Although Paul is being held prisoner by the Roman government, he views himself as a prisoner of Christ. Because he understands his identity in Jesus, he can endure hardship with dignity and power.

If we can also be clear on our identity in Christ, we can endure injustice and suffering with hope, and we can live vulnerably in community with others.

Onesimus is living proof of Paul’s commitment to the gospel. However, Paul knows it’s important for him to be reconciled to Philemon.

God modeled vulnerability when he created us by giving us the choice to reject him. He further demonstrated his willingness to be vulnerable by sending Jesus to take on our sin.

After many years of living in prideful self-sufficiency and sin, the Edomites come under God’s judgment.

We often question God’s judgment of others. However, as his creation, we are not in a position to judge the Creator. We can trust that his judgments are good and true.

It’s also difficult to understand why God allows evil in the world. Yet we know he is patient and kind—allowing all people space and time to repent and turn to him.

A future day of judgment is coming. While we may be able to make our lives work without Jesus, we cannot endure death without Jesus.

Because Jesus absorbed God’s judgment for us, as believers, we can live with hope that on that day, God will make all things right.

Many in Jude’s audience have believed the lie that God’s grace allows them to live immoral lives. However, when God’s boundaries are violated, he judges swiftly and sternly.

Even as believers, we will have desires that oppose God’s desires. However, we are not our own authority—self-denial is core to the gospel.

False teachers claim authority within themselves. They are marked by boasting and flattery.

Any time we bend our lives around our own desires, we become slaves to those desires.

We are called to invest in our faith—to point one another to the truth that God set aside his privilege, grew a body, and denied himself to redeem us.

As John warns believers against false teachers, he is clear that the truth is external—it comes from Jesus. Truth is a person.

We need a steady diet from God of what is true, both individually by spending time in God’s Word, and corporately by processing the truth together. If the truth is not in us, it cannot drive us.

Truth, love, and obedience are all connected. We love one another by pointing each other to the truth and obeying God’s commands.

False teaching undercuts the gospel and creates room for sin. Any time you orient your life around a belief that is not from God, it’s dangerous.

In order to guard against false teachers, we have to admit we are susceptible to their lies.

Just as John received discipleship from Jesus, so he is passing on that investment and legacy into Gaius. We should also be actively investing in others.

John calls his audience to receive the traveling teachers with hospitality—to absorb their burdens. When we open up our lives to meet the needs of others, it’s draining, but this is what Jesus did for us.

Because he idolizes leadership and position, Diotrephes is promoting himself rather than God. We should be a church of people who don’t need to go first.

The essence of the gospel is that God changes us, and as a result, we obey him out of a heart of love. There is an inherent connection between who we are and how we live.