FOR FURTHER STUDY

FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Read 1 John 2:9–11; 3:10–18; 4:7–8, 20. If we are not loving, what does that show us and others about ourselves?

2. Read Romans 13:8–10 and 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. How many negative definitions of love can you find? When these are all added together, what is the final outcome—still negative, or positive?

TO THINK ABOUT AND DISCUSS

1. If we must not judge one another, what should we do if we see another Christian going astray or leading others astray? Does saying that we do not believe a certain person to be a Christian mean that we are judging that person? Do you think Diotrephes was truly converted?

2. How would you deal with the situation if someone in your church started to behave like Diotrephes? Could it be nipped in the bud? Prevention is better than cure; how could such a situation be prevented from developing in the first place?

Terence Peter Crosby, Opening up 2 and 3 John, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2006), 38.