Walk In Truth
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Walk in Truth
Walk in Truth
Primary Text: 3 John 1:1–4
Key Verse: 1:4
1 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
INTRODUCTION: TRUTH THAT TRAVELS
INTRODUCTION: TRUTH THAT TRAVELS
We are living in a time where truth has never been more talked about—
and never been more confused.
Everyone has a take.
Everyone has a perspective.
Everyone has “their truth.”
But here’s the problem:
When everything is truth… nothing is truth.
And the danger is not just out there in the culture—
it creeps into the church.
We can know the right verses…
Agree with the right doctrine…
Say “amen” at the right moments…
…and still not walk in truth.
Because truth was never meant to be something we just believe— it was meant to be something we become.
Proposition: Let me ask you a question this morning:
Is there a gap between what you believe…
and how you live?
Because if we’re honest, for many of us:
We believe in prayer… but struggle to pray
We believe in forgiveness… but hold grudges
We believe in holiness… but tolerate compromise
And the issue is not that we don’t know truth.
The issue is that truth hasn’t fully shaped our walk.
John writes to a man named Gaius and says:
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Church—that means the greatest success in the Christian life
is not knowledge…
It’s alignment.
A worthy walk is not about how much truth you can quote—
it’s about how much truth is shaping your life.
John is not writing theology in a classroom—he’s writing as a pastor to people he loves.
Three times in this short letter he repeats the same idea:
“Walk in truth” (v.3–4)
“Walk in truth” (v.4)
This is not accidental—it’s emphasis.
Because truth is not just something you know…
It’s something you walk in.
John 17:17
“Thy word is truth.”
A worthy walk is a life that is aligned with truth, not just informed by it. Before truth shows up in your walk, it has to take root in your heart.
I. TRUTH RECEIVED — THE FOUNDATION OF OUR WALK
I. TRUTH RECEIVED — THE FOUNDATION OF OUR WALK
“The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” - (Vs. 1)
We don’t know if this specific Gaius is connected with the other men by this name mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 19:29, 20:4; 1 Corinthians 1:14; Romans 16:23).
The identification is difficult because Gaius was a very common name in the Roman Empire.
John begins with relationship—but notice what binds it:
“in the truth.”
A. Truth Is Not Just Known, It Is Possessed
John doesn’t say, “You know the truth.”
He says you are in the truth.
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Truth is not just information—it is transformation.
Illustration: Owning vs. Renting Truth
Some people rent truth on Sundays…
But never own it Monday through Saturday.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
“Truth is not merely something to be argued; it is something to be embodied.” – John Stott
You can sit under truth weekly
and still never surrender to it personally.
A worthy walk begins when truth is not occasional—it’s internal.
B. Truth Shapes the Whole Person - (Vs. 2)
“That thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
John desires for Gaius to experience good physical health in the same way that his spiritual life (“soul”) is healthy. External health is important, but not nearly as important as our spiritual health. Spiritual health should come first. Yet many people today are far more concerned about their physical health than their spiritual health.
George Whitfield has a fascinating sermon on this verse that is worthy of our consideration. He asks and answers the question of how we can know that our soul prospers. He talks about the sad condition of many people who are more concerned about a pimple on their face than the rottenness in their heart…
God is far more interested in the health of our souls
than in the health of our bodies (although He provides for both).
John prays for Gaius to be blessed in all respects both physically and spiritually, just as your soul prospers emphasizing that (like the hymn says) it is "well with his (Gaius') soul!" In other words, John acknowledges that Gaius is doing well spiritually, and is praying that his physical health would match his excellent spiritual condition.
The word for prosper literally means “to have a good journey.” It metaphorically means to succeed or prosper. It is like saying, “I hope things go well for you.”
i. “Both verbs [for prosper and be in health] belonged to the everyday language of letter writing” (Stott). This phrase was so common that sometimes it was condensed into only initials, and everyone knew what the writer meant just from the initials.
ii. The abbreviation used in Latin was SVBEEV, meaning Si vales, bene est; ego valeo — “If you are well, it is good; I am well.”
John connects spiritual truth to whole-life health.
Your soul affects your direction
Your beliefs affect your behavior
Your theology affects your testimony
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
The soul never remains neutral—
what shapes your inner life eventually directs your outer life.
“Right thinking leads to right living.” – A.W. Tozer
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Transition:
So truth received becomes the foundation…
But John doesn’t stop there.
II. TRUTH REVEALED — THE EVIDENCE OF OUR WALK
II. TRUTH REVEALED — THE EVIDENCE OF OUR WALK
(3 John 3)
“I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified… that thou walkest in the truth.”
Notice this:
Gaius didn’t tell people he had truth—
Others testified of it.
A. Truth Is Seen Before It Is Said - (Vs. 3a)
People don’t first hear your doctrine.
They first see your decisions.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
The appeal of James is clear and logical. We can’t “see” someone’s faith, but we can see their works. You can’t see faith without works, but you can demonstrate the reality of faith by works.
What you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Applicable Thought:
Your life is preaching long before your lips ever do…
The Christian walk of Will Houghton, a preacher who became the president of Moody Bible Institute during the 1940s, played a large role in the conversion of an agnostic who was contemplating suicide. The skeptic was desperate, but he decided that if he could find a minister who lived his faith he would listen to him. So he hired a private detective to watch Houghton. When the investigator’s report came back, it revealed that this preacher’s life was above reproach; he was for real. The agnostic went to Houghton’s church, accepted Christ, and later sent his daughter to Moody Bible Institute.
A holy life will make the deepest impression.
Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine."
-- D L Moody
B. Truth Produces Consistency - (Vs. 3b)
We should not only hold the truth, but allow the truth to hold us…
“Walkest” — present tense, continuous action
Not a moment…
Not a mood…
A pattern.
Truth is not proven in a single decision—
It’s proven in a consistent direction.
Blessed is the man
That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Walking implies repetition.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
When Spain led the world (in the 15th century), her coins reflected her national arrogance and were inscribed Ne Plus Ultra which meant “Nothing Further” — meaning that Spain was the ultimate in all the world. After the discovery of the New World, she realized that she was not the end of the world, so Spain changed the inscription on her coinage to Plus Ultra meaning “More Beyond.” In the same pattern, some Christian lives say, “Nothing Further” and others say “More Beyond.”
Transition:
Truth is received… truth is revealed…
And now John shows us why it matters so deeply.
III. TRUTH REJOICED IN — THE FRUIT OF OUR WALK
III. TRUTH REJOICED IN — THE FRUIT OF OUR WALK
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” - (Vs. 4)
This is one of the most pastoral verses in the New Testament.
John says:
Not success…
Not numbers…
Not influence…
This is the greatest joy:
People walking in truth.
“What is it to ‘walk in truth’? It is not walking in the truth, or else some would suppose it meant that John was overjoyed because they were sound in doctrine, and cared little for anything else. His joyous survey did include their orthodoxy in creed, but it reached far beyond.” - C.H. Spurgeon
A. Walking in Truth Brings Spiritual Joy
Truth lived out brings:
Peace
Stability
Confidence
Great peace have they which love thy law:
And nothing shall offend them.
Truth is not restrictive—it is protective.
B. Walking in Truth Impacts Others
John’s joy came from hearing about Gaius.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Your walk affects:
Your family
Your church
Your leaders
Your testimony
History tells us of a powerful story from the days of the Roman Empire.
It is said that Emperor Nero had forty elite soldiers—forty mighty wrestlers, warriors known throughout Rome for their strength, discipline, and loyalty.
These men were champions.
Before every contest, they would stand before Nero and proclaim:
“We are forty wrestlers, wrestling for thee, O Emperor,
To win for thee the victory,
And from thee the victor’s crown.”
Their lives were devoted to pleasing Caesar.
But somewhere along the way, these forty men encountered the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
They came to know a greater King.
A greater Kingdom.
A greater crown.
And they gave their allegiance to Christ.
When Nero learned that Christianity had spread into his army, he issued an order:
Any soldier who confessed Christ must renounce his faith—or die.
So the commander assembled the troops and demanded:
“If there are any Christians among you, step forward.”
Surely no one expected what happened next.
Forty men stepped forward.
Not one.
Not two.
All forty.
The commander was stunned…
These were Rome’s finest.
Its strongest.
Its most decorated.
And yet they stood unashamed and declared:
“Jesus Christ is Lord.”
The commander pleaded with them:
“Renounce your faith. Save yourselves.”
But they would not.
So, in the dead of winter, he devised a cruel punishment.
A frozen lake lay nearby.
The soldiers were stripped of their armor,
their clothing,
their protection—
and sent naked onto the ice.
On the shore, a great fire was built.
Warmth.
Safety.
Comfort.
And the promise was simple:
Renounce Christ…
and come to the fire.
As these men stood trembling in the darkness,
their bodies freezing,
their skin burning from the cold—the commander expected fear.
Instead, through the night air,
he heard a song.
Not to Caesar.
But to Christ.
“Forty wrestlers wrestling for Thee, O Christ,
To win for Thee the victory,
And from Thee the victor’s crown.”
Hour after hour,
their voices grew weaker,
their bodies colder—
but their testimony remained.
“Forty wrestlers wrestling for Thee, O Christ…”
Until finally…
One man broke.
Unable to bear the suffering,
he crawled from the ice toward the fire.
Toward warmth.
Toward compromise.
Toward survival.
And as he reached the shore,
the chant changed:
“Thirty-nine wrestlers wrestling for Thee, O Christ…”
Thirty-nine.
But then something extraordinary happened.
A Roman guard standing by the fire,
watching these men die for a Savior he did not yet know—
was so moved by their courage,
so shaken by their conviction,
so pierced by their unwavering truth—
that he tore off his armor,
cast aside his weapons,
and ran onto the ice shouting:
“Forty wrestlers wrestling for Thee, O Christ,
To win for Thee the victory,
And from Thee the victor’s crown!”
Illustration: Ripples in Water
Drop a stone in water—ripples go further than you expect.
Your walk in truth travels farther than you realize…
