Bible Study

Title: Love & Truth
Date: Oct 4, 2005
Topic(s): Love
Scripture: 2 John 1:3, John 14:6, 1 John 4:16, 2 John 1:1-2, John 3:3-11

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Two of the essentials of the Christian life required for us to become like Christ are balance and priorities. The life of Jesus always reflected both of those aspects. Because of that, He was never hurried, but never late; always trusting, but never presuming; always truthful, but always loving; always loving, but always truthful.

What Does God Say?

"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love" (2 John 1:3, NKJV).

The apostle John, Jesus' best friend on earth, links truth and love together. Why? Dr. Woodrow Kroll, on the radio program Back to the Bible, explains it like this:

You and I are not called as Christians to love indiscriminately. We are not asked to love everybody. We are not asked to love everything. Tolerance is one of the chief virtues of our postmodern era. It is not one of God's chief virtues. So, "love" for the Christian is always linked to "truth" for the Christian. We don't just love for the sake of loving; we love for the sake of truth.

This Scripture passage in 2 John is teaching us about balance (love and truth are inseparably intertwined) and priorities (you always begin with truth). If you begin with truth, you can find love. But if you begin with love, you never find truth.

My Thoughts

To gain a better understanding of the truth-love relationship, ask God to give you insight into these verses.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'" (John 14:6, NKJV).

• Why do you think love isn't mentioned here?

"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them" (1 John 4:16, NLT).

• Why do you think truth is not mentioned here?

"The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever" (2 John 1:1-2, ESV).

• What do these verses tell you about the truth-love relationship in our relationships?

Now read John 8:3-11. What does this story and Jesus' response say to you about the need for a biblical truth-love relationship?

My Part

Take a few moments and evaluate your relationships based on the balance of truth and love, prioritized by truth first.

• Your relationship with God.
• Your relationship with yourself.
• Your relationship with others.
• Your relationship with your church family.

If you are "heavy" in any of these areas on truth but weak on love, ask God to teach you how to take truth and live it out in love--and to show others in your church family how to do that.

If you are "heavy" in love but weak in truth, ask God to show you how that kind of love can be misguided, misdirected or misapplied because it is not based in truth.

Spend time in prayer expressing your gratitude for the truths of God, and for the love and appreciation that comes with living out His truths.

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