TEXT: 3rd John vs. 1-13
TITLE: Dear Gaius “Can you handle the truth?”
SERIES: Letters from John
TOPIC: TRUTH
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, November 14, 2010
PROP.: If we really believe in Jesus Christ, it should impact the way we live our lives…we should WALK in truth!
INTRODUCTION: This is the second sermon in a series called LETTERS FROM JOHN. We are studying 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. And last week was important because we looked at some of the details surrounding these letters. Remember, we told you that John
Do you remember the three words I had you jot down last week? Jesus. Truth. Love.
These three words are themes that John is going to use over and over in his teaching and writings.
It’s been about 50 years since Christianity first launched! And so these are 2nd generation Christians that John is writing to. And so John’s fear is that this ‘new’ generation of Christians will be divided as old meets young -- so he preaches about Love. John is afraid that false teachers will creep into the churches and so he writes about truth. And John is afraid that confusion surrounding Jesus Christ will become more prevalent and so John writes about his first hand experiences with His savior Jesus!
So our text is found in 3rd John. And before I go any further, some of you are probably wondering: “if this is only the second sermon in this series, why is Mark preaching out of 3rd John all ready? Doesn‘t this preacher know order? Isn‘t there like 1...2...3? What‘s the deal?” Well, as I’ve done some studying on these letters, I’ve learned something.
The numbers of these letters were added later. They were numbered 1st, 2nd and 3rd John because of their size. 1st John is the longest of his letters so it’s number 1. And what I’ve come to realize is that by studying 2nd and 3rd John first, they kind of set the table for 1st John. So just so you know, we are going to go in what would appear as though it’s reverse order. We are going to do 3rd John, then 2nd John and finally 1st John.
Ok? Ok! So let’s read our text this morning. 3rd John vs. 1-14
1 The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
(right out of the gate, we have two of the three key words. We have LOVE and TRUTH. Let’s keep going).
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
(let’s stop right there for a moment. John opens up this letter to his friend in much the same fashion we would if we were writing a letter to one of our friends. “Hi. How are you? I am fine.” But notice what John does. He PRAYS for his friend! He says, “I PRAY that you may enjoy good health.” And then he makes an interesting statement. “I hope that your soul health matches your physical health.”
We live in a society where physical health takes a priority. And that’s not wrong. Take good care of your body! But I wonder - do we take as much time looking after our Spiritual health as we do our physical health? A good reminder from John that we should be MORE concerned with our Spiritual health than our physical health. Why? Because we are all going to die! And as much as you take care of your body, it’s going to fade away. It’s going to disappear. So why not work on the one thing that will last forever? Your SPIRITUAL body. I found that interesting. Anyway. Verse 3)
3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,[a] even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.
(So what has happened is that John has learned of some information from some of the area preachers of these churches while he is living in Ephesus. And maybe some people at the church where Gaius was at, visited John and said, “John, I have to tell you about this faithful, generous man. He adds so much to our church body. His name is Gaius.” And John makes the connection that Gaius is walking in truth.
That’s the first point of what I want to talk to you about today.
I. AM I WALKING IN TRUTH? (vs. 1-8) (9:43)
John says that by your actions, it will determine if you are walking in the truth.
What kind of truth are you walking in? Maybe a place we need to start is with the same question that Pilate asked Jesus as Jesus was standing before him as a prisoner. As a criminal. Pilate asked Jesus:
A. WHAT IS TRUTH?
Truth is: Something that is certain. That is reliable. Something that is unchanging. Something you can count on. And the neat thing is that there is truth that is certain for everyone!
Think about that for a moment. You have Death. That’s pretty certain. Gravity. That’s pretty certain too, isn’t it?
But what about Jesus. Is he true for all people? Is he right for them and their needs? Does truth exist? Is truth real?
Take a look at this video.
ILLUSTRATION: Show video clip of red balloon by one time blind.
“the funny thing about truth is that it’s true whether you believe it or not.”
Isn’t that good? The truth is true whether people choose to believe it or not. Just because some over-educated numb skull says that truth doesn’t exist doesn’t mean that it doesn’t! Isn’t that where we are going with all of this? The TRUTH is, there IS truth! And the truth is Jesus is truth! Everyone needs the truth. Everyone needs Jesus.
Because there is only so many ways you can spin guilt and pain and suffering. But when you know Jesus you know truth. And that is what John is driving home in this letter and in the letters to come. John is testifying to the truth of who Jesus is and how He can change lives - because John has experienced that change first hand!
So if Jesus is truth.
B. How can you tell if you’re walking in truth? How can you tell if you’re walking in Jesus?
BY YOUR ACTIONS!
And that’s why here in our text, he is giving Gaius a pat on the back. He tells him, I can see you are walking in truth. How can John know that? Because of the ACTIONS of Gaius.
So do your actions prove that you are walking in TRUTH?
Do your actions match what you believe? Or as Dell would ask from the truth project: “Do you really believe what you really believe?”
ILLUSTRATION: I had the privilege of speaking at a leadership conference this past weekend for a group of 30 men from New London Christian Church. We talked about this idea. What if we really believed what we really believe???
Our prayers would look different. If we believed that we were conversing with the God of the universe, would we ramble on reciting the same prayers day after day?
Our worship services would be different. If we really believed the truth that “wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am also.” Would we walk into church 20 minutes late? Would we choose to miss church to go hunting?
Our lives would look different. If we believed the Bible was REALLY God’s word…if we saw it as God’s authority…would we live in direct opposition to it what God’s word said?
I ask again: In what truth are you walking? Are your actions matching what your profess to be true?
Well, let’s get back to our text. Verses 9-14. In verses 9-14, Paul is going to SHOW us what walking in truth looks like. He is going to give us some
II. Examples of truth (vs. 9-14)
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.
Within our text, there are two examples of truth.
A. The Truth as demonstrated by Diotrephes (DIE-OT-TRO-PHEES)
DIOTREPHES is a perfect example of worldly truth. DIOTREPHES WAS LIVING AS THOUGH HE WAS MORE IMPORTANT. My wants come first. My needs are more important than anything else. I know what God has said…BUT.”
Diotrephes was a problem to John. In character and behaviour he’s quite different from Gaius. Diotrephes is seen as loving himself more than others and refusing to welcome the travelling evangelists. Yet both men were members of the same congregation. How could this happen? Jesus taught His disciples that "the kingdom of heaven could be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men were sleeping the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat" (Matt 13:24). It wasn’t until the harvest that the weeds were separated from the wheat. Paul warned Timothy of people connected with the Christian church who held the form of religion, its outward trappings, but denied the power of it (2 Tim 3:5). This reminds us that members of the visible church aren’t necessarily part of the true church, the Body of Christ. John’s complaint against Diotrephes was that:
HE WAS PROUD AND SELF-WILLED
Diotrephes is a warning of the characteristics to guard against. The Elder’s words are a pen portrait of a man to be avoided, rather like a poster on a Police Station notice board of a convicted criminal on the run "This man is dangerous!" Diotrephes always wanted to be first. He loved the public eye and was always pushing to the front. He was insufferably proud, and this was the root cause of all the trouble. And it created havoc for the church.
John had written to the local church with a message for the members but Diotrephes in his arrogance had refused to acknowledge the writer’s authority. He may have refused the read the letter to the church or even destroyed it. Whatever happened, the effect was to reject the instructions issued by John. One can almost hear Diotrephes saying: "I’m not going to be dictated to by John. I‘m better than he is."
The name Diotrephes wasn’t often used. It appears it was found only in families of noble blood. If this is the case it may well have been social prestige that lay behind his disgraceful behaviour. Pride is sin. In many ways, pride is the biggest sin that hurts the church the most.
And with pride, It presents itself in several forms. The trouble starts when some perfectly good thing - say, a person’s ability, position or achievement is given an importance entirely out of proportion. Diotrephes had a position of responsibility in the church but he loved it too much and when John the Elder, who had a greater authority, overruled him, the flaw in his character was exposed. But not only was Diotrephes proud and self-willed - one thing led to another:
HE WAS UNDISCIPLINED AND SPITEFUL
The Elder complained that Diotrephes was "gossiping maliciously against us" (10). One can imagine him going around the congregation trying to "knock" John, seeking to belittle him in the eyes of others. This character assassination must have been very harmful to the church fellowship. This type of division was exactly what Satan wants.
ILLUSTRATION: The late C. S. Lewis was a most perceptive writer. In his book "The Screwtape Letters", he imagines he is listening to a speech given by a senior devil in Hell itself. The subject is "Religion on Earth". The devil goes on to say "It can still send us the truly delicious sins, the fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighbourhood of the holy. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar." Diotrephes wasn’t content with a campaign of malicious words against John, but went further for we’re told:
HE REFUSED TO ACCEPT SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
Diotrephes deliberately defied the Elder by turning others away from the church. For some reason he resented the arrival of traveling preachers. Perhaps he wanted to be a preacher on all occasions. He may have had a secret fear--an insecurity -- that if his congregation heard any other minister that people might turn away from him.
Regardless of the possible benefit to the church of hearing more experienced teachers than himself, he was determined to bolster up his position at all costs. He was more concerned with the glory of his own name. The result of this was that he refused to have them in his home or lift a finger to help them. What was even worse was that any of his members who didn’t see eye to eye with him became his enemies.
Those who wanted to obey John and welcome the itinerant evangelists, he tried to expel them from the church! It must have given pain to John to write such a dreadful report but now the mood of sorrow gives place to joy as he turns his attention to an assessment of his second example of truth.
B. The truth as DEMONSTRATED by Demetrius
Who was Demetrius? In all probability Demetrius was the bearer of John’s letter.
Now Galatians 1:10 tells us that we should seek to please other people. And other people’s opinions of us aren’t always correct, even those who know us best. Only God is all knowing and all seeing. But what the impartial observer thinks can be a good indicator of what we are. Self-assessment is valuable but, let’s be frank, it can be biased! I mean, in my own eyes, I’m pretty awesome!
Demetrius lived out his Christian beliefs in his daily work. John was able to give Demetrius a good commendation. He doesn’t give much detail on why Demetrius was commended but what he writes is praise indeed: "Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone" (12). Of course, sometimes it isn’t good when everyone speaks well of us if it means that we merely following the crowd, but in this case it was good. Demetrius’ good testimony didn’t rely only on the words of others. His Christian genuineness was confirmed by his life.
CONCLUSION: John, the E1der, has completed his frank assessment of three men connected with the early church. They are given as examples of the qualities that please God and the defects that can only cause damage to the person and the church. Two good examples and one bad one. The bad example is Diotrephes he hindered others. He slandered John, cold shouldered the missionaries and excommunicated the loyal believers because he loved himself and wanted to have the pre-eminence. The question must be asked whether he was a true Christian at all. John warns that he will be obliged to take some kind of disciplinary action. History doesn’t record if John visited the church to deal with the matter personally. But one thing we can be sure of is that Diotrephes will have to give an answer at the Last Day when confronted by the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, as will all other believers .
But then there were two good examples. Gaius who served others. He abounded in spiritual health, his life a visua1 sermon that rang true because he was dominated by the love of Christ. And Demetrius who attracted others. He was commended by all that knew him as a true man of God, a worthy ambassador of the Lord he served.
Most of what we learn in life is by imitating others. It’s natural for us to look up to other people as our model and to copy them. John leaves us with these words of counsel: "Do not follow bad examples but good ones" (11).
APPLICATION:
1. Do my actions match my beliefs?
Consistency is the test for truth
2. What person in your life is modeling the truth?
If you can’t think of anyone -- it might be time to switch your friends.
3. How would John describe you if he were writing a letter to you?
We come now to our time of decision.
