Walking in Truth

3 John 1–15 NIV

The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 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. 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.

Introduction: Does it come as a surprise to you that in the church there can be conflicts? Here in this short letter, John has two praise reports about Gaius, and Demetrius. He is celebrating what is going good in the church, but there is this man name Diotrephes who seems to have a problem.

16 - Church Leaders Can Struggle with Ego.

Both 2 and 3 John stress the idea of truth and love:

2 John stresses truth both

3 John stresses love. Specifically a picture of how to love in the midst of conflict.

According to John Diotrephes “Loves to be first.” He “Loves” his position. And like we said last week, “Love is not always love, or loving.”

Here is the situation as we can tell.

17 - John has an Apostolic Ministry in the Ephesus area. - Diagram

18 - The issue with Diotrephes is NOT that he is outside the Truth, but rather he has a Pride/Ego/Love issue.

What we can learn from Diotrephes issue is...

19 - Love of Position Stifles the Gospel Witness.

In this letter, John praises Gaius for his hospitality, encouraging him to continue in this practice, and contrasting his approach to another leader, Diotrephes. While Gaius is giving help to strangers and welcoming those who the wider world would not welcome, Diotrephes, “who loves to be first,” does not welcome other leaders (vv. 9–10). The difference here is clear: humility produces hospitality, while pride produces competition and conflict. While 2 John dealt with doctrinal errors (a lack of truth), 3 John deals with character error (a lack of love). “Diotrephes was condemned not because he violated sound teaching regarding the person and nature of Jesus Christ but because his ‘life’ was a contradiction to the truth of the gospel” (Glenn Barker, “3 John,” in Hebrews-Revelation, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 12, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981], 375).

One of the concerns about Multi-site churches - I have to be careful who I let preach, because they may not bee good enough. - Life Church.TV - They repented.

- 2 John - Don't let people come into the house and speak if they are not in the Truth.

- 3 John - Do not hinder those who are in the Truth from speaking - Be Hospitable to them

Diotrephes’s problem is our problem too. Dave Terpstra observes that marketing techniques are frequently entering the church and putting many churches in a posture of competition and pride. “General Motors launched its Saturn brand in 1990 with the tag line, ‘A different kind of company, a different kind of car.’ GM believed that they could carve out a market niche by addressing the collective American psyche’s negative view of car dealers. They were right.” This kind of marketing strategy—pointing out the faults of the larger “industry” and promising to “be different” is a strategy many churches are adopting (Dave Terpstra, “A ‘Different’ Kind of Church: How Secular Marketing Is Fueling Church Competition,” CT Pastors, April 2006, https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2006/april-online-only/different-kind-of-church-how-secular-marketing-is-fueling.html). There’s nothing wrong with celebrating differences in local churches, but when our attitude is like Diotrephes’s, we differentiate ourselves by not welcoming others and instead “spreading malicious nonsense” (v. 10).

Video of Pastor talking about geomarketing.

Verse 11 gives us an important instruction for avoiding pride and competition: “do not imitate what is evil but what is good.” Verse 12 even singles out one man for his exemplary reputation. John was not accusing Diotrephes of being unsaved, but of behaving like an unsaved person. The person who knows God intimately (abides in Him) does ‘what is good,’ not evil (1 John 3:6; 5:18)” (Thomas Constable, Notes on 3 John [Sonic Light, 2017], 11).

Our actions reflect our relationship with God, and our communal hospitality reflects what our community thinks about who God is.

Leaders have to guard against a type of competition in the Church, and guess who often encourages it. Their Church members

Gaius gives us a different path...

20 - Love of Others Gifts Multiplies the Gospel Witness.

This letter praises those who have been “faithful” to show hospitality even to strangers (vv. 5–8). Just as this act set apart the early church from their unbelieving neighbors, our intentional acts of hospitality can serve as a witness to the God who showed hospitality to us.

21 - https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-letters/not-about-me

22 - Loving is also good conflict management.

Having Difficult conversations

- The Beatitudes

23 - Fierce Conversations Model - Imagine John addressing Diotrephes

State the Issue. Share how it makes you feel. Explain how you contributed to the issue. Share what is at stake. and Share your commitment to coming up with a win-win solution. - Then let the conversation begin

24 - Talk about the decisions to have Mission Partners and Mike Preach

- Worst did not happen - our attendance has grown since then.

- Addressing the one man online who, not a part of our church.

25 - Appreciating the Gifts God Gives.

Three ditches we can fall into....

Gift Projection - Everyone should operate under my spiritual gifts.

Gift Rejection - My Gift is not important, they don’t need me.

Gift Pride - I am the most gifted, so I will do it myself.

Conclusion:

When we have conflict in the Church we can ask, Is it because I Love my position more than the God, others, and God’s Mission. When we have conflict is it because we are not appreciating the gifts others bring to the table? How can we address the conflict?