In the epistles of the Apostle John we find him writing to a large number of people who, though scattered far and wide geographically, all were a part of the same group that was called by the same name throughout the New Testament–the Church of God (not to be confused with the denomination).–Acts 20:28. In First John 1:3 the apostle identifies the basis for his writings and his preaching from which he does not deviate: He tells the churches that his ministry concerns: “That which we (apostles) have seen and heard we declare unto you, so that you may also have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.” That which the apostles had seen and heard was Jesus of Nazareth–what He said and what He did, which formed the foundational Truths the apostles taught.

John is writing to one group of people, all of whom proclaimed allegiance to the same God and the same Savior as did the apostles. Beginning with the second chapter, John, addressing the church then and now, involves all of the church members, using words like “my little children,” “you,” “we” and “our” which confirms that he is addressing one group of people, all of whom pay homage to the same Godhead. However, the observant reader will notice that he uses a variety of pronouns while addressing these people. As we will see, they are not all “on the same page,” or even in the same Book.

In verses three through six and 12 through 14 we find the apostle using “we,” “he,” “you,” “whoso,” “I” and “Him” in a positive sense. Then in verse 15 he suddenly changes and begins to write to and about other people in the group whom he addresses as “any man,” “him” and “he” using a decidedly negative tone. In verse 18 he again waxes positive by addressing his message to “my little children” whom he calls “you.” In verse 19 he reverts back to a negative tone when referring to “they” who had stopped obeying the Lord. In verses 20 and 21 he switches returns to the positive mode, using the pronoun “you” five times. In verses 22 and 23 its back to negativity and the use of “who,” “he” and “whosoever.”

It has been established that John’s letter was written to a singular group of people whom he addresses as “my little (spiritual/church) children” (2:1), “my brethren” (3:13) and “beloved” (3:21). So why the positive and negative contrasts? sometimes in the same verse. The answer to that question and the reason behind the different tones is the focus of this series. The identity of these obviously different people who make up the church might surprise you, especially if you have been in a church setting for an extended period of time. We who were “born and raised in the church” were taught from day one that every positive thing written in the New Testament was written for church members, all of whom were unquestionably saved, sanctified, sealed and born again. We were also taught that all negative statements were directed toward those outside the church because Christ’s sacrifice erased our inevitable sins as quickly as we could repent of them. Jesus, we were assured, made our sins simply disappear upon request.

Is what we have all heard time and again true? Is what is being taught what the Scriptures actually teach? Nothing has changed since the days of the prophets and apostles whose teachings form the foundation of the New Testament Church (Eph. 2:20). Is what they taught, what we have been taught and what people continue to be taught, right? We are assured from pulpit and podium, from television and the printed page, from movies and tracks stuck on our doors that all is well if one is in THE church where THE Gospel is being put forth. We will now consult the third chapter of John’s first epistle to the church in order to examine the apostle’s positive and negative statements and to determine to whom they were addressed, and more importantly, why. Billions of people are involved in what is being taught as “thus saith the Lord” in His name. Are they being deceived as Jesus warned in Matthew 24:4,5? But first, a personal note.

God’s timing is exquisite, and often surprising, not to mention miraculous. After only a few hours of sleep he Lord awakened me at 11:10 p.m. and got me out of bed (not an unusual occurrence). Since I answered God’s call to the ministry I no longer have a sleep pattern. When I go to bed I have no idea when He will awaken me and tell me to get up. Most of what you read on this website is written between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Not long ago, having been awakened in the wee hours of the morning, I had been laying in snuggly comfort for several minutes when a hand reached under the covers, grabbed my foot and yanked it off the bed. Message received. I have been awakened by a trumpet blast, a car horn, a ringing bell, a punch in the side, a voice calling my name and other ways that I cannot remember. The most unusual awakening took place a couple of months ago when I was roused from a deep sleep by the sound of my own voice as I spoke aloud (and loud) in German what I was seeing in a dream. In the dream I was “reading” from a moving message that looked like black writing on a brown background. I neither speak nor read German. However, I knew I was reading and speaking German. How did I know? God told me so. My life is anything but normal. Think about it–how often is one awakened by the sound of his own voice? “Unusual” doesn’t quite describe my life. And I love it.

The Master never ceases to surprise me with the methods He uses to tell me what He wants me to know or to do. This morning was no exception. At around 11:30 p.m. (about two hours ago) as I was sitting at the computer preparing to write this message “I decided” to tune in to YouTube and was drawn immediately to the testimony of a young man who, according to the commentator, had come out of religious darkness and had found his way into spiritual light. This fellow had left a church that is viewed by all other churches as a Satanic cult, and had joined a globally-embraced, main-line denomination. I honed in, knowing that the Lord wanted me to hear the fellow’s witness. In the beginning his testimony was very moving. Then he mentioned the name of the group he had joined–the “light” he had embraced. I immediately realized that this poor soul had simply, “jumped out of the skillet and into the fire.” With eyes tearing and voice cracking he was soon into the same old “only believe,” all grace, no Law,” “works is a dirty word” gibberish that sounded hauntingly familiar. In short, this totally deceived churchite had left one Satanic cult and joined another. Message received–Satan is still alive, well and in charge of all things religious on planet earth, except for those few saints who still cling to God and His Word and prove their love for Him and His Son by believing and obeying it. Unlike this young man who travels the nation preaching Satan’s perverted “Come as you are, stay as you are, Jesus loves you just the way you are” message to “sinners saved by grace,” I will continue to tell Truth seekers what God actually said in His Holy Word. L.J.