Spiritual Nuggets

For 05-24-2009

166. 2 John 10 has confused many people over the years. Observing the historical context clears the confusion. This is what that verse says:

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.

Many think this is saying a Christian should never allow a Biblically unsound person into their home or even welcome them. Hence, some don’t allow a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon inside their house, even to witness to them, based on this verse. The context is John writing to the elect lady, who had a church house. He was telling her not to allow people to teach the group who don’t bring the doctrine of Christ with them. (Apparently, she was doing this or was in danger of doing such.) If we compare 2 John 10 to Acts 28:30 we will observe something important:

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 28:30,31)

Paul welcomed into his house people who didn’t bring the doctrine of Christ. He did that so he could witness to them. We can assume he didn’t violate 2 John 10.

167. Should a Christian kill a poisonous snake? That might sound like a strange question, but no doubt there are different opinions. This is what Paul did with the viper which bite him:

But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. (Acts 28:5)

168. Can a promise, with no apparent condition/s, actually have condition/s attached to it? Yes. Here is the promise. Paul said:

Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island. (Acts 27:23-26)

That was delivered to Paul by one of God’s angels during a hurricane in which it appeared that all would die because of the intense storm. After that angel said God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you (which was 276 people total), Paul latter gave two conditions, which were needed for their physical survival:

In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 27:30,31)

Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. (Acts 27:34)

An example of a salvation promise with a condition without it being initially cited is Ezek. 33:13:

If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. (Ezek 33:13)

Man has a choice and responsibility in doing certain vital things for his own survival—physical and spiritual.

169. Unsaved religious people can show unusual kindness. The people living on the island of Malta did:

Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. (Acts 28:1,2)

The same people were religious because they later thought Paul was a god. Hence, just because some religious people show unusual kindness that doesn’t mean they are Christians.

170. People can be very fickle. We see both extremes of this regarding how people viewed Paul—from bad to good and from good to bad:

When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. (Acts 28:4-6)

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. (Acts 14:11,12) ... Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. (Acts 14:19)