“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.” (III John 1)
It was for no light reason that the Spirit of God inspired John to add these words, “in truth” to this opening verse of his third letter. (Notably He did it in II John 1 as well, when He had John write that he loved “the chosen lady and her children” “in truth” also.) This is important because many varieties of “love” abound which are NOT really love “in truth”: Continue reading
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting, for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” (II John 10-11)
While this verse may seem “extreme” to many of us “modern” readers, John’s command actually serves to reinforce just how important religious teaching is. It is no small matter. Continue reading
“The morning prayer determines the day. Squandered time of which we are ashamed, temptations to which we succumb, weaknesses and lack of courage at work, disorganization and lack of discipline in our thoughts and in our conversation with other men, all have their origin most often in the neglect of morning prayer.” Continue reading
“Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.” (II John 8)
Despite just warning the church about the false doctrines that the antichrists are out propagating in the world, John now turns and admonishes his flock to “watch YOURSELVES.” He didn’t want their focus to be on others, for good or for ill — and for good reason. Continue reading
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (II John 7)
The Apostle John didn’t mess around with niceties. Those who denied orthodox teaching (“what you heard from the beginning”) were not just people who held a “different opinion” that might have been as valid as his own; no, they were “deceivers”; they were “antichrist.” This business of false teaching was a very serious matter to John — and should be to us as well. Note what he shared concerning these false teachers in this verse: Continue reading
“The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth;” (II John 1)
The second and third epistles of John are generally much less appreciated and referenced than the first. Although I John is a penetrating work which confronts each reader with the need to consider the fruit of their own salvation, his second and third letters challenge Christians today as well. And that challenge begins with the very first verse: “The elder to the chosen lady, whom I love in truth.” Continue reading
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.” (I John 5:4)
SO many evils and troubles exist in our world: sickness, persecution, pain, disappointment, death. How do we overcome these things, which are so pervasive and constantly assault us? They would drive one to despair (and many atheists have indeeed expressed that hopeless perspective). But John gives us the Christian answer here: Continue reading
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (I John 5:3)
There is a fallacy in the thinking of many people, that there is a distinction between the “love” of God, and the commandments of God; as if one might say: “I am a person of ‘love”, not ‘commandment.'” But here John indicates that there is no such distinction: Continue reading
“We love, because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19)
John tells us in this brief verse God loved us first. This is significant, and makes such a difference in our understanding of our relationship with Him: Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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