Second John only has 13 verses. Third John only has 15 verses.
But, do not make the mistake of thinking that because these two books are short that it diminishes what John has to say.
Illus: John was like some people we meet. They do not say a lot, but they have the most to say when they do speak.
Some folks have the problem of taking at least ten thousand words to say what they could say in one thousand.
John was not a man of many words, but when he spoke he had something to say that was worth listening to.
The reason for this second letter was:
• First, to contend for truth in the church.
• Second, to contend for the deity of Christ.
There are some Christians who will not have fellowship with you unless you...
• Part your hair the way they do.
• Dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s the same way they do.
But, I DO NOT BELIEVE God is pleased with the Christians who take this superior view of themselves. You see, we have to take into consideration that some folks, as children, attended churches where they were not taught all the truths of God’s Word. This makes it hard because before they can be taught right, they have to go against things their former church, and parents, had told them was right.
We must be patient, kind, and loving toward those who were raised with wrong teachings because they have major hurdles to overcome.
John wrote this second epistle to remind the Christians and reinforce them so they would be strong in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wanted them to stand on the truth that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had come in the flesh to be their Savior. Keep these two things in mind as we study this epistle. First, let us look at...
I. THE CHURCH
Look at verses 1-3. We read, “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” Commentators generally agree there are TWO views on WHO THE “ELECT LADY” was.
(1) Some believe John was writing to a particular woman. But notice, John never mentioned any particular lady personally.
(2) Others say, “No, John was writing to the church.”
Most Bible scholars favor this view. It appears that when John referred to “...the elect lady and her children...” he was referring to the church and its members as her children.
Illus: The late Dr. J. Vernon McGee said, “I emphasize the church rather than the individual, applying it to the church at large and the church today. When I say church, I am not thinking of any local church or any denomination, but the total body of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Since the scriptures do not give us the name of a PARTICULAR LADY, we also are going to deal with this as it being to the church.
There were no church buildings then as we know them today. The “body of Christ” met in the homes of the believers.
Notice, he refers to the church, the believers, as the “ELECT lady.” Perhaps someone is saying, “PREACHER, DO YOU BELIEVE IN ELECTION?”
God elected to make heaven available to “Whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved.” I certainly do believe in this election. The Bible clearly teaches it. In 2 Peter 3:9, we read, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance.”
The Bible makes it clear that God is, “...NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.” We certainly do not believe God’s Word teaches He has created, and pre-determined, that some can not be saved. That would directly contradict His Word that He is, “...NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.”
God’s church consists of people who have repented of their sins and become born again. We looked at THE CHURCH, now let us look at...
II. THE COMMANDMENTS
Along with the blessings of being saved also comes the responsibility of behaving as His children. Look at verse 4. We read, “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” Nothing thrills a pastor’s heart like preaching THE TRUTH and then finding that the people will WALK IN THAT TRUTH.
We have too many today...
• Who claim to be children of God,
• Who profess to BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH,
BUT WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO WALK IN THE TRUTH. (Can I hear an amen on that?)
That is, they TALK IT but they do not WALK IT!
Pastors have to CONTEND FOR THE TRUTH!
Illus: One of the worst things that has happened to some churches is that they have people in their pulpits and teaching Sunday school classes who do not know the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD!
Often, some go to Sunday school classes where rather than these classes being taught by someone who KNOWS THE WORD OF GOD and who CONTENDS FOR WHAT THIS BIBLE TEACHES, they find themselves being taught by one who is asking, “What do you think?”
Do not misunderstand what I am saying. There is nothing wrong with trying to motivate class members to get involved by asking questions. However, before that teacher closes the class in prayer, and before that preacher closes the service in prayer, someone needs to tell the people the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD!
That does not mean that everyone who hears it will receive it, but it still needs to be stated CLEARLY and THOROUGHLY.
Because the Word is not being preached across America today, we have a society of people who do not know WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG!
Illus: On April, 1999, when there was a shooting in Colorado and many students were killed, some of the journalists interviewed some of the students there. One student was asked if she noticed anything strange about the two boys who did the shooting. She said, “Yes, I knew they dressed weird, but who is to say what is weird!”
In other words, this young woman was in high school, she lived in our society, but she did not even know what weird was.
WHO IS TO SAY WHAT IS WEIRD? It is the job of parents to teach their children what is right and what is wrong, what is weird and what is not weird. Children need parents who care enough about them to tell them:
• You are not wearing that!
• You are not listening to that!
• You are not going there!
And then, as parents of the past did, teach them what to wear, listen to, and where to go, and who to go with.
God’s Word used to be taught in church so people used to know what was sin and what was not sin. The word “sin” was not just used every now and then. Preachers told people what sin was. They told the people:
• Gambling was sin.
• Smoking was sin.
• Lying was sin.
• Cheating was sin.
• Dancing was sin.
• Drinking was sin.
• Abortion was sin.
• Desecrating God’s day was sin.
• Wearing clothes that caused the opposite sex to lust was sin.
• Cursing was sin.
• Jealousy was sin.
• To hate was sin.
• Gossip was sin.
• Anything one put ahead of the Lord was sin.
And there was much more! But today most Christians have heard so little preaching about sin that often they do not know what sin is.
John preached against sin and he was thrilled when he heard those he had preached to were WALKING IN THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD. The Bible is the ABSOLUTE that we must build our Christian faith on. The Bible tells us WHAT IS RIGHT, and WHAT IS WRONG!
We live in an age when few know what IS WEIRD or what IS SIN! John mentioned two truths he wanted them to know. He mentioned...
A. THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER
One TRUTH this Bible clearly teaches is that we are to WALK IN TRUTH. The fact we are to walk it, not just talk it is no new revelation.
Look at verses 5-6. We read, “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”
We are instructed, in God’s Word, to WALK IN LOVE, yet we see much hate and jealousy among those who profess to know Jesus. This was a problem in John’s day, so he wrote to them about it.
Also, he wanted to talk to them about...
B. THEIR LOVE FOR TRUTH
Look at verses 7-9. We read, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”
These verses teach us many things.
• Verse 7, says there are many deceivers in the world who confess not that Jesus came in the flesh.
• Verse 8, says we have to be careful now to let go of all we have worked for that we might receive a “full reward.”
• Verse 9, it is clear that any who sin against what the Bible teaches about Christ, “...hath not God.”
Someone says when we note those who sin, that we should not be “judging” people. Well, this is not “judging” people. God’s Word is what they are judged by. His Word makes it clear that those who do not “abide” in “the doctrine of Christ” do not have God.
Again, John wrote this epistle for the purpose of telling them to CONTEND FOR THE TRUTH.
He said, verses 10-11, “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
Because there are some who think the “elect lady” is a particular woman, they take these two verses to mean if a person who happens to be in a false religion knocks on our door at home we are not to invite him in and witness to him.
If that was what this verse was teaching, then we have a conflict with other verses, such as, 1 Peter 3:15. Here we read, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
Notice that we are commanded of God to always be ABLE and READY to give the reason of the hope that is within us, “...to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
That would include those who would knock on your door, who may belong to a false religion.
The reason some prefer the interpretation that seems to tell us to slam the door in their faces is because THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE AND CAN NOT DEFEND THE FAITH.
But remember. John is writing to the church that is referred to as a lady AND HER CHILDREN. John was saying that we, as a church, are to contend for the TRUTH. We are NOT TO allow false teachers to speak to the congregation and lead us astray.
Illus: A lady who attended an ecumenical church said, “Every year we invite the Catholic priest to come to our church to speak and our preacher goes to the Catholic church and speaks.”
She made it sound so religious that her church was so nice to do such a thing.
Listen, that woman ought to be ashamed that her church allows such a thing. She ought to go to her pastor and tell him if they continued this practice she was going to find a church somewhere that was willing to CONTEND FOR THE TRUTH.
What John is saying in verses 10 and 11 is that we should not tolerate anything to be preached but the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD!
We certainly should not invite a person to come preach when we know he teaches things that are contrary to the Word of God, and then bid him God’s speed. We have to be willing to CONTEND FOR THE FAITH.
Conclusion:
John wanted to discuss these two things with the church, but these were not the only things. Look at verses 12-13. We read, “Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.”
I. THE CHURCH
II. THE COMMANDMENTS
