Bible Chapter: II John 1

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    Love is a major theme in Christianity.  We often hear about loving one another.  We know that God is love.  We read that love was God’s motivating factor in Christ’s coming to the world.  So, love is very important.  But, love is also misapplied and misunderstood.  Some people say that love means you simply accept all people as they are and encourage whatever it is they believe.  To disagree is to hate.  Verse 6 gives a different impact to the thought of love to show that many people are missing the point.  Love is that we walk in obedience to God’s commands.  And, there will be many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus as coming in the flesh.  What I am seeing here is that love does not allow a person to change doctrine.  If someone doesn’t teach the Bible as it was written or intended, it is not love to allow them to continue to do so.
    John said that to encourage false teaching, to host traveling preachers who are not teaching the truth, to welcome them, is to be a part of their false teaching.  These false teachers are perverting God’s Word and trying to gain a following for themselves.  They are not building God’s kingdom.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    I must be discerning about whose teaching I follow.  Can they back up their claims with the Bible?  Do they clearly teach biblical truth?  This is a very short book, one chapter, only thirteen verses.  The point of the book is to warn the church to be careful about the teaching they hear and support.  I find it amazing that so quickly after the life of Jesus there were already false teachers running around perverting the truths Jesus gave to His followers.  The battle is real and intense.  The battle is for eternal souls.  To walk in love is to reject false brethren and protect the genuine message of the Bible.

3.  How can I help someone?
    I can help people see the clear message of the Bible.  Love is not a mushy acceptance of anything and everything someone might say.  Love does not enable people to create life and teaching the way they want.  We must be students of the Bible, seek the clear teachings it gives, and then apply them to real life.