01. To the Chosen Lady and Her Children
02. To My Dear Friend Gaius
More from (probably) the same author:
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Love in the Truth - 2&3 John
01. To the Chosen Lady and Her Children
02. To My Dear Friend Gaius
“To My Dear Friend Gaius” [Matt's Messages]
Love in the Truth - 2&3 John
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
January 12, 2025 :: 3 John 1:1-14
The “Old Man” wrote another letter.
Last week, we said that the author of 2 John and 3 John–who I believe is also the author of 1 John and the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation– refers himself as “The Elder.”
And that could be because he is now old. I think he probably is old, but he’s also an elder, meaning a mature church leader (Greek: “presbuteros”). Perhaps a leader of leaders. He’s “the elder” meaning in his role as an apostle, he’s helping to oversee several churches in that part of the world. He’s the Grand Old Man who has been keeping on his eye on the churches.
Last week, we read a letter the Old Man sent “to the Chosen Lady and her children” which was probably a fancy way of addressing a particular local church and its members.
But now the Old Man has written another letter (perhaps bound up in a packet with 1 John and 2 John, we don’t know ), and this letter (which we call 3 John) is addressed to just one person. Look at verse 1.
“The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.”
There’s that phrase again, “whom I love in the truth.” John loved the whole church in the truth in 2 John. Here he loves Gaius in the truth.
And, boy, does he love him! He calls Gaius, “my dear friend” or in Greek it’s one word “agapayto” which means simply “beloved.” Somebody I love. Not romantically but genuinely from the heart.
He cares deeply about Gaius. He calls him this four times in this short letter! Verse 1, verse 2, verse 5, and verse 11.
“Dear friend.”
“Dear friend.”
“Dear friend.”
“Dear friend.”
Agapayto! “I love this guy!”
We don’t know much about Gaius in general. That was a very popular name in the Roman empire. Like “John” is to us! There are at least four guys with this name in the New Testament (Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians), and we’re not sure that any of them are this Gaius.
What we do know is that John loved him! And he loved him in the truth.
Remember, truth and love go together like peanut butter and what? Chocolate!
You can’t have real love without the truth. And you can’t have real truth without real love. Sometimes we like one of those things more than the other. But both are crucial. John says that he loves Gaius in the truth. Meaning he truly loves him, that’s going to be obvious. But also that he loves Gaius with the truth, or because of the truth, because they have the truth in common. They are both IN the truth. They live in the truth. They live on the truth. The love that John has for his friend Gaius is completely based upon the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We’re going to see that John uses that word “truth” again and again in this short letter. Shortest book in the Bible and the word “truth” appears six times! The Old Man has written a letter to his dear friend Gaius whom he loves in the truth.
He really loves him. It’s obvious from the beginning of the letter and the end (and everything in between). Let’s look at the end first because we said last week that it was very similar to the end of 2 John, but we ran out of time to look at it closely there. John says pretty much the same thing to the Chosen Lady and to Gaius. Verse 13.
“I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.”
John sure wishes that he could be with Gaius. He’s got lots to say, but he doesn’t just want to use social media! He doesn’t just want to text Gaius or comment on Gaius’ Facebook or Zoom with Gaius. He doesn’t just want to write Gaius a letter and put in the mail. Those things are good! But they are not as good as face to face.
By the way, that’s one of the reasons why I’m not a big fan of trying to put church online. It’s okay to do that. Technology can help with all kinds of things. John was using the technology of his day (v.13)–pen and ink. It’s okay if you have to use that for a time. I love our radio station out to the parking lot. The bulletin says we’ve been doing it for 4 years now! If you are sick or if you are very concerned about catching something or if you need for a short time to just listen and not be overwhelmed by people, then it’s there for you. I’ve used it several times myself.
But it’s no substitute for “face to face.” John knew that in the first century, and we need to remember it in 21st.
John wanted to be with Gaius. And wanted peace for him. Like last week for the whole church, “grace, mercy, and peace.”
And John sends his greetings and the greetings of the whole church. Verse 14. “The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.”
Personal greetings! Those are so important. The older I get the more I understand how important and powerful personal greetings really are. By name. John might not use his own name, but he names four guys in this short letter.
There is so much genuine Christian affection here. Do you greet other Christians both here at church and at other times? Do you learn the names of the Christians around you and greet each other with them when we meet? And the rest of the week when you see each other around town? That’s all part of loving one another in the truth. You see how it’s a command here? It’s not optional!
Some Sunday, I might just stand up here and greet each of you by name and that be the message for that Sunday!
You see what John prays for Gaius? Look at verse 2. John loves Gaius in the truth, and this is what he prays for him. Verse 2.
“Dear friend [Agapayte, Beloved], I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”
John prays for Gaius' health–both his physical health and his spiritual health. His physical well-being and as well as his spiritual well-being. Do you see that? That’s what it means to pray in love in truth.
I think a lot of us like to pray for one or the other of those. We like to pray for everybody’s health. There are a lot of health related prayer requests, aren’t there? Cancer, infections, broken bones, dementia–all of that. And sometimes we can so fixated on praying for someone’s health and miss their heart! We can forget that our all of our bodies are going to break down at some point and die. Every one of us. But our souls will continue forever. So we should be praying about our souls! We should be praying for each other’s hearts.
At the same time, our bodies matter, too! John prays for Gaius’ physical health in verse 2. Sometimes, we act like our bodies don’t matter, and we look down our noses at prayer requests for physical health and healing. But John just does them both together. The soul is more important, but they are both important to pray for. That’s what Christians do when we love in the truth.
John is so glad that Gaius is doing so well. Especially spiritually. John has recently heard some stories about Gaius, and they were very very very encouraging to the Old Man. Look at verse 3.
“It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
I have three points today to summarize what I think John wants for and from his “dear friend Gaius,” and this is the first one:
#1. WALK IN THE TRUTH.
Which was the first point last week, too, in 2 John. The Old Man wanted this for the Chosen Lady and her children, and he was so happy to find out that Gaius was doing it, too!
“It gave me great joy...how you continue to walk in the truth.”
“Keep it up, Gaius! You are ‘doing the thing.’ Your life matches the truth. Your ethics correspond to the truth. You have integrated the truth into your life. You’ve found out what the truth is and you are living as if it’s true (which it is!). Well done, you!”
Apparently, John has been visiting with some brothers in Christ who had recently been with Gaius, and they were telling John all about Gaius and how he lived.
By the way, that’s not gossip. These were loving reports to someone who was a kind of spiritual parent about their spiritual children. It wasn’t bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart.
And, in fact, it was good news! Gaius has been living the Christian life, and it’s been obvious.
Wouldn’t you love it if someone was giving a good report about your life to your spiritual parent? I sure would! And it just filled the Old Man’s heart with joy! V.4
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Now, I don’t think that Gaius was John’s biological son, though I suppose it’s possible. If so, I think he would have actually called him, “son.” I think that Gaius was John’s spiritual son. Perhaps John had introduced Gaius to Jesus in the first place. Perhaps he had been discipling him. Either way, he thought of Gaius and people like him as his children in the faith.
Do you have people like that in your life? People that you have been responsible for spiritually? It could be your own biological children, your adopted children, a Sunday School class you taught, someone you met with one-on-one to for prayer and encouragement.
I hope that soon everyone here would have someone that you have influenced enough that you would be full of joy to hear that they are walking in the truth!
And to be sadly disappointed to hear that they are not. Let me say this. As your pastor, I have no greater joy than when I see or hear of you walking in the truth. It’s fun to have a big full building on a Sunday morning. Praise God for how we have grown in attendance. But that doesn’t matter if we aren’t living it out Monday through Saturday.
If we are sinfully gossiping about each other.
If we are stealing from our employers.
If we are having sex outside of marriage.
If we are cheating on our taxes.
If we are fighting with other Christians.
If we are accessing porn.
If we are worshiping idols like money and popularity and power.
I have no greater sadness than to hear that my children are not walking in the truth but are walking in lies.
It makes a pastor sad when one of his sheep die, yes, but it is so much more heartbreaking when one of his sheep run away from the path of righteousness. If you are not walking in the truth, now is the time to repent and start. If you are walking in the truth, praise God from Whom all blessings flow! I have no greater joy as a pastor than to hear and see that.
Now, what exactly was Gaius doing that got reported back to the Elder? It sounds like Gaius was showing Christian hospitality to other disciples of Jesus who were traveling through the area carrying the gospel to the world. In other words, he was supporting missions.
If you remember, last week we said that the church when it was young sent brothers and sisters in Christ all over the place sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. It wasn’t just Paul and his team, though he was probably the greatest of them in that era. And there were no “Embassy Suites” or “Courtyard by Marriott” back in that day. When you visited a town, you often stayed in homes.
And if you stayed in a home, we said last week, that meant that your hosts were endorsing you, supporting you, giving credence to your message. John warned the Chosen Lady and her children to not receive or welcome or support false teachers who said that Jesus Christ had NOT come in the flesh.
But the opposite is also true! Here John says that we should receive, and welcome, and support those who believe and teach the truth! Look at verse 5.
“Dear friend [Agapayte, Beloved], you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. [He didn’t know them until now. But they believed the truth. And so Gaius took them in. And they have come back to John with a good report. Verse 6.] They have told the church about your love.”
Remember that point number two last week was “Walk in Love?” Gaius was doing that! He was loving these Christian brothers in a tangible way, and John wanted to encourage that more and more. Verse 6.
You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. [What a thing to say!] It was for the sake of the Name [Jesus Christ!] that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth” (vv.6-9).
That’s point number two this morning of what the Old Man wanted from his dear friend Gaius.
#2. WORK TOGETHER FOR THE TRUTH.
Walk in the truth and work together for the truth of the gospel.
Gaius knew that we have all been given a mission, and we all have our own part to play in that mission.
You know we have a mission, right? Jesus gave us the Great Commission. To make disciples of all nations, baptizing new disciples in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching the new disciples to “walk in the truth” (to obey what Jesus has commanded us) (see Matthew 28:19-20).
That’s our mission, and it’s all of our mission–not just the missionaries. Not just the pastors. Not just the elders. Every single disciple!
And some of us are called to GO. About 17 of us are planning to go this summer to Kentucky, taking the gospel and rolling up our sleeves and getting to work on flood relief.
I’m praying that more of us would be called to GO in the days to come. But even when we are not called to go, we are called to SEND. Verse 6 again.
“You will do well to SEND them on their way in a manner worthy of God.”
For those Christians, it was Gaius having them in his home, and then giving them something to get to the next town on. Maybe for you and me it’s giving our regular offering to the church here to speed those people on the back wall to their next town. Darla could tell you the exact numbers, but it’s between 25 and 30 percent of all the money given here goes out into missions from this church. So if you gave a dollar today when you came in, at least a quarter of that won’t stay here even to fund my salary or Jordyn’s or to keep the lights and the heat up. It’s leaving here and going to support the work of the gospel “in a manner worthy of God” out there.
Or maybe on top of your giving through this church you have missionaries that you support personally.
Missionaries go out for the sake of the Name (v.7). And they need us to support and SEND them. And when they are coming back through to show them hospitality.
That is so important! Have you ever taken a missionary out to dinner? Have you ever had one in your home? If not, you are missing out. You are missing out on a blessing. You are missing out on being a blessing and working together for the truth. And you are missing out on receiving a blessing, too. What a blessing it was to have Fred and Cindy here back in October, wasn’t it?
Hospitality so important in the New Testament. It often gets overlooked, but do a word search some time on “hospitality” on your Bible app, and you’ll see that Christians are supposed to use our homes and other resources for the sake of our gospel mission. And we are missing the mark and missing out if we don’t.
Sadly, that was true of a man named “Diotrephes.” He was not working together for the truth. Look what John says about him in verse 9.
“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.”
Yikes! How would you like to show up like that in a letter from the Old Man?!
John has sent a letter to this church (probably the same one as Gaius was in but it’s not clear, perhaps it’s the letter of 2 John to the Chosen Lady and her children, we’re not sure), but what we are sure about is that this guy Diotrephes has ignored the letter and the Elder who wrote it!
“Diotrephes...will have nothing to do with us.”
In fact, it’s worse than that. He’s been bad-mouthing the Old Man. V.10
“So if I come, I will call attention to what he [Diotrephes] is doing, gossiping maliciously about us [talking nonsense, spreading destructive lies about John]. Not satisfied with that, he [[Diotrephes] refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church” (vv.9-10).
He’s not just “not working together for the truth,” he’s actively doing the opposite!
He refuses to support the gospel-sharing missionaries, and he gets in the way of fellow Christians who want to support them! He actually kicks them out of the church. That’s what we call “a church boss.”
These are some of the worst kinds of unhealthy Christians. Those who actively oppose the true work of the true gospel while still trying to act like a church leader. Ugh and Yuck!
What was his problem? In verse 9, John diagnosed his heart. He says that Diotrephes loved to be first. e loved prominence and preeminence and power. And nothing will tear apart a church faster than that.
And you know what I worry about when I read verses 9 and 10? I don’t worry about encountering a Diotrephes at Lanse Free Church. I worry about BECOMING a Diotrephes at Lanse Free Church. Because I know how tempting it can be for me to love to be first.
That’s why John says what he says in verse 11.
“Dear friend [Agapayte, Beloved], do not imitate what is evil but what is good.”
Don’t be like Diotrephes.
The biggest reason why John brings this guy up is to warn Gaius to not become like him. John will deal with him. When he gets to be with them face-to-face, he will call him out. They will get this sorted. But John is most concerned about Gaius. He doesn’t want Gaius to (v.11) “imitate what is evil but what is good.”
Let’s make that point number three and last.
#3. WATCH FOR GOOD EXAMPLES OF LIVING OUT THE TRUTH.
And imitate them! V.11
“Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”
That’s how important it is to walk in the truth. Because it shows whether or not we are actually the children of God. John says this kind of thing over and over again both in his Gospel (quoting Jesus) and in his letters, especially 1 John. The point is that if we genuinely are the children of God, it will show in how we live our lives. And so we should keep our eyes open for good examples of godly living and follow their example!
Like Demetrius, for example. Verse 12.
“Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone–and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.”
Now, we don’t know much about this Demetrius guy either. My guess is that he’s the one carrying this letter to Gaius. He’s the courier. And John is saying, Gaius (my beloved buddy), don’t be like Diotrephes, but do be like Demetrius. He’s one of the good guys. He’s a “good egg.” We all agree. He walks in the truth! So much so that you could say that the truth itself speaks well of Demetrius!
“And I, John, the Elder speak well of Demetrius, and you know I tell the truth!”
Do you see how important reputation is here? What everybody says about everybody else and whether or not it’s good? That’s really important. You can’t control your reputation. But you can you live in such a way as to gain a good one.
And keep your eyes out for those who have a good one. And learn from them.
Let me ask you this question as we close today:
Beloved, who are you imitating these days?
Who are you keying off of as a disciple of Jesus Christ? Whose life are you watching? Whose reputation are you paying attention to? So many are following some “celebrity influencer” out there. Some talking head on cable news, on social media. Is their example worth following? Pick your heroes carefully.
Are they a Diotrephes or a Demetrius?
I ask you this because I love you. I love you in the truth.
***
Messages in this Series:
01. To the Chosen Lady and Her Children
02. To My Dear Friend Gaius
Sunday, January 05, 2025
“To the Chosen Lady and Her Children”
Love in the Truth - 2&3 John
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
January 5, 2025 :: 2 John 1:1-13
When I was growing up, and leafing through my Bible during a boring sermon (something you can probably all relate to!), I would find these books towards the back, 1, 2, and 3 John, and I thought they were all written by different authors.
I thought it was this guy named "John" and this other guy named "John" and a third guy named "John," and they all wrote these short letters. 1, 2, 3 John.
But, I came to understand later that it’s much more likely that they were all written by the same John. In fact, they were probably written by the same John that wrote the Gospel of John which we studied all last year. John the Gospelwriter.
The style is the same, the substance is the same, and he uses the same words over and over again. Words like: Love, Truth, Command, Teach, Children, Walk, and Trust. Simple words but profound words. Like a little child can understand them, and yet an old person never gets to the bottom of them.
I think it’s the same John as who wrote the book we looked at last week, John the Revelator. The guy who ran with Peter to the tomb and who one day was exiled to a prison island. That guy named John.
Here he calls himself, “The Elder.”
This is a letter, and in those days, the author of a letter would put his or her name first. Like our emails do. Whom it’s from. John, who for a variety of reasons is fairly shy to use his name, put down, “The Elder.”
Which could mean “The Old Man.” That’s the basic meaning of the word “presbuteros” from which we get the word “presbyterian” like my Presbyterian pastor friend Dan here.
The older men in a village were those who would be called upon to lead. The older men in a church family were those who were called upon to lead the congregation. Not just any old men but those who were mature in their faith. We just had several of our church elders stand up here, and some of them are younger men, but they are mature Christian men who are called to lead the church in maturity.
John is speaking as one of them. As an elder. Probably an older elder.
Before he was exiled, John the Gospelwriter, John the Revelator, John the Elder wrote some letters to some of the people and the churches that he oversaw and loved.
A few years ago, we studied 1 John together, but we have never studied 2 and or 3 John during my time as your pastor. [Message update: I later found that I had preached a sermon on 3 John back in 2009!] So I thought it was high time we did that at the beginning of this year. This week, we’ll study 2 John, and next week, Lord-willing, we’ll look at 3 John. A very short series about the shortest two books in the whole Bible. 3 John is the shortest at 219 words in the original Greek. 2 John has 245. Not a big long treatise. Just a short little letter.
A letter to, and here’s our title for today from verse 1:
“To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth and not I only, but also all who know the truth–because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever.”
What a great start!
Who is this that John is writing to?
I’m not 100% sure, but I have a good idea. It’s kind of weird. John doesn’t use his own given name, and he doesn’t use the given names for his recipients either. Not sure why. Perhaps he thought the authorities might be reading his mail, and he didn’t want to get someone into trouble. In 3 John, we’ll see next week, he does use the name of the recipient.
Some people have thought that this was a lady’s name. The Greek word for “Chosen” is “Electay,” so some people have thought that John was writing to “Lady Electa and her children.” And that’s possible, but I think unlikely as you read the rest of the letter. It doesn’t seem like it was written to just one woman.
I think John is writing to a local church. The “Chosen Lady” is John’s fancy way of talking about a church family that John loves. And “her children” are the church members, the disciples from that church.
Maybe I should start calling you all, “The Chosen Lady of Lanse.”
Chosen.
Followers of Jesus Christ know that they are loved by God in particular, by name. We are wanted. We are known. We are loved. We are chosen. [See 1 Peter 1:1-2.] Not because of anything great about us but because of God’s great love.
God has placed His love on His people. And while we don’t understand how all of that works, especially with our own responsibility to choose Him, we know and draw great comfort from knowing that we are chosen in Christ.
Lady.
The church is often personified as a bride. On Thursday, Heather and I got to attend the wedding of Dan and Jen’s daughter Rachel in Meadville. It was glorious, and the bride was resplendent. Every bride is a picture of what the Church is supposed to be–the joyful, radiant, beloved of Christ. I think that John is using this kind of language to write to a particular local church that he loved to remind them that they are loved. Very loved. Loved, not just by John the Elder but by God Himself.
“To the chosen lady and her children.”
I think that’s a great place to start as we step into 2025. With the love of God.
Church, we are loved by God.
We sang about it this morning:
“For God so loved
The world that He gave us
His One and Only
Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him
Will live forever.”
- We The Kingdom (2020)
And those who believe in Him find that they were chosen to believe in Him before the foundation of the world (see Ephesians 1:1-14).
They are loved. Very loved. Beloved. You are loved. Very loved by God Himself.
If you are a believer, you are a child of the chosen lady, and this letter is for you.
John says that he loves this church. Look again at verse 1.
“The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth...”
That’s the name of our very short series because he says the exact same thing in 3 John.
“Whom I love in the truth.”
That could mean, “Whom I truly love.” But I think it means more.
I think he means that he loves them inside of and through the truth. His love is in the truth, and the truth leads him to love them.
It’s both/and not either/or.
Some of us like the word “love” better than we like the word “truth.” And some of us like the word “truth” better than we like the word “love.” But John likes them both the same at the same time.
They go together like peanut butter and...chocolate!
Love in the truth.
If you love someone in falsity, then you don’t really love them. If you love people with lies, you aren’t really loving them no matter what you say. And if you only care about the truth and not other people, then your truth is a lie. But John says that he loves the chosen lady and her children IN THE TRUTH.
And he’s not the only one. Verse 1 again. “...and not only I, but also all who know the truth.”
If you know the truth, then you love the church. John says (v.2) “...because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever.”
Now, you know that this is John writing because of how he circles and weaves around. John is not like Paul who says something and then presents all of his arguments for it and then moves on to the next thing. John circles and weaves and returns again and again to the same ideas and shows how they are all interconnected. Like a giant web.
Here, the focus is on the truth:
“All who know the truth...
Because of the truth...
The truth lives in us...
The truth will be with us forever.”
And because of that truth, we love in truth. Do you see how it’s all interconnected?
What is the truth?
Remember when Pontius Pilate asked that question?
Well, John taught us in his Gospel that Jesus said that He is the Truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” The truth is the way things really are. The truth of the good news of Jesus Christ is how the world actually is. And John says that, for believers, the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.
And we get more than that! Look at verse 3.
“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.”
Grace, mercy, and peace.
That’s my prayer for us in 2025. That we would experience grace (unmerited favor, getting what we don’t deserve and not getting what we do deserve), mercy (getting the help which we desperately need but couldn’t provide for ourselves), and peace (inner peace, peace with others, and peace with God) from God the Father and from Jesus Christ (and we know that where they are the Spirit is, too).
That we would have grace, mercy, and peace in truth and love. Doesn’t that just sound wonderful? John promises that it will be ours if we belong to Jesus. All of the grace, all of the mercy, and all of the peace that we need in Christ.
That’s how John starts his letter. That’s the “hello.”
Now, John says that he loves this chosen lady and her children. He loves them “in the truth.” And that means that he might have to say some hard things to them. If you love someone in the truth, then you tell them what they need to hear not just what they want to hear.
Especially if you are “the Elder,” and it’s your job to try to help keep the church on track.
John has some concerns. John is encouraged by some things about this church, and he’s got some worries for them, as well. He wants to make sure they stay on track. He has some things he wants them to do. nd I think that they are all very applicable and appropriate for us as we start a new year as a church, as well.
I’d like to summarize them in three points. Here’s number one.
#1. WALK IN THE TRUTH.
Look at verse 4.
“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.”
You want to know how to make the Old Man happy? Have him run into disciples who are truly living out what Jesus taught us. Walk in the truth.
Apparently, John has encountered some of the children of the chosen lady (some of the disciples from that church). And they were "doing the thing!" They were “walking in the truth,” that is, that they were believing the truth and living in light of the truth. These disciples were obviously living the way that Jesus had taught them. They had received the gospel and were living as though it were true (which it is!). I call that “doing the thing.”
They weren’t just talking the talk, they were walking the walk. They were “doing the thing.”
And that just made John as overjoyed as the wise man seeing the star above where the baby was!
Hooray! These “kids” are following the gospel! These “kids” are living it out. Their lifestyle, their ethical conduct, their life choices reflected the truth that have been taught. Nothing makes a Christian pastor happier than to see disciples living like disciples. Christ-followers living like Christ-followers. Men and women conforming their life to the truth.
This wedding we were at on Thursday is a good example. Both Danny and Rachel were student athletes at Grove City College. Rachel was a swimmer ,and Danny was on the lacrosse team (whatever that is). And they had like all of their teammates at this wedding. Four years worth of two big teams at this one wedding. There were so many young people. There was like 250 people at this wedding and at last 100 of them were young adults! And they were so happy for Danny and Rachel.
And many of them [most of them?] were followers of Jesus Christ.
So when Pastor Dan (Pastor Dad) gave the wedding message, they were all nodding away in agreement. Dan was talking about this new couple building their marriage on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. Danny’s last name is Stone, so they were “setting the stones” for their marriage. Get it? And this whole group of young people were enthusiastically on board with this teaching.
I’m sure that was encouraging to you, Dan and Jen. It gave you great joy.
But these “children” in verse 4 are not just young people, not just young disciples. This is any and all of the disciples from a given church of any age walking in the truth.
I think about when Pastor Kerry reports about any of our Free Churches and how they are living out the truth in their communities, and how much joy that brings to him and to all of us who hear about it.
We shouldn’t just obey because it makes the elders happy, but it is so encouraging when we see someone living (v.4), “just as the Father commanded us.”
So here’s our application:
Find out what is true, and walk in it.
As you step into 2025, find out what is true and walk in it. Learn what Jesus has said and do that!
And here’s one of the key things that Jesus has said. It’s point number two.
#2. WALK IN LOVE.
Specifically love for other followers of Jesus. Look at verse 5.
“And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.”
You see why I don’t think the “lady” is a lady? I don’t think that John would say to some woman, “I ask that we love one another.” No, I think he’s talking to a whole church. A lot of these “you’s” in this epistle are “plural you.” Like we said last week, “y’inz.”
John is reminding this church, this chosen lady, that we Christians are supposed to love one another.
Does that sound familiar? I think we just recited our memory verse from last year. John 13:34&35 which is blazoned across the bulletin board in the foyer. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples:
“A new command I give [y’inz]: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
In verse 5, John says that that command is no longer new. They’ve had it since that fateful night. They’ve had it since Jesus showed them how. But even though it’s not new, it’s still very much in effect.
“I ask that we love one another.”
John got the message. The question is, have we? Do we love one another? Do we walk in love?
It’s not easy. It’s not easy to love in general, but sometimes some of the hardest people to love are other Christians. We are different from each other. We are not all the same. And we tend to think that another Christian ought to know better and act better, so it’s harder to extend grace and mercy towards them.
Often we wouldn’t pick each other. You know other groups get to pick who they love. You love your family. You love your political tribe. You love your sports team. You love your fandom. But we Christians don’t get to pick. We just get to love.
And not just when we are lovable. Jesus didn’t just love us when we were lovable. He loved us when we were His enemies!
How are you doing at loving other Christians? If you remember, Jesus went on and on about it in the Gospel of John. It’s not always easy to do, but He showed us the way, and He expects it of us. That’s the point of verse 6.
“I ask that we love each other. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
This kind of love is not optional. There are kinds of love that are optional. You don’t have to feel affection for someone else. That comes and goes. But this kind of love, sacrificial, committed, seeking the best for someone else, that is not optional for followers of Christ. We are commanded to walk in love.
I know it was our theme for ‘24, but I hope we don’t set aside in ‘25! Let’s make every effort to walk in love this year.
John has one more major things to ask in this short letter. And it’s probably the thing he’s most worried about for this particular church at this particular time. He’s concerned about some false teachers that are in circulation.
#3. WATCH OUT FOR FALSE TEACHING.
Walk in the truth.
Walk in love.
And watch out for false teaching and false teachers. Look at verse 7.
“Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully” (vv.7-8).
Jesus warned His disciples that this would happen. False teachers with a false message would spill out into the world. You know how we have missionaries who take the gospel out into the world? Well, there are missionaries who take the anti-gospel out into the world, as well.
They spread lies about all kinds of things but especially about Jesus. Do you see what lie these particular false teachers were spreading? Verse 7 says that they do not acknowledge or confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.
They don’t believe in Advent!
They don’t believe in Christmas.
They don’t believe in the Incarnation.
They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.
They don’t believe in John chapter 1, verse 14. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).
These guys say, “No, that’s not true. Jesus is not the Son of God or God the Son. And He’s not shown us God’s glory. And He’s not come from the Father. And He’s definitely not come in the flesh. He’s not become one of us.”
Now there are all kinds of variations on this false teaching. And the church has had to encounter and counter all the variations throughout church history. And this is not the only dangerous false teaching that is out there.
But this false teaching is heinous because if you believe this, then you are denying the salvation that Jesus was bringing by becoming one of us and dying as one of us. If Jesus Christ has not come in the flesh, then He did not die in the flesh nor pay for our sins in His death nor rise again in the flesh nor come again in the flesh to give us eternal life.
You see what John says about someone who spreads this kind of teaching in verse 7?
“Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
Everybody wants to know who the antichrist is?!
John has told us about the antichrist in 1 John chapter 2 and 2 John verse 7. That’s the only places in the Bible that uses that word “antichrist” which means “instead of Christ” and “against Christ.”
And John tells us who is the antichrist. It is the person who goes around teaching that Jesus Christ has not come in the flesh.
Now, there’s more to the theology of antichrist, but it’s not less than this.
Someday, there will be an antichrist of antichrists who does this to the deception and false teaching to a degree that nobody else ever has and who tries to take the very place of Jesus. But John says, “You want to know who is the antichrist? It’s a missionary who says, ‘Jesus Christ has not come and is not coming in the flesh.’ Stay far away from them!”
“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.”
Many translations have the word “we” in verse 8 (including the updated NIV).
“Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for...” John and the other apostles have been diligently sharing the truth with them for decades. They are willing to be imprisoned for the truth. They are willing to die for the truth of Jesus Christ.
Don’t run away from this truth! But stick with it and be rewarded. Look at verse 9.
“Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
That’s how important this is! John says, “Don’t run off with some false teaching that proclaims to be new and improved and better and advanced.” That’s what he means by “run ahead.” As if this other gospel was a better gospel.
It isn’t. There is no better gospel. Stick with the gospel of Jesus Christ or you do not have God (v.9).
Those are scary words. But you don’t have to be scared. Verse 9 says continue in the teaching (walk in the truth) and you will have both the Father and the Son (and we know the Holy Spirit, as well).
Beware of false teaching and false teachers.
Now, in verse 10 and 11, John warns the chosen lady and her children to not take these false teachers into their homes.
He’s not saying that we shouldn’t love people who are caught up in false teaching. We definitely should! And we can feed them and house them if they are in trouble.
But we should not support them and their work. That’s what he’s saying in verse 10.
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [the true gospel of Christ coming in the flesh], do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work” (vv.10-11).
You see, in that day, there was no Holiday Inn Express. And if a traveling teacher came to town, they looked for a home to stay in. And if you took someone in and made your home a base camp for their mission work, then you were endorsing them, certifying them, investing in them, and supporting them.
In many ways, like how you support me. You just gave me a generous Christmas gift. Thank you for that! Heather and I really appreciate it. And you support us all throughout the year. But if I start preaching a false gospel, then you should toss me out on my ear. Cut off my housing allowance. Cut of my salary. Do not “welcome me” in that way.
And you shouldn’t send money to false teachers you hear on the radio or see on tv or who send you letters in the mail. John is warning us to not be aiding and abetting the enemy.
Watch out for false teaching and don’t support them.
That doesn’t mean don’t love them. We are supposed to be the most loving people on the planet.
But we love in the truth. We love the truth. It’s inside of us. It will be with us forever. And so we support the truth. We don’t support the lies. If you support the false teachers, you share in their wicked work (v.11).
In 2025, we must be careful what messages we receive and what messages we amplify. Because we love the truth, and we love in truth.
John loved this church so much. He couldn’t wait to visit them in person. Verse 12.
“I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. The children of your chosen sister send their greetings.”
I think that’s the church John’s at right now. The disciples at this church send their love to the disciples at that church. “The children of your chosen sister send their greetings.”
There’s much to be learned from verses 12 and 13, but he says something very similar in 3 John, so we’ll save that for next week and move over to Table.
But feel the love there, at least. John loves them. He longs to be with them. The one church loves the other church. And under it all is the love of God. The chosen sister sends love to the chosen lady.
Because they are loved. Very loved.
We are loved. Very loved. Beloved in Jesus Christ.
Beloved, in 2025, let us walk in the truth, watching out for false teachers and false teaching, and walk in love just as were taught from the beginning and show how by our own Lord Jesus Christ.
***
Messages in this Series:
Wednesday, January 01, 2025
More Highlights of Reading from 2024
While I’m reporting on my book lists from last year, here are few more highlights from a really solid year of reading:
Intellect of the Year - Dorothy L. Sayers
Last month, I finished the last two volumes of her letters (right up to her death in 1957), and I must say that I will miss her. Sayers was a genius whose mind was alive with scholarship, passion, precision, humor, and Christian truth. Her wide-ranging writing (children’s literature, detective fiction, humourous plays, dogmatical pageants, poetic translations) was incredibly prodigious and insightful. I’m so glad to have come to know her.
Thanks to the National Portrait Society for permission to use this image.
Audiobooks: Harrowing, Hilarious, and Historical
I’m more of a “podcast guy” than a “full audiobook guy,” but I really enjoyed imbibing several books this way in 2024, especially How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. If “enjoyed” is the right word to describe the almost visceral experience of listening to Key tell the harrowing story of his marriage? It’s 100% funny, 100% scary, 100% bonkers, and 100% profound. [Read Brett McCracken's take at The Gospel Coalition.]
I also relished a deep dive into the history of Marvel Comics in Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, learned a lot about Christian rock and roll (for good and ill) in Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? by Gregory Alan Thornbury, and stayed enthralled by the offbeat story-spinning of Charles Portis in The Dog of the South.
Inspector Joseph French
In 2024, I continued my attempt to consume all of the “Inspector French” novels of Freeman Wills Crofts. By my count, I read 9 of them this year.
Joseph French is a chief inspector with Scotland Yard, and he does yeoman’s work as a detective. He always goes to painstaking lengths to break an alibi, to get to the bottom of things, and to bring his man to justice. They are not always exciting adventures because good police work is often repetitive and routine. But the plots are often ingenious and the endings are always satisfying.
A New Book by My Favorite Living Novelist
To be honest, while I was happy to be reading the newest Enger novel, I didn’t really know how to access it. I couldn’t quite figure out what the genre was or how the dystopian world worked in the story he was telling. A sui generis genre is exciting to encounter but unfamiliarity can breed confusion.
After I read it, I listened to a great interview Enger did with Jonathan Rogers at the Habit Podcast where he explained more of the backstory of and inspirational sources for I Cheerfully Refuse including its many allusions to the saga of Orpheus.
I’ll understand it better next time around.
Perhaps the best part of reading I Cheerfully Refuse was how it reminded me how much I love Enger’s writing and propelled me to re-read and delight in all three of his previous novels.
Bonus: Do yourself a favor and listen to this talk by Leif Enger on reading for pleasure.
Welcome to 2025, another year of adventures with books!
