2 John 7-11 - Watch Yourself

Introduction

Last week we looked at 2 John 4-6 and answered the question, “What do you do when only some are walking in truth?”

You thank God for the some.

You love the some.

And you walk with the some.

This week with 2 John 7 we are answering the why question—Why did John write this to his readers? What was the problem that they were dealing with that provoked this letter?

Then in vv. 2 John 8-11 we see how we must watch ourselves in light of this problem.

Follow along as I read 2 John 7-11…

[READING - 2 John 7-11]

2 John 7–11 NASB95

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he 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, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

[PRAYER]

Verse 7 tell us what the problem was…

2 John 7 NASB95

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

The reason that John’s readers had to thank God for one another, love one another, and continue to walk with one another was because deceivers or liars had gone out to spread their lie.

They spread other lies but they all were built on the foundation of this one lie: Jesus Christ did not come in the flesh; they denied that “the eternal second person of the Trinity became a human being and ‘assumed flesh’ in Jesus of Nazareth,” (WDTTSE).

2 John 7 may indicate how they denied the incarnation. You’ll notice that it says they “(did) not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.”

It may have been that their denial of Jesus’s incarnation was subtle at first and only later revealed itself as a full denial of Jesus as coming in the flesh.

You’ll also notice that the phrasing in v. 7 is “Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.” We would expect it to say “Jesus Christ as come” if John just meant to refer to a past event.

By using “as coming,” John refers to Jesus’s past incarnation, present incarnation, and future incarnation.

When Jesus dwelt among men on earth, He dwelt among them as one of them—as a real man.

When Jesus was crucified as the sacrifice for the sins of men, He was sacrificed as a real man.

When Jesus was raised from the dead as proof that followers of Jesus have been made right with God, He was raised as a real man.

And when Jesus ascended into Heaven to take His rightful place at the Father’s right hand, He ascended and took His place as a real man.

Today Jesus Christ intercedes, He prays for us, at the Father’s right hand as a real man.

And one day, when Jesus returns to rule the earth, He will return to rule as a real man.

Ever since He was born in a real human body, Jesus has been and will always be one-hundred percent man.

This is what these deceivers and antichrists were denying.

In doing so, they revealed themselves to be teachers of lies and enemies of Christ.

[APP] I first heard the phrase “evangelical atheist” years ago to describe men like Richard Dawkins. At one point it seemed that Richard Dawkins was the world’s most famous atheist. In interviews, articles, and books, Dawkins spread the supposed good news of atheism.

This is what was meant by the term evangelical atheist—one who spreads the “good news” of atheism.

The deceivers and antichrists John contended with were also evangelical in that sense because, as you see in v. 7, they had “gone out into the world.”

In other words, these deceives and antichrists who denied Jesus as coming in the flesh planned on convincing others of their lies.

Just as Jesus sent His disciples out into the world to spread the truth, the deceivers had gone out to spread lies.

They planned on winning others to their way of unbelieving.

Someone wrote that these false teachers didn’t know their teaching was false or else they wouldn’t have believed it themselves and they wouldn’t have tried to pass it on to others.

But whether they knew it was false or not, the reality is that it was false because it contradicted reality, which is recorded in the Word of God.

John ought to know.

He was there.

He saw and looked at and touched Jesus Christ in the flesh.

Today there are many deceptions that set themselves up as antichrist—as opposed to Christ.

People deny that Jesus Christ was God.

People deny that Jesus Christ was crucified.

People deny that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

People deny that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

People deny that Jesus ever existed!

And many of the people who believe these things want to convince others to believe these lies.

Of course, many of these people don’t realize they are believing lies or else they would believe them and they wouldn’t try to convince others of them.

But whether they know it or not, they contradict the reality about Jesus as recorded in God’s Word.

[INTER] So, how should we watch ourselves in a world like this?

How should we watch ourselves in a world where people deny fundamental truths about Jesus and try to convince others to deny those truths too?

How should we watch ourselves in a world where people deny the reality about Jesus as recorded in God’s word?

Verses 8-11 provided two ANSWERS.

Major Ideas

Answer #1: Watch yourself by watching your reward (vv. 8-9)

2 John 8–9 NASB95

8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.

[EXP/APP] The first danger when encountering a false teaching is that we might believe it ourselves. Please do not assume that you would never believe a false teaching.

John told his readers, “Watch yourselves…”

The Holy Spirit through Word of God here in 2 John is likewise saying to us, “Watch yourselves…”

If we are watching ourselves, if we are on the alert for false teaching, we might wonder how we are to spot it. Notice that John says in v. 8, “Do not lose what we have accomplished.”

I take the “we” to refer to the Apostles.

Jesus taught the Apostle and they were authorized to lay the foundation for the teaching in the church.

Anything that contradicts the teaching of the Apostles in the NT abandons what the Apostles accomplished.

It abandons their teaching, which is the teaching of Jesus handed down to us through them in the pages of the NT.

And apart of what they teach us in the NT is Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.

John says, “Don’t lose what we have accomplished, so that you may receive a full reward.”

John told his readers that they shouldn’t waste any time believing ideas that are contrary to what the Apostles taught.

The time wasted believing such lies is time that could have been spent storing up treasure, laying up rewards, and earning crowns in Heaven.

John said stick to the truth and get your full reward in Heaven.

Verse 8 envisions some who might entertain lies about Jesus for a little while and come back to the truth, but verse 9 envisions a different type of person. It envisions ones like the false teachers who go too far or go on ahead, which is the literal translation.

That phrase “go on ahead” in v. 9 may be John quoting the false teachers themselves. Perhaps they said, “We’ve gone ahead of what the Apostles taught.”

John says that those who go ahead of God’s Word and do not abide in the teaching of Christ as handed down through the Apostles do not know God.

They do not have Him.

They have no saving relationship with Him.

The one who abides in the teaching of Jesus, however, has both the Father and the Son.

Only by believing the truth about Jesus can we have a saving relationship with God the Father.

Believing lies about Jesus will only reveal that we are still condemned by God.

[ILLUS] Sometime ago I saw a clip by the false teacher, Benny Hinn, who went beyond what Scripture teaches.

He said that although the Bible teachers one God in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if we could believe it, there are nine persons in the Godhead.

I don’t know how he came up with that, but you could tell in the moment that he was impressed with his new teaching.

But all it did was reveal that he has neither the Father nor the Son for his false teaching goes too far.

It goes beyond what Scripture teaches.

It is out of bounds, and we must stay withing the bounds of Holy Scripture.

[APP] We must watch ourselves, be on the alert for any teaching the deviates from God’s Word, for any teaching the deviates from the teaching of Jesus and His Apostles lest we lose our full reward.

[TS] That’s one way we watch ourselves when confronted with false teaching.

Verses 10-11 give us another…

Answer #2: Watch yourself by watching your hospitality (vv. 10-11)

2 John 10–11 NASB95

10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

[EXP/APP] Here John is probably thinking of false teachers who might come to this church to share their lies rather than this teaching—i.e., the truth about Jesus from God’s Word.

Though they would have said, “We believe in Jesus,” their denial of Jesus’ incarnation meant that, not only was the pulpit closed to them, but the church house was closed to them.

They were not to receive a greeting.

They were not welcomed.

Not everyone is welcomed in the church.

Those who desire to hear the truth from God’s Word are welcomed.

But those who desire to spread lies opposed to God’s Word or desire to prevent others from hearing the truth of God’s Word—they are not welcomed.

The reason we must not receive false teachers, give them greeting, or support them in any way is because, as v. 11 says, “the one who gives (a false teacher) a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

If we support false teachers, we are aiding and abetting a false teacher.

[ILLUS] You, of course, know that phrase “aiding and abetting” from the legal world. If we aid and abet a criminal, we support them and encourage them in their criminal behavior.

In v. 11, John says when receive and greet false teachers, we aid and abet them—we support them and encourage them in their false teaching.

We must never do this.

[APP] We must give our encouragement and support only to those who teach the truth about Jesus.

We must be found guilty of aiding and abetting only faithful teachers, preachers, evangelists, and missionaries—faithful ones who teach the truth about Jesus from God’s Word.

[TS] ....

Conclusion

[ILLUS] Polycarp was a bishop in the early church, a disciple of the Apostle John himself.

The story goes that one day he met the heretic Marcion who taught that the God of the OT was the God of wrath while the God of the NT—a different God in the person of Jesus Christ—was the God of love.

He also taught that Jesus never came in the flesh.

So, one day Polycarp met Marcion. Marcion approaches and says, “Do you recognize me?”

Polycarp responded, “I recognize Satan’s firstborn.”

There was no support or encouragement from Polycarp to Marcion because Marcion was a false teacher.

Another story from the early church recounts the Apostle John fleeing from a building that a heretic named Cerinthus just entered.

Among other lies, Cerinthus taught that the Christ descended on Jesus at His baptism and left Jesus at His crucifixion.

Apparently John said to one of his companions, “Let us hurry away lest the building collapse on us because Cerinthus the enemy of truth is here.”

The Apostle John pulled no punches.

He gave no support or encouragement to heretics.

He taught his disciples to do the same.

The Word of God teaches us to do the same.

[PRAYER]