Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / 2-John-Msg-25-28

Transcript

2-John-Msg-25-28 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

0:02
Speaker 1: Every spring, something beautiful turns into something tragic. There is
0:09
Speaker 1: hardly a section across our great United States that is
0:13
Speaker 1: not affected by this tragedy in some way or another.
0:20
Speaker 1: The beautiful thing changes into a tragic thing when the
0:24
Speaker 1: snow begins to thaw in the mountains and rains begin
0:29
Speaker 1: to fall, and the beautiful, colorful rivers that are often
0:36
Speaker 1: the source of commerce and beauty for a city begin
0:40
Speaker 1: to swell and to leave their banks, and before long
0:46
Speaker 1: the tragedy occurs in what we call in the physical
0:49
Speaker 1: phenomena a flood, and beautiful hamlets and villages that have
0:56
Speaker 1: once housed and harbored life become threatened by death and
1:02
Speaker 1: by and by The old river begins to rage into
1:06
Speaker 1: a torrent as it leaves its banks and moves into
1:10
Speaker 1: places it was never designed to occupy, and people, if possible,
1:16
Speaker 1: flee their homes, and when it isn't possible, they hope
1:20
Speaker 1: to live through the tragedy. Almost without exception, year after year,
1:26
Speaker 1: the springtime is a time of mass deaths across our
1:31
Speaker 1: nation because those beautiful rivers that were once so enjoyable
1:38
Speaker 1: and delightful in the summer and fall of the year
1:42
Speaker 1: have become in the spring of the year, things of
1:47
Speaker 1: tragedy and death. Love is a lot like rivers. Love
1:56
Speaker 1: is essential for life, and there is probably nothing more
2:00
Speaker 1: or beautiful or essential for existence and even survival than
2:05
Speaker 1: the expression of love and the affirmation of it from
2:08
Speaker 1: time to time in all our lives. But love must
2:14
Speaker 1: remain within its banks. It is to do the job
2:18
Speaker 1: that it was intended to do for you. See, when
2:22
Speaker 1: love moves beyond its proper banks, tragedies occur, and in
2:30
Speaker 1: some cases, the threat of death takes place. For just
2:37
Speaker 1: a few more minutes in the word picture in your mind,
2:40
Speaker 1: I would like for you to think of the rock
2:42
Speaker 1: like banks of love as being truth on one side
2:48
Speaker 1: and discernment on the other. As long as love remains
2:55
Speaker 1: within those banks, it's beautiful, and we not only survive,
3:05
Speaker 1: we thrive because love is continuing to bring its tentacles
3:13
Speaker 1: of hope and encouragement and affirmation into our lives. But
3:18
Speaker 1: when it swells beyond its proper limits, tragedy takes place.
3:27
Speaker 1: I do not know of a subject that is more
3:29
Speaker 1: essential for our day, or for any day, than the
3:32
Speaker 1: subject of love. But neither do I know of one
3:36
Speaker 1: that has been more mishandled and misapplied than that same theme,
3:45
Speaker 1: simply because undiscerning and untruthful people have allowed it to
3:51
Speaker 1: swell beyond its banks. Periodically, the Bible talks about this
4:00
Speaker 1: principle of love and the value of love being held
4:06
Speaker 1: between the banks of truth and discernment, but only on
4:09
Speaker 1: a few occasions is that particular subject addressed in concentrated form.
4:16
Speaker 1: And it is so addressed in the little Second Letter
4:20
Speaker 1: of John over toward the end of the New Testament,
4:24
Speaker 1: in a pocket of three letters that the Apostle has written. Now,
4:30
Speaker 1: the last time I spoke on First John, I had
4:33
Speaker 1: a lady come to me and say, I cannot understand
4:36
Speaker 1: what's wrong with my Bible? Because you referred to one
4:40
Speaker 1: verse after another and one chapter after another in this book,
4:45
Speaker 1: and not one of the verses matched my Bible. What's
4:49
Speaker 1: wrong with my Bible? And she held out before me
4:53
Speaker 1: the Gospel of John, and she said, show me where
4:56
Speaker 1: you were tonight. And I turned sever books further toward
5:01
Speaker 1: the end of the New Testament, as she turned several
5:04
Speaker 1: shades of red and said, oh my, I apologized because
5:10
Speaker 1: I hadn't made it clear to her that we're in
5:12
Speaker 1: the letters of John and not the Gospel of John,
5:16
Speaker 1: though they are certainly written by the same person. So
5:19
Speaker 1: if you're in the Gospel, you're too many books away
5:22
Speaker 1: to enjoy what I have to say this time. So
5:25
Speaker 1: turn over to the second letter John wrote, and be
5:30
Speaker 1: sure you're in the Letters of John, not the Gospel.
5:34
Speaker 1: Each of John's last two letters can be read in
5:38
Speaker 1: less than two minutes each. I know because I did
5:41
Speaker 1: that shortly before this meeting began. You could find, if possible,
5:48
Speaker 1: the original documents. You would find the entire letter written
5:53
Speaker 1: on a single sheet of papyrus, because neither one goes
5:57
Speaker 1: more than three hundred words in the Greek language, very brief,
6:05
Speaker 1: extremely short, almost like a large postcard. Today, and yet
6:14
Speaker 1: God has chosen to preserve for us these two smallest letters,
6:19
Speaker 1: in fact, the smallest books in the entire Bible. As
6:25
Speaker 1: we have surveyed from Genesis now all the way through
6:29
Speaker 1: the scriptures, from one book to the next, each time
6:32
Speaker 1: we've gotten together, then we've come to Second John. We've
6:36
Speaker 1: come to the shortest of all of them. And you
6:38
Speaker 1: will notice Third John is but a verse longer. Amazing
6:44
Speaker 1: that such tiny little postcards would be preserved down through
6:48
Speaker 1: the centuries, and if ever small packages held great surprises
6:56
Speaker 1: and delights. This is a case in point. These two
7:00
Speaker 1: letters are marvelous letters of instruction for God's Church. I
7:06
Speaker 1: think if more had been said about Second and Third John,
7:10
Speaker 1: the river would not have left its banks. As often,
7:15
Speaker 1: we must keep love within its banks, or it becomes
7:19
Speaker 1: a killer, not a source of survival. Now let me
7:25
Speaker 1: say some things about this letter overall. To start with,
7:30
Speaker 1: you will observe in the very first verse that the
7:34
Speaker 1: one who writes calls himself the elder. More than likely
7:39
Speaker 1: he has reference to his age rather than his official position,
7:44
Speaker 1: because he was indeed an apostle. This man, the elder,
7:49
Speaker 1: is the same who has written the Gospel, as well
7:53
Speaker 1: as First John and Third John and the Revelation. This
7:57
Speaker 1: is John, the apostle, who who is by now one
8:01
Speaker 1: of the last living links connected with a visible relationship
8:07
Speaker 1: with Christ. That is, by the time the church got
8:10
Speaker 1: this letter written about ninety a d. Very near the
8:16
Speaker 1: end of the first century, there weren't many apostles left
8:19
Speaker 1: who had not yet been martyred. John was banished to
8:23
Speaker 1: Patmus to die on an island. Little did those who
8:28
Speaker 1: put him there realize that his letters would survive and
8:32
Speaker 1: would continue to feed the church down through the centuries.
8:36
Speaker 1: You don't silence Christians simply because you imprisoned them. Sometime
8:41
Speaker 1: you set their message loose and you give it affirmation
8:46
Speaker 1: even though you think you're killing it. Persecution has really
8:50
Speaker 1: never hurt the Church. If anything, it has purified it.
8:55
Speaker 1: And as in the case of John, the persecution simply
8:58
Speaker 1: got his message. Further, he is the older man, the
9:02
Speaker 1: aged man, and his letter survives him by many centuries. Now.
9:08
Speaker 1: The Chosen Lady mentioned in verse one has caused a
9:12
Speaker 1: lot of interest on the part of New Testament students.
9:15
Speaker 1: There are many and many fine men who teach the
9:18
Speaker 1: scriptures and write of the scriptures, who claim that this
9:22
Speaker 1: has reference to the Church, where the writer simply in
9:28
Speaker 1: symbolic language, refers to the church as the chosen Lady.
9:34
Speaker 1: I renegade that. I am. I rather believe that this
9:39
Speaker 1: was indeed a woman who lived in that first century.
9:44
Speaker 1: I believe she is an individual whose home was opened
9:50
Speaker 1: as the church met in Holmes. Her home, I believe
9:55
Speaker 1: was one of those places where the local church met.
9:58
Speaker 1: Because that was a time in which there were not buildings,
10:03
Speaker 1: There was not a complete copy of the scriptures available,
10:08
Speaker 1: people were not well taught. There were no long standing pastorates.
10:15
Speaker 1: People taught the scriptures in an itinerant manner, and they
10:18
Speaker 1: visited from house to house and from city to city
10:21
Speaker 1: as they taught God's word to God's people. She is
10:27
Speaker 1: mentioned along with her children. It would seem most unusual
10:31
Speaker 1: to address a letter to a church and refer to
10:36
Speaker 1: her children, and along with that, verse thirteen refer to
10:42
Speaker 1: her sister as well. And yet some believe that this
10:47
Speaker 1: has reference to the congregation and sister congregations. I wonder
10:52
Speaker 1: why we would need to make it symbolic, simply to
10:55
Speaker 1: leave it as it is and address the letter to
10:59
Speaker 1: a lady where her husband is is not mentioned. He
11:05
Speaker 1: may have left her, he may have been killed, he
11:09
Speaker 1: may have simply not been mentioned. For she was the
11:12
Speaker 1: one who opened her home in hospitality to those who
11:16
Speaker 1: were to come in worship. But she is called simply
11:20
Speaker 1: the chosen lady. It is the only if indeed it's
11:23
Speaker 1: written to a woman. It is the only book in
11:26
Speaker 1: all the Bible so addressed. Now, what was the situation?
11:33
Speaker 1: As I've mentioned earlier, the church was in flux by
11:37
Speaker 1: the end of the first century, there were heresies on
11:42
Speaker 1: the move. It was a stormy time. Martyrdom was commonplace,
11:47
Speaker 1: not having a place of identity as churches today have
11:52
Speaker 1: all across the world. In most places it lacked roots,
11:58
Speaker 1: and therefore it required the presence of certain gifted men
12:03
Speaker 1: who traveled to bring the truth to them. These men
12:09
Speaker 1: often spoke ex cathedra. They were, therefore, in the truest
12:14
Speaker 1: sense prophets. We tossed the word around too loosely today.
12:20
Speaker 1: In those days a prophet spoke as the very oracle
12:24
Speaker 1: of God. He did not make mistakes when he spoke verbally.
12:28
Speaker 1: It was a gift given to the church until the
12:32
Speaker 1: scriptures were complete, and we have now the more sure
12:37
Speaker 1: word of prophecy. But in those days it required gifted
12:42
Speaker 1: men with that supernatural ability. Now John R. W. Stott
12:47
Speaker 1: addresses the situation as it was in that day, and
12:50
Speaker 1: I read where should traveling Christians stay when they came
12:55
Speaker 1: to some city on a business journey or more important state,
13:00
Speaker 1: ill on a missionary journey. The comforts of the modern hotel,
13:05
Speaker 1: or even of the village inn were then unknown. According
13:09
Speaker 1: to Ramsey, the ancient inns were little removed from houses
13:13
Speaker 1: of ill fame, the profession of innkeeper was dishonorable, and
13:20
Speaker 1: their infamous character is often noted in Roman laws. Inns
13:26
Speaker 1: were notoriously dirty and flea infested. I have stayed in
13:32
Speaker 1: a few inns like that, and I'm sure that some
13:35
Speaker 1: of you have as well. I will never forget sharing
13:38
Speaker 1: my week with what is that creature iguana? I shared
13:46
Speaker 1: a week with an iguana in Venezuela. I hadn't asked
13:54
Speaker 1: permission to stay in his home. Maybe it was her home.
13:57
Speaker 1: There were several of them there. I know that I
14:00
Speaker 1: sat down under a naked light bulb to study to
14:03
Speaker 1: begin preparation for the week, and I turned the light
14:07
Speaker 1: on and I looked up in the corner and there
14:09
Speaker 1: was this thing going mouth was wide open, it was
14:14
Speaker 1: about that long, and it was obviously not born again
14:21
Speaker 1: from the way it looked at me. And I began
14:26
Speaker 1: to talk to it. I said, look, I didn't ask
14:28
Speaker 1: for this, you know, this is a room that was
14:30
Speaker 1: assigned me. He kept going like that, and the next
14:37
Speaker 1: morning I woke up there were signs that it had
14:41
Speaker 1: been on my person, little things that it had left
14:48
Speaker 1: on me as it walked across there. I was very
14:51
Speaker 1: grateful that my wife did not make the missionary journey
14:54
Speaker 1: with me. I might mention these inns were flea infested.
15:00
Speaker 1: They were notoriously rapacious. Only a Britisher can write like that.
15:06
Speaker 1: As a result, it was natural that Christian people on
15:10
Speaker 1: their travels should be given hospitality by members of local churches.
15:16
Speaker 1: There are many traces in the New Testament of this custom.
15:20
Speaker 1: Such hospitality was often open to easy abuse. However, there
15:26
Speaker 1: was the false teacher, on the one hand, who posed
15:29
Speaker 1: as a Christian. Yet should hospitality be extended to him?
15:40
Speaker 1: And how would you know? And there was the more
15:43
Speaker 1: obvious false prophet with false credentials, who was dominated less
15:49
Speaker 1: by the creed he had to offer than by the
15:52
Speaker 1: material profit and free board and lodging he hoped to gain.
15:57
Speaker 1: It is against this background that we must read the
16:01
Speaker 1: second and the third Epistles of John. Here is a
16:05
Speaker 1: woman who opened her home somewhat indiscriminately to teachers who
16:10
Speaker 1: passed through the city or the town where she lived.
16:13
Speaker 1: We have no idea where that was. It's never mentioned.
16:15
Speaker 1: The only name mentioned in all this letter of any
16:19
Speaker 1: earthly significance is the person of Jesus Christ. We don't
16:24
Speaker 1: know her name. We don't know where she lived. We
16:26
Speaker 1: therefore don't know the church or the specific situation. Except
16:30
Speaker 1: for the few things he says about false teachers that
16:33
Speaker 1: were coming through. There were no holiday inns, there were
16:36
Speaker 1: no hiltons, there were no nice places to stay. People
16:39
Speaker 1: stayed in homes. And how would you know if you
16:43
Speaker 1: opened your home to such an individual? And how should
16:46
Speaker 1: you treat such a person? How is this still relevant?
16:51
Speaker 1: What do we do in our homes with false teachers
16:54
Speaker 1: who come knocking at our door? And they do in
16:58
Speaker 1: my neighborhood often, and I don't think my neighborhood is
17:01
Speaker 1: much different from yours. They don't know who I am,
17:05
Speaker 1: and they don't know who you are, and knocking they
17:11
Speaker 1: come with their records or in pairs, and with their message.
17:16
Speaker 1: And it is always so gracious and so logical, and
17:20
Speaker 1: they are always so tactful and so nice. You think
17:25
Speaker 1: they've just been baptized in oil, almost as they speak
17:29
Speaker 1: with such grace to you about God and about the Bible,
17:32
Speaker 1: and about hope and about everlasting life and about the Church.
17:40
Speaker 1: How do I treat them? What do I say to them?
17:45
Speaker 1: Some would say you're to love them, because love is
17:47
Speaker 1: the greatest of all. Wait. Wait, love must stay in
17:51
Speaker 1: its banks or it's a killer. Don't forget the initial premise.
18:00
Speaker 1: When it leaves its banks, it does damage. Now, if
18:06
Speaker 1: you see the relevance of the letter, you will immediately
18:10
Speaker 1: realize we need help in this particular sphere of truth.
18:15
Speaker 1: The letter is addressed to the lady whom the writer
18:19
Speaker 1: says he loves in truth, and not only I, but
18:23
Speaker 1: also all who know the truth. This was a woman
18:26
Speaker 1: who was loved. People believed in her. They saw her
18:31
Speaker 1: as well intentioned, and they realized that she was a
18:34
Speaker 1: woman whose home was at least open. And John commence
18:38
Speaker 1: her for that extension of love. He says, for the
18:42
Speaker 1: sake of the truth which abides in us and will
18:44
Speaker 1: be with us forever. Grace, mercy, peace will be with
18:49
Speaker 1: us God, from God to Father, and from Jesus Christ,
18:53
Speaker 1: the Son of the Father, in truth and love. You
18:56
Speaker 1: will notice all the way through the letter a balance
18:58
Speaker 1: of truth and love. It's a great emphasis on balance.
19:01
Speaker 1: You cannot have one without the other. You take away one,
19:06
Speaker 1: you have ruined the other. I'll say more about that
19:16
Speaker 1: in a moment. What's appropriate now He begins with in
19:22
Speaker 1: verses four through six and exhortation. If you have a
19:27
Speaker 1: copy of the outline, you will notice we're calling this
19:29
Speaker 1: section walking in the Truth four through six, and then
19:34
Speaker 1: standing against Error seven through eleven. We'll get to that
19:39
Speaker 1: in a moment. First of all, walking in the Truth.
19:43
Speaker 1: I was very glad to find some of your children
19:47
Speaker 1: walking in the truth, just as we have received commandment
19:51
Speaker 1: to do from the Father. There are few things, and
19:56
Speaker 1: I'll say more about this next time in the third
19:58
Speaker 1: letter to from John, there are few things that are
20:01
Speaker 1: more exciting than to know our children are walking in truth.
20:05
Speaker 1: And as we grow older, and as our children grow up,
20:07
Speaker 1: and as they leave the nest, it seems as though
20:09
Speaker 1: our passion increases, our hearts beat faster knowing that our
20:14
Speaker 1: adult children are walking in truth, because now they are
20:17
Speaker 1: making the decision themselves. The ties have been cut. They're
20:21
Speaker 1: on their own, they're walking their own way. And the
20:24
Speaker 1: fact that they, as adults are walking in truth is
20:26
Speaker 1: something for which we give God praise as parents. And
20:31
Speaker 1: he says, it's just as we have received commandment to
20:34
Speaker 1: do from the Father. It is not just something of caprice.
20:37
Speaker 1: It is something that God has commanded. And when I
20:40
Speaker 1: see it, John says, I rejoice in it. And now
20:43
Speaker 1: I ask you, lady. Verse five. Here comes the exhortation.
20:48
Speaker 1: I ask you, lady, not as writing to you a
20:51
Speaker 1: new commandment, but the one which we have had from
20:53
Speaker 1: the beginning, that we love one another. And this is
21:00
Speaker 1: love that we walk according to his commandments. This is
21:09
Speaker 1: the commandment, just as you have had from the beginning,
21:12
Speaker 1: that you should walk in it. If you will allow
21:18
Speaker 1: me to wrap together some thoughts and sort of fold
21:21
Speaker 1: them into verses five and six, believe I can clarify
21:24
Speaker 1: what this is meaning. He is saying. I ask you, lady,
21:29
Speaker 1: if you have analyzed close enough your love, I ask
21:33
Speaker 1: you to take a look at your love as it
21:37
Speaker 1: flows from your life, and I take it by implication,
21:42
Speaker 1: as it flows somewhat indiscriminately. Love must not be blind.
21:49
Speaker 1: Love cannot exist as simply love if it is blind.
21:58
Speaker 1: A person who is seeking a mate doesn't consider every
22:04
Speaker 1: person he or she meets as a potential mate. We
22:09
Speaker 1: immediately have within our heads a standard. I have heard
22:15
Speaker 1: so many say to me, you know, when I was
22:18
Speaker 1: searching for God's choice for me, partner for my life,
22:22
Speaker 1: I had in mind three four, five, six things that
22:27
Speaker 1: I was not going to compromise about because those things
22:31
Speaker 1: were essential for me to have as a partner, and
22:35
Speaker 1: they would often spell those things out. To this day,
22:38
Speaker 1: most can name that standard love, in other words, had
22:42
Speaker 1: some guidelines. Few things are worse than an indiscriminate expression
22:50
Speaker 1: of love. Probably isn't a person hearing my words right
22:55
Speaker 1: now who hasn't been burned in such a case where
22:58
Speaker 1: you have extended love so called and you have in
23:02
Speaker 1: return gotten burned. Looking back, you probably realize this moment
23:08
Speaker 1: that your love left its banks, and you compromised with
23:13
Speaker 1: truth that you knew, or with discernment that matched the truth,
23:19
Speaker 1: perhaps the discernment you gain later. But the writer here
23:24
Speaker 1: is saying, I ask you, lady, not something new, but
23:29
Speaker 1: as you extend yourself in love to another individual, have
23:34
Speaker 1: you really checked it against the standard of truth? Now?
23:41
Speaker 1: The hard part is the standing against error, and that
23:44
Speaker 1: is really the basic content of this letter. Before I
23:49
Speaker 1: get into verse seven, I want to read something to you.
23:56
Speaker 1: Our love is not to be so blind as to
23:58
Speaker 1: ignore the views and conduct of others. Truth should make
24:03
Speaker 1: our love discriminating. John sees nothing inconsistent in adding to
24:09
Speaker 1: his command to love one another. Verse five, A clear
24:15
Speaker 1: instruction about the refusal of fellowship to false teachers who
24:20
Speaker 1: are deceivers and atichrists Verses seven through eleven. Our love
24:26
Speaker 1: for others is not to undermine our loyalty to the truth.
24:33
Speaker 1: Let me repeat that our love for others is not
24:37
Speaker 1: to undermine our loyalty to the truth. On the other hand,
24:42
Speaker 1: we must never champion the truth in a harsh or
24:46
Speaker 1: bitter spirit. Those who are walking in truth verse four
24:52
Speaker 1: need to be exhorted to love one another verse five.
24:56
Speaker 1: You get the balance. I meet up often with people
25:00
Speaker 1: who carry the standard for the truth. They walk in
25:03
Speaker 1: the truth, they talk about the truth, they carry the truth.
25:07
Speaker 1: They ram the truth, they cram the truth. They push
25:12
Speaker 1: the truth on others until one almost gags on the truth.
25:16
Speaker 1: And you wonder where is the love to soften the blow?
25:20
Speaker 1: And then we have all had the others extreme of love. Love, love, love,
25:24
Speaker 1: as though it's some mushy, gushy, soft oohs kind of thing,
25:30
Speaker 1: the truth that don't bother me with the truth. This
25:33
Speaker 1: is time to love. His point, here is the balance.
25:38
Speaker 1: So the Christian fellowship should be marked equally by love
25:41
Speaker 1: and truth, and we are to avoid the dangerous tendency
25:46
Speaker 1: to extremism, pursuing either at the expense of the other.
25:55
Speaker 1: Very helpful word, and I find it terribly relevant in
25:58
Speaker 1: the time in which we live now. John gets down
26:01
Speaker 1: to business in verse seven. Many deceivers have gone out
26:05
Speaker 1: into the world. Those now this is an apposition to that.
26:11
Speaker 1: It is explaining further what the deceivers are. Those who
26:15
Speaker 1: do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
26:20
Speaker 1: This is the deceiver and the Antichrist. There are those
26:26
Speaker 1: who oppose the person of Christ. There are those who
26:29
Speaker 1: ape his message, who act as though they do in
26:33
Speaker 1: fact carry his message, when in fact they do not.
26:37
Speaker 1: John says in verse seven, these are not emissaries of
26:41
Speaker 1: the Savior. They are deceivers. They are against Christ. They
26:47
Speaker 1: oppose Christ. They are to use the word antichrist in
26:53
Speaker 1: other terms, arch deceivers. Let me spend a moment there.
27:00
Speaker 1: John is brief, and he certainly has every right to be,
27:05
Speaker 1: for he has cultivated in his many years of teaching,
27:09
Speaker 1: a whole theology of the person of Christ. I don't
27:13
Speaker 1: think we're to make one single part of a verse
27:15
Speaker 1: walk on all fours. I think we are to read
27:18
Speaker 1: verses with one another so as to compare truth with
27:22
Speaker 1: truth and to get the whole tenor and spirit of it.
27:26
Speaker 1: A person is against the message of the Gospel if
27:30
Speaker 1: the person is against the whole truth concerning Christ, a
27:35
Speaker 1: great part of which has to do with the Lord
27:37
Speaker 1: Jesus incarnation. Let me see if I can walk through
27:42
Speaker 1: this interestingly and yet quickly for a few moments. There
27:47
Speaker 1: are certain characteristics of truth that wear titles of theology.
27:55
Speaker 1: As I have learned my theology from the scriptures, I
27:58
Speaker 1: have put together a list of six or eight things
28:01
Speaker 1: that become absolutes, that are not changeable, and when they
28:06
Speaker 1: are brought into question by individuals, I mark them in
28:09
Speaker 1: my mind as false teachers. Here is the list. The
28:17
Speaker 1: absolute inspiration and an errancy of the Word of God.
28:27
Speaker 1: God's book is the Bible, and it is God's word.
28:35
Speaker 1: Second would be the virgin birth mixed with the deity
28:40
Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ. One who is soft on that is
28:44
Speaker 1: soft doctrinally he bears or she bears watching. Another would
28:51
Speaker 1: be the sinless life of Jesus Christ. Another would be
28:58
Speaker 1: his substitute dictionary death. He died in the place of
29:06
Speaker 1: the sinner, and therefore with that would come the efficacy
29:11
Speaker 1: of his blood, or let's use the words significance of
29:18
Speaker 1: the blood of Jesus Christ. You see how many of
29:21
Speaker 1: these things turn on the person of Christ. And then
29:25
Speaker 1: would be the bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead.
29:29
Speaker 1: Use the word bodily for many speak of his resurrection
29:32
Speaker 1: in spiritform, the bodily resurrection of Christ, his ascension into
29:39
Speaker 1: heaven for us, and his promised return literal return to
29:47
Speaker 1: this earth. Upon these significant truths we rest our case doctrinely.
29:58
Speaker 1: There are books of the Ode that will cover many
30:01
Speaker 1: nuances and other shades of truth that are significant, but
30:06
Speaker 1: I would call these foundational basic absolute Unitarians do not
30:15
Speaker 1: teach those truths. Christian science does not teach that truth. Spiritism, Mormonism,
30:23
Speaker 1: Jehovah's Witnesses, Theosophy, New Thought, and numerous cults that will
30:29
Speaker 1: not take the time to name do not teach those truths,
30:33
Speaker 1: including those that come to your door and tell you
30:38
Speaker 1: that they do and plead for you to be understanding
30:42
Speaker 1: and give them a hearing and just hear them out
30:46
Speaker 1: to the end so that you'll have a basis of
30:48
Speaker 1: making that decision. They are masters of propaganda, incredible salespeople
30:55
Speaker 1: that are instructed to know how to get into your
30:58
Speaker 1: home and hope to get into your heart with their message.
31:03
Speaker 1: They feed on churches that are growing, thriving, and on
31:08
Speaker 1: the move. Their favorite is an undiscerning individual who believe
31:16
Speaker 1: so much in love that there simply needs to be
31:19
Speaker 1: nothing said of boundaries or banks like truth and discernment.
31:26
Speaker 1: Just love me and give me a hearing, and these
31:30
Speaker 1: things will take care of themselves. When you addressed people
31:34
Speaker 1: with words like do you believe that Jesus Christ is God,
31:38
Speaker 1: always has been God, always will be God? Does your
31:42
Speaker 1: teaching teach that Jesus Christ's blood is the substitutionary atonement
31:49
Speaker 1: for my sin? Do you believe that his death is
31:52
Speaker 1: in my place and that he, the Son of God,
31:57
Speaker 1: is worthy of my faith? Does your teach teach that
32:01
Speaker 1: you'll find a great deal of back pedaling at that point,
32:07
Speaker 1: changing of subject, altering the message. I was in a
32:14
Speaker 1: situation where we asked that of an individual, and we
32:17
Speaker 1: were being shown around this church where she was appointed
32:20
Speaker 1: to be the guide. And when she heard words like that,
32:24
Speaker 1: she simply asked, would you like to see the second floor?
32:28
Speaker 1: Don't crowd me. At that point, put your thinking cap
32:34
Speaker 1: on christian Get a hold of what you believe and
32:38
Speaker 1: learn it well. You don't need to go to seminary,
32:41
Speaker 1: You don't need to have big books of theology to
32:44
Speaker 1: put it all together. But learn the basics of your faith.
32:48
Speaker 1: Learn why you'd believe what you believe, so that you
32:51
Speaker 1: can stand and give an answer. Standing against error is
32:58
Speaker 1: just as important as being able to stand for love,
33:04
Speaker 1: and walking in the truth involves knowing where you stand now.
33:11
Speaker 1: The woman is exhorted to realize that there are deceivers
33:16
Speaker 1: out there. In fact, he says in verse eight and
33:20
Speaker 1: no uncertain words. Watch yourselves, you and your family, keep
33:26
Speaker 1: a watchful eye on yourselves, that you might not lose
33:31
Speaker 1: what we have accomplished, that you may receive a full reward.
33:36
Speaker 1: Don't backstep, don't walk away from where you have come.
33:40
Speaker 1: Don't give ground because someone seems appealing and offers a
33:45
Speaker 1: new and exciting and even interesting kind of curious sidelight
33:53
Speaker 1: to what scripture has been teaching all your life. I
34:02
Speaker 1: have a rather simple little formula in my mind. I
34:09
Speaker 1: find such answers and such a satisfying position in what
34:16
Speaker 1: I believe. My simple answer is kind of a shrug.
34:20
Speaker 1: Who needs it? Who needs more. I'm looking right now
34:27
Speaker 1: to the faces of some ladies who are some terrific cooks.
34:31
Speaker 1: I know that because the number of pounds were added
34:33
Speaker 1: to my frame because of some of you who cook
34:36
Speaker 1: so well when I was in your presence. Now, some
34:40
Speaker 1: of you have wonderful, wonderful recipes. Your recipes are well worn.
34:46
Speaker 1: I could just see those well worn recipes in the
34:49
Speaker 1: faces of your husband's for example, and your family. I
34:54
Speaker 1: don't think that you're in a constant pursuit for another
34:57
Speaker 1: recipe to take the place, so that one that you
35:01
Speaker 1: and your family have learned to love, you land on
35:04
Speaker 1: one and you say that's it. In fact, every once
35:07
Speaker 1: in a while, some brave lady you'll publish her special
35:11
Speaker 1: recipes that are guaranteed to add the pounds by the
35:15
Speaker 1: hundreds if you really go with her in this plan.
35:19
Speaker 1: She's not looking for a lot of brand new ones.
35:21
Speaker 1: She's saying, these are the ones that work. Oh, try this.
35:27
Speaker 1: I'm saying to you that the Bible has within it
35:30
Speaker 1: the recipes that you need. You don't need others. You're
35:35
Speaker 1: foolish to look for others. You, in fact, take the
35:42
Speaker 1: joy out of the ones that have worked for you
35:46
Speaker 1: all your life by seeking more who needs it? So
35:53
Speaker 1: satisfied with what you have, who wants it? Verse nine,
35:59
Speaker 1: It gets really serious. Anyone who goes too far and
36:03
Speaker 1: does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not
36:09
Speaker 1: have God. Let it sink in. Keep looking at what
36:15
Speaker 1: you read. Anyone who does not abide in the teaching
36:22
Speaker 1: of Christ does not have God. The one who abides
36:31
Speaker 1: in the teaching has both Father and son. Now the practical.
36:38
Speaker 1: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching,
36:48
Speaker 1: notice how narrow he is the teachings concerning Jesus Christ
36:56
Speaker 1: upon which you have been nurtured, do not reeve him
37:00
Speaker 1: into the house. Do not give him a greeting. For
37:08
Speaker 1: the one who gives him a greeting participates in his
37:12
Speaker 1: evil deeds. Wow. Now that is written by the Apostle
37:19
Speaker 1: of Love. You know why, because his river remained in
37:24
Speaker 1: the banks. He deserves the title, not the Apostle of
37:31
Speaker 1: the flood, but the Apostle of Love. Believing fully in
37:38
Speaker 1: the truth and believing in the discernment it takes to
37:43
Speaker 1: hold onto that truth and if necessary, defend it. He says, Love,
37:47
Speaker 1: let it flow, but hold it within the banks. You
37:54
Speaker 1: will have those who come to you, and they will
37:57
Speaker 1: offer teaching that is not this teaching New Testament evangelical
38:07
Speaker 1: biblical teaching. And he makes it very clear that there
38:13
Speaker 1: is not to be a reception of the person, nor
38:16
Speaker 1: a greeting to close things off. I returned to John R. W.
38:25
Speaker 1: Stott simply because of his superb handling of three important
38:30
Speaker 1: facts that troubled me when I read this, as it
38:33
Speaker 1: troubles some of you. He points out three things to notice,
38:37
Speaker 1: and you watch your Bible as I read these helpful
38:41
Speaker 1: interpretive comments. First, John is referring to teachers of false doctrine,
38:51
Speaker 1: not merely believers in it. See when I first taught this,
38:57
Speaker 1: I taught that hands down across the board. Every time
39:00
Speaker 1: you came across such a person who's peddling this, even
39:03
Speaker 1: the young, mouldable disciples, just those brand new, bright eyed
39:09
Speaker 1: believers in this stuff, you turn away, walk away and
39:12
Speaker 1: say an insulting word and be on your way. I
39:17
Speaker 1: think I did a little bit of super irrigation of
39:22
Speaker 1: the passage. I had a friend in my church in Texas.
39:26
Speaker 1: He used to say, when I would spend quite a
39:28
Speaker 1: long time on one verse, and it would be obvious
39:31
Speaker 1: that some swindall was beginning to get into the verse.
39:34
Speaker 1: He said to me, after we looked over his glasses,
39:36
Speaker 1: he would say, you kind of super irrigated, that, didn't you.
39:40
Speaker 1: I'm afraid back then I super irrigated the passage. Please
39:44
Speaker 1: notice carefully, these are false teachers. These are deceivers who
39:48
Speaker 1: have gone out in the world for the purpose of
39:51
Speaker 1: deceiving teachers are in mind. The person who is not
39:57
Speaker 1: to be received is one who comes to you as
40:03
Speaker 1: an official. In other words, you may have a friend
40:08
Speaker 1: who is beginning to fall into this. Don't turn that
40:11
Speaker 1: friend off. That friend needs your help, That friend needs
40:15
Speaker 1: your hope. That friend indeed needs the truth. But this
40:21
Speaker 1: has reference to those who come with message in hand,
40:25
Speaker 1: with equipment to enforce and hopefully indoctrinate. There's a difference.
40:33
Speaker 1: It is those who are engaged in the systematic dissemination
40:37
Speaker 1: of lies, the dedicated missionaries of error, to whom we
40:42
Speaker 1: give no encouragement. Now that's an important point to make.
40:46
Speaker 1: Now there's the second second. John's instruction may well relate
40:51
Speaker 1: not only to an official visit of false teachers, but
40:54
Speaker 1: to the extending to them of an official welcome, rather
41:00
Speaker 1: than merely private hospitality. Explain that in this lady's home
41:07
Speaker 1: the church met quite possibly, and the church was a
41:11
Speaker 1: place of official identification of the message of that place,
41:16
Speaker 1: just as this church just is this pulpit, and what
41:18
Speaker 1: goes over this microphone to wherever it winds up, what
41:24
Speaker 1: goes across from this place is an official statement of
41:27
Speaker 1: this ministry. John is saying in this passage, if anyone
41:32
Speaker 1: comes to you, do not receive him into your house,
41:34
Speaker 1: and do not give him an official greeting, as if
41:38
Speaker 1: embracing that individual, as if officially saying it is with
41:43
Speaker 1: this person. I stand another helpful thought, and then a third.
41:50
Speaker 1: It is inaccurate to write about ostracizing people whose opinions
41:55
Speaker 1: we dislike. It is the entertainment of Antichos Christ which
42:00
Speaker 1: has forbidden us, the arch deceiver, who, in his teaching
42:09
Speaker 1: denies the essential deity and humanity of Jesus. The verse
42:17
Speaker 1: gives no warrant to refuse fellowship to those who do
42:22
Speaker 1: not agree with a particular interpretation of a particular doctrine.
42:28
Speaker 1: We may hold that was helpful for me, because I
42:35
Speaker 1: feel strongly about what I believe, and I, on a
42:39
Speaker 1: number of occasions come across people who may disagree with
42:42
Speaker 1: me about a particular opinion I may have about something.
42:46
Speaker 1: It's an opinion. It isn't a doctrine. It's an opinion.
42:51
Speaker 1: John is not addressing opinions. He's addressing the basis of truth.
42:55
Speaker 1: And he's saying, when someone addresses the very basis of
42:59
Speaker 1: the truth can discerning Christ and comes at it in
43:03
Speaker 1: an improper or out of error, that is what you
43:07
Speaker 1: stand against. But if a person simply holds another opinion,
43:10
Speaker 1: then you on a matter that isn't that essential. He's
43:14
Speaker 1: not addressing his words to that situation. I do not
43:22
Speaker 1: believe we do a person of favor who comes with
43:25
Speaker 1: his message to disseminate his error and give that person
43:29
Speaker 1: a greeting. I don't do that in my home, and
43:33
Speaker 1: I know many of you do not either. I take
43:37
Speaker 1: the opportunity to explain to the person as tactfully as
43:40
Speaker 1: I can where I stand regarding the truth. I don't
43:43
Speaker 1: simply slam my door in his face, but I have
43:47
Speaker 1: a way of getting the floor and keeping it. You
43:50
Speaker 1: know what I mean. I don't invite the person in
43:54
Speaker 1: for supper and give him equal time. It's my home
43:57
Speaker 1: and I hold full rights to all the time, and
44:01
Speaker 1: I take charge, and as graciously and as directly as
44:06
Speaker 1: I can, I address the truth concerning Christ, and I
44:11
Speaker 1: tell the person precisely where I stand regarding my faith
44:15
Speaker 1: in the Lord Jesus, who is my God, my Savior.
44:19
Speaker 1: And almost without exception, I am asked the same question,
44:24
Speaker 1: are you a preacher? I think it is wonderful when
44:33
Speaker 1: lay persons, men and women alike are able to articulate
44:38
Speaker 1: their faith in such a fine way that a deceiver
44:43
Speaker 1: asks you, are you a preacher? And when that person
44:48
Speaker 1: asks you that say yes, that throws them a curve
44:54
Speaker 1: they cannot handle. It is wonderful. You are a minister.
44:59
Speaker 1: You are the one who declares the truth. You therefore
45:03
Speaker 1: preach the message of Christ as you have just done
45:07
Speaker 1: in his presence, And when the message has been delivered,
45:11
Speaker 1: you offer the message of hope through Jesus Christ, and
45:14
Speaker 1: then your door is closed. I usually find by the
45:20
Speaker 1: time I get to that point, they aren't there to
45:25
Speaker 1: hear me close the door. They've left, shaking their head
45:29
Speaker 1: or something and writing things down like don't come back
45:33
Speaker 1: to my address. What would you think of a physician
45:37
Speaker 1: who claimed to be your friend and a careful medical doctor,
45:43
Speaker 1: a professional who said to you that he was just
45:52
Speaker 1: when you discovered the truth concerning your real condition, that
45:55
Speaker 1: he was just loving you too much to tell you
45:58
Speaker 1: the truth. Would you respect the physician? I mean, after all,
46:04
Speaker 1: I've treated you all your life. I was there when
46:09
Speaker 1: your family first came to town, and I've taken care
46:12
Speaker 1: of the members of your family. And when I saw
46:13
Speaker 1: that in the X ray, I just I didn't want
46:17
Speaker 1: to believe it, and I knew how it would break
46:19
Speaker 1: your heart. And that's why I didn't tell you. You respect
46:23
Speaker 1: that man or that woman? You say to that person, Look,
46:28
Speaker 1: your profession requires that you tell the truth. Don't hedge
46:32
Speaker 1: with me on the truth? Why do we feel that
46:36
Speaker 1: telling the truth to one who is living under a
46:39
Speaker 1: lie is wrong? Are hurtful? That person is being deluged
46:46
Speaker 1: by error and will spend eternity in hell because of it.
46:52
Speaker 1: It may be his only hope or her only hope.
46:54
Speaker 1: Turning around having many things to write to you, I
47:04
Speaker 1: do not want to do so with paper and ink,
47:07
Speaker 1: but I hope to come to you and speak face
47:08
Speaker 1: to face that your joy may be full. Children of
47:12
Speaker 1: your sister greets you, and the letter's over. I want
47:17
Speaker 1: to suggest that there are about three abiding principles that
47:21
Speaker 1: last right on to this day. With each one of
47:25
Speaker 1: the principles there comes an accompanying command. If I could
47:30
Speaker 1: pull the command from the principle, it would read like this.
47:34
Speaker 1: Here's the first one. Loving others is a basic expression
47:38
Speaker 1: of authentic Christianity. Loving others is a basic expression of
47:45
Speaker 1: authentic Christianity. If you have heard me and thought you've
47:48
Speaker 1: heard me say in this talk that I suggest we
47:51
Speaker 1: not love one another, you've missed it. It is a
47:55
Speaker 1: basic expression of authentic Christianity. And so the command with
47:58
Speaker 1: that principle is, let's continue walking in love. One of
48:04
Speaker 1: my great messages in my generation is let's walk in love, Christians.
48:10
Speaker 1: Let's walk in love, Evangelical Christians. Let's walk in love.
48:14
Speaker 1: The better you know the truth, the greater ought to
48:16
Speaker 1: be your love. Let your love flow. You'll win so
48:21
Speaker 1: many more by simply being gracious and loving in your style.
48:27
Speaker 1: And many of us need a lot of help in
48:29
Speaker 1: that area. Now here's the second. Embracing the truth is
48:36
Speaker 1: equally essential. So the command is, let's continue standing against error.
48:49
Speaker 1: Embracing the truth is equally essential. Let's continue standing against error.
48:58
Speaker 1: We are to give an account the hope within us
49:01
Speaker 1: with meekness, and yet with that certainty. Now the third
49:09
Speaker 1: a little more lengthy. When error is detected, love must
49:18
Speaker 1: be kept within its boundaries. When error is detected, love
49:26
Speaker 1: must be kept within its boundaries. When you feel a
49:36
Speaker 1: flood coming back off, you're getting ready to do damage.
49:44
Speaker 1: So the command with that is, let's maintain a balance,
49:49
Speaker 1: or we won't survive. I have a close personal friend
50:01
Speaker 1: whose name is Billy. Billy visited the church that I
50:07
Speaker 1: was on the staff of for a number of years,
50:10
Speaker 1: many years ago, and brought his young family of girls
50:15
Speaker 1: with him, four girls in the family. Billy came from
50:21
Speaker 1: a background of uncertainty spiritually speaking. He was reared in
50:28
Speaker 1: a church that talked about love, love, and there were
50:32
Speaker 1: not boundaries spelled out. And after a hitch in the service,
50:38
Speaker 1: and then yet another time in the military, Billy came home,
50:43
Speaker 1: established his business and decided a good American family ought
50:46
Speaker 1: to take his girls to church. And so he packed
50:49
Speaker 1: them up and took them to the church where he
50:51
Speaker 1: had been raised or the same denomination. And he sat
50:56
Speaker 1: through one service after another, hearing nothing said beautifully, and
51:01
Speaker 1: one occasion he looked out the window and he saw
51:04
Speaker 1: his four girls playing red Rover. One girl was about ten,
51:09
Speaker 1: and one was about nine, and one was about seven.
51:12
Speaker 1: And he thought, now I've got girls who were old
51:15
Speaker 1: enough to understand the Bible. And these girls can play
51:22
Speaker 1: red Rover all the time at home. Wonder why this
51:26
Speaker 1: place isn't teaching my girls and in fact, teaching me
51:31
Speaker 1: about the Bible. And so the man driving along one
51:37
Speaker 1: day drove down the street and he saw a sign
51:39
Speaker 1: that read Grace Bible Church, and he made a marvelous decision.
51:47
Speaker 1: Maybe that church teaches the Bible. On occasion, Billy had
51:54
Speaker 1: flashes of genius, and that was one of those moments,
51:57
Speaker 1: and he decided after work that day he would talk
52:02
Speaker 1: with his family about the sign and would go back
52:04
Speaker 1: to that church the next Sunday. And as God would
52:07
Speaker 1: have it in his providence, Bill and I met, and
52:10
Speaker 1: we have become for the rest of our lives very
52:12
Speaker 1: close friends, though we live fifteen hundred miles apart. And
52:18
Speaker 1: he said to me on one occasion something I'll never forget.
52:21
Speaker 1: He said, Chuck, never in my life had a person
52:26
Speaker 1: tell me that I was a sinner, had everybody telling
52:31
Speaker 1: me how much they loved me. Do you know what, Chuck,
52:37
Speaker 1: I believe they would have loved me right into hell.
52:44
Speaker 1: It makes a chill go up my back when I
52:46
Speaker 1: tell the story and he adds, the one who loved
52:51
Speaker 1: me the most told me the truth. Put it down.
53:00
Speaker 1: The one who loves you the most tells you the truth.
53:06
Speaker 1: And that's what's going to save you from hell. It's
53:13
Speaker 1: about together. How do I know that God loves me
53:22
Speaker 1: because God tells me the truth? How do I know
53:28
Speaker 1: that my mother loved me because my mother told me
53:31
Speaker 1: the truth? How do you know that I love you?
53:39
Speaker 1: I tell you the truth? I don't know England and
53:43
Speaker 1: deliberately feed you. Alie. Is there somebody you need to
53:49
Speaker 1: tell the truth to the next time someone comes knocking
53:56
Speaker 1: at your door, I hope you've gained enough courage from
53:59
Speaker 1: this little letter to tell that person the truth. Hopefully
54:04
Speaker 1: to tell them nicely and carefully and briefly, but to
54:07
Speaker 1: tell him the truth. We're not talking about mild and
54:14
Speaker 1: unimportant opinions. We're talking about the truth, definite article the truth.
54:23
Speaker 1: Do you know that God loves you, that Christ died
54:26
Speaker 1: to save you from sin, that faith in Him delivers
54:31
Speaker 1: you from an eternal hell. Do you know that I
54:34
Speaker 1: tell you the truth? That's right? Believe it now. God
54:43
Speaker 1: so loved the world he gave his only son that
54:49
Speaker 1: whoever believes in him would never perish but have everlasting life.
54:59
Speaker 1: Thank you, our Father for telling us the truth, for
55:05
Speaker 1: never once letting your son bring a flood, but always
55:11
Speaker 1: holding his love within the proper boundaries truth and discernment.
55:19
Speaker 1: I'm so grateful the river of life has come to
55:22
Speaker 1: my life and to my family. I will never cease
55:27
Speaker 1: to praise you because you have invaded me with true
55:30
Speaker 1: love in the person and through the blood of your son.
55:37
Speaker 1: Thank you, Lord God, in the name of Christ. Amen.
55:47
Speaker 2: The preceding message, Second John A Letter to a Lady,
55:51
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in nineteen eighty three, and the sound recording
55:54
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in twenty twelve by Charles Rswindall, Inc. All
55:58
Speaker 2: rights are reserved worldwide. H