Watch out for false teachers: 2 John (Day 147)

Pray

Lord, prepare me to receive your word. Clear my mind and warm my heart. Assure me of your loving purposes for me, and speak into my life today.

Read

Numbers 36 Psalm 80 Isaiah 28 2 John 1

Daily reflection: 2 John

Even within the lifespan of people like the apostle John who were close followers of Jesus and witnessed first-hand his life, death and resurrection, there were false teachers travelling around and leading believers astray with a message other than the true gospel. There still are today, even if they communicate by different methods.

John writes this letter to a community of believers, alerting them to the danger and advising them on how resist false teaching. ‘Deceivers’ weren’t always easy to spot because they claimed to be Christians, but John identifies two major red flags in verses 7 and 9. They do not believe Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man and they claim their teaching is an advance on the teachings of Christ.

But anyone who ‘does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God’ (verse 9). When we encounter content that is marketed as Christian, we should be wary of false teaching no matter how subtly it is hidden alongside things that sound right. And, if Christ isn’t at the centre of that content, we should not help to promote it.

John writes that believers should not support the mission of false teachers in any way (verses 10–11). Perhaps this seems hard to reconcile with John’s oft-repeated command to ‘love one another’ but it’s certainly not a licence for believers to be unpleasant to anyone. We are loving witnesses to others when we walk ‘in the truth,’ believing in Jesus and obeying God’s commands (verse 4).

Pray

Dear Lord, help me to walk in both truth and love. Keep me alert and give me wisdom to discern any teaching that does not come from you. Help me to witness to those who are deceived in a way that lovingly points them to the truth about Christ and the hope they have in him.