servant for Christ

Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins, as a great sacrifice to make atonement for us. Not only to redeem us from the wrath of God, and the curse of the law, but also to recover us from the corruption that is in the world and to rescue us from the vicious practices and customs of it, which we are naturally enslaved to. Jesus has done so according to the will of God and our Father and His own free will. Because He completely rescued us from our sins, there is no place for efforts to save ourselves. Our Christian faith rescues us from trhis evil world in which we live.

The character flaws Diotrephes had was he was self-centered, to be the exclusive authority, domineering and controlling, and a mean-spirited slanderer. Yes, a pastor can be strong without these traits, they are not God's traits. When I feel pride or controlling, I pray. I pray everyday for God to help me to be like Him.

The reasons are: they go forth to serve Christ, they go out in Jesus' name, they don't seek funds from non-believers, helping them makes us co-workers or fellow helpers. By being a co-worker our reward is becoming a partner as they teach the truth. The Christian workers cannot be very effective without the support of the church.

John tells his readers to refuse hospitality because of bringing false doctrine into the church. Deniers of faith are destroyers of souls. Refusing for a congregation would be good. It would keep false doctrine out. There is no tolerance when false teachers are involved. No, I don't think it does. Because God says all believers are not to accept false teachers.

To go beyond is to contradict the apostolic teachings abourt Jesus Christ and believe things about Jesus that were not taught by the apostles. This is a warning not to listen to false teachers. It is the doctrine of Christ that is appointed to guide us to God. By the doctrine of Christ we are enlightened in the knowldege of the Father and the Son. If we run ahead of Christ's guidance we will mess up, and end up denying God. We have to continue in Christ and his teaching to stay on track and close to God. So we can become like Him. It is importantb ecause Christ is the truth and righteous.

John is telling them that the primary idol would be any false teaching that takes people away from Jesus Christ, who is at once fully man and fully God. There were erroneous conceptions of God. However fervent our love for others and our adherence to God's commands, such human efforts will come to nothing apart form true understanding of God as revealed in Christ. To know Him as He is causes love and obedience to be the redeeming, worshipful responses to God that He intends them to be. Anything that we put before God can become an idol. With me, sometimes it is too much tv, too much computer, getting busy with other things and not taking time for God.

The two conditions are our obedience and God's will. We can determine God's will by the Scriptures, and when we earnestly seek Him. If we are in our will and not God's, our prayers will not be answered.

God has given us eternal life. He has designed it for us in his eternal purpose. He has prepared all the means that are necessary to bring us to it. He has made it over to us by his covenant and promise. The Son is life, eternal life in his own essence and person. He is eternal life to us, the spring of our spiritual and glorious life. From him life is communicated to us. He that is united to the Son is united to life. Those who refuse the Son, who is life itself, and the way to it, provokes God to deliver him over to endless death for making him a liar since he believes not this record that God has given concerning His Son. To teach a faith relationship, give them Jesus. With faith, you can have faith in anything. With faith in Jesus, you have eternal lifel We have assurance of eternal life is we believe on the name of the Son of God, if we are honoring Christ as Lord of our lives and sincerely seeking to keep His commandments, if we love the Father and the Son rather than the world and if we overcome the influence of the world,if we habitually and persistently practice righteousness rather than sin, if we love our brethren, if we are conscious of the Holy Spirit dewlling within us, if we are endeavoring to follow the example of Jesus and live as He lived, if we believe, accept, and abide in the Word of life, and if we have an earnest longing and a certain hope for the return of Jesus Christ to receive us to Himself.

The faith that overcomes the world is a faith that sees eternal realities, experiences the power of God, and loves Christ to such an extent that the sinful pleasures, secular values, ungodly ways, and selfish materialism of the world not only lose their attraction for us, but also are looked upon with disgust, aversion, and grief. Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual armour and artillery by which we overcome. In and by faith we cleave to Christ in contempt of and opposition to the world. Faith works in and by love to God and Christ in contempt of and opposition to the world. Faith works in and by love to God and Christ and so withdraws us from the love of the world. Faith sanctifies the heart and purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains such sway and dominion over souls. It receives and derives strength from the object of it, the Son of God, for conquering the frowns andf flatteries of the world. It obtains by gospel promise a right to the indwelling Spirit of grace, that is greater than he who dwells in the world. Unbelief plays a big part in defeatist mentality. We are believing what the world and satan says instead of God and his Word. We are not fully trusting and believing that God will do what He says He will do.

Abject fear of God is based on dread of punishment. But God's love for us renders such dread obsolete. Fear is still part of the Christian walk in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate God's trust in us. Believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God's judgment but this does not mean a Christian's approach to God is to be casual and flippant. Love of God is joy and peace. When our love grows, joy grows too. Those who perfectly love God are from His nature and counsel and covenant, perfectly assured of his love and are perfectly free from any dreadful suspucions of His punitive power and justice. Perfect love casteth out torment, for it teaches the mind a perfect acquiescence and complacency in the beloved Father.

It is important because love is dthe very nature of God, which He showed by giving His own Son for us. We share His naturebecause we are born of Him. Because God loved us, we who have experienced His love, forgiveness, and help are under obligation to help others, even at great personal cost. If we love one another, God continus to dwell in us and His love is perfected in us. to have God's love, we have to forgive because He forgave us.

The Spirit of God dwells in us and that Spirit is more mighty than men of devils. It is a great happiness to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit. We have overcome because our strength lives in the fact that we are born of God. Through the Holy Spirit we can overcome the evil in the world, including sin, Satan, trials, temptation, sorrow, persecution, and false teaching. We can victoriously achieve God's will for our lives. We should have no fear in our lives because the Holy Spirit is our Protector, He is love.

It is important because true believers will confess the full reality that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. Jesus Christ is to be confessed as the Son of God, the eternal life and Word, that was with the Father from the beginning. As the Son of God that came into and came in our human mortal nature, and therein suffered and died at Jerusalem. Satan doesn't want us to believe it because it is the Word of God and it is truth. He opposes God's Spirit and his truth. Every departure from Biblical revelation concerning Christ opens itself up to demonic spirits of deception because it sets anside the authority and complete trustworthiness of God's Word. For my Christian life, I know the Word is true. I know Jesus was man and God, I know that if it wasn't so, I would not have the peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit living in me. I could not have come through the battles I have been through if it wasn't for our Lord and Savior.

Obeying God's commandments, loving Him. and pleasing Him are indispensable conditions in order to receive what we ask for in prayer. Love is the heart of obedience to the law, its presence in one's life evidences submission to God which He blesses by answered prayers.

What it means is to love our brothers and sisters as God loves us. The kind of love in action is helping those in need, not only material, but physical and spiritual. In a large congregation is to share the love of God with one another.

Anger can turn into hatred if forgiveness and compasssion does not take over. Hatred is spiritually the same as murder in the eyes of God, the attitude is equal to the act. Hate is the seed that leads to murder. We can get rid of anger by praying for forgiveness and the love of God to show through us.

Cain resented Abel because of his righteousness. He killed him because of hatred and jealousy. The world hates us because the see their sin, because they are not committed to God.

John is telling us that we have to acknowledge sin, deal with it, and repent of it. The Holy Spirit, God's mercy and grace is there to help. The false teachers were saying that sin didn't matter. You could live and do as you please. We all are sinners but made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ.

By faith, the indwelling Christ, the power of the Holyh Spirit, and the written Word, all believers can live moment by moment free from offense and sin against God. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and helps us to keep in check with ourselves, to live in a right relationship with God.

Lawlessness will show up because they will continue in their sin. It is a cause of sin in our live because we are not obeying the law. Living the way we want to, thinking nothing is wrong with it. Living as if there is no law or ignoring what laws exist.

Christ Second Coming should motivate us to persever in the faith of salvation and obedience. As a child of God, we know our Lord is coming back. We don't want to miss reigning with our Lord and Savior because of some sin in our life. We have to chedk ourselves everyday and ask God's forgiveness. We can purdify ourselves because of God's grace. His is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. Ask forgiveness with a true heart, let God take away any sin you may have, ask Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in His truth.

We are children of God when we are born again and the Spirit is living in us. Being a child of God is the highest privilege of our salvation. The Holy Spirit adopts us. God wants us to boe increasingly made aware through the Holy Spirit, the " Spirit of adoption" that we are His children. Holy Spirit agrees with our spirit that we are God's children. The new birth will change us because being a child of God is the basis for our faith and trust in God and our hope for the future. As children of God, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. The Spirit produces the cry Abba Father in our hearts and gives us the desire to be led by the Spirit. Being a child of God is the basis for our discipline by the Father and the reason we live to please God. God's ultimate goal in making us His children is to save us forever and to conform us to the image of His Son.

Hi Revpret, welcome to the Bible study. Hope it has been exciting so far. I pray that you learn so much from this study. I know I did. As you study this lesson, let the Holy Spirit speak and guide you. Draw close to God and receive what He has for you. Let His Word soak in. Think on the questions, search the Word, and seek God's face. God bless you.

Hello Roshni, I hope you have found the Bible study to be exciting so far. I know it was an awesome experience for me. I learned so much about our Lord and Savior. Let the HHoly Spirit speak and guide you as you learn about our Lord. Draw close to Him and let HHim move in life as never before. My prayer is that God will bless you and open your eyes and heart in a very special way. May He pour His wisdom and knowledge into you as you study and learn in this study. God bless you

Hi Shawnee, I know you will enjoy this Bible study as much as I did. It help me to grow and understand more about our Lord and Savior. I think the one thing I want to say to you is let the Lord talk to you in this study. Pray constantly, seek His face, let Him guide your path. Open your mind to His Word completely. Ask Him what His will is for your life and to teach you what He wants you to learn through this experience. Believe me, it is an awesome experience. To learn how much God loves us, to know that He is interested in everything that happens in our lives. May the Lord bless you richly as He has me in these studies. Learn, grow, and seek the Lord, to become closer to Him in a way you have never known. My prayer is that God blesses you in a way you never expected. Let Him make the vessel out of you that He wants you to be. It won't be easy, but always remember, He will never leave nor forsake you. God bless you and enjoy the love of God.