2 John: A Curious Letter

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Don Merritt

It begins by referencing its recipient as a “chosen lady” without ever mentioning a name.  Some have voiced speculation over the years as to who that lady might have been, but since the text doesn’t say, I will leave it alone.  The rest of the first six verses read much like 1 John, but verse 7 begins a particular warning that is the purpose of the letter.

John is warning the lady about antichrist!

As in the previous letter, he describes antichrist as one who “does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.”

Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

2 John 8-11

This is a very stern warning indeed!  It seems to me that John is telling the lady that if we allow ourselves to be deceived by these antichrists, we run the risk of losing what we have in Christ. Now I realize that many may disagree with me, but that is how I read it.  You might recall John’s teaching about “sins that lead to death” as opposed to “sins that do not lead to death.”  However you might prefer to explain this passage, John is clearly talking about a danger of being deceived into “sin that leads to death.” He even goes so far as to say that we mustn’t welcome or allow such an individual into our homes, or we will share in their wicked ways.

You just don’t see things like this very often in New Testament Scripture.

Apparently, these antichrists bring with them a clear and present danger to a believer with their ability to deceive.  I think it’s particularly interesting that John notes at the end of the letter that he has more to say on the subject but wants to speak to this lady in person.  He wants to do some disciplining, it would seem.

You might recall that in 1 John, we had assurances that by the Spirit within us, we can overcome this “spirit of antichrist.”  What I am taking away from all of this, is that as mature believers, we should have no problem identifying antichrist, but as less than mature believers, we might be vulnerable. I could be wrong of course, since John hasn’t said that explicitly, but it seems likely. What shall we do with that said, what shall we do?  In discussing the first letter, much was about “making disciples.”  I’ve pointed out many times here, that there are a few facets of this making disciples business.  First, for the maker of disciples, there are two aspects: First is to lead the non-believer into relationship with Jesus Christ.  Second is to lead the new Christian to maturity in Christ so they may also make disciples.  But there is a third aspect, and that is for those of us who are not yet mature believers to make ourselves available to be led, nurtured and guided through this process of growth.

We must remember that Jesus’ first command to His disciples was to follow Him.  His last command was to go and make disciples.  In between these two commands there was three years of training, teaching, relationship and learning.  They didn’t skip from following to leading overnight.  If you consider the example of Paul, he encountered Jesus of that famous road to Damascus, but he didn’t jump right into a leadership role.  After that, he went home to Tarsus and remained for several years. It is likely that he grew into maturity during that time.

When I was a very young Christian, I was sure that if I ever ran into a demonic situation, or a face to face with the devil, that I could easily recognize and handle the situation.  Lucky for me, God knew better and kept me from such things: If He hadn’t, I would surely have been consumed by my immaturity and folly.  With some maturity and experience, not to mention growth in my faith, I’m not so easy to deceive as I once was.  Even so, John’s warning is one that I take to heart, and I hope the lady he sent the letter to, and all of you will do the same.

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Wisdom, Creation and Duty

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 3:19-35

In this post, we’ll finish chapter 3 as we see the fifth and sixth discourses.

Wisdom in Creation

Solomon shifts his thinking somewhat in this discourse, from an exhortation to pursue and attain wisdom, to what God’s wisdom has accomplished in creation and in our lives. He begins in verses 19-20 making what I consider to be a very interesting point: God put His wisdom into action to create the universe. Elsewhere in Scripture, particularly in the New Testament, we see God’s act of creation stemming from His powerful Word. Yet here, Solomon asserts that God’s wisdom and knowledge was the essential ingredient for the Creation. Is this a contradiction, or is it another way of saying the same thing?

In my view, it is the latter, for what is God’s Word, what does it consist of? God’s Word is first and foremost a Person, and that Person is Truth and Wisdom itself; that Person is Jesus Christ. Thus, when God spoke the words to create the universe, those words were the very divine application of His wisdom and knowledge, as well as the application of His power. Verses 21-26 encourage the students to apply wisdom to their everyday lives, for in doing so, they will avoid the pitfalls of life, they will be confident in their comings and goings because they have an ally in God, whose divine attribute of wisdom they will have made their own attribute.

Wisdom and duty

This, the sixth discourse, extends from verse 27 through the end of the chapter, and it seeks to apply what has been said in the previous section. Wisdom is a divine attribute, and as such it requires that a person apply it properly in their daily life when dealing with others. The first part of this discourse is in verses 27-30 in which several examples of conduct are given; take a look at them. I don’t know about you, but these verses remind me of something Jesus taught: “Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.” The next verse sums this up as it transitions to the final part of the passage in telling us that we should not emulate the ways of the violent. As we go on through this book, you might notice that the violent and foolish are terms used to describe those who reject the divine attribute of wisdom. Essentially, these refer to the same person that Jesus would later call the proud.

Verses 31-35 tell the students that the Lord will not tolerate our rejection of wisdom, and thus any such rejection will result in disaster. I must point out that the tradition of Judaism is in every sense a tradition of wisdom; we would do well to study the wisdom of Judaism. Christianity, on the other hand, is based upon relationship, the relationship brought about by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As we grow in our relationship with Him, we become wise in His ways, just as Solomon’s students would become wise as they sought education, knowledge and wisdom.

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Thrill-packed Ending

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Don Merritt

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

1 John 5:16-17

As we move along through this letter, we think we have John all figured out, and then we come to these two verses, so near to the end of the letter. At first, they don’t seem to belong, what is John talking about?  Where did this come from?

So, let’s see if we can follow him… if a brother sins, we are to pray for him, and God will give him life.  OK, I think I get it; God will forgive the sin and straighten the guy out.  Hold on, that is if the sin isn’t a sin that leads to death; but I thought death was the price of all sin!  John is making it sound like any sin can be forgiven, except one; and this one sin can be committed by our “brother or sister.”  

John could have at least mentioned what that sin is… leaving that little detail out makes this hard to follow, at least for me− I wonder why he would do that.  Maybe he didn’t think he needed to mention it, maybe he thought he’d already covered that somewhere; could that part have been lost over time or something? Let’s think.

What was the letter about? Oh, yes, it was about false teachers, in fact it was about a certain kind of false teacher, Gnostic false teachers, who claimed that Jesus didn’t come in the flesh.  Hold on− John came up with a special word to describe them: Antichrist! Aha! Now this is beginning to make sense, the antichrist is not to be forgiven; you don’t need to pray for this. When your brother stumbles, pray for him, when you stumble ask God and He will forgive.  Stay away from an antichrist.

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

1 John 5:18-20

John is winding up the letter now, as he recounts some basic facts of Christian life.  A follower of Jesus is not to continue in the old ways. He or she has been buried with Christ, and arisen again as a new creation, leaving the old behind.  The “One who was born of God” which is to say the Lord Jesus, keeps us safe from the evil one.  This is a pretty important statement for us to keep in mind, especially when we are looking for somebody to blame for our mistakes.  John points out that the whole world is under the control of the evil one, and you will no doubt recall that he has already warned us not to love the world, now you know why.

Now, John drops in a comforting and powerful thought: Jesus has given us understanding so that we may know who is true; it is Jesus who is true.  If we have the understanding to know who is true, we can also discern who is not.  Maybe this is why the arguments and understanding of this world can be so attractive to the world and appear so idiotic to a follower of Jesus… and vice-versa.  Hmmm, might want to ponder that for a bit.  God is the one who is true, and the giver of eternal life.

Lastly, John reminds us in verse 21 to stay away from idols, and the letter closes.

Yet the excitement is far from over; John wrote 2 more letters!

See you next time.

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The Blessing of Wisdom

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 3:1-18

This fourth discourse can be said to be a continuation of the third. It has two sections, verses 1-12 contain exhortations from the teacher to his students to hold onto wisdom, and vv. 13-18 discuss the blessings of wisdom.

The exhortations are made up of a series of two verse couplets, beginning with vv. 1-2 which discuss obedience to God. The second couplet (vv. 3-4) tells the student to remember him, the third (vv. 5-6) tells the student to trust God, the fourth (vv. 7-8) to reverence God, the fifth (vv. 9-10) to honor God, and finally, the sixth (vv. 11-12) to submit to God.  The student who does these things will gain wisdom, and wisdom has many blessings.

The blessings of wisdom are set forth for the student. In 13-14, we see that wisdom is better than silver or gold, for wisdom has a yield much greater than both of them. In 15-16, wisdom is shown to be better than rubies, then wisdom is said to bring about long life, and more wealth than by any other means. Then the section concludes by telling the student that wisdom brings about a pleasant and peaceful life of many years, and much happiness.

Blessed are those who find wisdom,
    those who gain understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
    and yields better returns than gold.

Psalm 3:13-14

It’s interesting that Solomon uses this device to appeal to his students to prefer wisdom over anything else, for in doing so, he has set up a contrast between wisdom and other things in this life under the sun, that most people would like to get their hands on; silver and gold, for instance… or can we just say money here? Most anyone you talk to would tell you they would like to have more money, for with money they can buy the things they need, like food and shelter, but also because money can provide a person with the desires of their heart. They can have fancy things, luxury things, or they can have a better education or better opportunities for whatever they want to do. By contrast, wisdom delivers a superior return on investment, for investing in wisdom can bring a longer life, because wisdom will guide a person to be prudent in their actions, avoiding situations that can cut life short or imperil their health. Wisdom can also bring peace and happiness that money cannot buy and jewels cannot provide, by enabling a person to get along better in their community, make better personal and business decisions and choices that come from better priorities.

In short, of all the things a person can strive for under the sun, wisdom is the one thing that outshines all the rest. Solomon has now set up the fifth and sixth discourses, in which he will take a subtle shift in his thinking…

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In His Cathedral

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Don Merritt
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The greatest of cathedrals are not made by the hands of men, but by the very hand of God Himself.  In those cathedrals, you can go to pray and to listen to the sounds that are not sounds made by men.

If you listen very carefully, you may even hear the voice of God.

People often say that they can worship God anywhere; in the desert, by the sea, in the forest…  I happen to agree with them, for these are wonderful places to worship Him.  Surrounded by His awesome creation, taking it all in, it revives our spirit.

I can only think of one better place to worship God than in the midst of His creation, and that is in the midst of His people, for when we are in the midst of His people, we are not only surrounded by His handiwork, but we are also right in the midst of His purpose.

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Gone Into Hididng

Posted on January 31, 2026 by Don Merritt

Tom was a Christian.  He was committed; he was serious. He worked in a factory, and many of his coworkers were tough men, men who used rough language and who liked to drink and play hard…

Tom was afraid that if he didn’t go along with them that he wouldn’t fit in, that he wouldn’t be accepted.  He didn’t want them to think that he was soft or strange; he just wanted to be one of the guys.  So, when he was at work he talked like the rest.  When the boys went out for a few brewskies on Thursday nights, Tom went along and behaved just the way everyone else did: He was one of the boys.

The boys liked to make fun of Christians… OK, the boys made fun of everybody, there wasn’t anything about making fun of Christians that was special; it wasn’t even intended to be anything more than fun, but it made Tom uncomfortable.  In time, the boys picked up on this, and one day someone asked him after several brews if he was a “churchie”.

Tom denied his faith. He didn’t really mean to; he just wanted to fit in.

A few days later when Tom was in his weekly Bible study, he learned something, something that he already knew.  Jesus had made an interesting comment one day when He told His listeners that if they acknowledge Him before men, He would acknowledge them before the Father…

Tom felt convicted because he knew that he had denied Jesus before men; those men who were his friends.

Tom had not only hidden his faith, but he had also hidden from his faith…

Another passage ran through Tom’s mind that evening.  Jesus had told His disciples that the reason that people don’t follow Him was that they preferred the praise of men.

Tom was ashamed.

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His Will

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Don Merritt

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1 John 5:13-15

These three simple verses are encouraging ones, for they assure us of two wonderful things.  First, we have eternal life.  Second, anything we ask for in prayer will be done, if we ask in God’s will. This is our focus here: God’s will.

The whole idea of tacking “in Jesus’ name, Amen” has always struck me as trying to work the system just a little bit.  Of course, we do that because Jesus is recorded three times in John’s gospel telling His disciples that anything they ask for in His name will be given them.  Never mind that all three times were firmly within the context of doing God’s will, all we need to do is tack on the magic words… Only it doesn’t work like that.

Yeah, I hate to be the one who must tell you that God thought of that one already.

Our prayers that are outside of God’s will aren’t guaranteed to be answered, because God is all about His purposes, and we are His servants, not the other way around.  So, the question really is what is within God’s will? It isn’t always in God’s will that nice things happen, that the sick are always healed and that the bad guy loses the game.  In fact, it can be quite difficult to discern His will in some situations, especially when we are emotionally invested.  There are some things that are always within the scope of God’s eternal purpose, can you guess what they are?

Yep, that’s right, you got it!  Things that pertain to saving the lost and making disciples are always within His will.  Not things that just make it easier for us, or that make us look like heroes, but things that get those “Kingdom things” done. In this area, prayer is so powerful it can be scary… in a good way.

We must pray big prayers, with boldness, and with the sure expectancy that God will do great things with them, but we need to ensure that our prayers are to advance God’s priorities, according to God’s ways of doing things.

OK, here we go… big bold “God’s will” prayers and no more little “me” ones. Just watch and see what amazing things He can do!

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The Benefits of Attaining Wisdom

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 2

The teacher makes his second appearance in chapter 2, after “Lady” Wisdom has shown us what will become of the unwise in the preceding verses. Here, the teacher tells his students why it is such a good thing to obtain wisdom, now that they have seen the disaster of ignoring it. In short, by obtaining wisdom, a person will come to fear God, for wisdom and knowledge come from Him.

The first four verses speak of the value of wisdom, likening it to a great treasure, as the teacher seeks to give it a high priority in the minds of his students. Verses 5-6 tell us that God Himself is the very source of wisdom, setting out the theme of the remainder of the discourse.

then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:5-6

Verses 7-11 are interesting, for in these verses, Solomon tells us that wisdom and knowledge will become part of who we are if we seek to obtain them. A man or woman who obtains wisdom will be protected and guarded by God all through their lives, in fact. This raises for us an interesting philosophical question: Since wisdom and knowledge become part of who we are, how are we really protected? Does God shield us, or is it really the wisdom and knowledge He has given us that protects us… or are they really the same thing? If nothing else, this is a thought worthy of our consideration.

The next section, vv. 12-15 seem to give an answer to our questions: Wisdom will protect us from evil men and their wicked ways; we will see through their scheming and stay clear. Verses 16-19 go on to tell us that wisdom will protect us from the ways of “adulterous women” who seek to lead a man off the righteous path and into the arena of immorality; I would suggest that the same would be true for lustful men who seek to lead a righteous woman from the path of God as well. The last 3 verses provide encouragement in that wisdom will lead a person on the right paths and enable them to avoid those paths that readily lead the foolhardy to destruction.

After 2 complete chapters, a picture is developing here for us to discern: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We find wisdom when we earnestly seek it, and that path leads us to the fear of the Lord, then wisdom becomes a part of who we are, and protects us from evil.

Interesting, isn’t it?

Do you suppose that “wisdom” could be a “type” that is fulfilled in the New Testament somehow?

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Haves and Have Nots

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Don Merritt

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5:6-12

What an interesting text!  Do you remember John’s warning about antichrists in chapters 1 and 4? John was warning the people of his time against the false teachings of the Gnostics, who denied that Jesus came in the flesh, and that He was “from the Father.”  John is taking aim at them again in this text when he speaks of the testimony of three witnesses.  In our time, while this is still a very important point, we tend to get into arguments about the water and blood part, with various interpretations regarding John’s meaning. For our purposes, I’ll give you my idea on this point, but I’ll spare you the lengthy dissertation on it, since I’d prefer to focus on application rather than systematic theology, and you probably would as well.

One of the main points of contention between Christian teaching and that of the Gnostics was whether Jesus came in the flesh in a human body.  The Gnostic approach was that He came more in a spirit form and not in physical form, since everybody knows that the physical body is evil… or so they said.  It is always interesting to me to hear Christians who maintain this, since the notion of the human body being evil or dirty is a Greek impulse, not a Biblical teaching. That the Spirit testifies that Jesus is from the Father is obviously a reference to the Holy Spirit who testifies about Jesus.  The water, in my view, is a reference to His baptism.  To be baptized is a physical activity, in which an actual body is needed; a spirit would be rather impossible to immerse in water.  The blood, as I see it, is a reference to what Jesus did on the cross, since it would be a difficult thing to nail a spirit to a cross and have it bleed.  The water as a giver of testimony seems to me to refer to the baptism of a new follower of Jesus, who is immersed as a testimony of dying and raising again as a new creation.  The blood is declared when we partake of Communion, where we declare for all time the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When you put these three things together, you have an ongoing testimony about Jesus from the Holy Spirit, from millions of baptisms, and from our observance of Communion, that Jesus came in the flesh from the Father.  You might also note that the Old Testament Law requires the testimony of two or three witnesses, and John is providing three. If your reading of this is different from mine, that’s fine, for the larger point for us is what follows…

Let’s pick up John’s discussion here in verse 9:

We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  (5:9-11)

His point that we will readily believe a human testimony, but not God’s, is a warning to all of us.  There are all sorts of human teachings about Jesus, many of which are designed to convince us that He never even existed, and the difference between life and death is whether we will accept God’s testimony, given not only by His Word, but by the Spirit.  Just think about how crucial this is!

Then comes the most important, bottom-line statement of all in verse 12:

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Please take a moment for this to sink in… and recall our discussion last time about keeping His commands.

Some of John’s writings are a little cryptic; he has a way of meandering around in a circle, and his meaning is vague… until he drops the bomb at the end, and this is one of those.  It’s one thing for us to say that life is in Christ, but the other side of the proverbial coin is that outside of Christ there is only doom.

Jesus has commanded that we make disciples, and that begins with leading the lost to Him.  There is a great deal at stake with this process, and John has made that abundantly clear in verse 12, wouldn’t you agree?  Maybe there was a time when you could share the peril and doom with a person who didn’t know Him, but if there was such a time, it is long gone.  I am aware that many Christians have been impressed with this, and out of their misguided love, they have run out and shared the warning… and driven off those whom they had hoped to save.  The world around us, our culture, and our society has picked up on this, and rather than be flattered that someone cared, they became enraged at the affront of it all, causing no end of trouble.

When Jesus is involved, there is always hope: In this case, there is a simple, if not always easy, answer: Share His love in grace.  In loving relationships, many will respond to His love.  We must be sensitive to the fact that so many have a negative image of Christianity, whether it is fair or not.  Approaching people in love means that we bother to care about them, it takes time, and it is a kind of investment in people, without judgments, without threats, without doom.  Even the most hardened hearts can be mended by the love of God… and I think it is especially important to bear in mind that it is God’s love that we must display in sharing with others.

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“Lady” Wisdom Makes Her Case

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 1:20-33

In this section, godly wisdom is portrayed as a woman crying out in the city, the first such personification in the book. Obviously, this personification is a literary device rather than a literal person, and as such it is interesting to consider for a moment. A lone woman crying out in the streets a message of instruction would have gone well beyond the social norm in a day when an unaccompanied female walking around town would have raised eyebrows to say the least. Add to that an unaccompanied female who had the audacity to challenge and rebuke the “movers and shakers” of the town, and you begin to see how striking this imagery really would have been to the original reader; things like that just didn’t happen! Yet I’m guessing that is exactly why Solomon would use such an image; it sets “Lady” Wisdom well apart from the norm.

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
    How long will mockers delight in mockery
    and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke!
    Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
    I will make known to you my teachings.

Proverbs 1:22-23

Verses 22-23 set out wisdom’s rebuke; “simple” people who lack wisdom, true knowledge and godly ways, and who “hate” wisdom were the norm, much as one might think today. “Repent” is her call!  It would seem from verses 24-27 that few will listen to her advice and call for repentance, and just as they will laugh at her sound advice now, she will laugh when the fool gets what he has coming to him.

In the remaining verses, she tells those who will not listen to her warning that their foolish ways will be their ruin, and that they will get what they deserve in the end; that they will reap what they have sown, for they refused to fear the Lord.

I think it is important for us to note here… and to keep in mind as we go through the rest of the book, that this is not God rejecting His people or simply getting even with anybody, for what is going on in this book is that Solomon is trying to teach the young to walk the paths of the Lord in wisdom and knowledge. This is a common theme in the book: follow the paths of wisdom, or your foolishness will be your ruin. It is not any kind of divine retribution; divine retribution is an entirely different matter. This is more like a parent telling a young person who is learning to drive, that if they drive too fast they’ll get a speeding ticket… or worse. Solomon is clearly not setting a foundation to build a case that says God is looking for an excuse to smite someone…

Now that “Lady” Wisdom has set out the consequences of rejecting wisdom, the teacher returns in chapter 2 to share with his readers the fruits of wisdom as he lays out a clear contrast to the disaster of foolishness.

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