“An Old Book with a New Message”
1 John 2:8 KJV
[8] Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
Reading the Bible can sometimes be a mystery. John announces in verse seven that he is not writing a new commandment but an old commandment from the beginning. Now in verse eight, he announces he is writing a new commandment. This seems to be contradictory. However, when you read John’s message it lines up perfectly with the message of Jesus. The gospel of John and the epistle of John coincide.
John reveals both the light and the life that is within the message. The Bible is the only book that is old, yet its message is always new. It is new to the sinner who has never heard it. The Bible is new to the sinner who has often heard it but has for the first time believed it. The Bible is new to the believer every time he or she opens it and reads it. Every day this old book has a new message for our lives. The Bible is new for current and future events. It’s older than any book on the shelf but is more up to date than the newspaper that will run tomorrow.
This is how John could say in one verse that he is writing an old commandment, and then in the next verse say he is writing a new commandment. Our Bible is an old book with a new message. The life and light of this book is what makes it new every time it is read or spoken. This should encourage us to stay in the book because it gives light for all avenues of life. Though the message is old it can still be new to you today if you will read and study it. Take the time to share it with someone who has never heard or received this message.