What else did these deceivers deny about Jesus (see 2 John 7)?
“That He came in the flesh.”
True/False: John and his community departed from the false teachers (v.19)
“Not exactly; the false teachers departed from them. So I guess – false.”
While some rejected His divinity, others denied He had come in the flesh… Jesus being both fully human and fully God is essential to the Christian faith, and a truth for which John contended.
Read the Gospel of John 7:37-43. What one word in verse 43 describes the effect of the different beliefs people had about Jesus?
“divided”
How is Jesus related to God the Father (see John 12:44-45)?
“They are One.”
According to 1 John 2:19, how closely related to John’s readers can you infer this community was at one time?
“Very close, seemingly part of their church body”
Glance at 1 John 2:26, 1 John 4:1, and 2 John 7, and notice the danger these individuals posed. Now really consider this: How might the fact that these antichrists were at one time a part of John’s community make the division and false claims all the more difficult to handle?
“It’s easier to ignore or rationally, consider and reject wrong, sounding teachings and assertions from someone you’ve just met and barely know than from someone who has seemed to be part of your spiritual family, you’ve taken communion with and worshiped next to, etc.”
Without leaving anything potentially harmful on the page, has your belief in Jesus and your commitment to him ever been the cause of a friendship that eventually drifted apart? If you can pinpoint it, what about Jesus or your faith caused the separation?
“Thankfully, not personally. I am reminded of how Steve got as he distanced himself from Sally (and all church things). I am also reminded of the disruptive group I’ve heard tell about of ultra dispensationalists who settled into DPBC in the late ’70s or so, tried to take root and gain followers, [and] then moved on (perhaps not by choice).”
Read 2 Timothy 3:1-7. Verse seven describes a curious combination. The people were always “learning”, but they never acknowledged the “truth”.
Read 2 Timothy 4:3. For what two reasons does Paul suggest people will turn away from the truth? “To suit their own desires, and because it’s what their itching ears want to hear.”
What were the Athenians spending their time doing in Acts 17:21? “Talking about and listening to the latest ideas”
What current ideas or cultural tides have caused you to question any part of (1) the gospel message, (2) Jesus’ teachings, (3) the soundness of God’s word? Be honest in your answers, since the Lord already knows your thoughts.
“None that I can recall, but I don’t like shows like Nova trying to prove the ark couldn’t have been the way the Bible says, etc.”
But most of the time, if we’re honest, our doubts and questions flow out of our wayward passions and lusts. In other words, we want what we want, and will find whatever ‘truth’ will back us up.
If you’re doubting your faith, or struggling with obedience to God’s word, consider the verses you read as expressed in the descriptions below. Honestly ask yourself if any of these reflect your current state and write your thoughts beside the description that best describes you.
I want to follow my personal desires and passions, even though they are contrary to a road of obedience (see 2 Timothy 4:3)
“I like to think all my favorites aren’t really sins, but rather harmless entertainment (a couple even mentally stimulating and probably beneficial), but sometimes it’s not what you do that’s sin, but rather, when you do it, how much, and instead of what else God would actually have you doing.”
“I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it.” (1 John 2:21) Resolve to live like what you know.
Dearest Rachel –
Oddly enough, the one thing that sticks out from this chapter is something that went unnoticed by you when you were filling out your answers. Oh, you had plenty to say about the history of those in your orbit (including some local history that even I only really know from my folks’ remembrances – although you clearly were paying attention when they told those stories every bit as much as I was), but you hadn’t been through any truly faith-shaking experiences yourself personally.
I wonder if it would upset you at all to think that your very departure would cause something like that to happen to me. As it says on page 73, “Sometimes our faith wanes because we’ve been blindsided by a tragedy.” If that doesn’t describe what happened to you – and by extension, to Daniel and me – I don’t know what does. And while you might say something along the lines of “but your faith didn’t wane, honey – you were in church the next morning, surprising everyone that you were.” That’s as may be, but just because I stuck to my habits doesn’t mean I didn’t question where this fit as part of God’s plan. Even now, I don’t know what my next step ought to be, despite being presented with a number of options (partly, I think, because none of them currently seem to have anything to do with finding ‘Megumi’). I was simply there because… well, where else could I go?
Peter had it right, when Jesus asked if they would be turned off and leave because of His message; as difficult as things might seem, how much more would they be without knowing (or at least believing) He has a plan for all this somehow?
I know it doesn’t have a lot of connection to this particular passage you were studying at the time, but I think that it’s just as well, since neither of us has ever found a reasonable alternative to our faith that might lead us astray from it. It’s yet one more reason I expect to see you at some point in the (relatively) near future – and there are times when I can hardly wait.
Until then, though, honey, I hope you can continue to keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 