Not So New Command

It’s that awkward time of year between Christmas and New Year’s. Recovery from a very busy holiday, reflecting on a previous year and looking ahead to the year to come. Have you had a change to look at 2022 and imagine what God might have for you in the year ahead?

The elders met last week and we talked about where we’ve been, where we are and where we sense God might be leading us in the months and years ahead. A couple of themes came from our conversation:

Crossroads has a rich history in raising up men and women of God, and releasing them to their call - both locally and elsewhere.

Crossroads loves to worship the Lord through music and singing.

Crossroads is a community of believers that helps others heal.

Children are loved, accepted and encouraged to grow in their faith in Jesus at Crossroads.

As we look to the next months and years ahead, these will be some of the areas that we want to make sure our church is leading the way. We are not going to try to be like some other church or do something because another church somewhere else did it, but we will move ahead in the ways God equips and leads us.

We are still prayerfully considering how God would have us move forward. One thing is certain - we want to be where God is already moving as we partner with Him to see His will be done.

If you are sensing God speak to you about where God might be leading us, please reach out and let us know. The elders and I look forward to our many conversations with you as we put one foot in front of the other following the Lord from where we are to where He is bringing us. Amen?

With that as the backdrop for the message, it is tempting to talk about something new, but instead I want to talk about a not so new command.

***Put up title slide***

In the months and years ahead, we may see some “new” things happen. We may try a few new ways of meeting together, a few new ways of organizing ministries, new ways of ministering to people, but the commands of Jesus will be the same as they have been.

Today we are going to look at the book of 2 John. If you have your Bibles, turn there with me. If not, we’ll put it up on the slides.

A few things to mention before we start reading…much like the letter 1 John we covered much of last year, this letter was written to the church who was in the midst of standing up against false doctrine. People were trying to insert them into the leadership of the church and lead people astray.

John spend a good part of his first letter telling the church to beware…this short letter is along those same lines.

Let’s read:

2 John 1–2 NIV

1 The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

Most church scholars believe that John was speaking of the church when he says lady. Much like when Jesus refers to the church as His bride, John here refers to the church as a lady chosen by God. The members in the church are her children.

John loves the church and so do all those who know the truth. If there is an encouragement for us to consider loving all other churches who follow Jesus, this is it. We are not in competition, we are in cooperation with one another. We have the same Jesus living in us and the Jesus will be with us forever.

2 John 3 NIV

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

So much in this sentence. Have you ever done sentence diagramming? I know some people who do that for fun. I am not one of those people, but it is helpful to be able to break a sentence down. Just to be clear, I will not be diagramming this sentence…but the first step is to find the verb and the subject of the sentence. If we do that for this sentence, we have:

Grace, mercy and peace will be.

This is good news. These three things happening and being are good news to me. Then we can add the first of the two prepositional phrases at the end…

Grace, mercy and peace will be with us.

I would like to see this happen in the world around us. The world is a much better place when we act in grace and mercy. Often out of grace and mercy comes a peace.

But there is another prepositional phrase that tells us how this happens:

Grace, mercy and peace will be with us in truth and love.

Ah…truth and love. These cannot be separated. When a church or a believer becomes too focused on just truth, there is a harshness and edge that happens.

Likewise, a hype focus on love gives us the 60’s. Peace and love man…

So there is a balance of the two. A truth with love. Love with truth. We want to be a church known for both. The only way is to go to the source of both truth and love…Jesus.

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

John makes sure we don’t miss where the Grace, mercy and peace comes from. In fact he is quite specific. The church was under attack. People were trying to teach things contrary to truth. John says truth and love are gifts we receive from the Lord and that we need to be “IN”. When we are in truth and love, grace and mercy and peace will be with us.

Good news!

2 John 4 NIV

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

Remember, this letter is written to the church…John is saying…hey I ran into some of your old members…I could tell they were walking in the truth.

2 John 5–6 NIV

5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

This verse is pretty similar to the verse in 1 John 2:7…I wonder why John had to repeat this several times. Looking back to the words of Jesus, he had to repeat this commandment a few times.

If we are not careful to keep love as a daily decision, we can turn pretty rotten pretty quick. Jesus said it like this:

John 15:9–12 NIV

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Jesus was our example for love. This love came from the Father by keeping the Father’s commands and remaining in the Father. And now our love for the world around us comes from remaining in Jesus and keeping his commands.

Jesus tells us to love each other as Jesus has loved us.

Back in 2 JOhn, listen now to the contrast of love - Truth:

2 John 7–11 NIV

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

Love is not love without truth. Truth follows the commands of the Lord, but a follower of Jesus also loves. Remember, this letter is for the church. If someone comes teaching something that is contrary to the Gospel, the truth of Jesus, we cannot have them bring that teaching to our church.

This is how we are to handle deceivers coming. This is not how we handle unbelievers. We are to open are arms and welcome those who are seeking the truth. We are to love them and share the truth.

If someone comes wanting to deceive and draw God’s people away, we are not to welcome them. It is best just to have them stay away.

Truth. Love. There is a fine balance between the two. Paul says it this way in his letter to the Ephesian church:

Ephesians 4:14–16 NIV

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Teach the foundational aspects of the Gospel. Teach it in truth and in love. When we get it, we will grow to a mature body with each one doing what God has made us for, in the way he has knit us together.

Can you see it? A growing body of believers, speaking truth in love…that body growing and being built up in love.

That is Crossroads. As elders, we will keep Jesus the focus as we walk this next season out in faith.