But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.  I John 2:20 – 23

Strong words!  They lay bare the reality that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah, the actual Son of the Father.  This is not only important but is at the heart of the Atoning work of God.  If Jesus is simply a good man, a good Jewish man, then human salvation slips away between the fingers. If Jesus did not atone for sin, then his teachings are simply good sage advice.  The heart of the Atonement is that Jesus Christ died to settle forever the sin question.   He died to break the power of sin and his death offers an open door for all who will to enter to experience full salvation.

John opens this section by reminding his readers that they have the “anointing from the Holy One.”  That anointing gives us the power to believe the reality of the Atoning work of God and to accept it as the basis of our own salvation.  Those who do not have this anointing can still appreciate the amazing man, Jesus, but it is only that.   It is good to be a follower of Jesus’ teaching but that is not salvation.

This is such a crucial issue that John states categorically, “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.” 

I hear John declaring that there are really two streams running, one is admiration for Jesus Christ and the other is receiving in Jesus full salvation from sin.  To admire Jesus as a nice person is one thing,a good teacher.  But to believe that he saves sinners is quite another.  John saw the distinction clear as day and his word is as appropriate today as ever.