2 John

Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. Each review contains quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover 2 John, a book written almost 2,000 years ago and one that is part of a larger collection of books called The Bible.

2 John

Author

John the apostle

Introduction

2 John comes in a close second to 3 John for the title of shortest book in the Bible (2 John has 245 words in the original language compared with 219 words in 3 John). The second epistle of John advises "the elect lady" (either a reference to a congregation or to a woman who owned a house where the congregation met) to be fervent in Christian love and watchful of deceivers. The writer also planned to visit the congregation soon.

Message and Purpose

Like Jesus, who wept over Jerusalem, and Paul, who wrote of "the daily pressure" of his "care for all the churches", John was concerned about this congregation. Would they neglect to embody God's love for one another? Would they fall prey to false teachers? 2 John was apparently written to help readers follow through on their commitment to follow Christ.

John used six key words to tie together this epistle. He repeatedly used the words "trust" (five times), "love" (four times), "commandment" (four times), "walk" (three times), "teaching" (three times), and "children" (three times). John's message is clear: He told his children to 1) walk in the truth, 2) obey God's commandments, 3) love one another, and 4) guard the teachings of Christ and they would not be deceived by the antichrist. John confirmed the spiritual safety of the believing community with a beginning and ending reference to their election by God (v. 1, 13).

Remarkable Chapter

Verses eight and nine stand out in this short letter and serve as a reminder to be diligent in our pursuit of Christ:

"Watch yourselves so you don't lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who does not remain in Christ's teaching but goes beyond it, does not have God."

It is dangerous to become lethargic in Christian living or to take God's favor for granted. Assurance should look like diligence, not presumption.

There are always new ways to apply Christ's teaching, but the foundations were established by His coming and the instruction He gave to His followers. John called for dynamic love and creative faithfulness while warning against perverting the apostolic teachings about Jesus.

Conclusion

It is easy for congregations to get off track. 2 John reminds readers of the high priority of the most basic Christian outlook and activity—mutual love. Yet another priority is no less critical—true Christian teaching. This epistle strikes a short but strong blow for steadfastness, assuring that attentive readers would take the right steps to "receive a full reward."