8 Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.
I like this verse too. In our day and age there are so many things that could lead us down the wrong path and then we would loose all of what we have worked for and strived for and start all over. But if we dont it says here we will be rewarded in full.

As Christians, the temptations of this world could cause us to be lead astray, and our passion for everything we have worked for to die down. I know that I definitely want to be directed and guided down the right path, and I know that God will do that! We will be rewarded for the decisions we make, and for living for God daily and carrying out his commands, etc…

This is verse that is all over the Bible. If we are obedient to God we are loving others. If we say that we are obeying God but don’t love those around us then we are lying to ourselves and others. Therefor being a hypocrite.

Each day has its new challenges and obstacles that we have to get over. We need to make sure that our main focus is God and that we keep that focus. There is going to be many temptations but we have to remember that there is always a way out if we have Jesus. If we keep all this in mind, we will be rewarded in heaven (=

I would have to echo what Bobby said about “falling away from christianity”, as i have sadly had to see it happen in my own household. It is sooo vital to continue to do self-checks in your faith, and to read and apply God’s word daily!! We show our love for the Lord by obeying His commands, and we have to make sure we are doing that in our daily routines. :D

Because the truth lives in Christians we cannot live in a continual pattern of sin. The truth will convict us and we will turn from our fleshly desires. Also the truth will be with us forever. We cannot loose our salvation.

this is pretty intense.it could be looked at as how hunter described, or like this:
we need to be careful with who we are close to, etc…although we need to love even non belivers, and share the gospel with them, we need to make sure we arent sinking to their level.
ANALOGY:

imagine two people.one is standing on a chair.one is next to the chair on the ground.the person on the chair tries to pull the person on the ground up to thier level….okay thats hard.now…the person on the ground grabs the person on the chairs hand, and pulls them down…how simple is that.
we need to stand guard and be careful and know that we need to keep building up our faith so that we can determine who is a false teacher and who is correct.

Our faith is shown through whether or not we continue the work of Christ. if our faith is legit, we will teach others about Christ. If it is not, then we will keep to ourselves and just go with the flow. We need to make sure we are sharing what Christ has done for us every chance we get.

I feel so convicted by this verse because I can find myself during the day not being loving towards my brother and sister.

i like how John makes it very clear that love should be a big part of our walk with Christ. all throughout 1 John he says that love is from God, and if we do not know God and are not in a personal realtionship with Him, we are incapable of sacrificial, true love. in this chapter he reinfroces love, love for Christ our brothers and sisters as well as love for Christ, in obeying his commands. John is clear that if we really love God, we will obey his commands. i like how in this verse John says that love is not a new command, but one that is from the beginning. clearly if we are Christians than love for others, especially God and Christ, will play a big role in our lives

Like Spencer said, we have to be carefull when it comes to being sure to go to church and bible reading. It’s really easy to stop going toi church or stop reading the bible. John wants to make clear that the reason why we want to make sure we don’t lose these things is because we will be rewarded in heaven for these things. That’s why it’s so important to keep doing what we are doing.

Every chapter John makes it clear that love and obedience is key to becoming like Christ and living for Him. When something is mentioned several times in the Bible it is really important to pay close attention and make sure that we are following what it is saying. Our love for others and obedience toward God is what is going to make us stand out from all who say that they are Christians but are truly not.

Starting each day and choosing to live it for Christ is a daily battle. We can easily get into a slump of not going to church, or not reading our Bible that could cause us to give into the desires of the world. That is why we have to discipline ourselves so that we can keep the revival going.

If we even associate with false teachers or “welcome” them into our lives, then this verse says that we will be working along side, in this case, a false prophet. I think that this verse can also be applied to our battle with sin, if we even welcome it’s presence into our Christian walk then we share in the work of Satan; which is disobedience towards God. We need to constantly be fighting sin so that when other people see us they will associate us with God and not Satan.

One of the sermons I preached when we first went through 1 John was called “Christians Stay Christians.” If someone falls away from the faith this shows us that they were never really a Christian to begin with. Sadly, this happens to so many people who go to youth group in high school and then bail on Christianity in college. This is why it is so important that we make sure we are Christians now and establish patters of love and obedience so that we will continue to walk with Christ in the future, even when the temptations are more severe and the trials more difficult.

The books that John wrote in the Bible make it very clear that we are to love others and obey Christ’s commands. The mark of a true believer can be seen in these two things: love and obedience. We should check our hearts to be sure that love and obedience characterize our lives.

In a world that is increasingly corrupt, we need to stand strong in Christ. Following Christ’s commands is not easy, and many who are at first attracted to Christianity fall away after a time. Others fall into false doctrine and are led astray from the Truth. But we need to cling to the Truth – Christ – and persevere through the trials that will inevitably come, so that when we have stood the test, we “will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).