This first section of Joshua 1 that we’re particularly considering in this study, Joshua 1:1-9, is divided into two paragraphs. The first paragraph indicates the transitional nature of the book. It’s what identifies it as a bridge, “After the death of Moses, the Lord said to Joshua…” The second para
Yesterday we mentioned that Francis Schaeffer called Joshua “a bridge book.” That leads me to say that as I have studied a large number of the commentaries that deal with the book of Joshua, I’ve detected three basic approaches to this book. One is the approach of the liberal camp. To them, Joshua w
Joshua is one of that class of biblical books that is named after its chief character. Not all of the biblical books are like this as you well know. Joshua is preceded in our Bible by five other books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And not one of those books is named after a
In verse 11 we have what seems to be a general exhortation to do good and not evil. But in the context of the letter the evil example is most obviously Diotrephes, and the good example, Demetrius. Consequently, the exhortation leads directly into what follows. The personal nature of the maxim is con
A problem of this magnitude has led many commentators to speculate on what great issues might lie behind it, and some have suggested a monumental struggle between two contrasting types of authority and leadership in the early church age. On the one hand there is the apostolic authority, which by the
Here is a great word for those who would like to be engaged in front-line Christian work but who cannot, due to ill health, circumstances, or other pressing obligations. In God’s sight those are fellow workers who merely support others by their gifts, interest and prayers. Barclay writes,A man’s cir
Today many regard truth as nonessential, so long as good deeds are done. But John does not favor this view, nor does he regard it as possible. According to the apostle, good deeds flow from truth, just as love flows from it. For it is only as one walks according to the doctrines of the Word, which h
Nothing is known of the Gaius to whom 3 John is written save what the letter itself tells us. But this is no great loss, for all we need to know is apparent from the text. The New Testament knows of a number of other men named Gaius. There is a Gaius of Macedonia, who together with Aristarchus was s
The second part of John's instructions to the local church reveals how strongly he feels about the danger. For here the Christians are not only warned. They are also instructed to have no part in encouraging either the false teachers or their false doctrines. In fact, says John, do not even greet th
The first thing that John says about this heretical movement is that its adherents are numerous and that they are actively going out into the world for propaganda purposes. When John says that the deceivers “are entered into the world,” he may mean that they have left the Christian congregation in w
There is much in the life of the local church to give John cause for rejoicing, but this does not mean that there is no more room for growth. These to whom he writes are Christians. Their lives meet the three tests: the moral test (which is righteousness or obedience to God’s commands), the social t
The unique feature of this opening salutation is John's surprising emphasis upon truth and his linking of the truth he thus emphasizes to love. Indeed, the word "truth" occurs four times in the first three verses and one more time in verse four.The unique feature of this opening salutation is John’s
No other books of the New Testament more clearly reflect the current letter writing style of the first century than do 2 and 3 John. There is an opening greeting, in which the author identifies himself and names those to whom he is writing. There is an opening salutation. This is followed by the bod
The messages of 2 and 3 John are not just for an earlier age, despite the unique and particular problems to which the letters are addressed. Like all Scripture they have a message for our own time also. The first message of 2 and 3 John is that we will always have problems in the Christian Church. I
In yesterday’s study, we concluded with John Stott’s insightful question: “Is it possible, that a man of such prominence, who exercised such authority and wrote three Epistles which are included in the New Testament canon, should have left no more trace of himself in history than one dubious referen
At the conclusion of yesterday’s devotional, we mentioned one reason why Eusebius’ reference to Papias may not prove the existence of two Johns. Today, we begin by offering another reason.Second, in his discussion of Papias it may be Eusebius himself who is of limited understanding in discerning wha
One similarity between the two letters is that each begins by the author's introduction of himself as "the elder." In the one case he writes, "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth" (2 John 1). In the other letter he writes, "The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius,
The letters of 2 and 3 John are the shortest books of the New Testament, shorter even than Jude or Philemon which also each have only one chapter. But this does not mean that either 2 or 3 John is insignificant. To be sure, in some ways each merely repeats the general message of 1 John, which is lon
The proper contrast to the true or genuine God is that which is a false god or idol. Consequently John concluded with the otherwise unexpected warning, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” In the context of this book we are probably not to think of the various carved idols of antiquity, th
This leads to the third of John's affirmations, which is, as Stott says, “the most fundamental of the three.” This strikes at the very root of the heretical Gnostic theology, for it is the affirmation that the Son of God, even Jesus, has come into this world to give us both knowledge of God and salv
The second of John's affirmations is that "we are of God,” joining himself to his readers in this certainty. But where does the certainty come from? In the first instance the certainty that the one born of God does not sin comes from the ability of Jesus (or God) to keep the Christian. In this case
John's first affirmation is that the one who is truly born of God does not sin. At first glance this statement seems to be contradictory to John's repeated declaration in chapter one that anyone who says that he does not sin or has never sinned is either self-deceived or a liar, just as the section
It is entirely appropriate that a book dealing with the subject of Christian assurance should end with three final affirmations, introduced by the repetitive phrase “we know” in verses 18, 19 and 20. In some ways these statements are a summary of much of what John has been teaching. In another sense
4. The fact that none of the other explanations is entirely satisfactory leads one to wonder whether John may not be speaking just of physical death inflicted on a Christian by God as a result of a Christian’s persisting in some deliberate sin. Certainly there are examples of such judgments. Ananias
