Lush green valley representing spiritual growth and walking in Christ's commandments from 2 John

2 John ~ Walk in Christ's Commandments ~ Commanded and Cautioned by the Apostle

2 John is a testimony to the fact that no question consumed more time than, "Who is Jesus?" The false teachers who prompted John to write this letter were promoting a heresy about this question. John would have none of it. He urged the believers to cling to the truth: Jesus Christ came in the flesh. The word, "truth" appears five times in the first four verses. The Apostle John wants believers to guard against falsehood and the best way to do that would be to arm themselves with the truth, by walking in Christ's commandments.

Understanding the Context of 2 John

The Apostle John's Purpose and Audience

1 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,
2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 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.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.

5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.

6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

"Walking in truth" means having an authentic relationship with God. Our walk with the Lord if genuine must be based upon His Word. Specifically, our walk with God is based on His "commandment to love one another" (see John 13:34,35). God's love is the basis of His desire for our obedience, and it is the reason He has revealed His will through "His commandments" in His Word. We prove our obedience to Him by demonstrating love toward one another. Love is an unlimited resource readily available to us, and it's tremendously effective in furthering the work of Christ.

Walking in Christ's Commandments

Commanded by the Apostle

The commandment is actually twofold.
Walk in Truth: responding to deceivers by guarding against and rejecting them.  
Walk in Love ( see also 2 John 1:3)

The Foundation of Truth and Love

How important it is not to separate these two. To practice truth without love leads to legalism. To employ love without truth leads to liberalism. Paul likewise combines these two (Ephesians 4:15), as did Jesus (John 1:14,17) 

Beware of Antichrist Deceivers

Warning against False Teachers

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.
9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;
11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Cautioned by the Apostle

Look out for Satan (2 John 1:7,9-11)
Watch out for self (2 John 1:8) 
The author of this epoistle, John, wants us to receive a full reward for faithful service at the judgement seat of Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 3:5-17)
The Gnostic heresy, against which John wrote in 1 and 2 John, included a denial of the physical body of Christ. People who deny the physical reality of Jesus are not Christians, but antichrists. 
Being seduced by false teachers is one way that Christians can lose their reward at the judgement. With this in mind, John writes that the reason to guard against deceivers is our own desire not to lose our reward at the judgement seat of Christ.

Faithfulness Determines Your Reward

Jesus cautioned the church at Philadelphia to: 
"hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown" (see Revelation 3:11) 
Every beleiver has the potential of a full reward or a complete loss of reward (see 1 Corinthians 3:15).
The determining factor is our FAITHFULNESS to CHRIST.
Justification is not in view here because it is not something that we worked for, but something we received as a gift from God (see Romans 4:1-6; Ephesians 2:8). 
God wants you to receive a full reward for faithful service at the judgement seat of Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 3:5-17)

A Call to Faithful Worship

Experience 'O Come All Ye Faithful' - a timeless hymn that echoes the Apostle John's call to faithfulness in 2 John. Just as John urged believers to remain faithful to Christ's commandments and receive a full reward at the judgment seat, this beloved carol invites us to come faithfully and worship the Lord with joyful obedience.


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