We feel enormously uncomfortable distinguishing between those who are Christian and those who are not within the church. John doesn’t. In fact, he has left the church tests by which to identify genunie Christianity from false. The reason this matters … Read more
Tag: 1 John
1 John 4.13-21. Love, truth & fear (Trinity)
Perfect love drives out fear. In this part of his letter John gives the struggling Christian church assurance about the signs they belong to Jesus namely: the Spirit of God has led them to believe the truth that Jesus is … Read more
1 John 4.7-12. Love is not love (Pentecost)
Love is our most powerful and most abused four letter word. The poet W. H Auden in his famous poem about love wrote: ‘Law like love I say. Like law we often weep, like law we seldom keep.’ Which is … Read more
1 John 2.18-29. Division
I do not want to make judgements on whether someone is a Christian or not if they claim to be one. However, John unsettles my tolerant comfort because he writes to the churches to give them ways to discern true … Read more
1 John 2.7-17. The old is new
To derail trust in God we simply present a new thing to trust in. This sales pitch will be effective because, in our city ‘new’ means more up-to-date, more relevant, faster, more affordable… better. John, in his first letter to … Read more
1 John (introduction). Joy, Holiness, Confidence
Why think about 1 John?
John gives three reasons for writing his letter to the churches: to complete our joy (1:4), to promote holiness (2:1) and to build up confidence in the truths of Christianity (5:13). He writes against, false … Read more
1 John. Reprise. Keep yourself from idols
John wants uncertain and damaged communities to have certainty, assurance in God. The certainty that John wants Christians to have is a discerning and tested assurance – not an unexamined fundamentalism. His path to certainty and assurance are truth (about … Read more