Monthly Archive for September, 2001

2 John 1:3b

Published on September 30, 2001 in 2 John. 0 Comments
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“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”


mercy,

Grace precedes mercy.  “Mercy” is God’s compassion toward us.  God freely pardons violation of His character.  Mercy assumes need on the part of the subject. 

La 3: 22  “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

23  They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.”


PRINCIPLE:  Mercy freely flows out of God’s grace. 


APPLICATION:  Mercy is akin to grace but it is not identical to grace.  Mercy flows from God’s grace.  The reason God can be merciful toward us is because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. 

Sometimes parents cannot do anything for their children.  All they can do is “pity” them–show compassion to them.  There are times when we cannot nurse them or put a bandage on them. 

2 Sa 24: 14 “And David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.’”

Ps 23: 6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.”

Ps 85: 10 “Mercy and truth have met together;

Righteousness and peace have kissed.”

Ps 103: 8 “The Lord is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.”

Ro 12: 1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

2 Co 1: 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort…”

Ep 2: 4 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…”

We need God’s mercy every day.  We must come to the throne of grace to confess sins daily. 

2 John 1:3

Published on September 29, 2001 in 2 John. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 2 John

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”


Verse three is the salutation to 2 John.  A salutation is not a prayer but a confident declaration.  God continues His word of assurance in verse 2 with this verse.  Where truth and love prevail, grace, mercy and peace predominate. 

Grace,

“Grace” is all that God is free to do for us because of Christ.  Grace places emphasis on the work of God and not on our work.  God extends His grace to us without merit on our part. 


PRINCIPLE:  God’s grace is all the resources He is able to give the believer freely. 


APPLICATION:  We never outgrow our need for God’s grace, mercy and peace.  We cannot operate our Christian lives effectively without these graces.  We could no more do that than we could exist without food and water. 

God’s grace enables believers to give grace to others.  It is not normally our nature to give.  We are naturally born selfish.  Jesus was grace personified.  Grace is something given, not earned.  We cannot curry brownie points with God.  God donates His grace on a gratis basis. 

Jn 1: 14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth…. 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

Ro 12: 3 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

1 Co 15: 10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

2 Co 12: 9 “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Ja 4: 6 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

‘God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.’”

1 Pe 5: 10 “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

God corners the market on grace.  He allows for no middlemen, no wholesaler or retailer.  He gives it directly and without strings.  He allows no black market on grace. 

He 4: 16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

God gives His sustaining grace to enable us to maintain our spiritual equilibrium.  When something upsets us, we display our old nature.  We display this nature when we do not draw on God’s grace but rely on our own resources.  We discover that we are not nearly as spiritual as we thought we were. 

2 John 1:2b

Published on September 28, 2001 in 2 John. 0 Comments
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“…because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:…”


and will be with us forever

John now makes an assertion of promise.  Truth will be with us forever in consort with Christ’s promise.  The Bible will never go out of existence.  No one can escape its truth. 

Mt 24: 35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

1 Pe 1: 22 “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because

‘All flesh is as grass,

And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.

The grass withers,

And its flower falls away,

 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.’”


PRINCIPLE:  The eternal Word of God can never be accommodated to current situations. 


APPLICATION:  Popular thinking of our day says that it does not matter what we believe as long as we love others.  Difference of opinion does not matter.  The primary value is the agreement to differ.  This is not biblical.  We must never accommodate truth to the situation because truth is more valuable than the situation. 

Ps 138: 2  “I will worship toward Your holy temple,

And praise Your name

For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”

Jn 10: 35 “If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)…”

God’s primary instrument for speaking to us is His Word.  The Bible will safeguard us against fanaticism and heresy.  God furthers His purpose in our lives through His Word.  Maximum application of God’s Word to experience brings us to the point of maturity.  God’s Word will change our attitude toward people and our outlook on life.  We will love more and care more. 

Ac 20: 32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

1 Th 2: 13 “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

2 Ti 2: 15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

We can determine the measure of our spiritual growth by our attitude toward the Bible.  We will grow in admiration of the meticulous accuracy of the Bible as a book without discrepancy, error or mistakes.  God makes no mistakes in His Word.  All agnostics, atheists and detractors of the Bible will be long gone before the Bible goes out of existence.  The Bible will march on into eternity.  It is the one book that tells how everything will turn out. 

1 Co 2: 13 “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

2 Ti 3: 16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 John 1:2

Published on September 27, 2001 in 2 John. 0 Comments
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“…because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever…”


because of the truth

Love comes from the truth of God’s Word.  Biblical love goes far beyond sentiment and human sympathy.  Knowledge of the person and work of Christ cannot do anything else but affect the way we think of others. 

which abides in us

The Word of God lives in and dwells in the believer. 

Dt 6: 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.”

Dt 11: 18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Jn 15: 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

1 Jn 2: 14 “I have written to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

And you have overcome the wicked one.”


PRINCIPLE:  God always predicates biblical love on truth. 


APPLICATION:  Truth demands response.  We cannot help but love others if we genuinely understand the love of God for us in Christ.  Like begets like.  Love begets love.  God is love and those who love Him love others.  Truth makes love possible.  Truth binds Christians together in a special bond. 

2 John 1:1b

Published on September 26, 2001 in 2 John. 0 Comments
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“THE ELDER, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth…”


whom I love in truth,

“Love” here is not romantic love.  “Whom” is in the plural, making reference to both the “elect lady” and her “children.”  John loves these people “in truth.” 

Jn 17: 17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

The “I” is emphatic in the Greek.  It may be that the heretics did not love the church at Ephesus but merely preyed on them. 

“Truth” and “love” are the two major subjects of 2 John.  Christian love is more than mere sentiment.  It revolves around the structure of truth.  John loves the “elect lady” and her children in the sphere of truth. 

John loves people within the framework of the “truth.”  He reiterates the word “truth” five times in the first four verses.  “Truth” refers to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, so truth is the essential prerequisite for fellowship. 

Ti 3: 15 “All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.”

and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth

Many others knowledgeable of the truth and operating in the sphere of truth also love the “elect lady” and her children.  We love the truth because we came to know Truth Himself. 

1 Ti 2: 4 “…who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”


PRINCIPLE:  True Christian love revolves around the structure of truth. 


APPLICATION:  Christians do not love each other because they are temporarily compatible or naturally drawn to each other, but because of the truth they share with each other.  Unbelievers can come to know the truth of Christianity in a casual sense, but not in a true and genuine sense. 

Biblical love is always conditioned by truth.  This love is more than mere sentiment.  It does not lean on the attractiveness of its object.  It rests on the Truth Himself, Jesus the Lord.  Christian love rests on Christian truth.  We cannot compromise truth and genuine love biblically.  Biblical truth and love closely interrelate.  They are inseparable traveling companions.  Genuine love cannot exist apart from Bible truth.  They can never be divorced. 

2 John 1:1

Published on September 25, 2001 in 2 John. 0 Comments
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“THE ELDER, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth…”


THE ELDER,

There are two main usages of the word “elder” in the New Testament: 1) a person old in age (Acts 2:17) and 2) someone who holds the office or rank of leadership in the local church (Acts 20:17, 18; Ti 1:5,7).  The “elder” here is the apostle John who holds rank in the cause of Christ. 

Ac 20: 17 “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church… 28 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

1 Pe 5: 1 “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed…”

Ti 1: 5 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop [a bishop is an elder] must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

To the elect lady and her children,

Some interpreters believe that the phrase “elect lady and her children” refers metaphorically to the local church in Ephesus and its constituents.  However, it is more natural or normal to take this phrase literally as a woman and her children.  John does not name this woman. 

The “elect lady” is a lady chosen of God.  This “elect lady” was probably a widow with children.  God chooses women to do His work. 

Apparently the “elect lady” exercised love at the expense of truth.  She showed hospitality to itinerate false teachers.  These people denied Jesus as the sovereign Son of God.  Genuine hospitality does not advance error.  Love should never violate truth; instead, genuine love upholds truth.  There is a close relationship between truth and love in the Scriptures. 


PRINCIPLE:  True biblical love is always bound by truth. 


APPLICATION:  There is a close relationship between truth and love in the Word of God.  Truth is the motivation and context of genuine Christian love.  True love is bound by truth.  Pop psychology says that we love people regardless of what they believe.  It contends that we are to put aside what we believe.  Divergence and pluralism are the new standard of orientation to people.  The principles of the Word never surrender truth for love.  Faithfulness to truth overshadows and governs true biblical love. 

2 Co 13: 7 “Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”

Ga 2: 11 “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, ‘If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?’”

Everything we specifically know about God is through the truth of Scripture.

Jn 8: 31 “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”

2 Ti 2: 15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Ja 1: 18 “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

Galatians 4:1-7 [lastof 3 day aside before 2nd John]

Published on September 24, 2001 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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Galatians 4: 1 “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”


Too many Christians run scared in their walk with God. One problem is that they simply do not know the rights God has given them as His sons and daughters.

Until Nelson Rockefeller was questioned by the Senate Rules Committee late in September, his personal wealth was a closely guarded secret. In testimony he revealed his net worth to be $62 million (only $225,000 of it in cash!). Securities in common stocks and bonds held in trust for Mr. Rockefeller’s descendants are worth $35 million. Most of us can’t comprehend that level of affluence. Neither have most of us realized the benefits we have as sons and daughters of God.

Some Christians see the enormous gulf between where they are and where they should be in Christian maturity. The Bible can help close the gap because it shows us that the coming of Christ into the world gave certain privileges to God’s people that were not available in Old Testament times.

The Illustration

In Galatians 4, the apostle Paul presents the privileges and position of the Christian who has been saved by grace. He anticipates a question–are the Galatian Christians Abraham’s seed? The answer is yes. But if Christians are spiritual sons of Abraham, then why don’t they live under the law?

To answer the second question Paul illustrates the contrast between living under the law and under grace. He mentions a young heir of a large estate, a youth so rich that guardians and trustees are appointed to care for him until he is of age. The child Paul writes of is no different in privileges from the slave who cares for the child until he comes to maturity to assume responsibility for his inheritance.

In an ideal family a child must live under certain regulations. Rules are a necessary preparation for freedom. A child cannot touch his estate until he becomes a man. At a date set by the father, the legal ceremony of adoption takes place. The believer in Old Testament times was subject to the Mosaic law. He did not know the privileges of sonship we Christians have today. God’s people were being prepared under the trusteeship of the law for adoption as sons.

Why Christ Came

In verse 3 Paul turns to an application of the illustration. He suggests that if the Galatians return to bondage under the Old Testament law, they revert to spiritual childhood, to the time before their adoption as God’s sons when they were under the custodial care of Moses’ law. The picture is of a Ph.D. who returns to grade school to learn his ABC’s.

God made it possible to adopt us as His sons by sending His own Son when the time had fully expired, as James Moffatt translates verse 4. The incarnation was God’s zero hour. The time God had allotted for the law to prepare man for the coming of Christ had run out. God does nothing prematurely or haphazardly. God sent His Son when the time was ripe. The most critical point in history up to that time was when Jesus was born.

The mission of Christ is presented in the phrase–God sent forth His Son. The words sent forth are from a Greek word meaning to send on a mission. Jesus Christ was officially sent with the full authority of the Father on a mission of redemption. Christ existed as eternal God before He was sent to the earth as a Son. He was God made man. Elsewhere in the Bible Jesus was called a child, but here Paul calls Him a Son. There never was a time when He was not God’s Son. A person can be a grandfather and still be a son of someone else. Christ, the eternal God, was the Son of His Heavenly Father.

The phrase born of a woman gives a hint of the virgin birth. Jesus was not born of a human father. The word born means become. He came into a new state of being. Before the incarnation He was God, but after His birth He was God-Man. The birth of Jesus Christ was not a beginning but a becoming. On earth Jesus Christ was an Israelite subject to Moses’ law–He was born under the law. He said on the Sermon on Mount, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17). He was perfectly obedient to the law. He demonstrated His moral competence to be a perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world.

The purpose of the incarnation is clearly stated–to redeem those who were under the law. To redeem means to buy out of the marketplace and to pay the full price. No debt is incurred by the purchaser. No bills are left unpaid. Our Lord paid the full price of redemption for our sin. The price was the penalty due us because of our sin. He took our hell that we might have His heaven. The tense of the word redeem means that Jesus paid the price once for all. Eternal death was the penalty Jesus took in our place.

The purpose of our redemption is stated by Paul: so that we might receive adoption as sons. Because God’s work of adopting us as His sons is so important to our understanding of the privileges He has given us, we need to understand the meaning of the act.

To adopt a child today means to choose a child not naturally in the family and make him legally one of the family. But adoption in Bible times was different. The Greek word translated adoption of sons, which literally means son-placing, is a technical word referring to the time when a teenage son received his toga virilis, the toga of manhood. The act does not refer to the adoption of infants. It means induction into the rights of adulthood. If the adult is an heir he has certain rights. The child was already in the family, but at adoption he receives the rights of family heir.

When we accepted Christ as Savior we received rights and privileges we did not have when we were sons of disobedience ( Ephesians 2:2), when we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3).

Your Rights as a Child of God

Paul makes a strong point in this passage. Why should we revert to the law as a way of life? Why should we believers live on the low plane of do’s and don’ts when we have supernatural powers and unique privileges available to us.

We don’t have to earn God’s favor; we already have God’s favor. We have the same status as Jesus Christ before our Heavenly Father. His rights are our rights. We have legal title to the rights of the Son of God. These rights are not merited by us. They were obtained by the judicial proceedings of the death and resurrection of Christ.

In the ancient world, the son after adoption became his own master. In Christianity God’s son becomes an independent executor of his spiritual estate. Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit the son goes beyond legal regulations in his relationship to God. He has been redeemed from those regulations; their demands have been fulfilled by Christ’s death on the cross.

No longer should we have a slavish attitude of fear of God. We serve Him in love. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1). Assurance and conviction characterize those who know their standing before God. We do not have to establish merit before God, but we do have the responsibility to walk worthy of our calling ( Ephesians 4:1-3; Colossians 3:1-3).

The fundamental basis of our appeal to God is not our spirituality. It is our position in Christ. God hears us, not because we are spiritual, but because we are legally and forensically right before Him in Christ.

Many Christians are filled with apprehension about their right to walk with God. When they feel guilty about a specific sin they fail to believe that Christ paid the penalty for that sin and they seek to pay for it themselves. They say, Move over, Jesus, I’m going to climb up on that cross and feel bad for my sin. That is an ungrateful rejection of faith in Christ’s work for us on His cross. That person does not recognize his rights before God. He tries to atone for sin for which Christ has already suffered.

Prayer is another adopted-son privilege suggested by this passage. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir (Galatians 4:6-7). Your right in praying to God is not in the length of your prayers, nor your sincerity, nor what good works you have accumulated on your record. Your right to pray is based on God’s adopting you as a son, which in turn is based on your faith in the work of Christ who came into the world as a Son to redeem us from sin. We can come into the presence of God in prayer the same way our Savior comes into God’s presence. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).


PRINCIPLE:  We have rights with God because of the death of Christ for our sins. 


APPLICATION:  Because we are sons of God we are joint heirs with Christ. One of the first things a young couple does after marriage is to take out a joint savings/checking account in a bank. In their first big financial transaction they deposit all their $24 in the bank. Then they assume it is a 50/50 account–50 is hers and 50 is his. It doesn’t work that way, however. One beats the other to the withdrawals every time! When we have a joint account with Christ it is not a 50/50 deal. We hold all His assets for ourselves equally with Him.

Are you writing spiritual checks that reveal the account you have with God?

What Jesus Christ did for us in His incarnation is incalculable. The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men might become sons of God. Christ came down from where He was to where we are so that He might lift us from where we are to where He is. Take time to read what the coming of Christ into the world can mean in your life.

Putting Priorities on things of Greatest Value

Published on September 23, 2001 in Articles. 0 Comments

Philippians 1: 8 “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, "We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap." Remember he was in prison in the former Soviet Union for many years. He knew hardship. He paid a great price but he injected the Soviet Union with notions of democracy. He took his place independent of outside influences.

In computers we use a device called "formatting." We format the margins, page numbering and size of page. Formatting gives definition to the kind of document we want to produce. Most of us do not live formatted lives. We live without boundaries. There is little definition to our lives. We live for no ultimate purpose. How can we live for that which is most important if we do not know what it is? By formatting our lives we can put priority on the things of greatest value. If we do not format our lives we will write aimlessly over the pages of life.

A life active with ultimate purpose demands priorities; it is an issue of first things first. In Atlanta there was a couple who heard My Fair Lady was running on Broadway in New York. They attempted to procure tickets but could not secure reservations for 10 months. They planned their whole vacation around going to the play. After ten long months they finally arrived in New York. Their seats were seven rows from the orchestra. The place was packed except for the seat right next to the husband. A lady sat two seats over. He could not imagine why anyone would not occupy that seat since the tickets were so hard to come by. At the intermission he asked the lady why no one occupied the seat between them, "Since it is so difficult to obtain a seat for this show, why is this seat empty?" She said, "Well, this is my husband’s seat but he died." The man said, "I am sorry to hear that but since these tickets are so scarce, why didn’t you bring a friend?" She answered, "They are all at the funeral!!!" My Fair Lady was her priority!

If you were to map out the remaining five years of this century for your life, what would it look like? How would you give priority to your life?

Philippians 1:8-11 shows us how to formulate a life’s purpose:

"For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:8-11).

Ten years and 800 miles distance did not diminish Paul’s appreciation for the Philippians. Passage of time did not lessen his love, "For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ" (1:8). He demonstrated his love for them by a powerful prayer for priority. This prayer runs from verses 9 to 11. He was in prison at the writing of this epistle. Hardships made him better, not bitter. Difficulties always do one or the other to the child of God.

The Priority of Biblical Love

He prays that they would put priority on three things. First, he prays that they would demonstrate a biblical love (1:9).

We can detect the deficiencies of the saints in the prayers of Paul. To put it another way, we see his concern for the Philippians to live proper priorities. Paul’s prayers are never perfunctory but always pertinent to the situation. This prayer has the very exhale of heaven. It is a high water mark of spirituality. We ought to be at our best in prayer.

The first petition was for a special kind of love. He does not pray for an ordinary love; he prays that their love would display two features: knowledge and discernment. "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment" (1:9).

This is far more than a prayer for simple love. He prays that their love will engage "knowledge." Genuine love requires content. A flighty, romantic, impulse love is not the point here. The more we know about people the better we can love them. An arm’s distance love is inadequate biblical love. Genuine spiritual knowledge (epignosis) of God and others enables us to love God and others better. Sentimental love cannot consummate that kind of love. Greeting everyone with the smile of a Cheshire cat and calling them "dearie" or "darling" is sentimental love.

How would you like some plumber to give you a prefrontal lobotomy? He obviously does not have the knowledge to perform delicate brain surgery. On the other hand, I would not want a brain surgeon to work on my plumbing either! Each has his field of specialty. Biblical love requires us to know people.

Ability to "discern" is the second characteristic of love for which Paul prays. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek medical writer, used this term in the sense of perception. This love is more delicate than any seismograph for recording earthquakes or any chemical apparatus for detecting affinities between atoms and electrons. This is fineness of spiritual perception in love. "Discern" calls for practical application of "knowledge" specialized to needs in particular people.

Paul prayed for more than insightful knowledge and discernment in love. He prayed that their knowledgeable and discerning love "may abound still more and more." The word "abound" means "overflow." It is not sufficient to love; love must overflow. Love that squirts a little here or there is not his point. Their love should overflow as a cup under a running faucet.

Again, that is not all God requires of love. Paul prays that their love would go beyond an overflowing love that is knowledgeable and discerning. He prays that their love will abound "still more and more." "More and more" piles up adverbs. This is exuberant love, not anemic love. It is a dynamic, poignant, powerful love.

If there was anything Paul desired for the saints, it is that they would love with the sum total of all these qualities. Look back over the last year. Did you love with the love of this verse? Was your life filled with bitterness, resentment, hostility and implacability? Were you constantly hurt? Did you wear your feelings on your sleeve? Where you so concerned about how other people appreciated you that you could care less about them? Were you others oriented? Was your love overflowing? Was it constantly coming in like wave after wave? Did your love grow this past year? Will it grow this year? Will you format the love of 1:9 into your life this coming year?

On the other hand, are you going to wander aimlessly through the next five years as over a faceless terrain? If we do not intentionalize this kind of love, it will never become real. We can format this love if we give structure to it. We can make a purpose real in our lives by adding the word "by" to love. "I am going to be more loving between now and the end of the century by cherishing my wife more." "I will change the direction of my life by respecting my husband more." "I am going to love as Christ loved me."

Jesus challenged us with a similar love, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). This love is the hallmark of Christianity.

Another passage which speaks of an expanding love is I Thessalonians 3:12 "And may the LORD make you to increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you." The Lord must make this happen. This kind of love is beyond our power. It is supernatural. The Lord can enable us to love, not only Christians, but "all" persons. Growing love catalyzes us to share our faith. The more we grow in grace the more we love. No one ever loves too much. Do we care enough about the eternal destiny of souls to share Christ? Will you format into your life such love of the lost that you will risk your comfort zone to love them?

All people do not appeal to us equally. Some are more difficult than others. Their disposition, dress, character or ways of doing things may not appeal to us. Compatibility of personality is irrelevant to this kind of love. We do not love them for their sake or their personality but rather for Jesus’ sake. We love the unlovely. An abounding, increasing knowledgeable, discerning love has greater capacity to love a wider range of people.

The first earmark of a growing, dynamic Christian is unconditional love. Immature Christians behave like youngsters. They engender anger at the drop of a hat. They detonate quickly. They are irritated and exasperated with people who do not seem to appreciate them. As we grow in love these things become inconsequential. Petty things are too tawdry to deflect the child of God from this kind of love. When we let people get into our hair or under our skin, this is a sign of spiritual immaturity. When teens take on "baby fat" we say, "They will outgrow it." We, as well, will outgrow spiritual baby fat if love abounds "still more and more in knowledge and all discernment."

The Greek word for "love" here means divine, self-sacrificing, one-way love that is free to relate. It is divine because God must produce it; we cannot produce it. "I cannot love this jerk." No, but God will enable us to love him. It is self-sacrificing in that I am not looking for something for myself, in fact, "I may have to pay a price to love this person." It is one-way in that my love does not depend on the reciprocity of that person to love me back. It makes no difference whether that person appreciates me or whether they understand what I have done for them. One-way love means that I love them on the basis of my character, not on the basis of my feeling. I love on the bedrock of what God has done for me. It does not make any difference what they are, who they are or what they have done, I can still love them because of what God has done for me. My love is also free to relate. It makes no difference if they violate me. I am free from soul kinks of bitterness, sour grapes, jealousy, resentment, implacability, hostility, anger.

This kind of love needs formatting. It will not come automatically. That is priority number one for which Paul prayed.

The Priority of a Value System

"That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ."

If we were to give the Greek nuances of this verse, we could paraphrase it like this: "That you may test with a view of approving by a standard the things of highest value." This puts priority on the things of greatest value. If I were to ask you face to face what is your highest priority in life, what would you tell me? Would you tell me of a priority that transcends the mundane, the day-to-day, the here-and-now? Would it reach beyond the end of your nose? What is the highest value of your life?

Do you format your life to the things of greatest value? Do you live with a construct or structure and definition in your life? On the other hand, do you wander through life?

In this verse Paul prays that the Philippians will sense what really matters. His prayer is that they will put priority on the things of greatest value.

He prays that they will sense two things in this verse, one near and one far. First, he prays that they would be able to discern the greatest priorities for the present time: "That you may approve the things that are excellent" (1:10a).

The Greek word "approve" means test for approval. It is a testing with a view to approving. The word was used for assaying metals and coins. The assaying process determines whether the metal satisfies specified standards. In Detroit Michigan automobile companies test their cars on "proving grounds." If a shock absorber does not meet their regulations they keep changing it until they correct the problem.

A thinking person must have criteria to prove life’s priorities. God’s Word gives us those criteria for life. If we use criteria for business, education and every other field of life, why not employ it in our spiritual life?

In order to test something we must have a standard, a measure or criterion. If someone comes to us with a business deal we will not accept it unless it meets our standards. Principles of business knowledge determine whether it is a good deal or not. The second purpose, therefore, is to resolve a set of difficulties and problems with biblical priorities.

Is making money your greatest value? "The security of money in the bank is the highest value to me. I’m going to retire one day. Inflation is on the rise. I may end in poverty if I do not pack it away." The Bible does not assail a savings plan. It does vilify making money an idol. Biblically, money is a means, not an end.

The word "excellent" means a sense of what is vital. It is the ability to distinguish between the things that differ. It is the discernment to distinguish between chaff and wheat, dross and gold, the genuine and the superficial. Some people lack discernment to the degree that they cannot tell the difference between the Bible and the Koran. The Bible is the touchstone whereby we determine whether a thing is true or not.

Here "excellent" means to operate by a scale of values. The phrase "the things that are excellent" can translate "the things of greater value." We should be able to test for approval what is most valuable in life. No one operates adequately in life without a scale of values. Where there is no scale of values there is utter and total confusion. We would live in daze without a sense of what is important. Imagine trying to live in a world where everything is equally important!

Why does Paul pray for such priority? We are here on earth for such a short time. Paul is in prison. He may face death shortly after he writes this book. In this very dangerous plight he must know what is important.

The field of sociology presents two types of values: terminal and instrumental values. An instrumental value is something we use. A terminal value is one of six or so core beliefs. We treasure these tenets above all else. Money should remain an instrumental value, not a terminal value. We should employ it only for the glory of God. If that means meeting the needs of my family, then it is a biblical value. God is glorified by my doing so. Utilizing money for "us four and no more" converts money into a terminal value. Money then applies exclusively for the mundane.

Another example of instrumental values is in the field of relationships: "Oh, I need a man. I am not married. I am almost 30 years of age. Any port in the storm will do." Or, "I need a gal. She must be tall, tanned and terrific." Is her soul important? Are his passions something to consider? Reaching for the short instrumental values will end in great problems.

Putting priority on the greatest values means we must manage our lives carefully. "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil"

Opportunities slip by. We squander and waste many advantages. We could have touched someone with the gospel. We could have won someone to Jesus Christ. We did not seize the moment because we were spiritual navel gazers. We are more concerned about our problems–"Me, myself and I"–than other people. We need to come out of ourselves and see the world of opportunities around us.

"Only one life, twill soon be passed, only what is done for Christ will last." Living for Christ is to keep eternal values in view. Do we live with eternal values in view? Do we exist primarily for going down to the beach? This is not to say that going to the beach as a lesser priority is wrong. Part of good stewardship is to measure a certain amount of relaxation into our lives. If the essence of life is to play golf or trim our hedges, then we subsist on the outer edge of God’s priorities for us. We dwell on the outside of the periphery of God’s design for us. Do we place priority on the things of greatest value? Do we appraise what is truly important?

"A lighthouse keeper was given a measured amount of oil to run the lighthouse in the older days. He lived close to shore so people came over to visit him. One day a lady came and said, "My family is cold and we need some oil to keep our house warm. Would you give us some oil?" He said, "OK, that is a good use of my oil." Over time others came; he gave them oil as well. A day came when he depleted his supply. That evening a number of ships crashed on the shores. A number of people died. He did good things but did he do the best thing? He did not put priority on the thing of greater value.

Now we come to the far or remote priority for which Paul prays: "That you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ" (1:10b).

Paul prays that the Philippians will annex two characteristics to "excellence" by the time Christ comes, "that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ" (1:10b). The word "sincere" is more meaningful in the Greek than in the English. It means "transparent." "Sincere" comes from two Greek words: "sun" and "to judge." The idea is to judge by the light of the sun. In the ancient world, people would fill in the cracks of a jar with wax and paint over it. They would sell the jar as new. The only way someone could tell if the jar was broken was to hold it up to the sun. If light came through, then they knew that it was a defective jar.

Does our life pass the test when held up to the sun? When we hold our life up to the Word of God, does it show cracks? We judge our life by holding it up to the Word of God to determine whether it is genuine. Are we transparent with nothing to hide? When Jesus comes again he will judge us with piercing perception. He will see us for what we truly are.

The second evaluation Jesus will make of us when he comes again is to determine whether we are "blameless." This word means "no stumbling block." God will evaluate us on whether people stumbled over our lives.

If we put priority on the things of greatest value we will not stumble other people. If we put priority on the things of greatest value we will have a life of integrity until Christ comes again.

The second priority is that we will live by a scale of values both in the near and far terms until Christ comes again.

The Result of Putting First Things First

The third point for which Paul prays is that the Philippians will glorify God by producing fruit which only God can supply by Jesus Christ, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (1:11).

The Greek indicates "being filled with the fruits of righteousness" is something we receive, not something we do. Christians receive this action. They do not produce it. We do not produce fruit; we receive it.

Notice that this fruit comes "by Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ produces this fruit. The third point for which Paul prays is that God would do something in our lives to make a difference. He prays that we would orient to the grace of God, to the provision of God, to the majesty of God. If we set our course on God’s grace, we will glorify God. Only through the death of Christ is deliverance from sin possible. His death makes it possible to live the Christian life.

PRINCIPLE:  We need to put priority on the things of greatest value. 

APPLICATION:  Is the hand of God on your life? Will you allow him to radically change you? Most people never change their terminal values. It takes a major disruption in life to undermine a core belief. Only dissonance or some major catastrophe will impact this fundamental belief system. We believe money will make us happy or beauty will give us a sense of fulfillment. If a core belief fails us, we may be jolted into openness toward God. Must we wait for a catastrophe before we change? The Holy Spirit will create a spiritual dissonance or dissatisfaction with our terminal values if we yield to him.

The fruits that God produces glorifies God. The glory of God is the manifestation of his attributes, the manifestation of God himself. His glory depicts the wonder of who he is. If God does the doing he gets the glory. If we do the doing we get the glory. The "fruit" in this verse is God’s doing. "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8)."

It chaffs people of our generation to depend upon God. We have lost the idea of dependence. We cannot have proper relationships even with other humans if we cannot depend upon them. If we cannot depend on human beings, how can we depend upon God to work in our lives? God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

We have the idea," Paul said, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God"

2 Peter 1:5-11 [We will take a 3 dayaside before 2nd John]

Published on September 22, 2001 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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2 Pe 1: 5 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

 Our Lord is different–He is not the same inwardly as we are. To know Him we must see below the surface of movements and words. When we respond in faith to our insight-knowledge of Christ, we have a means of godliness.I remember my first trip to the Rocky Mountains. Viewing the colossal scenery I thought to myself, “No one could ever become used to that landscape!” But some people do lose their sense of awe and wonder. There are truck drivers who pass through those mountains every day and are rarely impressed with their grandeur. There are people who live within sight of majestic peaks and take them for granted.

So it is with the Christian life. We live in the truth, but by careless handling we lose sensitivity to spiritual things. Familiarity breeds contempt! This is true with the gospel, the Word of God, or Jesus Christ Himself.

After we are saved for a few years, the features of the Christian life which should constantly be fresh and new, become commonplace. The novelty wears off. The same was true in the days of the apostles. Paul had to exhort a preacher to remember the person of Jesus Christ–”Remember Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:8). Paul preached the gospel to the brethren. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

We are prone to forget the vital elements of the truth. Why is this? The Apostle Peter helps us with this problem by some of the things he writes in 2 Peter 1.

Insight into the Savior

The purpose of Peter’s epistle was to “remind” (2 Peter 1:12-15; 3:1). This is not a general reminder; Peter has something specific in mind. He wants to remind the believers of the perceptive-discerning knowledge of Jesus Christ. This concept is taken from the Greek word epignosis. This perceptive-discerning knowledge occurs in Peter’s second epistle six times (2 Peter 1:2-3, 8; 2:20-21 in both verb and noun forms).

Another Greek word for know (gnosis) occurs in 1:5-6, 20; 3:3, 17-18. As distinct from the latter term, the Greek word epignosis means to know a thing by finding out its distinctive marks. This is not an academic but a spiritual knowledge. It is insight-knowledge. The word is used of an inspector. It is like an inspector in a factory who uses a micrometer to look for details. Peter is saying we are to use what he has written to look for details of the person of Christ. As we take the micrometer of the Word of God, we will find that Jesus Christ meets every specification of holiness; He perfectly satisfies the longing heart; the salvation He offers meets every demand of God. By catching an insight glimpse into the life of Christ we see something of “life and godliness” (1:3).

The Greek word epignosis is made of two words–in and knowledge. Putting them together we have in-knowledge. It is knowledge that is “on the in.” Peter is not concerned with the peripheral, external, and historical life of Christ, although he had known Christ in the flesh. Peter wants more than the superficial. He wants to know Jesus in person. Knowledge is spiritual instruction, whereas insight-knowledge is personal, intimate communion with Christ. It is very possible to know a person, even a contemporary, and not know him personally.

Insight-knowledge comes through the ability to make penetrating observations in the life of Christ. Our Lord is distinguished from other people He is not the same inwardly as the common man. To know Him we must see below the surface of movements and words. When we respond in faith to our insight-knowledge of Christ, we have a means of godliness. Notice the word “through” in verses 1-3 (KJV). We have obtained “like precious faith through“–(inner happiness daily through Christ). We have “all things that pertain unto life and godliness through“–(with His divine power He has given unto us His divine nature which produces seven virtues in the Christian life). These things can never be separated from growth in grace. The more we absorb God by an insight-knowledge of Christ the more fruitful we become “in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The human mind is not a debating hall, but a picture gallery. Around it hang our concepts. What we hang in the picture galleries of our minds usually determines our outlook and approach to life itself.

Sensitivity to Sin

Too many Christians do not know the blessing of the great mountain peaks of Christian experience. Why do some of us never come to an insight-knowledge of Christ? Peter gives the answer in verse nine: “But he that lacks these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” “These things” are the qualities of Christian life we are to add to our faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love. Peter names two results when we lack a perceptive knowledge of Christ.

First, “He that lacks these things is blind and cannot see afar off.” The words “and cannot see afar off” is the Greek word muopazon, from which we get our English word myopic. It means short-sighted. The person lacking Christian virtues lacks discernment and has a poor perspective of the values of life. To see only what is near is a serious spiritual problem. Initial salvation is wonderful; the first principles of the Word of God are great; but let us not dwell on them all our lives. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection” (Hebrews 6:1). Myopia is shortsightedness. The distant rays of light do not fall aright on the retina of the eye. There is only a blur. The shortsighted person sees only what is near. The insight-knowledge of Christ is brought into focus too soon before reaching the mind of the spiritual myopic person. He sees only the broad outline. There is spiritual shabbiness because of a shortsighted view of the intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christians can have poor sight as well as the unsaved.

Take a long range look at the Lord Jesus. If you cannot see your way spiritually, look unto Jesus Christ in all of His person (Hebrews 12:1-2). The person who is myopic never has a perspective on his life. He is disorientated in spiritual perspective. He has not seen Jesus Christ in all of His beauty.

A man’s mind may be likened to a garden which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild. But whether cultivated or neglected, it must bring forth fruit of some kind. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seed will fall therein and will continue to produce their kind. If thoughts of the person of Christ are placed there, Christ’s life will be reproduced in the Christian.

The second result of not having a perceptive knowledge of Christ is forgetting that there is cleansing from old sins (1:9). The joy of salvation is lost. The initial thrill of being saved becomes old hat. First love for Christ has been abandoned (Revelation 2:4-5). There is unappreciative familiarity with the person and work of Christ and with the life of the church.

There is a subtle difference between familiarity and intimate insight-knowledge of someone. Familiarity suggests associations where one individual takes freedoms and liberties with another. Intimate insight-knowledge of a person suggests relationships which are close and personal. There is a full and deep understanding. If we are producing the virtues of verses five through seven, then we will not be “barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” The context for this knowledge is that we have His nature.

The Savior in the Word

In verses 12-21 Peter tells of his impending death and exhorts the believers “to have these things always in remembrance.” He was writing to believers in Asia Minor who had never seen Jesus Christ. Therefore, if they were to catch an insight glimpse into the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ they must do it through the testimony and writings of the apostles. So Peter gives an experience of his insight-knowledge in Christ–the transfiguration (a glimpse of Christ as King)–and he exhorts his readers to search the Word of God. The believer in the twentieth century has only one source for a knowledge of Christ–the Word of God. In fact, the Word of God is a “more sure word of testimony” than the experience of Peter’s historical relationship to the Savior. The Word of God is our tool for seeing the living Word. As we begin to focus upon the Word of God the Lord Jesus will take shape before our inner eyes. It is not merely a cold academic knowledge but an experiential knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Those who know Him the best love Him the most. The Bible is Christocentric. The more we know of the Word of God the more we know of Christ.


PRINCIPLE:  Perspicacity into the person of Christ will facilitate our spiritual growth. 
APPLICATION:  By beholding the Lord Jesus we become mirrors. “Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29). The supreme longing of the believer’s heart should be to know Christ, to know Him personally, experientially and intimately. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). We need to say with Hudson Taylor: “The Lord Jesus received is holiness begun; the Lord Jesus cherished is holiness advancing; the Lord Jesus counted upon as never absent would be holiness complete.”Again, it is possible to dwell in the midst of majestic scenery of the person of Christ and take Him for granted. Even Peter himself had to learn this lesson the hard way. In Mark 14:71-72 he denied that he even knew Jesus Christ. Buy then in a few moments he thought over what he had done and wept. Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A mind without a memory is like a fortress without a garrison.” Unless we dwell upon the things that we have in Christ we will be subject to any onslaught of Satan. The things of Christ must always remain fresh to us.

While I was going to school in Dallas, every day I passed the place where President Kennedy had been shot. For months after the shooting, people milled around the area, but as time went on, fewer and fewer people came to the site. The curiosity regarding the historic spot began to fade. Likewise, unless we renew from time to time our insights into the person of Christ the reality will fade.

Long driving on super highways dulls the sense of speed. Long time in the battle, weeks of labor for Christ, dulls your sensitivity to the person of Christ. We need to pull off the road of hustle and activity in Christian service and refresh ourselves. “Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 3:1). We are to consider the details of that One. Not like the traveler whose field of view has a wide scope but like a person who has lived on the terrain all his life. He knows every foot of ground. We are to so know Jesus Christ that we know His mind in every circumstance.

If we are not orbited in Christ the friction of the world will burn us up. Sin will help you to forget; Christ will help you to surmount!

1 John 5:21

Published on September 21, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”


We come now to the closing verse and admonition of the epistle.  This is John’s swan’s song and also one of the last New Testament books written. 

Little children,

John’s final challenge is to the family of God (2:1,12,28; 3:7,18; 4:4).  “Children” means born ones.  John loves his spiritual family. 

keep yourselves from idols.

Following false teaching is idolatry.  It is to follow an idol of one’s own invention.  The Christian life will be severely blunted if a believer acquiesces to false teaching. 

The word “keep” expresses urgency and decisiveness: “Do not hesitate.  Do not fool with false religion because of the serious damage it can do to your soul.”  The meaning is guard, defend: “Defend yourselves from idols.  Do not desert the reality of God’s Word for an illusion.”  Anything or anyone that substitutes for God is idolatry. 

An “idol” is anything that represents itself as God. It is a substitute for the real thing.   It can be any false idea of who God is.  It could be any value that is central and most important to the believer.  It is anything that comes between the soul and the Savior.  That might be a person, a pleasure or ambition. 

The command to keep us from idols is a command to protect ourselves against spiritual corruption.  This command presents a contrast to “the true God” of the previous verse.  John pits the true God against false teaching.  Their teaching was the idolatry that John refers to here: “Since you already know the true God, defend yourself against any teaching that would violate who God is.”  How can we forsake the One who saved us and gave us operating assets for living the Christian life?

Amen

John affirms this principle by the word “amen.”  “Amen” means so be it, “I believe it.” 


PRINCIPLE:  Faithfulness to the truth is a maxim for maturity in the Christian life. 


APPLICATION:  An idol is any substitute for the real thing.  It imitates truth but it is not truth.  Whatever robs our worship of God is an idol.  It is anything that comes between God and us.  It does not have to be a statue but anything we worship over God.  It might be our job, our family or success.  If we think more of these things than we do of Christ, we commit idolatry.  God will not take second place to anything or anyone.  This is the greatest threat to our spirituality. 

Twenty-first-century idols are as real as the first-century idols.  The name may change but the principle behind it does not.  First-century people worshiped Narcissus but we worship self.  They worshiped Bacchus, the god of booze, and we addict ourselves to drugs, alcohol and things.  They worshiped Venus, the goddess of love, and we worship illicit sexual pleasure.  They worshiped Apollo, the god of physical beauty, and we worship the body.  They worship Minerva, the goddess of science, and we put great trust in science to answer the ultimate cosmological questions of life. 

God equates covetousness and idolatry. 

Lu 12: 15 “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’”

Ep 5: 5 “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

Co 3: 5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

God wants us to guard ourselves against anything that would ruin our march toward maturity in Christ.  Anything that masquerades as truth will blunt development in the Christian way of life. 

We can tell if we are idolaters by what we give our commitment, attention, interest, energy, time or money.  Whatever controls our thoughts is our god.  What do you get animated about?  That is your god.  It is the very thing that will crush your Christian life. 

It is one thing to have faith in God but it is another to be faithful to Him.  We claim the Son of God as our Savior but we reject His sovereignty over our souls.  We give ourselves to completely different value systems.  Anything that deflects us from Jesus Christ as the center for life is an idol.  What we devote ourselves to is our idol.  The more we cultivate our loyalty to God and His values, the more free we are from our personal idols.