[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, for a short while, and with the Lord's help and enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read, 1 John chapter 2, 1 John chapter 2 and verse 18.
[0:22] 1 John chapter 2 and verse 18, where the Apostle John writes, Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard, that Antichrist is coming.
[0:35] So now many Antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us.
[0:46] For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not.
[0:57] Of us. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard, that Antichrist is coming. So now many Antichrists have come.
[1:10] I'm sure that you've heard it being said that it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere.
[1:25] It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. It doesn't matter what religion you are as long as you're sincere. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian or a Muslim as long as you're sincere.
[1:38] It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Jehovah Witness as long as you're sincere. It doesn't matter if you're a Buddhist or a Hindu as long as you're sincere.
[1:49] It doesn't matter if you're a Protestant or a Catholic, a Roman Catholic, as long as you're sincere. Because all religions, well, they're just the same.
[2:00] And all that matters is that you're a good person and a good neighbor with good morals, and that you are sincere about what you believe.
[2:10] I hope no one in here this evening thinks like that, because it's not true. Sadly, that's the philosophy which many people follow today, where sincerity is misunderstood as authenticity and even accuracy.
[2:30] Sincerity has become the marker and even the measurement for something to be true. But as you know, we can be sincere, but sincerely wrong.
[2:43] We can be sincere, but sincerely wrong. And that's what John is actually addressing here in this passage. Those who were sincere, but sincerely wrong.
[2:55] And John describes them using a word that stands out. He describes them as antichrists. And John contrasts in this passage, he contrasts antichrists with those who are abiding in Christ.
[3:10] That's what he does. John contrasts the antichrists with those who are abiding in Christ. And so there are two headings this evening.
[3:21] We have antichrists and those who are abiding in Christ. Antichrists and abiding in Christ. So first of all, we're looking at what John describes as antichrists.
[3:35] Antichrists. He says there, Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard, that antichrist is coming. So now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour.
[3:48] They went out from us, but they were not off us. For if they had been off us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they all are not off us.
[4:03] How do I know that I'm a Christian? As you know, that's the question John is asking in this letter to the early church. How do I know that I'm a Christian? Especially when I feel like I'm not a Christian.
[4:15] And John is asking this question. John is presenting us the answer to that question because of all the claims and all of the confusion that was there in the early church to do with Gnosticism.
[4:28] Gnosticism had brought chaos to the early church because all these false teachers, they were teaching that in order to be a proper Christian, you have to have this higher knowledge, this higher gnosis of God.
[4:41] This, of course, it made all those who were genuine, all those who were sincere Christians feel that they weren't good enough or worthy enough or that they didn't know enough to be a proper Christian, which is the problem many people have today.
[4:57] They feel that they don't know enough or they're not worthy enough or good enough to become a Christian. But for these early Christians, they knew that they didn't have this higher knowledge, this higher gnosis.
[5:10] All they knew was that they were sinners in the sight of a holy God. They were sinners in need of a Savior. But Gnosticism in the church, it made them question their salvation.
[5:23] It made them doubt their Christianity. It even made many of them fall away from the faith. But here is John the Apostle, the Apostle of love. And he loves the Lord and he loves the Lord's people, which is why he writes this letter reminding and reaffirming and reassuring Christians that you can know that you're a Christian and you can be assured of your salvation.
[5:48] And so in chapter 1, we saw that John emphasizes that you should know that you're a Christian if you're walking in the light and you're talking with the Lord and you're confessing your sin.
[6:01] Three key characteristics to being a Christian. You're walking in the light, so you're reading God's Word. You're talking with the Lord. You're praying and you're confessing your sin. That's how you should know that you're a Christian.
[6:13] Then in chapter 2, the beginning of chapter 2, John tested out Christianity. He gave us all the love test. A really challenging test. The love test.
[6:23] Because he says, if you're a Christian, you'll love God and you'll love one another. That's a high standard. If you're a Christian, you'll love God and you'll love one another.
[6:35] And then as we touched on last Lord's Day, in the section before this one, verses 15 to 17, we saw that there's a love that God hates.
[6:46] A love that God hates because the love God hates is when we love the world and the things in the world more than God. That's the love God hates. That's why John, he asserts and he affirms to the church.
[6:59] He says, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And you know, by making all these contrasts between light and darkness, righteousness and sin, love and hate, godliness and worldliness, John is emphasizing, he's emphasizing all the time how you can know that you're a Christian and how you can be assured that you have salvation.
[7:27] Because John says, if you're walking in the light rather than in darkness, if you're pursuing righteousness rather than sin, if you're seeking to love rather than hate, if you're striving to be godly rather than worldly, then these are marks of grace.
[7:44] They're evidences of salvation in your life. They are characteristics of the Christian. And they should indicate to you, says John, that you are a Christian.
[7:56] They should give you this assurance of your salvation. They should make you realize that Christ is in you. But you know, as we move on into this section, John begins to make another contrast.
[8:12] And this time it's the contrast between truth and error. Between abiding in Christ and following an antichrist.
[8:23] That's what he does. He makes the contrast between abiding in Christ and following an antichrist. Or boys and girls, the contrast between truth and error.
[8:36] But you know, when John raises this subject, I have to note the way, the tone in which he raises it. Often it's not what you say, it's how you say it.
[8:50] And the tone that John speaks in this passage, he doesn't come across as hard or harsh, as some often would. Instead, John here, he gently and graciously encourages them to follow the truth rather than error.
[9:08] He encourages them to be abiding in Christ rather than following an antichrist. And John does this by addressing us as, verse 18, as children.
[9:22] Children, he says. It is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Now, this isn't the first time that, and it won't even be the last time, that John gently and graciously addresses us as children.
[9:39] Because John repeatedly uses the phrase children. Even the beginning of chapter 2, he says, my little children. It's a term of encouragement, a term of endearment.
[9:52] So that like children, or little children, who are young in the Christian faith, who are worried about their salvation, who are anxious about their assurance, John says, little children, here are marks of grace, so that you will know that you are growing in grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
[10:13] So keep desiring that sincere milk of the word, he says, that you may grow thereby. And you know, John, he gently and graciously addresses us.
[10:25] And when he does so, he does so in order to warn us. to warn us and to make us wary of the fact that there will be opposition to the gospel.
[10:36] There will be the onslaught of the devil. John tells them so clearly, it's like, you know, if you're going to become a Christian, don't think the devil is just going to leave you alone.
[10:49] No, no, you are a prime target if you're going to become a Christian. If you want to know that you're a Christian, the devil will be at you. There will be opposition towards you. And so John says to them, gently and graciously, children, children, it is the last hour.
[11:08] And as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. And when John uses the phrase there, the last hour, he's not reflecting upon or referring to the hour of Jesus' death and resurrection.
[11:30] You remember that throughout Jesus' ministry, Jesus always said that phrase. He says, my hour has not yet come. My hour has not yet come. My hour has not yet come.
[11:41] And then on the night that he was to be betrayed, he said to his disciples, my hour has come. And when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed to his father saying, Father, the hour has come.
[11:53] Glorify your son, that the son may glorify you. But when John uses this phrase, the hour has, the last hour, he's not referring to the hour of Jesus' death and resurrection.
[12:05] He's actually referring to the days after Jesus' death and resurrection. He's referring to the days after the hour that Jesus spoke of.
[12:16] He's referring to the last days, as we would call them. The last hour. Our Bible teaches us that the last days, they are the days after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ until the second coming.
[12:32] Which means that we're already living in the last days. We are living in the days after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and a second coming. And we've been living in the last days for, well, over 2,000 years.
[12:46] But what John is drawing our attention to here is that Jesus prophesied. Jesus proclaimed that in the last days, Antichrists would come.
[13:01] In the last days, Antichrists would come. That's why John says here in verse 18, Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard, the Antichrist is coming.
[13:15] And we have heard because Jesus already said it. That's why John says, as we have heard. John, Jesus said it in Mark's gospel and in Matthew's gospel. Jesus said, In the last days, false Christs, Antichrists, and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
[13:42] In the last days, says Jesus, false Christs, Antichrists, and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
[13:53] So, Jesus said, when he was on the earth, prior to his death and resurrection, he said, In the last days, in that period, after my death and my second coming, Antichrists will come.
[14:07] Antichrists will come. And that's what John is speaking about here. Now, the word Antichrist literally means opposed to Christ or in opposition to the Messiah or in place of Christ.
[14:24] And Jesus is clear here. He says, false Christs are dangerous. False Christs, Antichrists, are deceptive. They are destructive.
[14:35] They are Antichrist. And John says, we know that we're living in the last days because the Antichrist is no longer coming. Many Antichrists have come.
[14:51] And so, what John is actually saying here is, it shouldn't be a shock and it shouldn't be a surprise to you that these Antichrists are present and prevalent in your community and that they are opposed and in opposition to you and the Christian church.
[15:11] You know, like Paul did with young Timothy. Timothy, when Paul spoke to Timothy, he never softened or sugar-coated the reality of what the church is facing.
[15:26] Paul just spoke always directly to him. Paul said to Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 3, really solemn verses, he says, Timothy, understand this.
[15:37] In the last days there will come times of difficulty. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving, good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.
[16:05] And Paul says to Timothy, Timothy, avoid such people. Avoid such people. Paul never softened, he doesn't sugarcoat it, he just says it like it is.
[16:16] Avoid such people. And that's what John is saying here too. John is saying exactly the same thing, he says, but he's saying it gently and graciously. Children, it's the last hour.
[16:27] And as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us.
[16:39] If they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Now as you know, when it comes to the subject of Antichrists or the Antichrist, because that's what John actually says there in verse 18, John uses the definite article for the first one, where he says, that the Antichrist is coming.
[17:09] So he says, the Antichrist is coming, and now many Antichrists have come. So there's the Antichrist, first of all, then many Antichrists, plural, have come.
[17:22] So when it comes to the subject of the Antichrist or the Antichrists and Antichrists, if you know your Westminster Confession of Faith, which you should all know or all at least have a copy of in your house somewhere, hopefully not collecting dust, but if you have a Confession of Faith, a Westminster Confession of Faith, you'll be aware that it claims and confesses that the Pope is the Antichrist.
[17:48] The Pope is the Antichrist. Chapter 25 of the Confession, which is a chapter all about Jesus Christ alone being the King and Head of His Church.
[18:00] Chapter 25 at verse section 6, it reads, There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ, nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalts himself in the Church against Christ and all that is called God.
[18:25] Therefore, the Confession, the Westminster Confession states that the Pope is the Antichrist. He is the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians. He is the beast in the book of Revelation.
[18:37] Now, you'll be thankful to know that tonight I'm not going to go into any of that because it's all very confusing and it's very controversial. But, you know, when you consider the context to the Westminster Confession of Faith and when it was written, you can appreciate why they wrote what they did.
[18:57] Because the Westminster Confession of Faith, boys and girls, was written in 1647 following the Reformation of the Church which swept across Europe like wildfire.
[19:08] And, you know, undoubtedly, the Reformation had a huge impact and influence upon Britain as it moved away from Roman Catholicism towards being a Reformed Church.
[19:18] But, of course, the reason for the Reformation, it wasn't because of the influence of Martin Luther or John Calvin. It wasn't the influence of men. It was the impact of Scripture.
[19:30] Scripture alone. Because it was at the Reformation that the Church rediscovered the importance of Scripture alone and that Scripture alone is our highest authority.
[19:43] Not the Church and certainly not the Pope. Because Scripture alone, as it teaches us, and as all these Reformation solas emphasize to us, it teaches us that Scripture alone we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and all of our salvation is to the glory of God alone.
[20:06] Therefore, the King and head of the Church, as the Confession emphasizes, it's not the Pope, nor is it the King of England. Christ alone is King.
[20:18] There is no King but Christ. No King but Christ. Therefore, to make a Pope or a priest or any person the King and head of the Church or the Saviour of mankind is an Antichrist.
[20:35] It's an Antichrist because they are opposing Christ, they are in opposition to Christ, they are standing in the place of Christ, they are taking His rightful place because there is no King but Christ.
[20:54] And you know, that's why the Reformers in the 16th century and the Puritans in the 17th century, that's why they believed that the Pope is the Antichrist. Because the position of the Pope and all the proclamations that the Pope makes within the Roman Catholic Church, proclamations about the authority of Scripture, that the Pope is higher than Scripture, the infusion of grace that if you partake of the Mass, you receive grace.
[21:21] It's not by faith, but it's by what you do, or the absolution of sin that you're forgiven by a priest, or the Mass, or the sacraments, or the idea of purgatory, or even Mariolatry, worship of Mary.
[21:35] All these doctrines, they oppose Christ. They stand in the place of Jesus Christ. They oppose Him. They are Antichrist.
[21:47] That's what John is talking about here. They are Antichrist. But John says here, there's not only the Antichrist, there are many Antichrists. There are many Antichrists.
[21:58] It's not just the singular Antichrist. There are many of them. And for John, even John there in the first century, the false teaching of Gnosticism that he was contending with, that he was being challenged with, that teaching which claimed that you have to have this higher knowledge in order to be a proper Christian, that's an Antichrist.
[22:23] There's also the false teaching that there was about circumcision, something that Paul dealt with again and again in many of his New Testament letters, the teaching that you needed Jesus plus circumcision, Jesus plus the law, Jesus plus good works, Jesus plus, in order to be a proper Christian.
[22:46] But that was also Antichrist. They were putting something in the place that Christ alone should have. It was Antichrist. It was opposing Christ alone.
[22:58] But you know, John goes further. He goes further there in verse 22. And he says, this is how you discern truth from error. This is how you discover the lies of other religions.
[23:14] John says, whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is Antichrist. Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is Antichrist.
[23:29] And as you know, Judaism denies that Jesus is the Christ. That's why they crucified him for claiming that he's the Christ.
[23:40] Islam denies that Jesus is the Christ. They claim he's a prophet. Hinduism denies that Jesus is the Christ. They claim he's a holy man. Buddhism denies that Jesus is the Christ and say that he was a wise teacher.
[23:56] More than that, John says that the Antichrists, they also deny, they deny the Father and the Son. They deny God the Father and God the Son.
[24:07] They deny the Trinity. That's what he says there in verse 22. They deny the Father and the Son. They deny the Trinity, which is also what Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons do.
[24:21] Jehovah Witnesses deny that Jesus Christ is eternally begotten and uncreated of God. And they claim that Jesus was created in heaven at some point in time.
[24:36] Mormons deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. they deny that he is co-equal with the Father, co-eternal with the Father. Instead, they claim that Jesus was created. He's this lesser being than God.
[24:50] He's lesser than the Father. The Father's up here, but Jesus, he's somewhere down there. It's Antichrist. It's in place of Christ. And you know, the application of John's teaching here, his application here is that anything other than Christ alone is Antichrist.
[25:11] Anything other than Christ alone is Antichrist. And that's not a popular teaching in our day and generation. People do not want to hear that, that anything other than Christ alone is Antichrist.
[25:28] People don't want to hear that Roman Catholicism is Antichrist, or that Judaism is Antichrist, or that Islam is Antichrist, that Hinduism is Antichrist.
[25:39] Buddhism is Antichrist. Jehovah Witnesses are Antichrist. Mormons are Antichrist. Atheism is Antichrist, as you'd expect. Secularism, humanism, materialism, individualism, traditionalism, all these isms, they are absolutely Antichrist.
[25:58] Why? John is saying there is only one way to be saved. saved. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved other than the name of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.
[26:20] And John is emphasizing to us, he's reminding these Christians who want to be assured of their salvation, he's saying to them, you're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
[26:32] There's no other way, there's no other path, there's no other way apart from Christ alone, because any other way apart from Christ alone, says John, is Antichrist.
[26:46] It's Antichrist. And you know, we need to affirm this and reaffirm this, because this is what Scripture alone teaches us, that any other way apart from Christ alone, it's Antichrist.
[27:00] And you know, you might be thinking, well, Murdo, that's a bit of a bold statement. That's what Scripture teaches. But you know, it's not any bolder than what Jesus himself said.
[27:16] Jesus was the radical preacher of his day and generation, of every day and generation. He claims, John 14, I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
[27:31] there is no one who comes to the Father except through me. So, there's no room for moving. It's not, I am a way, I am the way.
[27:45] Not a truth, but the truth. I'm not a life of many different lives that are possible, no, I am the life. No one comes. No one comes to the Father except through me.
[27:58] And we need to reassert and reemphasize this teaching because this is what Scripture alone teaches us. Any other way apart from Christ alone is anti-Christ, which is why we need to be abiding in Christ.
[28:18] We need to be abiding in Christ, which is what we see secondly and briefly. Abiding in Christ. So, anti-Christ and abiding in Christ. Look at verse 24.
[28:30] John says, Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us, eternal life.
[28:44] I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you, but the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you.
[28:54] But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him.
[29:06] Abide in him. We mentioned earlier that the mindset and message of many people today is that it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. Because all that matters is that you're a good person and a good neighbor and have good morals and you're sincere in what you believe.
[29:23] But John is telling us that you can be as sincere in what you believe, but you can also be sincerely wrong. Because as you know, there are many good people, and there are many great people, and there are many gracious people in life who are sincere.
[29:44] But sadly, they are sincerely wrong about the purpose of life and the way of salvation. salvation. The Roman Catholic is sincerely wrong because they're confessing their sin to a priest.
[29:59] They're not understanding the full and free forgiveness that Christ gives them. Muslims can sincerely pray five times a day to Allah, but they're sincerely wrong about prayer.
[30:12] Hindus can sincerely worship some of those 33 million gods, but they're sincerely wrong about worship. Buddhists can sincerely believe in reincarnation after death, but they're sincerely wrong about the reality of death and the length of eternity.
[30:30] Jehovah Witnesses can be sincere in their outreach on the very streets of Stornoway, but they're sincerely wrong about good works. Mormons can be sincere in their commitment to this man, Joseph Smith, but they're sincerely wrong about his teaching, because his teaching, unlike Jesus' is, is not infallible, inerrant, or inspired.
[30:52] Atheists can be sincere in their belief that God does not exist, but they're sincerely wrong. The creation tells them that.
[31:03] Scientists can be sincere in their study of the Big Bang and evolution, but they're sincerely wrong about creation. Even traditionalists, they can be sincere in their church attendance, thinking that it's enough to get them to heaven, but they're sincerely wrong.
[31:25] Sincerely wrong. John is asserting and affirming to us in this passage, you can be sincere in what you believe, but you can also be sincerely wrong. You can be sincere in what you believe, but you can also be sincerely wrong.
[31:37] So how do I know that I'm a Christian, John? John says, you know that you're a Christian when you're not following an Antichrist, but firmly abiding in Christ alone.
[31:48] You can know that you're a Christian when you're not following an Antichrist, but firmly abiding in Christ alone. And as you can see, John emphasizes the importance of abiding in Christ alone, because he repeats that word abide there in verses 24 to 27.
[32:05] John is saying to the Christians who need to be reminded and reassured of their Christianity, he says, you know that this is true. You know that this is the truth.
[32:17] I don't need to convince you. I don't need to even convert you, because you're already converted. You already believe in Jesus Christ. You just doubt it. But John says, the thing is, you're not following an Antichrist.
[32:31] You're firmly abiding in Christ alone. You're not following an Antichrist. You're firmly abiding in Christ alone. And you know, I love the word abide.
[32:47] It's a great word. In fact, boys and girls, I would say that the word abide is the word in the Bible that changed my life. There are many words in the Bible you could say that changed your life, but that was one word that stuck out for me.
[33:02] The other place in Scripture where the word abide is repeated like it is here in 1 John chapter 2, the other place is what we read earlier in John 15. And I'm sure I've told you before that when I was 18 years old, when I was 18, I wanted to be saved.
[33:20] I came to the end of myself, realizing what is the point to life? Why are we here? And I wanted to be saved. I wanted to be a Christian. I wanted to follow Jesus, but I didn't know how.
[33:33] Maybe that's something you struggle with tonight. You want to follow Jesus, but you don't know how. And I kept reading John 15 again and again. Every night I read John 15.
[33:45] And what word does it repeat? The word abide. In fact, it repeats the word abide 11 times in that passage that we read earlier. Because using the image and that illustration of the vine tree and the branches, Jesus, as we read, he is the true vine.
[34:01] And he emphasizes to us and he exhorts us to be branches. And he says, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
[34:18] Abide in me and I in you. But you know, as an 18-year-old, and I've said this many times before, I didn't really know what the word abide meant. So I looked it up in a dictionary.
[34:30] And it said, remain faithful too. Remain faithful too. And I went through the whole of John 15 again, reading it, changing the word abide to remain faithful too. And what Jesus was simply saying to me as someone who was seeking the Lord, who wanted to follow Jesus, who wanted to be a Christian, Jesus was saying, Murdo, remain faithful to me and I will remain faithful to you.
[34:55] Remain faithful to me and I will remain faithful to you. Abide in me and I in you. And this is what John is encouraging us here when he says at the end of verse 27, he says, abide in him.
[35:12] Remain faithful to him. You want to know you're a Christian? Remain faithful to Jesus Christ. How do I know that I'm a Christian?
[35:23] John says, you can know that you're a Christian when you're not following an antichrist, but you're firmly abiding in Jesus Christ. You're firmly remaining faithful to Jesus Christ.
[35:38] And as John will show us next time as we move into chapter three, John shows us that when you're abiding in Christ, when you're remaining faithful to Christ, when you're committed to Christ, you're a child of God.
[35:52] That's what he says beginning of chapter three. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. So when you're abiding in Christ, you're a child of God.
[36:08] So this leaves us with a question. Are you abiding in Christ? Are you remaining faithful to Christ?
[36:18] are you a Christian? Are you a Christian? Are you lacking assurance? Then do not follow an antichrist, but firmly abide in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.
[36:38] Well may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to thee for thy word. We thank thee, O Lord, for the clarity of it and for the teaching that it gives to us, that it points us always to Jesus.
[36:57] And we pray that we would always be led to that rock that is higher than us, that we would stand firmly upon him and know and confess that all other ground is but sinking sand.
[37:10] Lord, we bless thee and we praise thee that thou hast revealed thyself to us and we pray that we would lay hold of these great and precious promises, promises that are to us and also to our children.
[37:22] Cleanse us then, we pray. Lead us and guide us into the weak that lies before us. A weak, Lord, as we always say, is unknown to us. But Lord, we commit and we commend ourselves into thy care and keeping.
[37:35] Go before us, we ask, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. We're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening.
[37:48] We're going to sing in Psalm 91. Psalm 91 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 91, page 351 in the Blue Psalm book.
[38:03] And we're singing from verse 1 down to the verse marked 4. But before we sing, aren't you glad I ran back for that sheet of paper?
[38:18] Question 1. What contrast is John making in this passage? Truth and error. Yep. Okay. What word does John use to describe Christians?
[38:32] Children. Children. Isn't that a great word to use? Describes Christians as children. When was the Westminster Confession of Faith written? 1647.
[38:45] Well, it was actually over a few years, like 1643 to 1649, but 1647. What word in the Bible changed Murdo's life? Abide.
[38:56] From what chapter? John 15. John 15. Good. What's my favorite verse in the Bible? What verse? 13.
[39:08] Should I keep going? No. Well done. You did very good. Okay. Psalm 91, singing from the beginning. He that doth in the secret place of the Most High reside, under the shade of him that is the Almighty shall abide.
[39:26] Down to the verse marked four, to God's praise. He that doth in the secret place of the most high reside.
[39:50] Under the shade of him as is the Almighty shall abide.
[40:08] I hope the Lord my God will say. He is my refuge still.
[40:26] He is my fortress and my God and in him trust thy will.
[40:46] Assuredly he shall be safe and give deliver us from soft to power the power and grow the noise of pestilence.
[41:18] His weather shall be high thy trust earth and earth his wings shall be his faithfulness shall be a shield above the road to thee.
[41:54] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more.
[42:05] Amen.