Like much of the New Testament, John's three letters were written to deal with pressing difficulties being experienced in the first-century churches. False teachers, whom John calls 'antichrists', were denying fundamental Christian truths and deeply troubling the Christians whom the aged apostle loved and called his 'little children'. John writes with warmth, seriousness, and urgency to correct this situation. He shows that sound doctrine is vital, not only to the well-being of Christians, but to their very existence, since error leads to deception, darkness, and ultimately the destruction of those who embrace it. The message of John's letters is of perennial relevance, and especially important in our own day. Ian Hamilton's concise commentary provides a warmly pastoral explanation of John's timeless message, pointing the reader to the Word made flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the answer to all problems in the church, whether in the first or the twenty-first century.
