Scripture Read: 2 Jn 6-7 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Application: As long as people just call Jesus “Lord” we should all get along right? That’s the key isn’t it? Even if their Jesus is not exactly like our Jesus – we should just all work together and not argue over trivial things. We should not be “hung” up on little things, that don’t matter, after all God is love! Sounds reasonable …but is it? Can love, real love be lacking truth? Isn’t that what we have done with so much of life? Give the children condoms, pills, abortions because if we really love them we will protect their bodies from any consequences of loose sexual living, forget the TRUTH that we teach men to look at women as objects for their pleasure, or we teach women that they need to be sexually active to understand love. We teach both men and women that babies are to have because it is all about you and if that does not fit your lifestyle right now – kill it! Gracious, even animal lovers understand that a pregnant whale is two whales. We ignore the emotional, psychological and spiritual scars that sex without the commitment of lifetime love leaves. At the end of the day we have broken people – we produced – and a lot of them still get AIDS, VD, infertility, because we even lie about the so called protection. So yes, if we want to really love, truth must be the standard and a little untruth can do a lot of destruction. I have been attacked when I have refused to work with groups that claim they believe in Jesus, but their Jesus was not the one proclaimed in the Word of God. He was not the God/Man -100% God and 100% human. John makes it clear – it does matter:
“Acknowledge - ὁμολογέω homologeō - (of one mind); to speak the same, to agree:—acknowledge(2), admit(1), assured(1), confess(6), confessed(4), confesses(6), confessing(1), declare(1), give thanks(1), made(1), profess(1), promised(1). [1]
This is stated in such a way that I believe it is stressing much more than the fact that Jesus came – John emphasizes the fact that He came in the flesh – I think this is exactly the issue – most are tired of the skeptic ever doubting that there was a historical Jesus – satan found he could not win that argument – so the key is to attack the incarnation – sure there was a really good MAN named Jesus that came but that’s all He was – a MAN – not God in the flesh. This is so wise – stop denying that Jesus was here – there have been other great humanitarians that have united people with “love” why not Jesus – Brilliant! Neutralize Him – make Him just another Gandhi – just a different stripe. John really had the wisdom of the Holy Spirit – We cannot lead people to believe in a generic jesus – It must be Jesus – God in the flesh. He who took on flesh and lived among us as one of us even though He was nothing like us in His essence – His humanity was just like us – but He was also 100% God which is nothing like us. 100% human & 100% God – it does not equate in math – but for True salvation it takes the 200% person to accomplish the impossible – satisfying a Holy God that hates sin and will punish all of it while extending the mercy and grace of a loving God that desires all sinners to be redeemed so they can spend eternity experiencing Him. Thanks Dad – You got it right! All our plans are feeble attempts to be You. Your grace amazes me!
* Meditation Questions: Do you believe the Word – even if you do not understand how, that Jesus was God incarnate in the flesh? Do you understand Jesus was fully human but did not have a sin nature? Do you understand that if you entrust your life to Him, you are invited Jesus to be your friend AND your God? Do you understand you have to accept Him as He is not as you may want Him?
[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
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