John did not really write this epistle so that Christians in the 20th century could sit back in comfort and point accusing fingers at others. It was written, he said, so that his readers could know that THEY had eternal life. (1 John 5:13).

The important question for those first century Christians was not nearly so much whether someone else was Antichrist, led by a false spirit, but whether THEY could be sure that they had received the real Holy Spirit from the real Christ.

The same question is vital for us also.

By applying John's tests to ourselves and responding to them in a positive way, we will be able to reassure ourselves that we do believe in the real Son of God, in whom alone there is salvation; and that, believing, we do indeed have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

For real Christians, these tests are simply the reverse of those we used to identify the marks of Antichrist.

MARK NO 1 - THE REAL NAME (The Identity Test)
For those who recognise the Vicar of Christ as the one who bears the name "Antichrist" and for those who know that the Roman church and her daughters do not represent real Christianity, the Word of God has one simple but demanding call:-

"Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues". (Rev 18:4).

Those who bear the real name, written in their hearts, will hear, understand and obey.

MARK NO 2 - THE CHRIST WHO IS REALLY A MAN (The Theological Test)
For the Apostle John, it was vitally important that his readers should confess that Jesus was both Son of God and the Christ (Messiah) who fulfilled all the prophecies about His coming. (1 John 2:22 & 5:1,5)

It was equally important that they should know Jesus as completely man. (1 John 4:2 & 2 John 7 & also Heb 2:14}

Set out below is a series of theological propositions which summarise what the Bible says about God ...... Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

WHO IS GOD?
The only true God is the supreme, infinite, spirit being who Jesus calls Father. He is the living God, who alone possesses immortality, who has always existed and who always will exist. He is the God who created everything and who reveals Himself to us, in the Bible and through His Son.

This is the God who has adopted me as a son.

WHO IS JESUS?
Jesus is, as he claimed to be, the Son of God.

Before the world began, He was formed, not literally, but in the mind and plan of God, for future glory.

He was prophesied in the spoken and written Word of God as the one who was to come, in fulfilment of that plan.

He is that plan accomplished, the spoken and written Word made flesh, Son of God and Son of Man, now glorified.

He was miraculously begotten by God, of the Virgin Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit, without a human father.

He is a MAN, exactly like other men, beginning His existence with His conception, gestation and birth, tempted and tested like other men, but without sin.

He is THE man who reveals to us the nature and character of God. He is THE man who shows us how God intends all men to live, if they will love God and obey God, as Jesus does.

He is THE man who shows what it will be like when God's work is completed in us and we are filled with all the fullness of God.

He is THE man, given by God, so that those who believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

He is THE man who died on the cross, in my place, bearing the penalty of my guilt in His own body.

He is THE man who death could not hold; who rose to life again, immortal, but still a man, now and forever.

He is THE man for whom God created all things.

He is the Seed of Abraham, heir of God's promises to Abraham.

He is the heir of the throne of David.

He reigns as Lord, over The Kingdom of God.

His power and authority is subject to God alone.

He is the future ruler over this earth, when the Kingdom of God is established in its prophesied glory.

He lives in Heaven, to intercede for those who belong to Him. He will return from heaven, at a time appointed by God, to judge the works of all who are held accountable for their actions.

He has been given authority to raise the dead at the last day and confer immortality on those who believe in Him.

He is to be given the same honour as His Father.

This Jesus is my Lord.

WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

a. The Holy Spirit is a part of the person of the One True God.

b. It is the inner "essence" of God's mental and moral nature.

c. It is the Divine energy through which God performs His work.

d. It is the Holy breath through which God speaks His word.

e. It is the means by which God gives a part of Himself so that he lives, in person, within His children.

When I began to love Jesus and obey Jesus, God gave His Spirit to live within my heart, as a guarantee of His promises.

MARK NO 3 - THE CHURCH WHICH CARRIES A CROSS (The Love Test)
No one can be a disciple of the real Christ, who has not counted the cost of the love which leads a man to forsake all that he has and take up his own cross.

The love which led Jesus to the cross, will also be found amongst those who are His disciples. Like Jesus, they too will be prepared to lay down their lives, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, for one another, and even for enemies.

This love does not persecute unbelievers, infidels, "heretics" or "enemies of the Faith". Instead, it dies for them. This quality of love alone, bears witness to the Christ who gave Himself as a ransom for all.

Those who have counted the cost will understand.

MARK NO 4 - JESUS IS LORD (The Obedience Test)

Jesus is THE man to whom God has delegated all power and in Heaven and earth, to speak for God and act for God.

He is the final authority to whom we must turn to understand the word of God. Even the words of Moses or the example of Elijah, may not be used to invalidate the teaching of Jesus. (Matt 17:5).

To call Jesus Lord, is to commit ourselves to obey Him, totally. To call Him Lord and not obey, is to be a liar.

The real Christ came to teach and to demonstrate the eternal qualities of the way of life that pleases God. He came to save all who believe in Him, from the penalty, power and practice of sin.

The teaching and example of this Christ leaves no place for salvation without a genuine and life transforming repentance, in which the goal for change is measured by nothing less than Gods own perfection. This standard is set and the goal is stated clearly, in the teaching of Jesus, especially in the Sermon on the Mount.

This radical teaching challenges the values of the unbelieving world, especially that part of the world which calls itself "Christian", but is not. It calls men to a change of nature in which their minds will be recreated after the likeness of God.

This new nature is THE MARK of His disciples.

To become a part of this new creation, they must listen to the words of Jesus which call men to love Him and obey Him.

They must find inspiration to love Him in the simple story of His crucifixion, in which He reaches out to all, revealing the longing of God's heart to save them from their sins.

They must forsake human wisdom and human methods of searching for God, finding instead, His wisdom and His love in their own personal response to the cross.

They must recognise their own spiritual poverty, be convicted of their sin and their desperate need for a change of nature.

They must be prepared to mourn for their sins with the Godly sorrow that leads to repentance.

They must express their repentance, their desire for a clean heart and a clear conscience, in a believers baptism where sins are forgiven.

They must be meek; submitting tamely to the call to forsake the old ways and begin a new life under Jesus as their King.

They must hunger and thirst after righteousness to the exclusion of all other priorities.

They must extend mercy to others, in the same measure that they receive mercy from God, forgiving as readily and as often and as completely as God forgives them.

They must be totally pure in heart; pure enough to be able to see God and live.

They must be peacemakers; not war makers.

They must be prepared to rejoice under the persecution which will be the certain lot of all true disciples of the real Christ.

They must be prepared to do good in a way which allows others to see the value of a life lived in obedience to God.

They may not relax even the least of God's commandments, nor teach other men so.

They may not kill, be angry with or insult their brother, or regard him as a hopeless fool.

They must agree with their accuser outside the courts, suffering themselves to be defrauded, giving coat as well as cloak, in order to be reconciled, if possible, so far as it depends on them.

They must not entertain lustful thoughts to the point of committing the sin mentally. Purity of heart and victory over sin includes the degree of self control which rejects even the thoughts that, unchecked, lead to the deed.

They must be prepared to make any sacrifice to cleanse their lives from sin.

They will remain faithful to their marriage covenant to their partner, as long as they both live, in all circumstances, good or bad. They will keep that covenant, even to their own hurt, sacrificing themselves, even for an unfaithful partner, as Christ sacrificed himself for the church.

They will not tolerate divorce in any circumstance which separates a union which God has joined. They will regard any remarriage of parties separated by men, against the will of God, as adulterous.

They will not swear any oath at all.

They will not take revenge or resist evil.

They will turn the other cheek to the aggressor.

Under compulsion they will go the first mile and then of their own free will choice, GIVE the second.

They will give to the needy who beg aid.

They will lend, not expecting to receive back what they do lend.

When their goods are taken by force, unjustly, they will not seek their return.

They will love their enemies, pray for them, do good to them and bless them.

If the enemy is hungry they will feed him. If he is thirsty, they will give him drink.

They will be pacifists, not defending possessions, loved ones, or even life itself, at the cost of injury to the aggressor.

They will be content to give alms in the secret place, where God alone sees; pray in the secret place where God alone hears; not needing or desiring approval or honour from men.

They will give respect and honour to earthly rulers, obey the laws they make and pay the taxes they demand.

In areas where the requirements of earthly rulers are in conflict with the values of the Kingdom of God, they will obey God rather than men.

They will seek earnestly after the perfection of character which is measured by nothing less than God's own perfection.

They will seek these things until they find them. They will continue to knock on the doors of heaven until they receive them and make them their own.

They will enter the narrow gate and walk the hard way, content to be amongst the few who know that it alone leads to life.

They will hear the words of Jesus and do them.

By these things they will become children of the only true God.

By this they will reassure their hearts that they serve the real Christ and have received the real Holy Spirit.

By this they will know that they have eternal life; that they do belong to the true God and to His Son Jesus Christ.

The Christ who preached the Sermon on the Mount is the real one. It is this Christ who saves and no other. All others are thieves and robbers. {John 10,1-10)