Need Help with this scripture...

[Utah Extreme]

Brothers and Sisters,


2nd John 1:10,11 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine [Jesus is Divine God], receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed: For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.


In Mormon country:

I don't let the mormons in my house but I have wished them Godspeed (saying: good luck or God bless- a natural Christian reaction). I have even prayed for a mormon coworker to have a safe trip.This scripture says I have been partaking of their evil deeds...

What say you?


-Utah Extreme

[IRQ Conflict]

Excellent question. At the moment I have no concrete answer. I think on the surface it is saying that we should not entertain (meaning to fellowship with) nor bless those that hold doctrines contrary to the Gospel.

I think if we 'give our blessing' to that person we are condoning his doctrine we are saying( in a way) 'it's ok' when really it isn't is it?

I'm sure this goes deep into the realm of the spirit where we need to be VERY careful. We should however pray for those blinded by lies to have their eyes opened.

Not saying not to be kind to these people. Maybe instead of blessing them with a verbal salutation, we could refute their teachings with the Word and show them the love Christ has for us. For example, when greeting someone from another doctrine instead of just saying 'hi'! Say 'Jesus is Lord' and when departing say 'blessed is He that comes from the Father'

Hehe I don't know what thier doctrine teaches, but I'm sure there are a million Biblical things you could salute them with!

I do know the Bible teaches us to "bless those that curse thee" and all that, I'll look into it asap.

[August]

Brothers and Sisters,


2nd John 1:10,11 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine [Jesus is Divine God], receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed: For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.


In Mormon country:

I don't let the mormons in my house but I have wished them Godspeed (saying: good luck or God bless- a natural Christian reaction). I have even prayed for a mormon coworker to have a safe trip.This scripture says I have been partaking of their evil deeds...

What say you?


-Utah Extreme

Hi Utah E,

This does seem to go against the grain of loving our neighbour, and also somewhat against the great commission.

You have to read the two parts together. Letting someone with a false doctrine, a deceiver, into your house, can create the opportunity for you yourself to be misled by this false doctrine. The second part, related to this, is that if you greet them in the name of God, i.e. wishing them Godspeed, you are requesting that God supports their deception, that is why we are warned against greeting them in God's name, or "supporting their evil deeds". The whole passage then refers to those who bring false messages, who come to purposely mislead you, and why you should not support their false message by blessing them with a Godly greeting.

Having said all that, I would also comment that we should not miss opportunities to minister and bring the gospel to non-believers. We must be careful not to necessarily tie the false doctrine that a person brings to the person to such an extent that we always exclude interacting with them, lest we miss an opportunity to minister. That should always be the first priority, and if we are aware of the false religion that others bring, that prepares us for the defense of our own faith, and the possibility to bring the truth to others.

Hope it helps.

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