This is a very fierce chapter. The writer takes aim at 'false prophets', and doesn't spare them. They teach 'destructive, untrue doctrines' which lead them and their followers into immorality; they are 'bold and arrogant...

At the end of his second letter, Peter reminds his readers of something fundamental. The world they think is secure, in which tomorrow will be the same as yesterday and any change is likely to be for the better, isn't really like that at all.

John continues to unpack the implications of believing in Jesus. Here, he focuses on what this means for our behaviour towards other people. How we treat others is the test of whether we are really who we say we are: 'This is how we can be sure ...

Chapter 4 of John's first letter repeats the theme that's at the heart of all Christian living: that God has reached out to us before we reached out to him. Love 'comes from God' (verse 7); love is 'not that we have loved God...

Have you ever wondered if you’ve gone too far or sinned too repeatedly to be redeemed? Perhaps reading of ‘the sin that leads to death’ in verse 16 of this chapter fills you with anxiety. How can you be sure that you’ve been accepted and forg...

Even within the lifespan of people like the apostle John who were close followers of Jesus and witnessed first-hand his life, death and resurrection, there were false teachers travelling around and leading believers astray with a message other than t...

Churches in the Roman Empire faced many pressures, from the insidious effects of false teaching and worldly temptations to outright persecution. Christians were sent to Roman arenas to die, some of the apostles were executed and John was exiled in an...

Deuteronomy is framed as Moses' final warnings and commandments to the people before his death. Here, towards its beginning, there are the words that lie at the heart of the Jewish faith, recited every day by observant Jews as the Shema, beginni...

Ecclesiastes 2 explores the ways people try to fill their lives, in pursuit of pleasure or possessions. The lifestyle of pursuing pleasure is called hedonism. The Preacher describes experimenting with a hedonistic lifestyle by laughing and drinking w...

The beginning of Ecclesiastes 6 should be read with Ecclesiastes 5 in mind. In verses 18–20 of chapter 5, the author speaks of someone who has wealth, food and work, with the ability to enjoy these things being the gift of God. In contrast, in chap...

This section of chapter 11 is another set of proverbs, focused on living well while we have the chance. Verse 1 is translated 'cast your bread upon the waters' in older translations; the GNB interprets this rightly as 'invest your mone...

In this chapter the author continues his reflections on Jesus as the Great High Priest. He is uniquely himself, rather than standing in the succession of priests descending from Aaron (verse 10); and unlike other high priests, he did not have to offe...

The last chapter of Colossians consists mainly of greetings and commendations which give us a window into the relationships Paul had with his fellow-workers. While he commends them all, he seems to have had a particular fondness for Aristarchus, Mark...

On first reading it might seem that Ecclesiastes is expressing a deeply nihilistic worldview. This is especially noticeable in the repeated phrase 'all is vanity' or 'chasing after the wind'. In the original Hebrew this phrase mea...

Chapter 3 begins by considering that there is a certain time for everything, including the right time to sow and reap, or work and enjoy the results of work. Many people make their self-worth dependent on their work – on what they can achieve, how ...

Ecclesiastes 4 starts by talking about oppression. We know that from God's perspective oppression is bad because the Bible talks about this several times. But Ecclesiastes is examining a worldview in which God is out of the picture. From this pe...

Ecclesiastes 5 goes in a different direction from the previous chapters. It talks about taking seriously what we promise to do for God. Its main message is when you make a vow to God, 'do not delay to fulfil it' (verse 4).

Ecclesiastes is one of the books of the Bible known as ‘Wisdom' books – Proverbs is another. Just as Proverbs 4.5 implores us to ‘get wisdom’, Ecclesiastes 7 talks about the value of wisdom. Wisdom is held up to be as ‘good as receivin...

The book of Ecclesiastes seems to concentrate on how to get by in the world without too much trouble – though when we dig below the surface, we find there's more to it than that.

Some parts of Ecclesiastes can seem like a very bleak read. 'A live dog is better than a dead lion', says the Preacher (verse 4); at least while we're alive we can eat, drink and be cheerful, but when we're dead we're dead.