Set Apart: In the Way we live.2 John 1:1-9 Series: Set Apart: A Life Lived for God. No matter who we are, no matter what we have done, no matter how terrible we have been, we are loved by Christ. But, in addition to Christ, it means that there are others, a multitude of people, who love us. All of God's elect, all of His holy and beloved followers, love us. No matter how unloved we may feel, how lonely and empty, there is a multitude of people who love us just as Christ loves us.Why we are to love one another. We are to love for the truth's sake, that is, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Word of God. There are many teachers, ministers and laymen alike, who would like to be progressive and creative, to come up with a novel idea, to make some advancement in thought. They want people to recognize and approve of them; therefore, they try to impress people. In so doing, they go beyond Christ and what He taught. They twist or branch off from the teachings of Christ. John warns against this: if a person does not stay in the teachings of Christ, then he does not have God. He is not saved; he is not truly born of God. The only person who is born of God is the person who stays in the teachings of Christ. This does not mean that believers are not to be creative and thoughtful. It means that we must not move out beyond Christ and what He taught. |
