Review: Let’s Study the Letters of John

The Let’s Study is a series of paperbacks written to help ordinary Christians to read, understand, and apply God’s Word to their lives. Ian Hamilton has written an excellent addition to the collection, on the three letters of John. Although only 130 pages long there is a wealth of good, sound teaching in its pages.

The apostle John wrote these three letters as a pastor to his people. His love for them shines through. He wants to protect them from heresies of false teachers and see them grow in their knowledge and love of the Lord.

In addition Mr Hamilton writes with a pastor’s heart as he carefully explains what the letters mean and then gently applies their message to his readers. He is sure footed in his interpretation and clear in his application. Where needed, the author explains the meaning of the original Greek in a non-technical way. Many chapters are a model of clear concise statements of Bible truth. Chapter 8 is a fine example, where he deals with the thorny subject of antichrists. The book is sprinkled with pithy quotations from others and appropriate illustrations.

The 32 chapters are short – the longest would take less than 10 minutes to read – so the book would be ideal to use during daily devotions. It would also help teachers and preachers preparing messages on these letters.

There is a very useful chapter on how to lead group Bible studies and suggested questions to ask at such meetings. It is worth buying the book just for the advice to leaders on how to deal with both the “over-talkative”, the “over-silent” and “red-herring raisers”!

This review was first published on GoodBookReviews.org.uk. The site has been closed as of March 2019.