2 John: The Battleground of Love

You can all be seated and children you are free to go to your class. We pray that the Lord will be with you as he is with us this morning.

Good morning! I am excited to be able to bring the word this morning.

Our women’s bible study finished going through the epistle of 1 John this spring, and that was a huge blessing to my wife and even to me as we would discuss the bible study after Hannah got home. So for the next two weeks I want to continue the study there and dive into 2nd and third John. This morning we will be going through the 2nd epistle of John.

2nd John is a small letter but it is a vitally important piece of scripture for us today because we live in a world that is violently fighting over the definition of love.

We see this every June during “pride month” when the signs that say love is love start popping up. We see this when we discuss dating and why its okay for two people who really love each other to cohabitate before marriage. We see this when a family members tells us that if we really love them then we will accept their lifestyle choices and not try to change them.

These people want to cause Christians to stumble, to turn away from Christ and to follow after false teachings.

The world we live in has a convoluted, perverted sense of love. But as we christians we do not bow to the world’s definition of love. Instead we go to the author of love, we go to Love itself and we see what is love.

John addresses this theme in his second epistle. He wants to show people what is love and how to respond to those who try to promote false teachings about Christ. This is going to be our theme today. So if you have your bibles, please turn with me to 2 John and we will read the entirety of the letter.

Hear the reading of God’s word:

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

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.

This is the word of the Lord.

The Elect Lady

John begins his letter with a greeting to the elect lady. This is a fascinating greeting. Now there is debate here of who John is writing to, is it a specific person or is a church? There are very good arguments on both sides of this debate though I lean towards thinking that John is writing to a congregation. John uses the typological language of the bride of Christ to address a congregation as the elect lady.

As John addresses the recipient of this letter he tends to use communal language that makes the best sense when thinking of this as a letter to a church. He talks of abiding in truth together, loving one another, he talks of receiving teaching, all language that seems to indicate a group of people. And John likes to use this typological language, he likes to speak in ways that surprise us sometimes, in his gospel he calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved, in Revelation he tells us that the bride of Christ is a city, so John likes to speak to the church as an elect lady of our Lord. Now regardless of who John is writing too, the general truths of this letter still stand for us today. Exodus church you are an elect lady, the bride of christ, you have children that are walking in the commandment of the Lord and you have heard the truth of the gospel from the beginning. This letter of 2 John is for you.

Now John’s use of the elect lady is not just fanciful language, he is making a point. We see this in verse 3 and 4

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.

Did you catch whats different about this verse? We see a lot of greetings in the new testament letters but John uses a word that no one else is using - John says Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us. You are the elect lady and these are the promises of God that will be with you. Paul often introduces letters the same way but he says they are yours, while John is emphasizing the continual state of receiving these. Grace, peace, and mercy are yours because you have been found in Christ. These are your blessings that will be with you to the end of the age - why? Because you are the elect lady.

Now the church John is writing too has not only believed this but has passed it down to it’s people. There are generations going out of this church who continue to walk in the truth. These blessings from God have been handed down and taught to those who are still growing. And though John is writing to a church these truths are expressed in our own lives.

It says here that John rejoices to see this. And how true is that of our church. I know that I rejoice when I come to Exodus church and I see our children singing the doxology, and praying the Lords prayer, or taking notes on the sermon. It is a joy to see our children walking in these truths. Parents, this your duty to raise up your children in these commandments.

And kids, listen to me here, if you want to make your parents proud, if you want to have them rejoice over you, if you want to honor your father and mother. This is how you do it. You do it by following the commandments that your parents are teaching you. There is nothing that will bring more joy to your parents and more honor to your family than being a child who walks in the commandments of his Christian parents.

This is the joy of the elder and the elect lady and it is our joy today.

Now John is setting up to talk to this recipient about how to grasp these blessings and those that would attempt to take them away. He is going to commend them to continue walking in the truth that they have known from the beginning and those who dilute this truth and carry people away from the blessings of God. Look with me at verses 5 and 6

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

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.

What is love?

John begins by reminding the lady that he is writing to them about something that they have heard before. It is not a new commandment but it is the commandment from the very beginning - that we love one another. This is the basis for all of the commands of God from the beginning. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 22 when he summarizes the entirety of the law in 2 sentences. The entire Law, what takes Exodus through Deuteronomy to process in two sentences. Look at this passage with me. Matthew 22 starting in verse 34

English Standard Version Chapter 22

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor - this is what the entirety of the Law and Prophets is based on. This is our foundation. This is the foundation of all of scripture.

You know I’ve been a personal trainer now for about 5 years, and I’ll often get people who will come talk to me and they’ll have a really high goal. I wanna squat 400 lbs or bench press 3 plates or lose 50 lbs. Great lets do it, but know you are going to have to build a foundation on consistency. Of eating right, of not missing workouts, of getting enough sleep. These are going to be your foundation and they’re aren’t any shortcuts you have to start with the base and never lose sight of it. And people usually don’t like to hear this, they want that shortcut, they want to be able to quickly skip over all the important groundwork, they want to build a house with no foundation. And we to can attempt to build a foundation when we go to scriptures without the foundations of loving God and loving our neighbor.

We do this all the time with our bibles, we want to focus in on certain theological terms or ideas but forget the foundation. And John tells he is building off the of the commandment from the beginning. A commandment of love. That love is the basis for following the commandments, and so now we say okay thats great John, but now what?

John doesn’t leave us hanging ,no he tells us what love looks like. You can hear him responding to the question - how do we love one another? It’s by walking according to the commandments of God. Walk in the commandment. To love is to obey God.

If you look back to verse 3 it says

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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

How will these be with us? By us walking in the love that Christ has commanded us to walk in, by obeying the word of God. This is why John can say these will be with you. Because you are walking in love, walking in the old commandment. The definition of love is to obey the commands of God. And this is where we see our culture rebelling against God. Our world wants to make love and affirmation the same word.

They want to say that if you love me you will affirm everything I do. From living with someone before marriage, to sodomy, to transgenderism, to polyamorous relationships. The world tells us that love is to give your consent to whatever someone wants to do. And let me say this very quick, if this is your definition of love, that we make people feel good by telling them that whatever they’re doing is okay and actually good. Then the line for morality in our country is about to vanish. If this is our standard then we will see pedophilia, beastiality, and things that are much much worse become accepted in our day. This is the only conclusion when you look at the moral standard of our.

So what are Christians to do? What is our response in times such as this? When we see the world being swept away by the flood of postmodernity and the sexual revolution, what do we hang onto? What is our anchor?

Thankfully, John has an answer for us. Look with me at verses 7-11

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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.

The Antichrists

John here is drawing lines, he is creating division. There is a difference between those who abide in teaching of Christ and those who do not. Those who follow the commandments are the elect lady, the bride of Christ. Those who do not abide in the teachings are deceivers in fact they are antichrists.

Now this isn’t talking about Nicolae Carpathia or some world ruler, no John is making a categorical distinction, this is not just one man but instead it is a group of people who deny Christ, specifically his physical appearance, and deny his teachings. They are antichrist - they are against everything that Christ was and taught. They are the ones who directly oppose Christ and are the enemies of God.

And John does not want to see his beloved elect lady fall into the wicked, perverse teachings that these antichrists are teaching. John warns them do not lose what you have worked for. You have been walking in the truth don’t take a detour. Don’t fall off the path by not abiding in Christ. Don’t listen to these men because if you do you will not have God.

This is serious disagreement. This is not brothers gathered around debating minute details of theology, iron sharpening iron - no these are men and women who deny Christ, his incarnation, his death, burial, resurrection and ascension - and to do this is to deny God. John tells us in verse 9 that whoever abides in his teaching has the Father and the Son. And this is an important piece. You cannot be of God and not have the son. It is not possible. There are so many groups that want to convert you and try to convince you that the Son is not God. This is the issue with Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and Judaism. They deny the son - they are antichrists. They are the exact opposite of Christianity. They deny Christ and all his works.

To quote Chesterton - This is a fencepost that can never be moved. I was just at the mens retreat a couple weeks ago. And for the past several years every night we get a big fire going and we enjoy company with each other. But the men of exodus we love to read and think through theology and work through it together. And I would walk around the fire and sit with different groups and like every single group was talking about the scriptures and what certain verses mean and how to apply them - but it is always with the recognition that these conversations are for the glory of the Son and edification of his bride. This is a good and healthy debate.

This is not the same conversation we are having with the men and women who knock on your door and try to preach to you a false gospel. We are not brothers disagreeing but instead we are two completely groups who are engaging in spiritual warfare. Those who deny Christ are antichrists, they are enemies of our Lord and Saviour.

And John tells us in verses 10 and 11 don’t have anything to do with these people. If they come to you don’t welcome them, don’t receive them into your house, or give greeting. Don’t be associated with them in any way.

Now to clarify John isn’t saying, if some mormons come to your door you need to slam it and run away and call the cops for trespassing because you don’t want anyone to see you talking to them. Remember John is writing to a church. He’s saying these men don’t get a seat at the table, they don’t get to teach these sick and twisted lies. They are not to be welcomed in your church as brothers but instead they are be declared to be what they are - which is antichrists.

Who are we welcoming?

Now this is written to a church but the bride of Christ is made of individuals so we must ask how does this apply to us. We must ask who are we allowing to come into our home? We live in a world where anti christian thought has been woven into every aspect of our books, movies, and entertainment. We often don’t think of these things as teaching us, but what we take in forms us, it molds us to the worldview that it is promoting. There is no such thing as neutrality. You are either in Christ or an antichrist. So who are you welcoming into you home that teaches you on TV? On podcasts? On books? Is there anything that is leading you away from abiding in the teachings of Christ? Because if so then John is writing to you. He tells you to now welcome these teachers into your home, not let them guide you.

Men are you allowing apps and movies into your home that lead to lust? Are you allowing pornography to have place at your table and to teach you? If so then you need to kick these out of your home.

Women are you allowing podcasts or books or movies to cultivate a life of fear and anxiety? Have you allowed these teachers into your house that shape and form your emotions to make your forget the faithfulness of Christ? If so then you need to kick these out of your home.

Parents, who are you letting into your home to disciple your children? What youtube stars, twitch streamers, and kids tv shows are teaching your children about the world? Are they raising your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord? If not then these influences cannot be in your home.

And don’t mistake me, these are not things you play with, if your tv or laptop or kindle are separating you from Christ then you need to get rid of them. Don’t play with these. If they are leading you into continual and habitual sin then they need to go. Because verse 11 tells us that if you welcome these in then you taking part in their wicked works. This is serious business. Are you obeying the commands of God or are you partaking in the works of the antichrist?

Men if you struggle with a porn addiction then you need to seriously consider if you need a smart phone or a laptop. Throw it away. There is not social media, or email access that is worth your soul. Do not play with this sin.

Women if what you are listening to or watching is forming your emotions away for Christ then get rid of it. If the news makes you anxious then get rid of your tv. If your podcasts or music are causing you to fall away from Christ then delete Spotify or apple music or whatever off your phone.

And parents don’t let your children be discipled by those who hate God. You’re responsibility is to raise them in the fear of the Lord. Mr. Beast and Miss Rachel and Disney do not love your children, in fact the very opposite. They want to take your children and separate them from Christ.

We cannot allow antichrists into our homes. We cannot allow them a seat at our table to instruct us and teach us. We cannot partake in the wicked acts of the antichrists. Instead we must hold firm to the commandments that have been instructed to us from the beginning, this is what love is, this is what it means to abide in Christ. That we don’t give an inch to those who are diametrically opposed to Jesus and the good news of the Christ.

This is John’s message to the church he is writing to, and though the enemy has changed tactics and disguised, the enemy is still the same. John’s message to persevere in the love of Christ is still just as relevant to us today as it was to the recipients of this epistle.

John writes this to a church he loves, to a church he cares about. We see this if we finish out the epistle.

verses 12 and 13 say

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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.

Face to Face

John has a deep desire to see this church face to face. To be amongst them. A letter can only go so far. But it takes being with someone in the flesh to truly be with them.

And this is my joy this morning Exodus Church. I live amongst you. My joy is completed through the people of this church. Through dinners, and fireside conversations, and institutes, and teaching youth group, and Sunday mornings the Lord has ensured that my joy is complete. This church is very special. It is where I have grown in the faith, where my marriage has grown, where my children were born and baptized. And many of you can say the same thing.

This is where I live, you are my church, my people, my community, my joy completed and fulfilled.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Amen.

Let us Pray.