Your Life Proves It

Conclusion from Last Week

“Keep the main thing the main thing,” how do we know we are walking in the truth, by the love we show to each other, and the way we are defending or being guardians of the truth of God’s word.

Note: Today John begins again with stressing that he finds his greatest joy to hear that his children are walking in the truth. Then he quickly turns to support for those who are doing the work of the ministry and opposition to those who seek to do evil.

3 John 1–12 ESV

1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 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. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 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. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. 9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

The similarities of 2 John and 3 John. If the false teachers were beginning to penetrate their ranks, the the leadership of the Church would need to start exercising their authority to root out evil in the Church. Apparently this is what was happening at Gaius’s Church. He had received those from John who were true messengers for Christ, and had welcomed them in love, however, apparently not everyone had done so.

Diotrephes, a dominate personality, who not only rejected John’s message but also slandered the apostles himself. In contrast John commends Demetrius. He was probably the carrier of the letter along with other representatives of John.

v. 1 “Whom I love in the truth is further evidence of John’s desire to integrate himself with his readers the exact words in 2 John 1:2 “Whom I love in Truth.” This would have been a tremendous encouragement to Gaius.

v. 2

Note: In the truth is within the body of faith. We have a different bond, a special relationship with the body of Christ that is different than all other relationships.

*He prays for good health (physical and mental wellbeing)

*He prays for their soul (“as” the author is saying may you prosper in all ways, as you prosper spiritually. For soul (psyche) 1 John 3:16 It is used only there and here in John’s epistles. “By this we know love that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

Scripture does not place separation between the spiritual and the physical. We are ‘in the body’. We are grafted into the vine, therefore he is concerned about our physical-wellbeing.

John’s primary concern is, however, with the spiritual health of Gaius, which he defines in two ways. He is a man who is ‘faithful to the truth’ (verses 3-4) and faithful in his love for the brothers (verses 5-8).

This was of course demonstrated by his love. We see this played out in the generosity of his hospitality and his warm welcome

Remember that we learned last week that Truth and Love are inseparable when they are genuinely displayed in our lives.

Why does your reputation matter?

What do you think about Yourself? What do other people think about you? What does God think about you?

Big Idea: Keep it 100 with the Truth of your Testimony.

How does your life Prove It?

It proves it when....

1. The things you Believe are the things you Live.

Note: Gaius was a man whose whole life was shaped by God’s truth. Not only did he faithfully believe it but he continually practiced it.

Note: vs. 3 the brothers came and testified to Gaius and his faithfulness to walk in the truth.

So whenever a Christian stranger arrived, Gaius was ready to meet him and to welcome him. Nothing had to be changed. No special efforts had to be made. He didn’t have to put on his best face for them. Those who were with him for only a short time could not fail to be encouraged by his faithful, consistent integrity, as a Christian.

How Long Do Footprints Last on the Moon?

The first footprints put on the moon will probably be there a long, long time—maybe almost as long as the moon itself lasts. Unlike on Earth, there is no erosion by wind or water on the moon.

Nothing gets washed away. Since the Moon has no atmosphere, it is exposed to the solar wind, a stream of charged particles coming from the sun, and over time this acts almost like weather on Earth to scour surfaces on the moon, but the process is very, very slow. The footprints left behind by astronauts on the moon could last 10 to 100 million years.

Preaching Angle: We all leave behind lasting “footprints” in life. Where we go, what we accomplish, the influence we have on others, these are the permanent legacy that we leave behind us. Let us be careful with the lasting footprints we leave.

THE REPUTATION WE WANT ALL SHOULD SEEK TO OBTAIN

I believe that the greatest compliment that anyone can make about your spiritual life is that you are genuinely consistent in how you walk out the truth in your daily life. You are faithfully consistent in the integrity with which you go about your daily life.

This is what brought John the greatest joy was in seeing the Church walk in maturity and devotion.

As Christians our number-one priority is to present Christ to this lost and broken world (Acts 1:8). Because Jesus is honest, kind, loyal, and honorable, we should strive to be those things as well. (Ephesians 5:1) “Be imitators of Christ Jesus.”

Note: consider the reputation of the Church today? What Kind of reputation is the Church leaving on Culture?

*Faithful to the Truth

(3-4)

What would another Christian find if they came and lived as a House Guest?

Note: As you ponder and answer that question you must remember that Jesus is with you at home, work, school,and play every day.)

So what is a Good reputation and how do we maintain it? People with good reputations are those who:

They Live with integrity

(Their private lives match their public personas. There are no hidden agendas, double lives, or dishonest practices. They live authentically, and, when they sin, they are quick to admit it and make it right with those they have offended.)

Armor of Integrity

During the time of the twelve Caesars, the Roman army would conduct morning inspections. As the inspecting Centurion would come in front of each legionnaire, the soldier would strike with his right fist the armor breastplate that covered his heart. The armor had to be strongest there in order to protect the heart from the sword thrusts and from arrow strikes. As the soldier struck his armor, he would shout "integritas" [in-teg-ri-tas], which in Latin means material wholeness, completeness, and entirety. The inspecting Centurion would listen closely for this affirmation and also for the ring that well kept armor would give off. Satisfied that the armor was sound and that the soldier beneath it was protected, he would then move on to the next man.

At about the same time, the Praetorians or imperial bodyguard were ascending into power and influence; drawn from the best "politically correct" soldiers of the legions, they received the finest equipment and armor. They no longer had to shout "integritas" to signify that their armor was sound. Instead, as they struck their breastplate, they would shout "Hail Caesar," to signify that their heart belonged to the imperial personage—not to their unit—not to an institution—not to a code of ideals. They armored themselves to serve the cause of a single man.

A century passed and the rift between the legion and the imperial bodyguard and its excesses grew larger. To signify the difference between the two organizations, the legionnaire, upon striking his armor would no longer shout "integritas," but instead would shout "integer" [in-te-ger]. Integer means undiminished—complete—perfect. It not only indicated that the armor was sound, it also indicated that the soldier wearing the armor was sound of character. He was complete in his integrity…his heart was in the right place…his standards and morals were high. He was not associated with the immoral conduct that was rapidly becoming the signature of the Praetorian Guards.

The armor of integrity continued to serve the legion well. For over four centuries they held the line against the marauding Goths and Vandals, but by 383 A.D., the social decline that infected the republic and the Praetorian Guard had its effects upon the legion. As a 4th century Roman general wrote, "When because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to feel heavy since the soldiers rarely, if ever, wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates and mail and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for the heart and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore the armor to the infantry. They took their armor off and when the armor came off—so too came their integrity." It was only a matter of a few years until the legion rotted from within and was unable to hold the frontiers. The barbarians were at the gates.

1 Peter 2:12 ESV

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 ESV

1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.

We should want to be thought well of by others because of our integrity and the purity of our conduct. However, it’s evil to want to be thought well of by other so much that, when push comes to shove, we compromise the integrity and purity of our conduct in order to get it.

This is the battle that one must wage against their pride. In order to follow Jesus faithfully, we must repeatedly die to our own desires for peoples approval in order to be truthful and obey God.

You will notice that this is what happened to Diotrephes, he put himself first and evil crept into his motives and actions.

What gives you the most joy in your life?

Note: Is it seeing others who are faithful to the truth, growing up in Christ? (does this make you want to do a standing ovation, or attempt to do a back flip?)

A pastors heart is most warmed and thrilled when he sees spiritual progress in those under his shepherding care. This shows are faithfulness to the truth in our desire that others experience the truth we have been given.

*Faithful in Christian Love.

(5-8)

Note: It is evident that Gaius is continuing to do good in practical actions. The present tense in verse 5 indicates that this action is ongoing in his life. John is counting on Gaius to continue and go on with the good work. This is most likely the immediate reason for the letter.

Gaius continually met the hostility of Diotrephes and apparently to be in the minority in the Church. He was unlikely to swerve from the faith, but, may be getting weary of doing good.

Galatians 6:9 ESV

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Do you ever get tired of doing the right thing all the time. Does walk the walk when others appear to be skating by in the Christian life wear you down.

Note: Notice that John instructs Gaius to send them out in a manner worthy of God!

The Message of John’s Letters (1. Gaius—A Christian Friend (Verses 1–8))

F. F. Bruce points out that this letter is the only New Testament document which does not mention Christ by name, 2 but that does not mean that he is not mentioned.

Clearly, the Name in which they went, and in which Gaius so readily received them, was that of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only name in which salvation can be found (Acts 4:12), the name that is above every other name, at which every knee shall bow (Phil. 2:9–10).

The early church used ‘the Name’ as a synonym for Christ (see Acts 5:41), encompassing within that the Hebrew tradition that the name expresses the nature. Indeed, when the Name is fully written it is ‘in essence the sum of the Christian creed (cf. 1 Cor 12:3; Rom. 10:9)’.

There could not be a higher standard of generosity to emulate than that of Christ. But then there could not be a higher or more worthy service than theirs.

vs. 7 Reminds us of the motivation and intention behind all Christian Service. They are going out as missionaries obviously had an evangelistic purpose, as the reference to the pagans.

Training missionaries in Moldova to go into Uzbekistan and Russia. Russia recently adopted a law making it unconstitutional to e a Christian or practice Christianity within Russia. If you declare that you are a Christian or if you publicly invite someone to church, or if you share an invitation to a Christian conference or service on Facebook, sometimes even if you just attend church you will receive a huge fine or you can go to jail for up to 3 years. If you represent a church as a pastor or leader, then the fine is 1 million rubies (15,700) and up to 5 years in jail, if they can prove that you were promoting your faith.

Uzbekistan is more than 80 percent Muslim. The majority of the country’s Muslims are Sunni and regard themselves as followers of the Hannafi branch of Sunnism. In the Stalin era, Muslim clerics suffered persecution, as did Christian clerics through the Soviet Union.

Afghanistan, India, Russia, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen are among the most persecuted places for Christians.

HOW ARE WE FELLOW WORKERS OF THE TRUTH

Note: Making disciples is never separable from maturing those disciples. We have a responsibility to participate in the greater mission work of growing up and sending out missionaries.

The major motivation for evangelism in the New Testament is not necessarily for the lost, but a out of obedience to Christ. We do not need to wait for someone to come tap us on the shoulder and give us a personal invitation to make Christ known. We have the Great Commission, however, if I were to take a pole today of how many believers are fulfilling this command how many people do you think would actually be doing the work that we have been commanded to do?

THE GREAT COMMISSION

Go make disciples (notice it does not say get more people saved, create more Church programs, have a hip cool pastor who thinks he can still fit into skinny jeans.)

Teach them to obey all that I have commanded them (notice the call is to teach people all the things of God leading to holiness. Not just the parts we like, or the parts that fit our narrative, all of them.)

To the very end of the age (we do not give up or take our foot off of the gas and coast. We are to keep our foot on the pedal and continue to move God’s agenda forward. Galatians 6 “We do not grow weary of doing good.”)

It is obedience to Jesus that justifies the Christian mission and life. This is what must ultimately motivate us, not merely responding to the needs of the world.

Of course those needs to stir us, even overwhelm us at times, but we do not let the world write the agenda, either for the church, or the individual lives God has given us. We are Christs servants first.

As Paul put it, “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake.

vs. 8 We ought to support those who have been sent out to do the work of the Church.

2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver. This is the part of hospitality that we can play in forwarding the cause of the truth. I think of many lives that have been changed for the kingdom by those whom God has sent out to do the work of the Church

God Converts Others through Us

When William Carey, the "father of modern missions," first tried to convince fellow Baptists that the Great Commission required them (not just the early disciples) to go out into all the world and make disciples, he was met with fierce resistance. At one meeting, an older pastor interrupted Carey's impassioned pleas, saying, "Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine."

So anxious was the man to protect the sovereignty of God, he failed to appreciate one fact repeated time and again throughout the history of the church: When God pleases to do anything on earth, he uses your aid and mine; he uses people.

Thankfully, William Carey would have none of this man's bad theology, and he ended up going to India as a missionary, and as a result, inspired hundreds and thousands of other 19th–century British and American Christians to do the same. Today, millions in China, Africa, and Latin America claim Jesus as their Lord because God used some person, missionary or friend, to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ.

How does your life prove it?

2. He must become greater and I must become less

Problem with Diotrephes A Christian Fraud (9-10)

First - He likes to put himself first, he likes to be the top dog. Whether Diotrephes held an official position or was simply a member of the community, he loved power and had a good deal of it, as the following verses show.

Second - Does not acknowledge John’s authority, which in the Greek is literally, “does not receive us.”

Third - He is inhospitable towards loving other Christians which John addressed in 1 John 4:20-21 “If anyone say’s I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

All Attention must go back to Jesus

There is only one who holds pre-eminence in the church and that is its head, the Cornerstone 1 Peter 2:7 “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offence.”

The true Christian leader is the one whose life reflects John the Baptist’s desire concerning his relationship with Jesus, ‘He must become greater; I must become less’ (John 3:30). Diotrephes clearly knew nothing of that, or of what it meant to be crucified with Christ, so his life was a fraud.

Look at John 3:29

John 3:29 ESV

29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

*We must hear the Bridegrooms Superior Voice

Great joy, complete joy, all owing to what?

The Bridegroom is getting all of the attention. The cameras are flashing all in that direction. The rice is all fling in that direction. The honeymoon is in that direction. Any nobody glances back at the silenced voice sitting on the church steps. The voice of the of the Bridegroom, the voice of the Shepherd, has replaced the voice crying in the wilderness. And in a few months, the sword of Herod will absolutely silence John’s voice.

And John’s response to this - to this diminishing, this decreasing? This great joy of min is now complete.

Notice you have two Bands of Baptism. John 3:23 brings in John and gets us ready for verses 23-24. John also was baptizing near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.

So the situation is set: Jesus’s band of brothers is baptizing, and Johns band of brothers is baptizing. For some reason, this triggers a dispute over purification between John’s disciples and a certain Jewish man. They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness - look, he is baptizing and all are going to him.’” So what’s the dispute over purification? We can only guess. Maybe it went something like this. A Jewish man says to John’s disciples:

“Look, you are baptizing lots of people. It looks like a kind of bath or purification. But more and more people are leaving your movement and going over to that other group gathering around Jesus. So what’s the deal with his baptism and your baptism? Does his work and yours doesn’t? Does his really make people pure and yours fails?”

What appears in verses 27-30 is that John the Baptist takes the conversation in a direction that seems to have nothing to do with purification and everything to do with who Jesus is (as the bridegroom) and who John is (as the friend of the bridegroom) and what’s happening in their ministries (as the bride leaves John and goes to the bridegroom) - and especially how John responds to all this in his heart.

Who is this Egomaniac?

Erik Reece is a writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky teaching environmental journalism, writing, and literature. He published a book entitled, “An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the kingdom of God, he quoted Jesus in Matthew 10:37–38 and asked in his book, “Who is the egomaniac speaking these words?” What Jesus said was,

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Jesus is clearly demanding that we treasure him over everyone and everything else.

To many people today, that is sheer egomania. And the people who respond that way find John the Baptist’s reaction unintelligible. It’s the opposite of their own. They see that Jesus demands that we love him more than anyone — that we follow him, trust him, enjoy him, be satisfied in him, delight in him, obey him more than anyone else. That’s true. He does. And their response is exactly the opposite of John the Baptist’s. They remain where Nicodemus was — flabbergasted (John 3:9). Or appalled.

Note: Diotrephes clearly knew nothing of that, or of what it meant to be crucified with Christ, so his life was a fraud. Professing to be a Christian leader, he denied it by his words and actions; he usurped Christ’s Lordship of the church to feed his own ambition.

Jesus called out those who loved to have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor, who devoured it’s widows’ houses and whose lengthy prayers were pious show, remains as a warning to the Diotrephes potentially within us all: We are reminded that such men will be punished more strictly Mark 12:38-40

Mark 12:38–40 ESV

38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Whenever we start to serve ourselves rather than Christ, or to use our fellow Christians for our own ego trip, or to become concerned about our status within the church, we need to recognized the Diotrephes syndrome and take whatever strong action is needed to eliminate it.

*We must live a life worthy of imitating

(11-12)

Obviously Diotrephes exemplifies what is bad and Demetrius in verse 12 models what is good.

What does it look like to imitate Good instead of Evil?

What will Children imitate?

They imitate our words, our tone of voice, even our facial expressions. It can be frustrating when they copy the things we wish they wouldn’t, but they’ll imitate the good too. Just as they imitate kindness, they’ll imitate other simple and good habits.

Children are amazing imitators – the difficulty is that they are not always the best interpreters of what they see, so sometimes we need to slow down and consider what model we are giving them.

Experts tell parents to let kids see you do something you want them to imitate

Read a book - write a note - try a new food - meet a challenge with a smile - apologize graciously

WE IMITATE WHAT WE ADMIRE AND WORSHIP

The goal of Christianity is to become like Christ. This is what God has in mind in one of the most beloved promises of the Bible Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” THE GOOD is explained in the next verse.

Romans 8:29 ESV

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

All our efforts at discipleship must keep this goal in mind. We want to help people grow in Christlikeness. That cannot be accomplished merely by teaching the principles of Christianity. Rather, to help believers grow as disciples, we must be willing not only to tell them how but also to show them how.

The Apostle Paul uses this “show and tell” approach to discipleship in his own ministry. This is why he says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1). He viewed inherent in his own growth as a disciple the responsibility to help others grow. So he invited other Christians to follow him as he followed Christ.

Have you ever invited someone to imitate you as you imitate Christ? If not why not?

Note: This was part of Paul’s discipleship model, commited to helping other believers do the same. This is why he said be imitators of me.

Philippians 4:9 ESV

9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Many Christlike Characteristics are “caught” rather than “taught.”

Paul can and did counsel Christians to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility to count others more significant than yourselves” Phil. 2:3. His words however, had greater impact when they were joined to his own example of self-sacrificial living.

How is this worked out in your Life?

Maybe there is someone who is maybe weaker in their faith, you know that they have struggled with drinking in the past. You are in a setting with this person where drinking is taking place, perhaps you make the choice not to drink.

Maybe you know someone who is struggling with parenting their children, perhaps they are a permissive parent whose kids tend to walk all over them, maybe you have the opportunity to hold your child accountable for their actions modeling the biblical way to discipline your children.

Maybe someone you know is struggling with loving their wife or husband in an Ephesians 5 kind of way. Maybe you invite them over for dinner and walk this out throughout the evening in your own marriage.

Perhaps you have fallen into a sin that needs to be confessed publically to show someone who is prone to conceal their sin from man and God.

John declares that the one who does evil has not even seen God.

If anyone wants to seek what God is like all they have to do is look at his son Jesus. This is much like the question that Philip asked in John 14:9 Philip asked Jesus to show them the father, he recieved the reply, don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.’

Note: So, we see God in Christ, the living Word, revealed to faith in the pages of the written Word. Those who do evil have not yet seen who God is or recognized the truth of Scripture.

But when our spiritual eyes are opened we are brought into a saving relationship with God, through Jesus and the Word.

*We must give a true testimony

Today's Testimonies So much so-called "testimony" today is really autobiography and even sometimes thinly disguised self-advertisement, that we need to regain a proper biblical perspective. All true testimony is testimony to Jesus Christ, as he stands on trial before the world.

Note: John Introduces Demetrius not necessarily to draw our attention to him so much but to underline that a genuine Christian life cannot remain hidden.

Matthew 5:14 ESV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

You cannot Hide what you really are!

Perhaps Demetrius was the messenger that carried the letter to Gaius. Clearly he was well known as a Christian, and if John writing from Ephesus it is tempting to conjecture whether he might not be the same Demetrius who had made silver shrines of Artemis and who had raised the uproar against Paul in the city, which had terminated his two-year ministry in the city.

If this man had been converted, many would have known about it and marvelled at his changed life. However, we cannot say for sure.

The Holy Spirit of truth inspires and confirms the testimony of all those who knew Demetrius including John. This speaks to his integrity and reliability. The truth itself confirmed his quality. He was not found wanting.

Finally John adds his own testimony in commending Demetrius to Gaius, so that the letter can have every confidence in receiving him as John’s testimony.

10,000 Testimonies from the Catacombs

Deep in the catacombs of Rome we have a testimony of God’s deliverance. Beginning around 100 AD, 150,000 poor and powerless Christians were interred in the “sleeping spaces” of the Roman catacombs. Christian gravediggers (who were held in honor by the Roman Christians second only to pastors) carved well over one hundred miles of tunnels out of the rock beneath Rome. Over 10,000 of those tombs were inscribed with epitaphs and very simple drawings capturing the faith of Christians who had lived under constant threats of their faith.

At Leas 15% of them had been violently martyred.

Interestingly in all 10,000 images there is not one cross. The first cross does not appear until 340 AD, after Christianity had become the official religion of Rome. What completely dominated the thinking of our early brothers and sisters were other images of God’s deliverance drawn from Scripture.

O.T. Stories like Noah and the Ark, Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac, and three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. Three hundred images depict Daniel standing with upraised hands, two meek lions at his feet.

This is an era where they have seen fellow believers thrown to the lions!

Of course, there are many pictures of Jesus Christ along with the stories and symbols of his life. “The Christians who painted in the catacombs knew the promise of abundant life. They surrounded themselves with reminders and memorials of God’s deliverance in the miracles of Jesus.

Death for believers is deliverance. Christian funerals celebrate overcomers. Peter, who was well acquainted with the persecution faced by believers, praised God.

1 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Our Testimony is not only in how we live it is also in How we Die!

What is a Testimony?

Testimony: A testimony is a statement for the purpose of establishing and recording truth. Testimonies or witnesses that do otherwise are false. This reality plays out in divine or human court.

The core Hebrew words for the concept of testimony are related to the noun “witness” and the verb “bear witness.” This is given in a legal sense as a testimony given in a court of law.

In both the New and Old Testaments it is the standard for establishing and testing truth claims.

Ways that Believers Communicate Their Testimony

Words

Written

3. With Your Lives

2 Corinthians 3:3 ESV

3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

John has spend a great deal of time throughout these letters to drive home the point of how we act in a way that shows love is vital to our testimony. People may ask how you can remain so calm or be so happy, which opens the door for you to talk with them about your faith. But even if no one ever asks, your life is sending a message to all those around you.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Always be ready to give a defense, an apologia (apologetic). Make no mistake about it your life is constantly giving a testimony or apologetic about your faith and what you truly believe about God and His son.

THE ENEMY OF GRACE IS DOUBT - when you throw doubt or lack of complete trust in God in the pool of the world today it does great harm to the gospel you claim to follow. We live in a culture where trust is a foreign concept, we throw shade on the gospel we profess to follow by the testimony that our lives are giving to the world every day.

John again as he concludes this final letter is drawing upon his personal integrity and reliability to the truth.

Towards the end of Jesus trial Pilate sent for Jesus and asked him the question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” After Jesus explaining that his kingdom was not of this world, Pilate responded, “So you are a king? Jesus responded, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world - to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” The final question is left ringing in ears of time, “What is the truth.”

This is the question that leaves the world dumbfounded. Even with all the advances in science and the medical field, when a helicopter leaves the ground we can explain the physics of flight but no one can explain why they stay in the air. With all the study of the anatomy of the human body, no one can explain the ultimate architect of the human DNA strand.

You have a job ever day that Jesus Christ puts breath in your lungs to answer Pilate’s question. What is Truth?

CONCLUSION

The early church was certainly not without it’s own problems. Nor is our Church today any different. They are all problems of our sinful human nature, which will be with us until Christ returns.

Today we have looked at these three very different, and yet representative, church members around whom the letter revolves. We cannot help but to be challenged regarding our own discipleship.

The ultimate proof of the truth we profess to believe and the love we profess to exercise will be seen neither in words or in feelings but in the progressive transformation of our own character, and this bleeds over into our entire lifestyle, into the image of Christ.

Here is the Challenge

How much are we prepared to let Jesus Christ change us. Is it to be my will or his? On this will depend the ultimate verdict, whether we proved to be frauds or true followers of Christ.

Church this is not a game we are playing, do not be deceived into playing the game.

Who is at the Center of your Life?

Is it ‘self’ with its longing to be first, to be number one?

Or is it Christ, enabling us to keep faithful and to continue walking the truth? There is still no greater issue with greater or more far-reaching implications for the Church or the Christian today.