The Goal of the Gospel

Intro

something about running a relay race

when a team is training for a relay race, there is a common goal each team member shares, and that common goal is what encourages each of them to continue moving towards that goal.

the team has to come together in order to reach a common goal.

It is not enough to all train separate and then come together and run, but there needs to be team effort and mutual encouragement, as they are all pursuing the same goal.

Imagine that the person who is running begins to fall behind.

He misses a workout, he cheats on his diet, and for a moment, he feels like he is behind the pack, alone, and about to give up.

Maybe you feel that way tonight.

we all are pursuing Christ and looking toward one common goal.

However, oftentimes, one person can begin to slip and fall behind.

In these times, it is important to remember that we need to encourage each other as we pursue Christ.

How can we encourage one another as a student ministry as we pursue the goal of the gospel (this is the title of tonight’s message)

we have an opportunity to encourage each other this year, but we need to be reminded that our encouragement is built upon the gospel and should seek to point each other toward the gospel

that’s what I want us to consider tonight as we look at 3 john.

In the letters of John: Jesus is Light, Jesus is Love

Context of 3 john

during the time of writing, John was overseeing a network of house churches around Ephesus.

As he was doing so, there were sects of false teachers who left these churches, rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.

As they were leaving, they were causing hostility.

In 2 John, John writes to a church to warn them against false teachers who were looking for support.

John then would write the 3 letter to a man named Gaius who was a member of one of these house churches.

Gaius was a man who was supporting the work that God was doing in these churches and doing his best to avoid false teachings.

John writes this letter to encourage Gaius to be watchful against false teachers and to welcome those who were legit

What we see from this passage is John Encouraging Gaius to continue the work that he is doing in laboring for the Gospel.

Main Idea,

As we labor for the gospel, we need to be encouraged with the gospel.

Read the passage

3 John 1–8 ESV

The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

We see from this passage 3 ways that we are called to encourage fellow believers

I. Encourage Fellow Believers to walk in Truth (vv. 1-4)

3 John 1–4 “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

the elder to my dear friend Gaius

We see the author and the recipient identified.

The Elder is also known as John who was the same John who wrote 1, 2 John and a gospel

John is writing to Gaius

Not much is known about who Gaius is, but it is likely that whoever he was, he was a well known person part of the church in Asia Minor where John was.

Whom i love in truth

Whoever a Gaius was, it is clear that John has a particular love for him.

this kind of love communicates a sense of care. John truly cares about Gaius and wants to see him do well.

John continues to encourage Gaius by showing he is thankful for the health that Gaius has.

John’s love for Gaius leads him to thankfulness for his health.

Above all, John is encouraged to see that Gaius is a walking in the truth.

Gaius has heeded the words of John to walk in the truth and now is overjoyed to see that continue.

Walking in the truth here is connoting the idea of faithfulness to the truth.

Gaius is not just commended for believing the truth, but he is actively pursuing that truth.

What Gaius believed was then connected to how he acted.

This is why john seeks to encourage him to continue. He wants to support him as he continues walking in the truth.

Walking in the truth is so important to John that he says again how joyful he is, as a matter of fact, this is the greatest joy he is experiencing.

ILL

How many of you went on mystery road trip?

think about the moment you found out we were going to the amazing pizza machine.

imagine this, your on the bus as we are leaving the zoo and the person next to you can’t stop talking about how excited they are to eat all the pizza at the amazing pizza machine. Like they are not planning to eat anything else.

But once we get there and sit down, you see that he goes to the salad bar.

you think ok, maybe he likes salad and wants a bit before he gets to the pizza.

but then he continues to eat salad, taking multiple trips back. After awhile, you start wondering if he actually likes pizza as much as he says he did.

The way that he acted did not correspond with how he talked about acting.

APL

Often times, it can be hard to walk out what we believe.

If you are a follower of Jesus, then you know first hand that it is not always easy to follow Jesus.

there are difficulties to living a holy life.

thats why we need encouragement.

we should encourage our fellow students to walk in a way that corresponds to what we believe

If the gospel has changed who you are, it should also change how you act.

We need to be reminded to walk faithfully and live in holiness.

It takes the support and encouragement of those around us to do that.

II. Encourage Fellow Believers in their gospel efforts (vv. 5-6)

John commends Gaius for the work that he is doing, going as far as to say that it is a faithful work.

3 John 5 “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,”

John saw the importance of the mission that Gaius was doing.

He says that what Gaius is doing is a faithful thing.

What does he mean by faithful thing.

I think he is implying that he is showing his faith in God through action by encouraging those on mission.

but whats more interesting is that he is doing this for strangers. He is encouraging people he doesn’t know in the work of the gospel.

Gaius would likely welcome these people who he didn’t know into his home, and care for them, then they would go back and tell John about what they experienced.

3 John 6 “who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.”

These strangers were ones who shared the gospel.

Gaius was being praised for supporting missionaries, even those he didn’t know.

“Sending them on their journey”

John basically tells Gaius “Keep doing what you’re doing” keep encouraging, keep welcoming people in, keep showing hospitality and pointing others to Christ.

APL

Be ready to come alongside someone else as they seek to share the gospel.

as you go to school, pray together about who in your classes need to know the gospel, then encourage one another to be faithful.

maybe things go well and maybe they don’t but always be able to lean on each other as we pursue the faithful work God has called us to.

III. Encourage fellow believers who are doing Kingdom Work (7-8)

3 John 7-8 “For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”

John calls Gaius to support the people who are laboring for the gospel. And he offers 3 reasons

1. He should support them because they are going out for the sake of the name

The sake of the name is a reference to the name of Christ.

The reason these people are going out is to make Christ known.

2. He should support them because they should not accept support from the gentiles.

In the first century, it was normal for people to desire that mission work be only funded by fellow believers. A couple possible reasons for this

They did not have to receive support from the same people they were trying to impact with the gospel.

3. He should support them because it includes him in kingdom work

There are many people who were going to places where they needed support and the people offering support would not be able to go.

However, John highlights that supporting these people made them fellow workers in the truth.

Even though they didn’t travel to the ends of the earth, they were taking part in God’s global mission

ILL

Think about a boy named Andrew who has always been fascinated with far-off nations. One day, he learns about an urgent need for missionaries in an impoverished area. He joins a youth group that discusses ways to support missionaries through prayer and resources. Inspired, he decides to write letters of encouragement to the missionaries, expressing his heartfelt thanks for their work. This simple act ignites passion within him and his peers, demonstrating that everyone can play a role in missions, encouraging a generation to engage in global outreach.

APL

we should be looking for opportunities this year to support others as they labor for the gospel. Whether it be supporting missionaries in prayer of praying for fellow students in this ministry as we take the gospel to our neighborhood, we are all doing kingdom work and need encouragement in order to continue doing that work.

GOSPEL

While we can tangibly encourage each other, there is no greater encouragement then knowing that we do not serve God or live out of our own strength, but out of the work that Christ did on our behalf.

Christ is the ultimate source of encouragement.

You may feel discouraged in your life right now, for some reason. Be encouraged tonight knowing that Christ died and rose again so that you can walk in the truth just as Gaius was commended for.

Gaius believed and his belief called him to action, so what about you

Will you be the one to encourage another to start following Jesus, or is Jesus encouraging you believe for the first time.

GOSPEL

God

Our

Sin

Paying

Everyone

Life

Conclusion

think back to the person on the relay team who fell behind.

as he fell behind in his training, he was met with encouragement from the rest of his team.

they were able to encourage him to keep pressing on

as we continue to run the race, we must remember to continue encouraging one another in the gospel, because the goal of the gospel is what encourages us to keep running to the end.