2 John 1 - 7.20.23

Scripture

2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT

“If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.”

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Observation

In this epistle, John is more than likely writing a letter to the early church. He is reminding them the importance of the commandment that Jesus has given them, which is to love one another, and to remain living in the truth, (which is living in the way Jesus has called them to live). One of the ways the early church showed love to one another was by displaying their warm hospitality. They would invite people into their homes, share a meal, conversation, but most importantly share the gospel of Christ with them. But this love and hospitality had to come with some boundaries. John warns the church that there are people out there who don’t teach the truth about Jesus. They may twist the message of the gospel, try to dilute the power of its meaning, and deny who Jesus really is. John instructs the church to not invite these kind of people into their homes or even associate with them. These people are deceivers and will try to cause a division amongst them, and try to break them apart in their beliefs. This cannot happen!

Application

Stand strong in your faith, your convictions, and your trust that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Believe it or not, these deceivers are still out there to this day denying who Jesus Christ is. They come knocking at your doors. They even have booths set up at malls and stores giving you flyers and reading materials that may seem very familiar to our own beliefs. But beware! Look closely at it. They may mention God and helping others, but if you look closely or look deeper into their religious organization, they will deny who Jesus Christ is. And that is what John was warning us about in this chapter.

So stay on your guard! Truly study your Bible and know God’s Word so you will not be deceived. Don’t allow anyone to confuse you from God’s truth and gospel message. And like we learned these past couple of weeks, put on the full armor of God. Be sure we are prepared from any attacks that the enemy will throw our way.

“Be careful that you do not believe any false teachers. The ideas that they teach may seem clever. But they really want to deceive you. They are ideas that have come from the human minds of our ancestors. Or ideas that come from spirits that belong to this world. They are not the true message about Christ.” -Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‬‬

Prayer

Father God I pray for Your protection over not only my mind and heart from the deceivers in this world, but I also pray for the protection over my brothers and sisters in Christ. May we stand strong in our faith and not be deceived. Lord, You even tell us to love our enemies. And so I want to pray for those people out there trying to deceive Your people and others out there. I pray that You may open their eyes and their hearts to their wrongdoings. May You reveal the truth about Jesus in their lives so that it can bring them to repentance. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi