2 John 1:6-11 - And this is love: that
we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard
from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. Many
deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in
the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any
such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch
out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded
fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in
the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues
in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If
anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your
house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.
Love and truth…they really do go together. John’s letter to
this sweet lady was a warning to her..not to entertain those that did not teach
the truth. His warning is just as relevant
to us today…for a quick google search produced the fact that around 4, 300
different faith based groups were in existence worldwide. My eyes quickly told
my heart that the world had way too many religions that did not base their
beliefs on God. And that does not even begin to address the problem of all the ‘so-called’
Christian religions that twist the truth that I have come to believe in the
Bible. John is saying that we need to be very careful…that we study and know
the truth….and then teach that truth in love to others. He is telling us to
never accept any doctrine that is based on a twisted version of what God left
us to live our lives by.
For me…that means any religion that does not base itself on
the whole Bible…is sending out false teachers….deceivers…. and according to John…they are anti-christs. That really blows my mind…all these faiths
that have rewritten the bible…or added to it….have twisted the truth….so that
it is not the truth anymore…it is a false doctrine…that will fall when Christ
comes back to claim his children. They have been deceived so completely that
they believe…even live out the lies they have told to others. We must be careful
to screen any doctrine…any sermon we hear…any book that we read…any
conversation we have with friends …very diligently ..to see if what they said is
contained in the book God left for us to live our lives by.
John also uses the term love in this command…for love helps
us to react to these false teachings in a way that does not damage our own
faith. John said to watch out…and not lose what you had worked for…to love the
person…not what they believe….to love the heart that has been deceived….and
pray that God open a door for them to learn and accept the truth. John said not to entertain them…get caught up
in useless debates about doctrine….just to love them…and pray for God to clean out the false teachings that twist
their minds and hearts. Pray that God send the right people into their lives to
model the truth and live what the bible teaches every day.
Father…help me today to love past the boundaries of false
religions in prayer. I pray that you begin to uncover the false teachings in
the minds of all who have been tricked into believing anything that is not
contained in your Bible. Help me to recognize
any false teacher that tries to pull me away from the truth. Thank you God for
the bible you gave me to read and study and live my life by. Help me to be a model of what it teaches to
all that I come into contact with. God…raise
up special people that can go out and teach these truths in love to the massive
crowds of people who have been tricked into believing a false doctrine. Oh
father…how they are lost….and many are people I know ….students …colleagues…. even
family. Help me to know how best to
share your love with them…without confrontation…and learn to commit them to
prayer…for you to work in their hearts. Amen.
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