) “Pseudo-truth” is essentially nothing but a lie.

iii) Lies and truth do not co-exist.

iv) Those who had left them were not walking in the truth.