In Chapter 2, John brings us an important reminder and a couple of warnings, he reminds us that Jesus is our advocate in heaven and that His sacrifice was for the whole world and not just a select few. John stresses the point that in order for us to accept Jesus’ gift of redemption we need to keep His commandments, otherwise we will remain walking in the darkness. John is not saying that we can say we do not sin as this would be a lie and delusional, for me John is warning us not to intentionally sin.

In verses 15-17 “¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides for ever.” [ESV] in these verses John is reiterating Paul’s warning in Romans 12:2 in that by following God’s commandments we are living in the world, and if we allow our sinful nature to rule us we are living in darkness. John in this text also points out that material positions, status etc. are short lived as the heavens and earth will be destroyed and with new heaven and new earth being created on His return, which we read in 2 Peter Chapter 3:10-13.

John’s warning about Antichrists / false teachers, I believe is crucial for this moment in time, as we see daily how the attacks on the Church from within increases. We read how the leaders of the Church are under increasing pressure to change doctrine, cannon law etc. in order to make the church ‘relevant’ in today’s society. We need to remain vigilant, seeking His wisdom in our prayers, and be ready to speak up. We are not to judge people, but are permitted to challenge people who preach / testify false doctrine, teachings etc. and those who say it’s okay to live our lives contrary to Scripture. In order to do this we need to be well read and knowledgeable in His Word, it is through Biblical Truth that we will be able to shine the light of His Word in people’s lives; and open the eyes of those who have been deceived by Satan.

This coming week why not try and find a preacher who is grounded in their faith who produces regular Podcasts which you can listen to when your driving, cleaning etc.

All Bible links and quotes were taken from http://www.biblegateway.com