Chapter 1

¹ The older man, to the chosen lady and to her children whom I truly love… and not just me, but so do all those who’ve come to know the truth ² through the truth that exists in us and will be with us through the age. ³ We’ll have the kindness, mercy, and peace from God (the Father), and from Jesus the Anointed One (the Son of the Father), in truth and in love.

⁴ I’m so very happy that I’ve found your children walking in the truth and following the commandments that we received from the Father. ⁵ So, now I’m asking you, lady (I’m not giving you a new commandment, but one that we’ve had from long ago), to love one another. ⁶ And this is [how we prove our] love: By following His commandments!

Yes, that’s the commandment! You’ve heard the same thing from the start; so just keep following it. ⁷ Because, many have strayed [back] into the world and won’t admit that Jesus the Anointed One came in the flesh. And these who have strayed are the AntiChrists.

⁸ Watch out for yourselves, so you don’t destroy the things we’ve worked [so hard] on… and then you can receive your full reward! ⁹ But all those who are running ahead and aren’t remaining in the teaching of the Anointed One, don’t have God. Yet, whoever sticks with this teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰ Now, if anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring this teaching, don’t welcome him into your homes or even greet him; ¹¹ because, those who greet him share in the wicked things that he’s doing.

¹² Although I have many [other] things to write to you, I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. Rather, I’m hoping to come and speak with you face to face, so your joy can be realized.

¹³ The children of your chosen sister send you their greetings.

Notes

Removing the Wicked

Jesus' Instructions About Taking Your Brother to Court

In Matthew the Eighteenth Chapter, Jesus spoke of how Jews should deal with each other when one was guilty of harming another, and he outlined three steps that they should take, ending with the words (verse 17), ‘If he refuses to listen even to the congregation, then let him become as a man of the nations, or as a tax collector to you.’

Although many have concluded that Jesus was discussing how to handle such matters within the Christian Congregation, we have to realize that the Christian Congregation hadn’t been formed yet, and that Jesus wasn’t giving these instructions just to Christians. Rather, he was speaking to Jews in general, and referring to what the Bible calls ‘the congregation of IsraEl.’ So his instructions here, were to be kind to each other and try to work things out among themselves, before taking such matters before their religious court (the Sanhedrin), synagogue, or the Roman authorities.

These instructions are very similar to what Jesus said at Matthew 5:25, 26:
‘If someone has a lawsuit against you,
Settle it quickly before going to court.
Then there will be not a chance,
That you’ll fall into the hands of the judge,
And from the judge to the bailiff,
And you end up being thrown into prison.
I tell you this for a fact:
If that should happen to you,
You won’t be released ‘til you’ve paid your last cent.’

Paul's Instructions About Dealing With a Serious Wrongdoer

However, in First Corinthians (after the formation of the Christian Congregation), Paul laid out some procedural guidelines on how to deal with ‘those called brothers’ who are guilty of serious and un-repented sins. This matter was raised when a brother in Corinth was said to be guilty of ‘taking his father’s wife’ as his own. Such a thing, even if the wife was widowed, was very serious in God’s eyes, for the Old Law shows that it is the same as uncovering the nakedness of one’s father (see Leviticus 18:7, 8). And if this man was having sex with the wife of his living father, that was even worse and creating a public scandal among the Jews. So, Paul’s instructions were for Christians to ‘judge such matters’ and to ‘remove the wicked man from among yourselves.’ What did this entail?

Thereafter, notice what Paul said should be done (at 1 Corinthians 5:11), ‘However, now I’m writing you to quit associating with anyone called a brother who is immoral, greedy, an idol worshiper, an insulter, a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with a person like that!’

You can see that he didn’t say to stop talking to the person, just to not treat the person as a friend who you would eat with. Of course, in those early days of Christianity, most of their congregational meetings were held in private homes (not ‘synagogues’ or public meeting places), so exclusion from the congregation likely meant that the offender was no longer welcome at their (private) meetings.

For more information on how this problem was resolved, see the Note in 2 Corinthians, Accepting a Repentant Sinner Back Into the Congregation.

'Marking'

There seems to be a similar instruction at 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15, where Paul wrote, ‘And if anyone isn’t willing to obey the things we wrote in this letter; Note this, and don’t associate with him, to shame him. However, don’t think of him as an enemy, council him as a brother.’

Unfortunately, many religious groups have failed to recognize what Paul was talking about here, and as the result, they have created an entirely new category of shunning, which they call 'Marking.' But notice that Paul seems to have been talking about perhaps a single person in the congregation in Thessalonica who didn't work for a living but did a lot of visiting to get free meals; and in the process, he or she was becoming a busybody and spreading gossip. So Paul wrote, 'semeioo' (say-mi-o'-o), meaning (according to NASB Word Usage), take special note, and yes, even mark. However, he didn't say, mark him, but simply, note. So, Paul doesn't appear to have been giving Christians another group of reasons for giving their brothers 'the cold shoulder.' He was simply telling the brothers there not to invite him (or her) in for free meals.

John's Instruction About How to Deal With 'Anti-Christs'

Then John (the Apostle) gave similar instructions a 2 John 7, when he was talking about people in the Christian Congregation who ‘have strayed [back] into the world and won’t admit that Jesus the Anointed One came in the flesh.’ He referred to them as the ‘AntiChrists,’ and instructed (at 2 John 10, 11): ‘If anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring this teaching (of the Anointed One), don’t welcome him into your homes or even greet him; because, whoever greets him shares in the wicked things he does.’

So, in the case of someone who denies that there was a Jesus (the AntiChrists), such individuals shouldn’t even be greeted on the street. However, these instructions don’t seem to be added to what was said by Jesus and Paul, because the circumstances were different. Also, notice that these added directions from John were penned almost sixty years after what Jesus said on the matter, and about forty years after the writings of Paul. So as you can see, there were no instructions that forbade talking to errant Christians during most of the First Century.

Those Who Disagree

Would this same action (not to welcome him or even greet him) be taken against anyone who disagrees on some doctrinal matter? No, because; notice what actually Paul wrote about this at Romans 16: 17, ‘Now, I beg you brothers; keep an eye on those who are creating divisions and setting traps by going against the teachings that you’ve learned… avoid them.’ So, Paul’s instructions were to ‘keep and eye on’ (gr. scopein) them and to ‘avoid’ them (gr. ecclenete ap auton – incline away from them), not cut them off from the congregation. For more information, see the Note in 1 Corinthians, Should Christians Agree on Everything?

Serious Offenses

Now, Paul did speak of several types of unrighteous actions that may have been worthy of shunning for the sake of the safety and good name of the Christian Congregation, which include:

· Sexually immorality

· Idol worshiping

· Adultery

· Homosexual behavior (gays and men who have sex with men)

· Thievery

· Greed

· Drunkenness

· Insulting

· Extortion.

Religious Interpretations

Through the years, expulsions of notorious members from Christian congregations have taken many forms. Catholics, for example, call such removal excommunication. However, they limit these disciplines to just those that offend their Church. Yet, other groups may disfellowship or expel unrepentant sinners for reasons that are closer to those outlined by Paul, while many religions just ignore Paul’s instructions altogether and object to taking any such actions against members who sin in vile and notorious ways.

In certain cases, religious groups have adopted the extreme view that the sanctions recommended by Jesus, Paul, and John are cumulative and that they must take all the actions listed above against those who are guilty of any of the practices listed in those combined verses, including even those who may disagree over doctrinal points (heretics). These religions forbid associating with or even talking to persons whom they judge to be violators in matters of business, morality, or doctrines. And even after such wrongdoers have repented, such religions may impose further disciplinary sanctions on them. Of course, these views and actions can’t be supported from Bible texts.

In addition, some religions have gone so far as to ban normal conversations with ones’ own family members when they are guilty of any of the offenses listed above. Is this a correct understanding?

It would seem that whenever there are no clear written Biblical guidelines (as in the case of how to treat erring family members), Christians should turn to basic Scriptural law. And God’s Law requires wives to respect their husbands, husbands to love their wives, children to obey their parents, for everyone to respect their mothers and fathers, and for each one to provide for those who are in their own households. Anything less than that would fit the description that Paul gave of how Godless people would act in ‘the last days’ (at 2 Timothy 3:3), which says, ‘They won’t love their families (gr. astorge) or be willing to agree on anything.’

Such sanctions obviously go beyond Paul’s instructions at First Corinthians the Fifth Chapter, and they stray into conflict with Jesus’ words to the Pharisees as found at Matthew 15:6-9, which say, ‘So, [you are really saying] that [you] shouldn’t honor [your] parents at all. And when you do this, you are nullifying the Word of God with your traditions. You hypocrites! How well Isaiah prophesied about you when he said, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me! It’s a waste for them to keep worshiping Me, because they preach the teachings of men as commandments.’

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Who Are the AntiChrists?

Who are the antichrists? As John said (at 1 John 2:22), 'This is the Antichrist: He who denies both the Father and the Son.'

Apparently, by the turn of the Second Century C.E., there were people in the Christian congregation (probably more Judaizers) who were denying that there ever was a Jesus, or possibly denying that he was the Chosen One of God. And as John said (at 1 John 2:23), 'Whoever denies the Son [also denies] the Father.'

Such a denial of Jesus amounted to an unforgivable sin against God's Holy Breath, because it was God's Breath that had testified to who Jesus was. So, this was a very serious matter. In fact, it was so serious that John told Christians not to even talk to such people – to treat them as though they were dead – because, what they were saying truly condemned them.

Popular modern tradition has it that the antichrist is a single person, group, or entity that will come in the last days. However, notice how this idea is proven false by the words of 1 John 2:18, which read: 'Young children; It's the last hour. And just as you've heard, the Antichrist is coming. Why, right now there are many Antichrists; and that's how we know it's the last hour. They left us, because they weren't like us; for if they had been like us, they would still be with us.'

Then John again gave the same identification at 2 John 1:7, where he wrote: 'Many have strayed [back] into the world and won't admit that Jesus the Anointed One came in the flesh. And these who have strayed are the AntiChrists.'

So, modern beliefs about the antichrist reflect a lack of Bible reading.

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