There are Three that Testify
Even though Christians experience a victorious new birth, being born of God himself, in order to believe, love, and obey, we must still wrestle for the rest of our lives with why we believe, love, and obey. Does our faith rest on some kind of psychological deception, whether from a hyper-emotionalized experience, a desperately guilty [...]
The Joy: Filled up and overflowing in the Gospel
Although John raises some eyebrows by urging his readers toward fellowship first with us, and then secondarily with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, the fourth verse of 1 John might be even a bit more curious: “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4). [...]
John’s warning concerning the Church
Although John warns his flock about the dangers they face from the world, John spends far more time talking about the dangers his spiritual children face amidst their own ranks. John insists that the situation has become so dire that it is indeed “the last hour” (1 John 2:18) By this, John does not so [...]
John’s warning concerning the world
The reasons we sin are neither complicated nor new. John summarizes and warns against the three ways temptations appeal to us: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of [...]
