Written ~ 12-19-2024
Read 2nd John Chapter One and 3rd John Chapter One
2nd and 3rd John
In these last two very short letters from John we are going to base today’s Bible Study around three verses…
2 John 1:8-9 and 3 John 1:11…
8 “Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. 9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.”
In the world today we are going to encounter evil. There will be an increase to the falsities which will teach people that Jesus is not who He says is and this antichrist attitude is what could turn the eyes of the believer off of God and their faith could easily begin to waver. These false teachings will also prevent the non-believer to see the Lord Jesus as He is… the Messiah and the Son of God.
In his final words John is urging the believer not to allow these false teachings to create a distraction that causes us to lose the wisdom and the knowledge we have gained from of our study of God’s Word. We may be nearing the end of the Bible, but it is not the end of what we can learn. You may read the Bible through in a year… then think, once it’s complete, now what? Well, then you start again! Read the Bible over again and again and again. God will meet you in every page, even if you think you can’t possibly learn anything more. If by thinking you’ll read the Bible once through and that’s all you need, you may very well put yourself in the position of falling prey to false teaching and the antichrist attitude. It’s your decision… You can either wander away from your Savior or you can remain in close fellowship with Him.
In his second letter, John’s constant reminder is for us to love one another. Not only do we show the world that we love the Lord by our actions, but we also show our love for the Lord by obeying His commands. It is in that love we should be conducting our lives.
In John’s third letter he talks about the hospitality that should be shown to teachers and preachers who come from all over the world to share the Gospel message. We are to be supporters of the messengers who proclaim the Word of God and who spread its truth throughout the world. In order for the truth to get out to everyone we must support any efforts to get the Word out to all people. John warns there could be people within the church who do not agree with supporting traveling preachers and teachers and it’s their example we should not follow. We need to be very mindful what we allow to influence our hearts and minds. That’s why verse 3 John 1:11 is so important, “Don’t let this bad example influence you…”
What we allow to influence us will show up in our actions!
Are we influenced by the evil in this world?
Or are we influenced by the good we find in Jesus?
These two books might be very short but their message is still powerful, why? Because they point to Jesus.
Love. Faith. Truth.
These are the things we should be looking to, nothing of this world can satisfy those three things.
~AMEN~