Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

1 John 5. Day 198 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: 1 John 5 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Faith That Overcomes. Confidence in Eternal Life. Confidence in Prayer.

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." — 1 John 5:11

First John 5 closes the letter by bringing together faith, obedience, love, and assurance. John says that everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and that faith is what overcomes the world. Our confidence is not found in our own strength, but in the Son of God. John makes the message unmistakably clear: eternal life is found in Jesus Christ. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son does not have life. John writes so that believers can know, not merely hope, that they have eternal life.

John also gives us confidence in prayer. "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Prayer is not a way of forcing God to follow our plans. It is learning to bring our desires under His will and trusting that He hears us as a loving Father. The chapter ends with a simple but serious command: "Guard yourselves from idols." Anything that takes the place in our hearts that belongs to Christ can become an idol. First John 5 leaves us with a strong foundation: believe in the Son, rest in the eternal life He gives, pray with confidence, and keep Jesus at the center of everything.

1 John 4. Day 197 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: 1 John 4 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Testing the Spirits. God Is Love. Perfect Love Drives Out Fear.

"We love because he first loved us." — 1 John 4:19

First John 4 begins with a call to discernment. John tells believers not to believe every spirit, but to test what they hear because false teachers are in the world. The central question is what they say about Jesus Christ. Truth matters, and not everything that sounds spiritual comes from God. John then reminds us that believers have confidence because "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." Our security does not come from being clever enough to detect every lie. It comes from belonging to Christ and remaining grounded in the truth He has given us.

John then moves to the heart of the chapter: God is love. We know what love is because God showed it to us by sending His Son so that we might live through Him. His love came first. That means Christian love is never simply a feeling or personality trait. It is a response to the love we have already received from God. John says that perfect love drives out fear and then gives us the simple foundation for everything: "We love because he first loved us." First John 4 reminds us to hold tightly to the truth about Jesus and to let the love of God become visible in the way we treat others.

1 John 3. Day 196 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

 

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: 1 John 3 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Children of God. A Life Transformed by Christ. Love That Moves Beyond Words.

"See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children—and we are!" — 1 John 3:1

First John 3 opens with a remarkable reminder of our identity in Christ. We are not merely forgiven sinners. We are children of God! And when Christ appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. That future hope should shape the way we live today. John explains that those who have been born of God cannot remain comfortable in a settled pattern of sin. He is not suggesting that believers never stumble, but that genuine faith produces a changed direction. Jesus came to take away our sins and destroy the works of the devil. Grace does not simply change our standing before God. It changes the way we live.

John then brings everything back to love. He points to the cross as the ultimate definition of love: "He laid down his life for us." If Christ loved us sacrificially, our love for others must become more than words. John challenges believers to respond when they see a brother or sister in need rather than closing their hearts. Love is not merely something we feel or say. It is something we do. First John 3 reminds us that our identity as God's children should be visible in both holiness and love. We do not love others to become children of God. We love because we are His children, and His love is transforming us from the inside out.

1 John 2. Day 195 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year
 

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: 1 John 2 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Jesus Our Advocate. Walking as Jesus Walked. Abiding in the Truth.

"The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked." — 1 John 2:6

First John 2 begins with one of the most comforting truths in Scripture. John tells believers that he is writing so they will not sin, but he immediately reminds us what happens when we do: "We have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one." Jesus does not abandon us when we stumble. He stands as our righteous advocate, and His sacrifice is the basis of our forgiveness. Grace is never permission to continue in sin, but it is the assurance that our hope rests in Christ rather than our ability to live perfectly. John then makes it clear that genuinely knowing Jesus should produce a growing desire to obey Him. We cannot separate loving Christ from following Christ.

John continues by bringing that obedience into our relationships. The command to love one another is not new, yet it takes on new depth through the life and example of Jesus. Anyone who claims to walk in the light while hating a brother or sister is still walking in darkness. Our love for God must become visible in how we treat people. John also warns us not to love the world or the things in it. He is not telling us to stop loving people or enjoying God's creation. He is warning against a worldly system built around sinful desires, pride, and values that compete with devotion to the Father. The world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

The chapter closes with a warning about false teachers who deny the truth about Jesus. John calls believers to remain in what they heard from the beginning rather than chasing every new spiritual claim. The truth of the gospel does not need to be improved upon. We have been given the Son, and in Him we have fellowship with the Father and the promise of eternal life. First John 2 challenges us to examine both our beliefs and our lives. Are we walking as Jesus walked? Are we loving as He loved? Are we remaining in the truth He revealed? The Christian life is not about simply knowing the right answers. It is about knowing Christ, remaining in Him, and allowing His truth and love to shape the way we live every day.

1 John 1. Day 194 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: 1 John 1 (CSB) Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
The Word of Life. Walking in the Light. The Faithfulness of God's Forgiveness.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." — 1 John 1:9

First John opens with a beautiful reminder that Christianity is rooted in a real person, not simply a collection of religious ideas. John writes about Jesus as the Word of life, the One he had heard, seen with his own eyes, and touched with his own hands. The eternal Son of God had entered human history, and John was an eyewitness. He shares this testimony so that others might experience fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. At the heart of the Christian faith is an invitation into a real relationship with the living God, and John says that this fellowship brings complete joy.

John then introduces one of the central themes of his letter: "God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him." Because God is perfectly holy, those who belong to Him cannot claim fellowship with Him while deliberately walking in darkness. Walking in the light does not mean we never struggle with sin. It means we are no longer trying to hide from God or pretend that our sin does not matter. We bring our lives into His light, allow His truth to expose what needs to change, and continue depending on the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Genuine fellowship with God changes the way we live and the way we relate to one another.

The chapter closes with one of the most encouraging promises in Scripture. John says that claiming to be without sin is self-deception, but confessing our sin opens the way to forgiveness and cleansing. We do not have to cover up what Christ came to forgive. God's faithfulness and righteousness are the foundation of His promise, and the sacrifice of Jesus is what makes that forgiveness possible. First John 1 reminds us that the Christian life is not about pretending to be perfect. It is about living honestly before a holy and gracious God. Stop hiding what Jesus already died to forgive. Walk in the light, confess what needs to be confessed, and rest in the faithful mercy of the God who cleanses us from all unrighteousness.