24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.REFLECTIONSWritten by Sarah CameronOur world is constantly on a quest for the next new exciting thing. It might be the new phone or smart watch, café to visit, TV show to watch or scientific breakthrough. We almost always think new = better. It can even infiltrate into our Christian life when we look for a new or exciting way to interpret the Bible, or the new preacher to follow. But in this passage, John has a strong warning against that type of thinking. Verse 24 reminds us to hold fast to what we have heard from the beginning. Why? So that we will not be led astray by those who teach false things. What is at stake? Our eternal life! That is not something to muck around with. We don’t need a new gospel, or a new way to salvation, or someone to tell us what to believe. We have everything we need already in Jesus. It’s a great encouragement that we are united with believers all the way back to the Apostles in having the same access to eternal life. Verse 27 uses the word “anointing” to speak about God’s Spirit that he has given us to help lead us into the truth. We don’t need another go-between telling us what is right or wrong. The Holy Spirit himself helps us. It’s not that we don’t benefit from having people study and teach the Bible to help us understand it better, that is a wonderful blessing from God and we should think about ways we can encourage and spur on our preachers as they work hard to teach us faithfully. But we need to always bring what our preachers say back to the word of God and test its truthfulness for ourselves. If we trust in him, God has given us his Spirit. He helps us know what to accept as truth and what to refute as false teaching, so that we are not led astray. John uses the word “remain”, 5 times in this passage. How can you be making sure you remain in God and his word?ABOUT THE AUTHORSarah is a member of our Fairfield Morning Service.