When the apostle John wrote his epistles, Christianity had... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and the Father. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.
1 John 2: 24.26.

When the apostle John wrote his epistles, Christianity had already existed for some decades, during which great political and social changes had taken place. Jerusalem and the temple, for example, had been destroyed and sacrifices had ceased. New religious trends were creeping in. The question then arose: how far should Christian doctrine and practice be adapted to the changing situation? The same question applies to today. What would Jesus say, if He were alive on earth now? What would Paul write to us?

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John has given a clear answer. What was taught initially must remain unaltered. He insists that we hold fast what he himself and the other apostles heard and learnt from the Lord Jesus: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life we declare to you" .

The Christian faith and our personal relationship to the Lord Jesus and the Father are founded on the teaching of the New Testament, which is ever valid. But there were heretics back in the apostles' days seeking to lead believers astray by "extending" the doctrine with logical sounding arguments. Whenever this happens today, God's revelation in His Word is abandoned for deceptive conclusions of man's reasoning. How can we be preserved from such errors? By holding fast what "was from the beginning".

Today‘s reading: 2 Samuel 9: 1 - 13 · 1 Samuel 4: 1 - 9