"These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you." (1 John 2:26)
When I think of the word, "seduce," I think of temptation. I think of a fish being attracted to an artificial lure on the end of someone's fishing line. I think of that fish grabbing the lure only to discover he is in a frying pan being prepared for someone's supper. The work means, "To persuade to disobedience." It means to lead astray by persuasion of false promises, much as a young virgin being led astray by false promises of a handsome, young man.
The Bible says that, "evil men and seducers shall proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (II Timothy 3:13, NASB) John says that he wrote to them to warn them not to be led astray by seduction. It is the seduction of false doctrine about which he has been writing. It is written for us today, also.
Jude tells us of false teachers who have turned the grace of God into a license to sin. We have "artificial lures" among us today, attempting to lead churches down an ungodly path of false doctrine. They are "seducers."
One radio preacher from the past often gave his listeners this word in closing: "Walk with the King today and be a blessing." Amen.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Standing on the Promises
“And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.” (I John 2:25)
I love the old hymn, “Standing on the Promises.” Someone else came out with a song in the 1980’s, “You can’t Stand on the Promises if You don’t know What they Are.” In his prayer of dedication of the temple, Solomon said, “Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant.” (I Kings 8:56)
God made promises to Noah, Abraham, Moses and the list goes on. Some have counted the promises in the Bible as 3,573 while others have the number at 7,487. The number of promises is not the point. Whatever the number is, not one has failed. He has made promises to all of us.
Our text records one of the greatest promises, if it is not the greatest of all. He promised that, “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) You can trust Jesus for eternal life, one of the many promises He has never failed to keep.
I love the old hymn, “Standing on the Promises.” Someone else came out with a song in the 1980’s, “You can’t Stand on the Promises if You don’t know What they Are.” In his prayer of dedication of the temple, Solomon said, “Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant.” (I Kings 8:56)
God made promises to Noah, Abraham, Moses and the list goes on. Some have counted the promises in the Bible as 3,573 while others have the number at 7,487. The number of promises is not the point. Whatever the number is, not one has failed. He has made promises to all of us.
Our text records one of the greatest promises, if it is not the greatest of all. He promised that, “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) You can trust Jesus for eternal life, one of the many promises He has never failed to keep.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
God Dwelt Among Us
“Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” (I John 2:24)
We Christians have the unique privilege of abiding in Christ. It is the vine/branch relationship which Jesus taught His disciples in the fifteenth chapter of John’s gospel. We must “abide” in Him to be fruitful, just as a branch in the vineyard must abide in the vine to bear fruit.
This is the teaching they heard at the beginning of their walk of faith and salvation. It is eternal, changeless truth which John taught when he said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:1-3, 14)
We cannot abide in one without abiding in the other. Continue in the eternal truth you heard from the beginning. It has not changed.
We Christians have the unique privilege of abiding in Christ. It is the vine/branch relationship which Jesus taught His disciples in the fifteenth chapter of John’s gospel. We must “abide” in Him to be fruitful, just as a branch in the vineyard must abide in the vine to bear fruit.
This is the teaching they heard at the beginning of their walk of faith and salvation. It is eternal, changeless truth which John taught when he said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:1-3, 14)
We cannot abide in one without abiding in the other. Continue in the eternal truth you heard from the beginning. It has not changed.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Inseparable
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” (I John 2:23)
When my wife and I moved into the parsonage of our first church one of the farmers said, “Now, you feel free to go to my milk barn and from the refigerated milk tank help yourself. You may skim some cream off the top. Or, you may open the valve near the bottom of the tank if you want milk only. But, if you want milk and cream turn on the agitator a few minutes and lit it mix the milk and cream together. Help yourself.” That was a very generous offer which we deeply appreciated.
We may separate milk from cream, or wheat from chaff, but the Bible indicates that the Father and Son are inseparable even though there are folks who claim they love the Father but not the Son, or they love the Son but not the Father. Jesus made the statement, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) He told Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
Part of the charges that were laid against Jesus and resulted in His crucifixion was that He made Himself equal with God.
“Oh, precious cross, Oh, glorious crown! Oh, resurrection day! When Christ the Lord from Heaven comes down, and bears my soul away!”
When my wife and I moved into the parsonage of our first church one of the farmers said, “Now, you feel free to go to my milk barn and from the refigerated milk tank help yourself. You may skim some cream off the top. Or, you may open the valve near the bottom of the tank if you want milk only. But, if you want milk and cream turn on the agitator a few minutes and lit it mix the milk and cream together. Help yourself.” That was a very generous offer which we deeply appreciated.
We may separate milk from cream, or wheat from chaff, but the Bible indicates that the Father and Son are inseparable even though there are folks who claim they love the Father but not the Son, or they love the Son but not the Father. Jesus made the statement, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) He told Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
Part of the charges that were laid against Jesus and resulted in His crucifixion was that He made Himself equal with God.
“Oh, precious cross, Oh, glorious crown! Oh, resurrection day! When Christ the Lord from Heaven comes down, and bears my soul away!”
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Who is this Man Jesus?
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” (I John 2:22)
Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Their response is astounding. “Some say you are one of the Old Testament prophets.” But who is Jesus. Ask that question today and the answers will be just as astounding as then. “You are a great miracle worker, a good example, a great teacher, a prophet alongside Mohammed or even a figment of men’s imaginations.
But Jesus pinned them down. “Whom say ye that I am? What is you personal response?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus said, “My Father in heaven revealed this to you.” The testimony of the Father and the Son agree. Peter’s confession is the acceptable response.
The Bible declares that the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. That person is denying the testimony of both Father and Son and is a liar.
What is your response to the question Jesus posed to the disciples?
Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Their response is astounding. “Some say you are one of the Old Testament prophets.” But who is Jesus. Ask that question today and the answers will be just as astounding as then. “You are a great miracle worker, a good example, a great teacher, a prophet alongside Mohammed or even a figment of men’s imaginations.
But Jesus pinned them down. “Whom say ye that I am? What is you personal response?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus said, “My Father in heaven revealed this to you.” The testimony of the Father and the Son agree. Peter’s confession is the acceptable response.
The Bible declares that the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. That person is denying the testimony of both Father and Son and is a liar.
What is your response to the question Jesus posed to the disciples?
Saturday, September 2, 2017
No Lie is of the Truth
“I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” (I John 2:21)
There are millions of people around the world who have never heard the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They have never heard the message of the birth of Jesus, His sinless life, His cruel crucifixion on the cross, His death, burial and resurrection. They know nothing of a new life in Christ.
John’s purpose in this epistle was not to introduce his readers to the truth. Rather, he was writing because they knew the truth and he was warning them not to be led astray with a lie that some cult had manufactured which was promoted as a new and better revelation.
Jude in his little epistle states that believers “should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3) The truth once delivered to the saints is sufficient for every generation, from the days of Jesus until His return. That exhortation continues to stand today. Our day is filled with false teachers and false teachings. We must be on guard to stay with the clear teaching of the Bible.
There are millions of people around the world who have never heard the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They have never heard the message of the birth of Jesus, His sinless life, His cruel crucifixion on the cross, His death, burial and resurrection. They know nothing of a new life in Christ.
John’s purpose in this epistle was not to introduce his readers to the truth. Rather, he was writing because they knew the truth and he was warning them not to be led astray with a lie that some cult had manufactured which was promoted as a new and better revelation.
Jude in his little epistle states that believers “should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3) The truth once delivered to the saints is sufficient for every generation, from the days of Jesus until His return. That exhortation continues to stand today. Our day is filled with false teachers and false teachings. We must be on guard to stay with the clear teaching of the Bible.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Unction
“But ye have unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (I John 2:20)
In John’s day there were those who thought they had a private corner on the truth, that if they had not discovered some truth it wasn’t worth knowing.
They are still with us today, introducing some latter day truth, having special revelations from God and having been told of God to share that new truth which is not in the Bible.
John could remember that night when the disciples were gathered around the table with their Master. He told them of the coming of the Holy Spirit who would live in them, who would guide them into all truth and reveal things to come. The blessed Holy Spirit anointed John’s readers and they needed no new revelation. Nor do we need some extra Biblical revelation.
It isn’t that new Christians suddenly have a doctorate in theology. But, all Christians have a Teacher, the Holy Spirit, living within them and guiding their understanding in the Word of God.
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