2nd John Part 6

1:6-7 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

We demonstrate our love in a visible, testable way by obeying the voice of God as He reveals His will in Scripture. We are to walk—that is, order our lives—after His commandments. Listen to one of Israel’s prophet’s concerning the nature of walking in the direction God points us in.

“Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths,” Isaiah 2:3.

“O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord,” Isaiah 2:5

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand, or whenever you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21.

We need steadfast endurance to walk in God’s way. Love for Jesus Christ ought to inspire a willingness to walk in His commandments. His commandment is that we obey Him if we truly love Him, John 14:15. A coldness toward Christ sets the heart adrift and leaves us open to deception or backsliding, destroying all that we previously achieved, Hebrews 2:1; 2nd Peter 2:20-21; 2nd John 1:8. Walking implies the exercise of our spiritual character; we grow in the word, in prayer and fellowship, and receive greater discernment on what is evil and what is good, Hebrews 5:14; 1st Thessalonians 5:21.

This spiritual strength is needed against the onslaught of false teachers and the heretical doctrines they bring. Each one in his turn corrupts the person and purpose of Jesus Christ, and so reveals himself not as a genuine disciple of Christ, but as an adversary, someone staunchly, if not subtly, opposed to the gospel of grace. Jesus warned that many deceivers would come bearing deceptive teachings, Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 23-24. Paul also took pains to warn us of the same danger, 1st Timothy 4:1-2; 2nd Timothy 4:3-4. The simple fact that so many professing Christians have been carried away with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14) is a testimony to how few saints took their Lord’s words to heart. We must be serious and sober students of the word, testing all spiritual things by it and staunchly rejecting those that fail this acid test. This is not a suggestion; this is not a recommendation. This is a command, because the purpose of such false teachers is to subvert believers from the faith, Acts 20:30; 2nd Peter 2:18-19; Jude 1:16.

The original deceiver is Satan. Those who follow him in whatever capacity are likewise categorized as deceivers, and also as antichrists. They wish to oppose the genuine Christ by replacing Him with a sometimes blunt, sometimes subtle false Christ that is crafted to draw away those seeking the genuine article. We are to practice the truth and walk in love as a means of protecting ourselves from this world-wide deception.