2 John 1:8
“Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The elder warns them to watch themselves so they do not lose what has been worked for, but receive a full reward.
What Does 2 John 1:8 Mean?
In light of the deceivers, the elder gives a clear charge: 'Look to yourselves.' He calls his readers to watchful care, lest the spiritual progress already made — 'those things which we have wrought' — be lost through carelessness or deception. The labor of faith can be undermined if one drifts from the truth.
Yet the word is finally hopeful, aimed at a 'full reward.' The goal is not bare survival but the complete blessing God intends for those who endure. For the reader, this is a call to spiritual seriousness without anxiety: guard what God has begun in you, stay near the truth about Christ, and look ahead to the fullness God is keeping for the faithful.
In the Original Language
misthos (μισθός), 'reward' — wages or recompense, the rightful return given for faithful labor.