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In the beautiful mountain range that is the Bible, for John I feel this is a moment at which we hit a peak and should take a moment to view the scenery. Let’s dive straight in.

‘For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the…  ( Click for more )

John’s favourite term for addressing the churches he oversaw was ‘little children’, and here we have the privilege of seeing him unpack what this means. We’ll take it in three chunks.

Abide in him

‘And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.’ (1 John 2:28-29)

The original Greek word for ‘abide’ here is menete, which…  ( Click for more )

Thanks to books like the Left Behind series talk about antichrist has increased in recent years. There is now even a website dedicated entirely to proving that Barack Obama is ‘the antichrist’! Let’s see what John has to tell us. I’d read it slowly if I were you.

‘Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out,…  ( Click for more )

In the next part of John's letter we hit a concept which Jesus introduced back in John 12:25. This clearly stuck with John, and finds its way into our study:

'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. 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. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.' (1 John 2:15-17)

Loving the…  ( Click for more )

I think God likes poetry. I've never really got it but the Bible uses it, so we ought to learn from it. Here's a little poem John wrote to explain why he wrote his first letter:

'I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because…  ( Click for more )

‘Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does…  ( Click for more )

A great deal of what could be said with the following passage was said last week, so I won’t repeat myself, but there is still plenty of wonderful truth in these words.

‘My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep…  ( Click for more )

If anyone was a groovy Christian in the nineties they would have been familiar with the DC Talk song, ‘In The Light’. This is the passage from which that song was inspired, and it’s the next passage in our journey through John’s letters.

‘This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the…  ( Click for more )

'And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.' (1 John 1:4)

We're still right at the beginning of John's first letter, and we're presented with a very important sentence. John says that this is the reason why it's being written, so we'd do well to take it in before wading into the letter's real content.

Whose joy?

If you look up that verse in your Bible you may see that there's a footnote - some manuscripts actually say '...so that your joy may be complete.' So the big question is, does it matter? My answer is, I don't think so. The purpose of…  ( Click for more )

This week we are starting a brand new series! For the next several months we will be walking together through the three letters John wrote, which are found towards the back of the New Testament. They’re short, so are often overlooked, but they contain some incredible truths and I hope that we all grow through our study together.

‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify…  ( Click for more )

Well, this week we finish our study through Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. Paul is intentional in everything he writes, and the way he closes this letter is no different.

‘See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But far be…  ( Click for more )

God thinks particularly highly of some messages, so they are repeated again and again throughout Scripture, like 'Do not be afraid.' This passage today is one of them, so we ought to prick up our ears and obey the Lord!

'Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his…  ( Click for more )

Paul's letter to the Galatians hits its peak in the second half of chapter five, so I'm excited to have arrived here! This passage contains one of the verses I find most challenging in the whole Bible, so I hope this serves you well.

'But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the…  ( Click for more )

There are some headings which ought to excite us, this is one of them! The problem comes when we look at a beautiful truth that implies great responsibility.

'For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit,…  ( Click for more )

Continuing through Galatians we encounter a passage here which may be a little confusing to us straight away, but which preaches enormous joy to Christians:

'Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.…  ( Click for more )

Fair warning: the passage this week is longer than usual but it's one of the hidden gems in the Bible.

'Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me…  ( Click for more )

J.I.Packer once wrote that 'our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption'. That's what Paul's talking about in this next passage in Galatians.

'I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem…  ( Click for more )

Paul's letter to the Galatians has essentially been a rebuke so far, telling the Galatians to stop being so foolish by adopting the law on top of their faith, but here it takes a bit of a turn. Paul gives an analogy to explain why what he says is so clearly true, and in so doing reveals one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. It's a bit of a long one this week, but it's all good!

'To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring.…  ( Click for more )

There are some passages of Scripture which, for me, stand out from the rest - this is one of them. It highlights one particular aspect of Jesus' death, and is phenomenally important.

'For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ…  ( Click for more )

Having just given his full and developed reasoning on the truth that a person is saved by faith and not by works of the law, Paul presses on now by making it personal.

'O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit…  ( Click for more )

Some while ago a Roman Catholic rebuked me, saying that good works are required of every Christian in addition to grace, and that salvation was therefore unattainable to people who had generally been bad in life. The words of the Bible blow this out of the water, as we continue our series through Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia:

‘We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith…  ( Click for more )

This week we encounter some conflict between Paul and Cephas (Peter) - conflict is never particularly pleasant, but it is a reality in churches, and something which was required in this situation, as we will see:

'But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But…  ( Click for more )

I find this passage fascinating. It details Paul's Christian walk after he'd been preaching the gospel for about 17 years.

'Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those l who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who…  ( Click for more )

This week we tackle an enormous issue, and one which I think will not go away any time soon!

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set…  ( Click for more )