Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series: 1-3 John & Jude: Forgiveness, Love, and Courage

by Robert Lightner

Publisher:

AMG

, 2003

Overview

Is it obvious to others that you are a child of God? Do you claim to love God but hate your brother? Such hypocrisy is contrary to the teaching of 1 John 3:10, that believers in Christ should walk in the light, living righteously before God and showing love and compassion to others. In this commentary on these letter to believers, Dr.Lightner reveals how the faith once delivered to the saints encourages believers to live for Christ, to act appropriately according to truth and love, and to uphold that truth in times of apostasy. As the sole survivor of the original disciples, John wrote with the deliberate pastoral authority and demeanor. His letters are rooted and grounded in a practical local church ministry. The truths in 1 John draw careful attention to the believer's responsibilities to be in fellowship with God. The books of 2 John and 3 John serve as bookends for love and truth. Second John emphasizes Christian love with its foundation in truth. Third John, on the other hand, emphasizes truth with its foundation in Christian love. Truth is not absent in 2 John; neither is love absent in 3 John. Dr.Lightner points the reader toward righteous living in both the love of Christ and the return of His doctrine. The book of Jude then moves from a heart of concern for the truth to its application to the lives of God's people. George Lawlor points out Jude's "dramatic and forceful manner of writing and his use of the Old Testament records to support his argument." Jude writes as a man of courage, conviction, and concern. In so doing, he calls upon believers in every generation to "contend earnestly for the faith." About the Author Robert Lightner is professor Emeritus of SystematicTheology at Dallas Theological Seminary where he began serving the Lord in 1968. Dr.Lightner is also adjunct professor of the theology at The Theological Seminary in Forth Worth-TX. He holds a Th.B.from Baptist Bible Seminary, a TH.M and Th.D.from Dallas Theological Seminary,and an M.L.A from Sothern Methodist University in Dallas. He is also author of numerous books on theology, apologetics, and prophecy, including Sin, Salvation, and the Savior; The Handbook of Evangelical Theology; and the Death Christ Died. He lives in Garland, TX.

Product Details

• Title: 1–3 John & Jude: Forgiveness, Love, and Courage
• Author: Robert Lightner
• Series: Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series
• Publisher: AMG
• Print Publication Date: 2003
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9780899578132, 0899578136
• Resource ID: LLS:WS_919680DC0963469B82BF1C8130EBC42C
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-08-30T23:56:18Z

About Robert Lightner

Dr. Robert Lightner joined the Dallas Seminary faculty in 1968 after teaching for seven years at Baptist Bible College/Seminary in Johnson City, New York, and also teaches at the Seminary’s extension sites. A professor of all the doctrines of Systematic Theology, Dr. Lightner has authored twenty-three books, most of which are about these doctrines. Since the 1950s he has helped struggling churches and/or ones seeking a pastor by serving as interim pastor thirty-three times at twenty-four churches in Pennsylvania, New York, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas. His overseas ministries include work in Venezuela, Peru, Paraguay, and London (Spurgeon’s Tabernacle).