How important is your social standing? Will you do anything to defend your reputation? Does approval in your circle groups cause you to follow the crowd? Apostle John saw behaviors and conducts in people of his day that caused them to compromise on many levels.
John observed the religious leaders and rulers. He saw their hypocrisy. He knew these leaders and rulers believed in Jesus. Conversely, when it came to acknowledging Jesus and who He was openly and publicly, they could not do it. Unfortunately, they feared what would be thought of them if they followed Jesus and confessed who He was. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. Further, they knew if they openly confessed and followed Jesus , the Pharisees would have thrown them out of the synagogue. That meant excommunication for them.
This is a cautionary tale for us. The Bible says there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Many compromise when they are seeking the praises of people. Acceptance and fitting in cause people to be someone they are not. They hide and fear being shunned. On the other hand, some of them even confess God. Instead of them wanting God’s approval and validation, they seek it from man.
I have no doubt this verse made it into the Bible because we need to think about who we are trying to please. Satan will deceive us and have us think we are serving God because we do the traditions of our faith. We pray, go to church, serve on church committees, etc. These things are religious activities. They have nothing to do with our salvation. When our hearts are surrendered to God we are more concerned about His presence in our life. We cherish it. It means more to us than the praise of people… Amen. Love & Blessings!