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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

Continuing with our study in 1 John, chapter 3, verses 1-9 can be seen in two parts: The Father’s love for us (vv. 1-3), and the Father’s image in us (vv. 4-9). Having mentioned being “born of Him” (2:29), John’s thought is triggered by some astonishing implications of our newRead More

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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

A resolve to believe the truth about Jesus provides assurance of eternal life is a major theme. John begins by insisting there is a clear distinction between truth and error (2:18-21). Next, he outlines the nature and effect of the error about Jesus (2:22-23) providing two safeguards against falling preyRead More

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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

John spoke about our sinful nature and sinful acts (1 Jn. 1:8-2:2). In this passage our inspired author gets more specific and spells out how it is that sin manifests itself, namely in disobedience, hatefulness, and materialism. Primarily he is addressing Christian readers telling us that these vices cannot beRead More

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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

This passage is a classical “bad news/good news” scenario. The bad news is that sin is present and powerful. The good news is that God has provided a solution. And, upon confessing our sin, we gain steadfast assurance that we have eternal life. By way of review in this series,Read More

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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

In an effort to rouse confidence in God’s promise of salvation, John explains some essential truths about the nature of God, Jesus, and us. In our last study in this series we learned that John spoke of his experience of the message. In verses 5-7 he discusses the content ofRead More

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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

By the time John wrote his epistle, errors regarding what it meant to be Christian were threatening the believers in Jesus. So with a pastor’s heart, John writes to encourage readers that we can have assurance of salvation when our lives are scrutinized in light of three tests: Obeying GodRead More

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In: 1 John, Bible, Discipleship

This begins a series of studies in John’s first epistle, which is close to my heart for many reasons. Soon after I became a believer my first bible memory verses were taken from 1 John. Second, my “baby” Greek studies involved translating passages from 1 John. Third, I’ve read manyRead More