Jesus, the truth and nothing but the truth

Introduction

Good morning brothers and sisters, it is so great to be with you today in God’s house and share God’s word with you today. If you will please go ahead and turn in your bible’s to 2ndJohn. In a few moments we will have the scripture on the Screen, but please have your bible’s open in case you need to read something during the sermon.

While you are doing that, I want to share a thought with you. So, last night, many of us here were handing out trick or treating candy. I’m sure we all know how children get when candy is involved in anything right? They change don’t they? Even the most well behaved child can be become and a badly behaved child and the meanest child can become in nicest child if candy is involved right? Has any of scene this before? I bet we all have. I bet last night some of us even had children (perhaps some the surprised us) try to get a little extra from you. Perhaps they snuck it from yours or another bucket or perhaps they told you a fib to get little extra, despite how much they had already. Doesn’t that just beat all? Just when we think we have something or someone figured out, we add one little temptation to the mix and everything changes. This is true in many places in life, not just with children and candy. What is true tough? What remains the same no matter what is thrown into the mix? Well, the only thing that I have encountered is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus, the truth. Jesus, the truth and nothing but the truth

Scripture

If your will all please stand for the reading of God’s word today, 2ndJohn. The words will be on the screen for you, if you will please read along out loud with me while we read it. When I am done I will say, “This is the Word of The Lord” if you will all please then respond “thanks be to God.” Before we do that though, let’s pray. Father God, we thank you for You are and what Your are doing in us. You are great and mighty and mighty to behold in our lives. You do great and wonderful things, so wonderful that our words will never express them correctly. Thank you Father, thank you Lord for saving us. We ask that we never take you and your merciful gift of grace and salvation for granted. Help us understand it so and find joy in it so much that we are moved to share the Good news of your gospel with others with excitement. We ask this day father, as we are about to receive Your word today that You refine us with it. Father, remove any distraction from us so that we can receive what it is about yourself that You are showing us this day. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.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. 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. 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. 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. [1] This is the word of The Lord (Thanks be to God), thank you, please be seated.

Context

This week we begin (and end) a whole new book of the bible together! That’s right, we can all honestly say, “I read an entire book of the bible” today. All joking aside, I hope that you had a chance to read this on your own in your personal devotion time this week. Next week, we will read go through the letter of third John together, so please read that during your devotion time. Also, as this will be a new book of the bible (and I would say every time you start a new book of the Bible) I would encourage you to read the into the context of the book before beginning it. This will help your understanding of the authors intent and what the original audience was hearing and dealing with. You don’t have to look long and hard for this. Most study bible’s today have a very introduction/context section that is a great resource for this.

On the note of context, let me share with you the context of this book. As you can probably tell, the writer of this book was the Apostle John. Unlike the previous book we read, 1stJohn the book/epistle has all the parts that we would expect to have a letter to have: a introduction/greeting, a body, and closing greeting/well wish. This letter was written to an audience that was much like that of 1stJohn. That is, it was written in roughly the same time/era to roughly the same type of person/audience (Likely in or around the church at Ephesus), who John and been important in founding and caring for. That is, believers who were enduring false teaching and were confused on several matters. John, being the caring spiritual father that he would reach out to these people and answer questions or respond to their concerns or even correct things where needed.

One interesting thing about this letter is who it is addressed to, which is “the elect lady and her children.” History has lost exactly who that is. However, there are two theories on this that seem very reputable today. The first one is that this letter was written to an exact person (some “elect lady”) in a local church and “children” literally means her children. The other is that the “elect lady” means a specific church body and the “children” mean members of the church.” Looking at the language both interpretations are plausible and very good theologians disagree on this matter today. Let me just say also, that these interpretations have no effect on the meaning of the text and how it applies to us today. So, either way it doesn’t really matter because the meaning is the same. So, with those things in mind let’s dive deep into this week’s text.

Message

Our First point, The Truth that abides forever

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.

So, what is this truth that John is talking about? He certainly made it clear that it was important to him and the person (or people) he was writing to. Well, this is the truth that unites us all in this room and with all the brethren throughout the world. This is the truth of Jesus Christ. That he (as God) came to the earth and dwelled with us (in the flesh as a man). Paul wrote about Jesus himself like this. Paul told us in Philippians 2, 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus was and is and will always be God, but he came to earth to show us Grace, Mercy and Peace. He showed and gives us these things. He didn’t take his importance as God as something to regard, rather He served God the Father to the point of us death on cross. He did this to redeem all those that would call upon Him as savior, all that call Him messiah would be saved. Saved from the great separation that sin causes between us and God and the judgement that comes and awaits all those mired with sin. John begins this letter reminding us of this, that Jesus is the truth and the life and light of the world. This truth of Jesus and our faith in Him is what we are always supposed to abide in forever.

The Second Point, The truth that we walk in

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.

John then writes of something that gave him great joy. That in travels he came across “children” of either this lady or this church body and found them faithful in the ways of Christ. They knew the truth and they walked in it, they lived their lives in a way that clearly displayed the Lordship and truth of Jesus Christ in their lives. This gave John joy, as would any spiritual father.

John then moves into an honest request, an honest plea. Almost, saying, “keep up the good work and the work this, please continue to do so.” He tells them to remember the commandments he had given them. What were these commandments? They were not something new, it was something that John revisited over and over again in his last epistle. Luke touched on this in his epistle quoting Jesus And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” John especially points out the commandment, to love another in Christ love. Wiserbe says of this, “The commandment “Love one another” is certainly not new in time, because even Old Testament Jews were instructed to love their neighbors (Lev. 19:18, 34) and the strangers within their gates (Deut. 10:19). But with the coming of God’s Son to earth, this commandment is new in emphasis and in example. Jesus Christ gave new emphasis to brotherly love, and He exemplified it in His own life. It is also new in experience, for we have the Holy Spirit of God living within, enabling us to obey. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22; cf. Rom. 5:5).”[2] John tells his spiritual children, walk in love as Christ did. Walk sacrificially in this love as it is a reflection of your reflection your love of and to God. And what is the best way to show this love? It is to always be pointing others to and looking at Jesus ourselves. Hear His word, His message, His truth and believe in it in all places in your life and put aside anything that keeps you from doing so.

Our Next point, The truth and a full reward

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. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

John warns his audience, watch out, as he had in the previous epistle we studied. Watch out because there are those out there that are trying to deceive you. In this instance, false teachers were teaching that Jesus did not come in the flesh and others were teaching that (if He did) He was not and is not God. Peter warns us against these kinds of teachers as well 2 Peter 2:1 “ But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” Such a person is antichrist, meaning against Christ. They are agents of Satan, they may seem innocent at first to our eyes and ears but they are ruled and influenced by an evil that wants to take all that it can. So, watch out there are many of them and they are usually hidden very well.

John then says something interesting, to watch ourselves so that we would receive our full reward. He isn’t talking about salvation itself here, but rather something else. “Hodges tells us, “The danger is not loss of salvation, of course, but loss of reward. The NIV uses the second person verb (you) for all three of the statements in this verse. But “we” (following most mss.) is preferred: “that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward” (kjv).”[3]In Hebrew 6 we hear about this reward as well, 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Paul also writes a double portion of honor for those that teach well in 1 Tim 5, so it appears that God looks well and has something special for those that have served Him well, on the other side of eternity. Watch out brethren, stay true to Jesus and remember His commands and what they mean in your life. Don’t lose the reward you have gained.

Another point, The truth that we receive

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 say that again, 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. To be a true teacher of God, you must abide (to live in, to walk in, to be in) the teaching of Christ. You study His word, accept it as the truth that it is, and place it faithfully in every part of your life throughout your life. You enter into a lifelong process we call sanctification. If you do this, you have the Father because you have the Son. If you do not, then you do not have either the Father or the Son. There is no other way. It doesn’t matter how “good” a person you are or nice things you do during your time on earth, there is no other way. Take on the Lord Jesus today.

Let’s move onto the next verse, 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. Keep in mind, these people lived in a different time. This was time where teachers/preachers traveled a lot. They would travel from town to town, staying for a little while and then moving on. This is much like the traveling preachers/parsons that was common in this era 100 years ago. It was expected of the community, that when a teacher (or even any other brother/sister) would come into town that the local Christens would take care of them. This would include providing food and lodging. This is something that some greedy/selfish/lazy would take advantage of. This was bad for the return.

Even worse though were those that came in and were teachers, but were false teachers. Teaching things contrary to God’s word, teaching things that were damaging to believers and all those that heard them. John warns us to watch out for them, those that do not teach Christ crucified are antichrist, meaning they are not for Christ and are not to be lodged or taken care of. Their words are misleading and are not to even be listened do lest the sinful and provocative ways of their worldly teaching take you on the wrong patch, away from the narrow path of righteousness. John then even goes on to say that, “everyone who greets this person (meaning it doesn’t take much) takes place in their wicked works. Children of God, don’t take communion with the darkness, with deceit, with lies. “Let me make it clear that John was not saying only born-again people should enter our houses! “Friendship evangelism” around the table is a wonderful way to win people to Christ. Christians need to be neighborly and hospitable. The apostle is admonishing us not to receive or encourage false teachers who represent antichristian groups, people who have left the church and are now trying to seduce others away from the truth. You can be sure that apostates use every opportunity they can to secure the endorsement of true Christians.”[4]

Have your fellowship with God, with light, with the truth. Know the man, the God-Man Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior and only seek your life through Him. Take in the truth that you have received, and keep it.

The truth in our joy

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. [5]

We now move into the final section in this letter. This is the is clearly a very warm goodby. John clearly cared about these people very much. “John uses the technology available to him (pen and paper) to communicate with the people under his care, but nothing compares with personal, face-to-face interaction. This is what he longs for. The purpose of John’s communication by letter and in person is the joy that he and his people will share. This is a pastor’s heart—longing for the joy of his people, sharing that joy, and knowing that such joy will be found in conformity with the truths of Christ.”[6] A commentator said that of John, and I would add that this should be every Christian brother and sisters heart, to share the Joy of Jesus in our lives with others. John himself wanted to visit these brethren very soon and encourage them, sharing the Joy that ha has in Christ with them to build them up and encourage them; just as he had been writing about. He then concludes by sharing a quick statement of joy, “The children of your elect sister greet you” or better yet, your friends want to say hi and that we care about your very much!

Conclusion

Beloved, take these things for you and your life. Take them as the most precious important and treasured things you could ever conceive. Take The Truth that abides forever, the Jesus Christ, The God-Man came to the Earth and was crucified for our sins and nothing else matters. Then remember The truth that we walk in, that Jesus has come and he is our savior. Next take, The truth and a full reward, don’t deviate and get back on course when we do. Make sure that you keep, The truth that we receive, many will seek to deceive you; remember Jesus Christ and look to those that are pointing at Him. The celebrate, The truth in our joy remember that our joy, what we are defined by is our faith in Christ and His gospel message. All of that being said know Jesus. Jesus who is, the truth and nothing but the truth.

For others in this room today. Perhaps you are not ready or don’t understand the truth just yet. Let me share it with you clearly today friend and I invite you to respond. Everything you see, everything and everyone (yourself include) was created by God. God is from the beginning and made everything good. However, through our own free will, rebellion, and want sin entered into the world. This separates us from God, since God is Holy and sin is unholy. This makes us liable for the judgement of justice that is to come. God though, loving His creation so much, provided the way for us to be restored to a perfect fellowship with Him once again. This is through the acceptance of the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross to pay for our sins. God will make all things new again one day, in the meantime we must respond to this truth, that Jesus Christ saves and that there is no other way to eternal life. Know this friend, all start out this way. No one is better than another, all await the just judgment of God, the only way to get a favorable ruling is by accepting Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, let’s conclude today. If you have anything you need to talk about or need to pray, or want to talk more about Jesus I will be here during the last song together. After that, we will share a brief time of testimonies. Let’s pray. Father God, thank you for this word today. Help us apply it to every part of our lives and understand more of You and what this means in our lives. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016, p. 2 Jn 1–13. [2]Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1996, p. 536. [3]Hodges, Zane C. “2 John.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2, Victor Books, 1985, p. 907. [4]Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1996, pp. 538–39. [5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016, p. 2 Jn 1–13. [6] Van Neste, Ray. “2 John.” Hebrews–Revelation, edited by Iain M. Duguid et al., vol. XII, Crossway, 2018, pp. 484–85.