Love Rooted in Truth

Introduction

Welcome — Greeting & Bibles

2 John 1–13 ESV

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.

Pray over Scripture

We are finished with 1 John, and today we will be tackling all of 2 John. This is another epistle, or pastoral letter, written by the Apostle John to a church he presumably formed and had moved on from, during a period of great persecution of the church in the late 1st century.

Note on “Truth and Love”:

Henry is learning “sight words”

We must not let “truth” and “love” simply become “sight words”, but rather press in to a correct understanding of the truth of the gospel and the love that relies on and flows out from that truth.

Exposition

Verses 1-3 (Greeting and Reminder)

2 John 1 ESV

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,

John introduces the letter using non-specific references that the people he was writing to would be able to understand, without implicating himself or the members of the church specifically in the case that the letter were intercepted by those who sought to persecute the church.

The “elder” is a reference to himself and his pastoral role over the church.

The “elect lady” is a reference to the church, and “her children” are the Christians who comprise it. It could also be referring to a literal woman who is well-respected and influential in the local congregation.

2 John 2 ESV

2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

If our love for one another is based on the truth of the gospel and nothing else, it is impenetrable. It is the thing we all hold in common, and something that will never fail.

Love songs attempt various ways of proving unending love “That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You” by *NSYNC, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, and “Till the Last One Dies” by Chris Young

Unlike these, the truth of the gospel is the only abiding truth, and therefore the only basis of love that perseveres forever.

Love that is based on the truth of the gospel does not depend on someone’s own performance to earn that love, and therefore cannot be broken based on one’s failure in the same way other relationships can.

2 John 3 ESV

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.

“Grace, mercy, and peace” are blessings from God that come to his children because of his love displayed in the truth of the gospel. Without God’s truth and love, we could never have these things.

Verses 4-6 (Commendation and Encouragement)

2 John 4 ESV

4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.

As is common for John, he refers to the Christians under his apostolic and pastoral authority as “children”.

Walking in truth means to live according to God’s commands, and requires a love for all the fellow brothers and sisters.

2 John 5 ESV

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.

John points out that this command is not a new one, but in fact an echo of Jesus’s own words (John 13:34-35), which is a modification of the command given to Israel to “love their neighbors” (Leviticus 19:18), adapted to account for the new umbrella under which the family of God resides — that is, Jesus.

2 John 6 ESV

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.

It would be really easy to choose to interpret “love one another” however we feel is appropriate, but John makes it clear that this love is defined by how we obey God’s commands and treat others in accordance with them.

Verses 7-11 (Warning)

2 John 7 ESV

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.

People who do not know the truth add to it and take away from it, because they do not believe it is sufficient on its own.

Note: We tend to attribute “false teacher” to anyone who believes differently than we do. A good litmus test for this is… do they affirm or deny Scripture? We shouldn’t be calling people “false teacher” based upon what order they think the end times will play out.

2 John 8 ESV

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

“Watch yourselves” (v. 8) is a command to the church to be watchmen (Isaiah 62:6) for one another to guard against deception.

2 John 9 ESV

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.

To “abide” in the teaching (of Scripture) is to recognize its sufficiency. When we fail to do that, we “go on ahead” (or abandon) the truth.

2 John 10–11 ESV

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.

Note: This is not saying we cannot or should not interact with people of different faiths. It means we should not support the ministry of false teachers (for a teacher to teach in a certain place, they must be invited into someone’s home to stay while they are in town).

If false teaching gains any foothold, it begins to feel normal to us.

Splinter in my foot

Verses 12-13 (Closing)

2 John 12–13 ESV

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.

Note: The church John is currently with wanted to say “hi.”

“The completion of our joy, that is, our perseverance in the faith, will be best served by regular face-to-face interactions with a faithful church community.” (Ray Van Neste, ESVEC: Hebrews-Revelation)

Application

Hold the balance of truth and love. (vv. 1-3)

Truth and love are inseparable for Christians.

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

The ditches we must avoid:

“Loving” people too much to be concerned with doctrine

Being so concerned with doctrine we neglect to love those it produces

Attempting to value one over the other, or to sacrifice one for the sake of the other leads to wreckage.

Rejoice when you see one another doing it right! (v. 4)

Walking in accordance with God’s commands requires us to love one another. Seeing brothers and sisters obey God’s commands and live lives of love rooted in the truth also results in joy for other believers.

If seeing others thrive under God’s commands leaves you critical of them (or even jealous), your love may be for recognition and not obedience.

Love in truth by affirming obedience, not sin. (v. 6)

A Christian who loves by affirming sin will receive recognition from the world and win approval from those who are dead in their sins.

A Christian who loves by affirming obedience and rejecting sin will be rejected by the world, but will see spiritual growth in their own life and the lives of those around them.

Accountability within my discipleship group

Those who love in truth must reject sin and affirm obedience.

Reject the mentality that, “Christianity is not about rules but about relationship.” (v. 6)

That is a “false dichotomy.” One does not exist without the other.

Relationships are not founded on rules, but maintained by them and harmed by failure to observe them

There is grace when we fail, but living however we want because of grace is not true love. Following Christ begins with grace in salvation, and is sustained by grace, as we grow into the likeness of Christ through sanctification.

Jesus died for us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8), kind of like buying a “fixer-upper” — to leave it that way makes no sense

It is absolutely true that Christianity is a relationship, but it is a relationship with a holy God, who has given us commands to obey.

Resist any teaching that denies or adds to Scripture. (vv. 7-11)

The call to “watch yourselves” is one to all of us to guard ourselves and one another from false teaching.

It is not loving to allow someone who is being harmed to continue to be harmed.

Callback to my splinter

Invitation for commitment to follow Jesus, get baptized (June 14), or join the church

Lead into final song and time of response; pastors and elders around the room

Benediction

1 Thessalonians 5:14–23 ESV

14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything, holding fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.