Second question from a reader

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Don Merritt

The other day, Citizen Tom left a couple of very interesting questions in the comments section, and I thought I’d share the questions and my attempt at answers with everyone because these are not only interesting but asked by a great many people. So, having done the first one yesterday, today I’ll tackle the second one.

Q:           Much of the Bible indicates that whether we go to Heaven or Hell is foreordained. At the same time, we are called upon to spread the Gospel, and that is confusing. I have reached the conclusion that I can share the Gospel with someone, but when and if the Word of God takes root in anyone who hears it is up to God. Therefore, I think the primary role of the church is fellowship in Jesus. That is, we spread the Word, disciple new believers, and we help each other to study the Bible and live in accordance with Biblical teachings. If this is true, then we have very little to do with the process of justification, but as Christians, we do help each other to become sanctified in Christ. What puzzles me is that I have not heard anyone explain the church’s role that way. I don’t a lot of deep thinking in this conclusion. [sic]

A:    Oh dear, there isn’t actually a question there, is there? Even so, I think we can discern what Citizen Tom is getting at, so let’s jump in:

Much of the Bible indicates that whether we go to Heaven or Hell is foreordained. At the same time, we are called upon to spread the Gospel, and that is confusing.

The idea of our eternal future being foreordained comes essentially from the “Doctrine of Selection and Predestination” which has its origins in the teachings of John Calvin, who lived in the 16th century. This teaching is based primarily on Paul’s writings in the letter to the Romans. The doctrine as it is taught in some circles today holds that God decided who would receive grace and who would not receive grace before He had even laid down the foundations of the Earth. You have identified one of the main arguments against this interpretation. You see, for Jesus to command us to make disciples of all Nations, knowing full well that most of those people had already been condemned to Hell before they were even born, would be ridiculous. The truth is, that God chose all of us, but gave us free will. If we choose to accept grace, we are saved, if we choose to reject grace, we condemn ourselves.

I have reached the conclusion that I can share the Gospel with someone, but when and if the Word of God takes root in anyone who hears it is up to God.

There is a false premise that has colored the discussion of Selection and Predestination for centuries, and we should probably deal with it now. It goes like this:

1) God is all knowing, all present and all powerful.  2) God’s greatest strength is His unlimited exercise of His unlimited power. 3) Therefore, God is sovereign in all things.

This is Western thought; all the rage in the 16th century, but not at all the way the men who took pen in hand to record the Scriptures thought, for their orientation was not ancient Greek, it was ancient Hebrew. To the ancient Hebrew, God’s most notable attribute was not His unlimited power; it was His restraint. God does not make our decisions for us because He created us with free will: We ultimately decide whether it will be heaven or hell. Through the Bible, God has dealt with His people within the framework of Covenants which, of necessity, restrict His freedom of action to a certain degree, according to the terms of the Covenant. Finally, consider Adam and Eve: They had everything going for them, and yet they chose to violate the one stipulation they had from God, they sinned against Him and He neither stopped them nor smote them and started over; He adapted and went on to Plan B, we might say.

Therefore, I think the primary role of the church is fellowship in Jesus. That is, we spread the Word, disciple new believers, and we help each other to study the Bible and live in accordance with Biblical teachings. If this is true, then we have very little to do with the process of justification, but as Christians, we do help each other to become sanctified in Christ.

Amen, well said!

We might choose slightly different words to describe it, but that’s the way I teach about the Church and its purpose, and there are lots of us out there who are teaching it this way.

I hope I have covered your questions and concerns in a satisfactory degree, and I hope that others may benefit from the discussion.  If anyone has questions or comments, please feel free to chime in below!

I have followed Citizen Tom for many years now and his blog is always interesting, you might want to check it out!

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Threats to Your Happiness

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 6:1-19

The ninth discourse consists of a series of four warnings that, when taken in the overall context, amount to problems that can rob a person of marital happiness, since both the eighth and tenth discourses deal with adultery.

Verses 1-5 deal with a person who has placed himself in a position of being a guarantor for the debts of another person. For most of us, the most familiar modern equivalent to this would be to cosign for someone’s loan which would result in you becoming liable for repayment of the other person’s debt, in the event of a default. You wouldn’t necessarily know there’s a problem until you received the demand notice from the lender. The teacher advises that the person who has done this should not rest until they have been released from this obligation, taking whatever means they can to ensure they are freed from its trap.

Laziness is the next thing the teacher warns about in 6-11. Here he enjoins everyone to be industrious and active in providing for the material needs of their families and setting something aside for a “rainy day” so to speak. Imagine living in an agrarian society in which wealth was achieved by producing food. Your first goal would be to produce enough to feed your family. Your second goal would be to produce enough extra to exchange with others for additional supplies that your family might need that you cannot grow or make yourself, and only then can you have enough to sell so that you can have savings for hard times. In such circumstances, there isn’t much leisure time; thus the warning.

In 12-15 the teacher warns against stirring up trouble within the community. There is no coincidence that this follows the warning about laziness, for this is the kind of person who ends up being the one described in these verses; a troublemaker. This is the person who has a foul mouth, a toxic attitude, someone who would rather scheme and plot than do an honest day’s work. This reminds me of the classic villain in an old Western; the guy who is more interested in cheating someone than earning a living, the guy who always gets killed at the end of the movie.

The last small section really needs no elaboration from me. Seven woes that should be our guides through life:

There are six things the Lord hates,
    seven that are detestable to him:
       haughty eyes,
        a lying tongue,
        hands that shed innocent blood,
       a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,
       a false witness who pours out lies
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Proverbs 6:16-19

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Questions from a reader

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Don Merritt

The other day, Citizen Tom left a couple of very interesting questions in the comments section, and I thought I’d share the questions and my attempt at answers with everyone because these are not only interesting but asked by a great many people. So, I’ll tackle the first one today, and the second tomorrow.

Q:           Couple of questions. I have tried to resolve these two issues on my own, but there seems to be a lot of division. And the answers I have heard don’t seem satisfactory.

What happens to people who have never even heard of Jesus? Since the New Testament provides a list of Old Testament heroes and Paul writes in Romans that Gentiles have the law written on their hearts, I presume that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to those ignorant of Jesus is the law written upon our hearts and the conscience that pleads with all of us to do what is right. That make sense?

A:           Yes, I think it makes sense, and you might very well be right, although many would want to argue. Yet I am not one of those people, and I’ll tell you why. Remember, the question is: What happens to people who have never even heard of Jesus? I come from a Theological background that teaches that “Where the Bible speaks, we speak, and where the Bible is silent, we are silent.” The Bible doesn’t speak to this question specifically; therefore, I don’t know the answer for certain, which creates a dilemma.

This dilemma has brought about so much confusion for people and so much division, but we aren’t going to fall into that trap. Let’s avoid the trap by recognizing that we are now dealing with something called “Hermeneutics,” or “the study of interpretation.” There are many different methods of interpretation, and you might recognize some of them, for example, there is the Hierarchical Method which holds that only recognized experts or professionals can interpret. There is the Literal Method which holds that everything in the Scriptures must be understood literally and chronologically. I normally use the Historical-Critical Method which I’ll talk about shortly, for now, understand there are several others as well, and each has it advantages and disadvantages, and… they are not only used to interpret Scripture, they also can be used for other things.

As I approach the this or any other Bible question, I need to see what the Bible says on the topic; usually, this starts with word searches. When I have a list of texts that may provide answers, I must ask these questions for each of those texts: 1) who wrote it 2) when it was written 3) to whom was it written  4) what the purpose for was writing it  5) which covenant was it written under. Once we have those answers, we can usually rule some out of our inquiry.  The remaining texts still need to be examined some more for context: section context and passage context, before we use them to reach a conclusion. Here’s an example that went wrong for a group of church ladies years ago:

When I was a fairly new member of a church leadership team, they came to me with a list of people who should be kicked out of our congregation if they didn’t stop smoking cigarettes.  I asked if they had guidance from Scripture for their complaint and was told that smoking is sin because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So, I asked them what the context was for that teaching, and they didn’t know. They were a tad surprised when I told them that Paul was talking about sex with a prostitute in that passage, not smoking; smoking is dumb, not a sin. This is the Historical-Critical Method in a nutshell.

The next step is this: Scriptural guidance comes in at least one of these: Direct command of God, an approved (by God) Apostolic command, or by a necessary inference.  Mind you, there is a huge difference between a necessary inference and a possible inference. In today’s question, we have none of these. When we do not have any of these three criteria, then we may have an opinion, but that opinion is not a doctrinal fact or teaching, and that is the substance of “where the Bible speaks, we speak, and where the Bible is silent, we’re silent.”

Citizen Tom offered his solution to the dilemma above, and it makes sense to me, even though I might probably offer a different solution: We can disagree without rancor on questions like this one.

As for my view, it is simple, maybe simplistic: Our God is merciful and just. He is not looking to condemn people on technicalities; He is a loving God. He knows our deeds and He knows our thoughts and motivations- and He knows whether we have rejected His Son or if we have never had the opportunity to receive His offer of salvation. I am happy to leave the question up to Him and I’m quite confident He will do what is right as He always does what is right. This is my possible inference.

Thanks again to Citizen Tom for the question, there is one other that he asked, and it’s a doctrinal doozy that you won’t want to miss right here tomorrow, see you then!

I have followed Citizen Tom for many years now and his blog is always interesting, you might want to check it out!

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Warning Against Adultery

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 5

In this, the eighth wisdom discourse, the teacher warns his students against adultery. It continues to be written as a teacher to his male students, using an adulterous female as the protagonist, but the principles certainly would apply if the genders were reversed or rendered neutral in the modern fashion. There are four subsections in this discourse, each of which covers a slightly different aspect of the issue, the first of which is comprised of verses 1-6.

These verses give a general description of the temptation, in this case of a woman who is eager to stray. Notice that she is described as being seductive and smooth in her speech, no doubt full of compliments and innuendo, appealing to the ego of her prey, his need for attention and enticing in its attentiveness. Yet the teacher goes to great lengths to tell his students that such a person will lead the unwary into disaster and death. Relationships are ruined; reputations are destroyed; the pleasures of the moment will lead to a life of despair.

The next subsection, in verses 7-14 tell more of the consequences of adultery, adding more detail to the story. The shame, the losses and the regrets, not to mention the possibility of disease; all are hinted at here. Clearly, the section ends with an older man looking back of the futility of a life wasted chasing after the allurements of the flesh wishing he had listened to the warnings of the wise brings the matter home for anyone with a brain.

…for the greatest wisdom we see here might just be in the way the warning is given.

The next subsection in verses 15-19 is rich with imagery. The “well” “Cistern” and “fountain” refer to the  wife’s sexually. Here, it is important for us to understand how precious a well, cistern or fountain would have been 3,000 years ago as sources of life-giving water in a parched land. “Drink water from your own cistern” and “running water from your own well” (v. 15) are references to sex within the marriage. Verse 16 refers to having multiple partners. The fountain being blessed in verse 17 is a reference to the children that will result from sex within marriage; both partners will be blessed through them. 18b-19 are telling the student that he should be crazy in love with his own wife, a contrast to the notion of seeking the comforts and charms of another man’s wife, and that would remain a great blessing for all concerned for a lifetime.

The last subsection, verses 20-23 remind the student that he shouldn’t be involved with another man’s wife because his actions are known to God, and unless my memory has failed me, there is a commandment about adultery. His adulterous actions will “ensnare” and “bind” a person in their sin; they will pay the consequences both in this life, and afterwards.

To my mind, this chapter provides a very interesting example of ancient Hebrew wisdom, one that modern day Christians need to pay attention to. Read it carefully and note that this is not the legalistic rantings of a self-appointed holier-than-thou kind of a person. Rather, it is careful logic that contains clearly reasoned thoughts about why adultery is not in a person’s best interest either now or later. Notice also that even though the commission of adultery is a violation of one of the Ten Commandments, the teacher didn’t start off by calling the would-be adulterer any names or saying that anyone is going to fry in Hell. The teacher acknowledged the real temptation of sexual immorality and reasoned out a case to show that it wasn’t worth the costs. You see dear reader, the wisdom of this section goes deeper than the lesson itself, for the greatest wisdom we see here might just be in the way the warning is given.

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Photo of the Week: February 4, 2026

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Don Merritt
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3 John: Some Things Never Change

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Don Merritt

John’s last letter. So short, so telling. John is writing to his friend and brother Gaius.  He seems to have been a leader in the church, and even though there are other mentions of men with this name in Scripture, it was a very common name; we can’t be sure if he has other mentions or not.  Gaius was obviously serving others and sharing God’s love with them. He was hosting a group of missionaries, apparently, and these workers were people he didn’t know.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

3 John 2-8

Gaius is the kind of Christian who is worthy of imitation.  He is serving in love, he is putting others first, he is doing the kinds of things we should be doing.  But there is another guy who comes up in the letter…

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

3 John 9-12

This dude Diotrephes is all too common in our time, and obviously they had this sort of nonsense going on even in John’s Day.  Did you catch what Join said about him at the beginning? He said that Diotrephes “loves to be first.” Well, that sums up! Do you know others who love to be first?  They are the important ones, they are the ones who can’t be inconvenienced, they are the ones who always have the last word, who always get their way, and who must always be in charge− they want to be the bride at every wedding, and the corpse at every funeral.  No doubt you are reminded here of the words of Jesus when He said the first will be last and the last will be first.

This Diotrephes won’t welcome the Apostle to the church, and kicks others out for welcoming the strangers that Gaius has taken in. Diotrephes seems to have much to say about others. A bunch of nonsense (or gossip) is being spread about people like John himself, who should be given the respect they deserve.  I wonder if Diotrephes is doing this because he must be in the spotlight and just can’t handle it when someone else gets attention.

Maybe we’ll never know the exact motivation, but I think we recognize the person, and John is telling us not to emulate them or their behavior.  Who can argue with that advice?

Finally, another good guy is mentioned: Demetrius.  So, there you have it, two brothers who are serving faithfully, and one bad apple.  It seems that the bad apple makes the most noise, but the faithful servants are making a difference for the Gospel.  I’d say there might be a lesson in this for us to learn.

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A Father’s Warnings

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 4

With chapter 4, we begin a new section of the book, extending through chapter 6. This new section is introduced by the first use of the address “my sons” and takes on the tone of a warning rather than a positive exhortation as in the first three chapters. In the first of these discourses, the seventh in the book so far, we are set in a home in which a father is speaking to his sons, rather than a teacher speaking to students. As I read through this chapter, I was struck by one thing that seems to ring clear above all else: The father is having a hard time persuading his sons to take his teaching seriously; in fact, the entire discourse is that of a father who is trying to persuade his sons to listen to him, to persuade them that the path of wisdom is the right path for them to take in their lives. As a father myself, I can relate!

I can remember many times when I found myself having to try to convince my kids that I knew as much about life in general and the ways of the world as their friends who were every bit as clueless as my kids, and the truth is that more often than not, they preferred the advice of their ignorant friends.

I can also relate as a teacher, for it is all too common to hear from a student that things the Bible teaches are simply so difficult and hard to put into practice that nobody can do it… so why bother? Again, this is amazingly clueless about the realities of life and what is possible; oh yes, I can relate with the father in this chapter.

For the ancient Israelites, the highest duty of a father was to teach his sons. They taught their sons how to live, how to earn a living, how to get along in the community and to follow the Law of Moses. They passed down the wisdom of the ages to their sons, wisdom from Scripture, and wisdom from experience, and I’m guessing that they had the same kinds of frustrations that we have today; their sons probably already knew everything. Look at the passage again, notice that the whole chapter is a father telling his sons that wisdom is better than wickedness; one might expect that the very definition of the words would take care of that, but alas, they don’t.

For us today, are we any different? One time I was talking to a friend about the things I was teaching. I told him about the amazing things going on, and how I had recently told the people that we need to put our spiritual gifts into action by showing up and getting out of His way. My friend laughed and said that it sounds like my simplistic style of teaching, but that other people can’t just do that; it doesn’t really work that way because nobody has enough faith.

“Really? Seriously? Nobody?”

“That’s right; there are too many questions that need answers.”

“Like what?”

“Like having enough faith to let go of ego.”

That really didn’t seem to be a question to me; more like an objection. I could almost hear my eldest repeating her most common teenage objection: “But Dad, I don’t want to!”

Yep, I can relate to the father in this chapter. I can only imagine how hard it will be for him in the next chapter when he speaks to his sons about sex!

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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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