Title: 2 John, Walking in Truth and Love

 

I.                 Connection/Tension

 

a.      Context:

 

We are stepping into a two-week study of the letters of 2 John and 3 John, which will bring our series on the letters of John to a conclusion. Then, we will return to the book of Genesis and continue with the Life of Abraham.

 

Both letters, 2 and 3 John, address a similar topic: how to treat travelling missionaries who want to stay at your home,[1] which sounds pretty irrelevant for most of us because, how often does that happen anymore? Yet, the principles in these letters matter for us today.

 

Since these travelling missionaries influenced how churches understood Jesus and the gospel, the letter of 2nd John is all about protecting Jesus’s church. In our time, as in every time, there are deceptive influences leading people away from Jesus.

 

How many of you have felt yourself wandering and drifting from Jesus in some way in the past few months?

 

How many of you have been grieved lately to see someone from this church or someone you know drifting from Christ?

 

For me personally, it’s been a heavy few weeks as I’ve watched a group of people from our community taking this path. Oh, may the Lord spare us from any more of this, which is exactly where this letter comes in to help us.

 

If you’re a visitor or not yet a follower of Jesus, we are so glad you’re here. As we walk through this ancient letter, we hope you hear the heart of care and love the Lord has for his people and wants to invite you into.

 

 

 

II.               Revelation

 

Now, let’s jump into 2 John together. We will walk through this letter in a three part outline: point 1 is “The elect lady;” point 2, “The lady is in danger;” and point 3, “We Need to Protect her” Now for point 1, “the elect lady.”

 

a.      The Elect Lady (vv. 1-3)

 

1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

 

 

John beings by referring to himself as “the elder” (v.1), a term that signals his authority as an apostle.[2] Yet, whom he writes to is more mysterious than that, “the elect lady and her children.”

 

Is John writing to a particular prominent woman in the early church? It’s possible, but not the most likely. Later in verse 5, he addresses the elect lady, but speaks in plural terms as if he were addressing a whole community.

 

“And now I ask you, dear lady… that we love one another.”

 

Also, the last verse of the letter says, “the children of your elect sister greet you.” This is language that sounds much more like one church greeting another church.

 

“The elect lady and her children” is likely John’s colorful, creative way of referring to the specific house church he is addressing. “The elect lady and her children” is likely the church and her people.

 

Why this strange way of referring to this church? Likely, John is tapping into a theme in the broader story of the Bible in which God talks about his people as his “bride” (Isa 62:4-5: Jer 2:2).[3] In the final book John writes, Revelation, he even calls God’s people “the bride” whom “the lamb,” Jesus Christ, marries (Rev 19:7)!

 

The point is that God has deep affection and love for his people expressed with the imagery of them being his “chosen lady.” Husbands, your wife is the woman you chose because you loved her, and church, we are the bride Jesus chose for himself. Each true church is a different iteration, or example of this same bride that God loves and cherishes with all his heart.

 

My friends, the point is that the church is a marvel for us to love and cherish because God loves and cherishes it. It is not because his people are so lovely and worthy, but because God has chosen to love his church and calls us to do the same. When I say his church, it refers to all of his people, but we should have in mind especially this church, because this is the community we belong to together.

 

So, it’s not surprise that John writes with his very next words John writes in verse 1, “whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth.”

 

I want to challenge myself and I want to challenge us:

 

Do you strive to love this church as much as God does? How much would Jesus love his bride? How loving would he be as a husband? That’s the standard we are aiming at when we talk about loving this community.

 

 

Verse 3 says,

 

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.  

 

It is John’s greeting to this church whom John loves. Next, John steps into the body of the letter, which brings us to point 2,

 

b.      The Lady is in Danger (vv. 4-7)

 

Let’s take a look at these verses,

 

4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

 

Let’s observe four things from this section:

 

1.      John rejoices to find, “some of your children walking in the truth” (v. 4). Does that strike anyone as strange, that he would rejoice to find “some of them” walking in the truth? You would think what would cause him to rejoice is finding “many” or even “all” of them walking in the truth. Unless, there was a significant threat to the church that could have wiped it out entirely, and John’s discovery that there is still a core of committed followers of Jesus was a relief. He’s rejoicing that God has guarded this church church through a dangerous trial, which we will describe for us even more as we go on.

 

2.      John seeks to fortify and protect this church community by reminding them of the inseparability of love and truth.  In verse 5, John addresses the lady, the church, reminding her of the old commandment to “love one another.”

 

Then, in verse 6, he further defines what “loving one another means,” “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”

 

Walking in love = walking according to God’s commandments. This means that God’s word determines our definition of love. Almost always in different places and times, people will agree that it is important to love. The tension comes down to, Who determines what it means to love?

 

John’s point here is that if his people are going to persevere in staying in love with Jesus and his church, we need God’s, rather than our own, definition of love- we need his commandments to guide us.

 

According to John, rightly loving does not look like insisting on following our own feelings, whatever they may be. It looks like surrendering our feelings to God’s commands and letting his word shape our hearts and behavior towards his will.

 

True love is not “my will be done” as the world insists, but rather, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” By living according to God’s commandments, we bring heaven to earth as our wills becomes what God wants and we do what he intends for us to do.

 

3.      Insisting on the truth does not drive us apart but binds us together. Our love for one another should increase because we share the most important things. Disunity and strife comes into our community when someone departs from God’s truth and insists on their own way. John Stott puts it this way,

 

“…we are bound to our fellow Christians by the special bond of truth. Truth is the ground of reciprocal Christian love. John stresses this fact by his four references to the truth in these three opening verses [of this letter]. We love each other not because we are temperamentally compatible, or because we are naturally drawn to one another, but because of the truth which we share.[4]”

 

I think this applies brilliantly to our community. We don’t have a bunch of similar personalities. We aren’t naturally drawn to one another. But we truly love one another in part because we share the biggest things in common.

 

4.      There is an attack on this church from the world. Verse 7 says, 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

 

John calls those who are coming against this church, “deceivers.” Deceivers come to destroy love by attacking truth.

 

Their deception boils down to not confessing “the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.” John doesn’t say they outright “deny” Jesus, but simply “don’t confess” him. That means they don’t give all their love and allegiance to Jesus. Instead, they try to lead Jesus’s people away from him. An antichrist is someone who comes up with an alternative path to the way of Jesus and starts leading people down it.

 

These deceivers appear in all times and places until Jesus comes back. Always they will try to deceive and destroy God’s chosen lady. This is apparently what has happened to many people in this this church John has written to! This has happened to people in our church and this could happen even to our church if we are not vigilant…

 

 So, that leads us to point 3 (points 1 and 2 were, “the elect lady” and “the lady is in danger.” Point 3 is…)

 

c.      We Need Protect Her

Verses 8-11 say,

 

8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

 

Let’s also point out four things from this section:

 

 

1.      These two words, “watch yourself” could be translated “be on your guard.”[5] This is a call toward vigilance, protection, and defense. All the verbs in verse 8 are plural, John is addressing this command to an entire community. In his mind, he is calling this whole church community to be on its guard, so, this word is calling this church community to be on its guard.

 

2.      The stakes could not be higher. Verse 8 says, “Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.” What this church community has gained in following Jesus is in the balance. Being vigilant against deception is not just a good idea, it’s a matter of life and death for people in the community and the community itself.

 

This brings us to our main point this morning: We must protect this church community. If we are to think of this church community as the bride of Christ, and that there are deceivers out to get her, we must protect her! We must guard ourselves and one another from deceptions.

 

One way you could think of your call as a Christian is that you are a priest in God’s kingdom. And, one of the chief jobs of a priest is to protect. In the Old Testament, God commanded priests to protect sacred space (Num 3:7-8). Adam, the first priest, was supposed to “guard” the garden, the first sacred space from deceiving snakes (Gen 2:15).

 

Now, God is calling us to guard the sacred space of his church from deception. The sacred space is not a physical location any longer- it’s your own heart and the hearts of your brothers and sisters. Our brothers and sisters are the sacred space God is calling us to keep safe!

 

If you’re a member of this church and just feel like you attend but don’t take much ownership, I want to challenge you to step up. Among other things, God wants you to become a guardian of this community. It’s beautiful, but it’s fragile, so we must keep it safe. We just reached 5 years this week, and God has gotten us safely through many trials, so I trust he is going to keep protecting us. Yet, he wants to do it through our acts of vigilance. Let’s not lose what we have worked, but protect it.

 

3.      The way we protect this community is through careful attention to “the teaching.” Verse 9 clarifies, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

 

We are not looking for physically strong people to defend us from physical threats. We are looking for spiritually strong people who are committed to the word of God.

 

Deceptions come in every realm of life and through all kinds of people and platforms, from personal relationships to mass media.

 

When you feel temptation regarding how you use or seek wealth, how you practice sexuality or understand gender, how you respond when someone else hurts or wrongs you, or any area you want to forsake God’s word and define good and evil for yourself, your own safety and the safety of the community is at stake.

 

Your own safety is at stake because you could go down a path that leads to spiritual death. The community is at stake because you could take others with you. When you fight to walk in truth and love, not compromising either, you are fighting not only for your own life but all your brothers and sisters who follow Jesus with you. So, if there is a lie taking root in the garden of your heart this morning, today is the day to uproot it. Here are some ways to fight:

 

A.    When you feel confused, tempted, or deceived, flee to a brother or sister and prayerfully consider God’s word together. Repent and ask them to pray for you so that you would be healed.

 

B.     When you notice another person in the community feeling confused, tempted, or deceived, invite them to prayerfully consider the Scriptures with you. Humbly and boldly show them their fault and invite them back from wondering from Jesus. Let’s not just be vigilant for ourselves but for these other souls God has put under all our care.

 

C.     Don’t separate yourself from the community that’s here for your safety.[6]

 

4.      Maintaining wise boundaries is part of protecting. Verse 9, “abiding in the teaching” is the test this church is supposed to apply to a travelling missionary. In the next verse, he gives them the right response to a false teacher, “if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”

 

Wow, that’s a wild verse! It’s hard to know what to do with that, isn’t it? Let’s notice a few things about it:

 

a.      This verse is still about protecting the community. If there’s someone’s coming to deceive, don’t give them welcome.

 

b.      We should cautiously apply this verse. In John’s context, there were travelling missionaries who were leading Christians astray and dividing the church.

 

So, it wouldn’t apply to someone who is not influencing our church into false teaching or false living. You can and should practice hospitality with all kinds of people who don’t know Jesus yet. Jesus did all the time.  

 

You should only draw a kind of boundary like this if they are someone influencing and threatening the flock with harm. I think you could still talk to and have a Mormon missionary into your living room for refreshments to try to share the true Gospel with them.[7] The simple reason is that while their teaching is wrong, they do not present a clear and present danger to our church community since no one seems tempted in our church community towards Mormonism.

 

We should have boundaries, but those boundaries should apply only to clear and present threats to the faith of others (we shouldn’t have unnecessary boundaries to the gospel).

 

Here’s one example of what something like this may look like today. If we had a member whom the Lord saved from a lifestyle of addiction, and there was someone who was trying to influence that person back into a lifestyle of addiction, you should not greet that person and invite them over if the person they are temping is there with you. You are drawing a boundary to protect that person’s faith. And there are numerous other ways this principle could apply according to different situations.

 

III.             Jesus/Church

 

This verse leads us back to the heart of this sermon: We must protect this community together. We do that by walking in truth and love- by being vigilant against deception and drawing wise boundaries. One of our values is that we, “love his family.” One way we, “love his family” is “we protect his family.”

 

To adopt that mindset is nothing less than adopting the mindset of Christ. Jesus suffered, bled, and died for his bride- the church. Jesus protected his chosen lady at the cost of his life. Because of him, all his people will make it safely home. Adam, the first guardian in Scripture, failed to protect his lady Eve from serpents. Our Lord Jesus did not fail, and he never will! Now, he wants to bring us into his work of vigilantly guarding his bride from deception. When we lay down our lives to protect Jesus’s church, our lives beautifully point to the one who died to recue us from sin and death. This is a good calling for us to aspire to. Would you join me in growing in this?

 

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, the greatest protection you need is the blood of Jesus. When his blood washes you clean from your sins, God removes from you every spiritual danger that was brining you death and then brings you into a community that continues to protect you and give you life. Please, consider taking this step forward.

 

John then concludes his letter with his personal affection for these believers. I’ll let these words speak for themselves,

 

12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.

 

 

Let’s pray.

 

Reflection

 

What’s one temptation or deception you need to turn from to protect yourself and this community?

 

Whose one person in our community God wants you to pray for and possibly say something to keep them from spiritual harm?

 

Benediction

 

[Fathers stand and pray for them]

 

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

 

 

 

 

[1] Ibid.

·        [2] John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 202.

·        [3] ibid, 204.

 

[4] John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 205.

[5] Mark 13:9.

[6] Sam Choi pointed out this application.

[7] I found this example from someone else but can’t find the quotation.