Abiding in Jesus' Teaching

II John 1:9 - "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.

In context, John speaks of deceivers—Gnostics, in particular—that had gone too far and perverted the teachings of Jesus. These had severed themselves from Christ and were seeking to do the same with those with whom he was writing.

Today, our churches have many who would seek to disavow the teachings of Christ and secularize the Gospel to fit their lives. Usually, it comes in two forms – friendship with the world or slavery to the Law. The former embraces the world, saying God is filled with grace and we can live however we desire because Jesus will inevitably forgive us. The latter is built on the idea that we have to work our way to God by pleasing Him through our strict observance of the Law. Neither heresies are correct and have nothing to do with abiding in the teaching of God.

To abide in Jesus Christ, one must be in love with Him. We follow Him and obey, not because we have to, but because we want to. He offers us grace when we fail, but our main desire is not to sin. The teaching of Christ is a roadmap to romance with God, not a plan of enslavement to this world or to the Law.