2 John 1:8

You have to watch out for those people. You see, we worked really hard to tell you the true message about Jesus. And if you believe that message, God will give you good things on the day when Jesus comes back. But if you start believing those liars, and you stop believing that true message, then God will not give you those good things, and our work will be for nothing.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

In Context

7You see, there are lots of people that say they are telling people God’s message, but they go around telling lies about Jesus. Those people say, “Jesus Christ did not come and live as a human being here on earth.” Those people are proper liars. They are enemies of Jesus Christ.

9You have to keep on believing the things that Jesus said. If anybody stops believing the things that Jesus said, or if anybody makes up new things about Jesus, they don’t belong to God. But everybody that keeps on believing in Jesus, they belong to God our father, and to his son Jesus.

Read all of 2 John 1

Cross References

Mark 13:9You have to watch out. You see, you follow me, but some people don’t like me, so they will not like you. They will grab you and take you to their leaders, and they will punish you. And people will beat you up in their meeting houses. They will take you to court, so that you will stand up in front of big leaders and big government bosses. Then you can tell everyone about me.

Luke 19:19His boss said, ‘Good. You did well too. So now I will give you a good job. I will make you the boss over 5 cities in this country.’

John 4:36Think again about food plants. A worker plants the seeds, and then after they grow up to be big plants, another worker gathers the food from them. And the owner pays both the worker that plants the seeds and the worker that gathers the food. That is a picture of God’s workers. One of them tells people God’s message, and later on, another worker will help those people to believe that message, so that God will take those people into his family and they will live with him for ever. Both of those workers will be really happy when they see people in God’s family, just like both of the workers in the picture story got paid for their work.

1 Corinthians 3:14If they did a good job, it will stay good a long time, like the good parts in the picture story. And if they did a good job, God will pay those good workers.

Matthew Henry on 2 John 1:8-10

Deceivers Condemned. ( a. d. 90.) 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. In this principal part of the epistle we find, I. The ill news… Read the whole commentary →

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