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The Subtle Danger of Spiritual Pride

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The Subtle Danger of Spiritual Pride “I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.” 3 John 9-15 Pride is perhaps the most prevalent and destructive sin that we struggle with.  In our sinful nature, we love to elevate ourselves and receive the praise of people.  Of all the sins, it is the one that is the most often condemned in the Scripture.  What makes pride so destructive is that the proud seek to elevate themselves above others and prevent them from seeking God.  Pride blinds us from our weakness, so we no longer see our need for God and His gracious work in our lives. Diotrephes was gripped by pride.  The first hint that he was focused on himself rather than surrendered to God is found in his name.  Those raised in a Greek home were often given the name of the Greek gods.  Diotrephes  reflects this tradition, for his name means “nurtured by Zeus.”  Because of this associat...
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The Life that Pleases God

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Living a Life that is Pleasing to God 3 John 1-8 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”                   What brings us joy and happiness?  What we value is what brings us joy.  Yet joy is often fleeting.  Some people strive to obtain joy through the accusation of material possessions.  They think they would find joy and contentment if only they got this one thing- a new car, a new house, or the latest fashion.  However, once the newness wears off, the joy is gone, and they are left to pursue the next latest and greatest thing.  Some people search for happiness and joy in their careers.  They believe that if they succeed and gain recognition, they will be fulfilled and find joy.  But once again, happiness eludes them as they spend their life pursuing the next promotion only to d...
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The Unchanging Truth

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The Unchanging Word 2 John 1:1-6 “The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.”                   When Jesus was on trial and sent to Pilot for sentencing, after interacting with Jesus, Pilate asked a question, “What is truth?”  From the beginning of time, people have wrestled with this question.  Philosophers have pondered the question, and people have debated the answers for generations.  This question is especially poignant in a world where so much information is available at our fingertips and so many conflicting answers exist.  But the search for truth and the presence of teachers who distort the truth is not new.  Throughout history, there have been those who have twisted the truth to conform to the...
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The Mark of a Genuine Disciple

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The Mark of a Genuine Disciple “By this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:1-6                   It is easy to be a pretender.  We can talk the talk, say all the right words. We can even attend church on Sundays, raise our hands in worship, and say “amen” when the preacher is preaching.  We can convince others and ourselves that we are a “Christian.”  However, Christ warns us in Matthew 7:21-23 that not everyone who claims to be a disciple of Christ is a genuine follower of Him.                   In 1 John 2, John begins with an affirmation of the hope of all humanity. When we sin, no matter how grievous the act, we have one who is an “Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.”  An advocate acts as a spokesperson or r...
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Acknoweldgement, Confession, and Forgiveness

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Acknowledgement, Confession, and Forgiveness “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:1-10                   The fundamental question we must ask is this, “Do we see God from the perspective of man, or do we see man from the perspective of God?”  In today’s culture, we strive to reconstruct God from our perspective.  We formulate our views of God and then rewrite the Scriptures to conform Him to what we want to believe.  In the end, we do the very thing that Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden: we make ourselves god by conforming God to our beliefs.  Inherent in our sin nature is our ability to make God less holy than he is and to make ourselves more righteous than we are...
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The Present Implications of the Future

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The Present Implications of the Future 2 Peter 3:10-18 ‘Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.”                   There is a prevailing undercurrent of fear that our world is approaching a cataclysmic ending.  We recognize that there is something inherently wrong in the world and that we are descending towards a global abyss. In God’s movement of history, history is linear rather than cyclical.  In other words, there is a starting point of history, and there will be a concluding point of history. Just as life is a movement from birth to death, the earth moves from beginning to end.  But the end of time and history is not determined by man; it is determined by God. Yet, in God’s movement of time, there is both an end and a new beginning.  For those who reject Christ, the end brings ...
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God's Patience and the Certainty of Judgment

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God’s Patience and the Certainty of Judgment 2 Peter 3:1-9 “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”                   Having warned of the dangers of false teachers, Peter now warns of their fate and the fate of those who follow them.  In our understanding of the nature and being of God, we must recognize that He is not only a God of love, forbearance, and grace but also a God of holiness, righteousness, and justice.  Those who overemphasize His holiness and righteousness to the exclusion of grace become judgmental and condemn people without offering grace.  They are like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who were self-righteous and quick to condemn anyone who did not meet their external standards.  They condemn others while failing to see their ow...
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