The Cowboy Postcard
Series: New Testament Postcards
Chuck Sligh
January 27, 2013
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to 3 John
INTRODUCTION
We have a tendency to look at the past through rose-tinted glasses. Have you ever heard anyone talk about “the good old days”? Well, the good old days really weren’t all that good. We forget about having to use candles and lanterns for light, going out to the outhouse in the middle of the night, and no air-conditioning or running water.
Illus. – Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his girlfriend.
“Why,” he exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark.”
“Yes,” the hired man replied, “and look what you got!”
No, the good old days aren’t always as good as we think they were. That’s what I think when people say, “Oh how awesome it would be to live in the days of the early church! If we could only return to that time of pristine purity and precious unity.”
Hmm. They must be reading a different Bible than mine! My Bible tells of the New Testament as filled with problems, sin, hypocrisy, doctrinal impurity, division and strife.
• Almost every book, including Acts, records conflict and strife among God’s people.
• Paul had to warn the Galatians not to devour and consume one another. (5:15)
• And boy were some New Testament churches sinful!—Christians involved in the occult over two years after their salvation in Ephesus; a man living with his step-mother in Corinth, and others committing fornication in Corinth, not to mention abuse of the Lord’s Table and believers going to law against one another; idolatry and immorality in Pergamum; and false teachers in Corinth, Galatia, and Thytira.
And yet the New Testament is also filled with wonderful saints, tireless laborers, virtuous believers, holy martyrs, bold preachers, great sacrificers, generous Christians, godly teachers, and faithful disciples.
When you read John’s short postcard that we call 3 John, you see the same kind of contrast.
Illus. – In the days before movies had sound, certain visuals were used in cowboy movies to differentiate the good guys from the bad guys. – The good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. – In this short little letter—the shortest book in the New Testament, John writes concerning two good guys with white hats, and one villain in a black hat.
Like 2 John, the author simply refers to himself as “the elder” in verse 1 which we saw last week has traditionally been ascribed to John the apostle, and no doubt he is the author since his writing style and favorite themes shine through so clearly in this little letter.
As we saw last week, the term “elder” was probably used to emphasize John’s preeminent position and authority in the church as the last surviving apostle.
Now let’s watch our cowboy movie:
I. OUR FIRST GOOD GUY IN A WHITE HAT IS THE RECEIPIENT OF THE POSTCARD, A MAN NAMED GAIUS.
• One thing sticks out about this man: John REALLY loved him.
He calls Gaius “wellbeloved” in verse 1 and “beloved” in verses 2, 5 and 11. And in verse 1 John refers to him as, “Gaius, whom I love in the truth.”
• He must have been a very spiritual man – For in verse 2, John says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
It has been speculated that he may have been in poor health. John wishes that he would be as healthy physically as he was spiritually, which must be pretty healthy since he says that Gaius’s soul prospered.
• Third, Gaius “walked in the truth” according to verses 3-4 – “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Gaius didn’t just talk the talk; he walked the walk.
Illus. – He was not like the believer a Chinese warned a missionary not to place in leadership. – When asked why, he said “His walky no matchy his talky.”
No, Gaius LIVED OUT what he professed to believe.
When we do that, there are two good results in our lives:
1) First, people see it and give a good report of us.
John tells how the brethren testified how the truth was in him, and how he lived the truth out in his life. That’s what I hope people say about me so that Christ receives glory.
2) Second, it gives joy to our spiritual leaders.
When you sin, you have no idea how your pastor anguishes over it! You have no idea of the sleep lost. I’ve been dealing with a situation that has about killed me inside of a brother who sinned in a major way. Yes, he has repented, but oh, the sorrow and the grief of seeing what sin does in a person’s life!
But what a blessing when I hear when you not only BELIEVE the truth, but you’re WALKING in it; you’re LIVING IT OUT in your lives! It’s one of the things that keeps a pastor going in the ministry. It’s like a jolt of electricity to a preacher when his people walk in truth.
• Now in verses 5-8, we see that John was faithful to support and take care of God’s leaders in the early church.
In this letter, John addresses the same issue he does in 2 John, namely the care and hospitality of visiting teachers. Bible scholars and church historians tell us that the larger cities had churches with full-time, fully-supported pastors, but the churches in the outlying areas were mostly small house churches. These small churches were ministered to by local leaders with limited gifts, knowledge and training, augmented by teachers who travelled in a circuit, tending to these local assemblies, and acting as emissaries for the apostles. To enable these itinerant teachers, providing for their needs was vitally important. They made their livelihood through the generosity of those they visited, just as the larger churches supported their pastors and met their needs.
We see in verses 5-8 that Gaius was a model for doing this the right way. – “Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; 6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: 7 Because that for his name
