“Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. The one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” 2 John 1:9 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/2jn.1.9.LSB

What does it mean to abide in the teachings of Christ? The word abide means to dwell, live in, and remain with or continue with. So our salvation begins with Christ, the repentance of our sins, and the reception of His forgiveness earned for us by His sacrifice on the cross and transferred to us by faith. This is the beginning of our relationship with Christ. It is to culminate in our obedience to everything He has commanded us. This is the need of the hour in the church today. We pray for Jesus to become our Savior but cease to pursue Jesus as Lord. Upon beginning our relationship with Jesus, we must continue learning about Him daily from the Scriptures. Through personal readings, then meeting with others in the church, we pursue knowing Jesus to obey Jesus in everything He has commanded us. The Apostle warns that those who fail to follow Jesus consistently through the Scriptures do not have God. Indeed, it would appear many who say they are Christian do not have God by their failure to do the work of God in the world, which is the teaching of everyone everywhere everything Jesus has commanded while living those commands so that all people everywhere are attracted to the goodness and wisdom of God. Our world lacks righteousness because the people of God lack righteousness, resulting from our ignoring Jesus daily by lack of study, discussion, and application of His teachings. If we would prove to the world Jesus is alive, then we would live lives in obedience to everything He commands as they are recorded for us in God’s word for just such a purpose.