In the earliest formation of acting, method actors were likely to be trained thespians. The original actor, Thespis, performed in Greek amphitheaters. Actors were called hypocrites, a Greek word meaning "one who wears a mask." These hypocrites shielded their identity, wore a mask, to play a role as someone else.
Today, some Christians are actually called hypocrites: mask-wearing fakes. That perception may be unfair and unfounded, but it's still believed by many in our culture.
********A deacon was witnessing to someone in their front yard about knowing Christ and becoming a child of God. The guy was very belligerent and said, "I'm not going to go to that church. It's nothing but a bunch of hypocrites."
The deacons didn't blink an eye and replied, "Well come on and join us. One more ain't gonna hurt and you would certainly be welcomed."
As believers, we commit ourselves to becoming authentic disciples who mirror the character of Christ instead. That way when people see us, they see Jesus, and there's no conflicting message in the word that we deliver. Today we will be using the book of 2 John for our foundational passage. Before we get into the word today, let's bow our heads for prayer. PRAYER
As the title of the message suggests, today I want to point out and talk about three foundational themes that are essential to the Christian Life. We will take these themes one at a time. See if you can find what the first essential is that John speaks of.
2 John 1-4 – “The elder: To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not only I, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father.”
Do you see it? John mentions the first theme which is truth. He mentions the word truth five times in these opening four verses. He specifically speaks of loving the truth, knowing the truth, remaining in the truth, being the truth, and walking in truth. So, it's clear that this was an important foundational essential in living the Christian life. In verse 3, John extends God's grace, mercy, and peace into the lives of those who know, believe, love, and honor the truth. And for the most part, the believers there were doing that - but not all of them.
Let's put ourselves in that church group today that John writes this letter to. John is telling us that truth should be a priority for us. But in the way that he writes, it reveals that he is aware that only some of the believers were walking in truth, despite the command that they had received from God that he mentions in verse 4.
When Scripture talks about truth, it means something. Too often we hear the term "truth" and we perceive it as some vague concept (i.e. the truths of the Bible). Yet in reality, truth is never vague. Authentic truth is reality. In other words, truth is fundamentally about things which are knowable, things that should be known, and things that must be believed.
We're living in a time when many deny that truth exists at all. Others will acknowledge that truth exists, but they deny that it's knowable with any certainty. And still there are others that reject any obligation toward truth. But the Bible commands us as believers to walk in truth. The word "walk" is synonymous with “living.” S,o God expects and commands believers to live in harmony with truth. We're to know the truth and believe the truth, especially when it comes from Scripture.
One of the most telling examples is our view of truth. In the 1960s, 65% of Americans said they believed the Bible is true; today that figure has dropped to 32%. Even more dramatically, today 67% of all Americans deny that there's any such thing as truth. Then you have something that we call "subjective truth." A subjective truth is a truth based on a person's perspective, feelings, or opinions. Everything we know is based on our input - our senses, our perception. That's not really a truth as it is meant in the Scripture.
Speaking of subjective truths, listen to this true story that a pastor tells.
This story actually happened in 2005 at a state wide meeting. The pastor says, "We had a wonderful time of fellowship the first night, a time of worship and a great message. My spirit was soaring until breakfast on the second day. As I came into the hotel dining room several of my fellow pastors were at a table and invited me to join them. I got a plate of food and cup of coffee and had a seat. It was then that the statement that would change my soul from soaring to troubled was made.
Two of the gentlemen at the table were having a heated discussion about Scripture when one looked at me and said, "Chuck, you were in the service and seem quite sensible. You understand the concept of 'Subjective truths' in Scripture don't you?"
Since I was just starting my first cup of coffee of the day I was a little slow of mind, I took a moment and gulped down half that first cup, then I stated, "Well, I guess if you mean the parables that Jesus told, they could be considered subjective in that we don't know for sure that they are historical or just stories Jesus made up to teach a particular point."
The gentleman seemed shocked at my answer and said to me, "Come on, please don't tell me that your one of those people that believe God created this universe and all that is in it in seven literal days; are you?"
I took a bite of food, another swig of coffee and thought about my answer carefully. "No, you're right; I don't believe God created everything in seven days." To which my breakfast companion seemed relieved, but continuing on I said, "It only took six days. On the seventh He rested."
The truths of the Bible are reality. The Bible gives us explicit statements about things the way they really are. Truth is fundamentally about things which are knowable, that should be known, and that must be believed. So, truth is the first foundational essential to a Christian way of life. John says again that we are to love the truth, know the truth, remain in the truth, be the truth, and walk in truth. If our work isn't built on the truth, the impact of the Gospel will be stifled. Now let's look at the second foundational essential of the Christian life.
2 John 5-6 – “So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.”
I'm sure that you have already realized what this second essential is. Having identified the importance of truth, John then turns to the priority of love. Jesus's unconditional love was the cornerstone of John's writings. Jesus commanded us to love one another. That command to love one another was primarily directed to believers and for believers. Even though we should certainly love unbelievers because Christ died for them as well, the primary instruction is directed to, for, and between Christians. It seems ironic that Jesus's instructions to love one another was actually meant for us as believers. Do you think Jesus saw something that we don't?
Love. Love creates this beautiful image of Christian harmony. But love shouldn't be misconstrued to mean something other than what God's word describes. Our world today has radically misunderstood and redefined love with ideas and images that are far from biblical. John taught in 1 John that "God is love." Biblical characteristics of love are patience, kindness, gratitude, humility, sacrifice, and protection. According to Scripture, love never delights in what God's word calls evil. Love rejoices in the truth. So, John calls us to be unified in the truth. Christian unity is based on truth-not regardless of the truth. The truth of God's word, the identity of Christ, and believers' love for one another are the basis of Christian unity. But we get the definition of love mixed up sometimes. Our use of the word love is not nearly as strong as the Scriptures' use of the word. An example:
A young teenage boy and girl were setting in a swing on her parents front porch way up in the mountains of North Carolina. They spent a lot of time there away from everyone-just them-only on Fridays. They would talk about all kinds of things. Things about when they had grown up. What would they do: go to college which for them meant moving away from home and getting enough money to go. For him it would mean getting a job or going into the military for some good job training. Would they have a family together?
Every Friday evening it was the same. He really liked coming to see her but her mother's cooking was another good thing about the visit. When he got ready to go he would hold her hand and tell her he would see her next Friday and hug her. But tonight, he was feeling tender towards her so he hugged her and said at the bottom of the porch stairs: "You know I love you so much I would fight the biggest man, swim the deepest ocean, climb the highest mountain because I love you so much." He kisses her for the first time and turned to leave. Looking back at her as he opened the gate to leave he said, "I'll see you next Friday....if it don't rain."
Can you see that Scriptural love is stronger than that and John tells us that it is one of the foundational essentials for Christian living.
2 John 7 _ “Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
This verse is to simply to remind us that the purpose of John writing this 2nd letter was to combat false teaching. The heretics had denied the truth about Christ's identity. So, John was calling believers to unite in love around the truth, and to be obedient in rejecting the false teaching and hollow fellowship of those advocating things that were opposed to the Scripture. Then we come to the 3rd foundational essential for Christian living.
2 John 8-9 – “Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.”
John's third foundational essential to the Christian life was for us to be grounded in the teachings of Christ and walk in obedience to them. John had dealt earlier in his writings with these heretics who denied the reality of Jesus being God on earth. When they started out, these deceivers might have been teaching things that seemed reasonable, but their instruction wasn't biblical. It seemed to go beyond the teaching of Scripture. They begin adding things to their message that was not Scriptural. But John reminds us that they were actually destroying the faith and wrecking the foundation upon which everything must be built.
We must have the foundational essential of knowing what Jesus taught and who He is. The biblical teaching of Jesus being fully God and fully man is foundational to our faith. His humanity was important for Him to be our sacrifice and to represent us before God as our Mediator. By rejecting Jesus's human nature, the false teachers of His day and of ours actually undermine the incarnation, God becoming flesh, which was necessary for Jesus to be the Messiah.
If Jesus was not the Messiah, He was not the Son of God, the Son of David, the second Adam, nor the Savior of the world. The deceivers are wrong, and it is no minor error. John considered it inexcusable because the error detracted from the nature and the character of God.
We need to be grounded in the teachings of Scripture, the teachings of Jesus, and who Jesus is.
Who is Jesus? Let me tell you who Jesus is.
• In chemistry, He turned water to wine;
In biology, He was born without the normal conception;
In physics, He disproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven;
In economics, He disproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with two fish & five loaves of bread;
• In medicine, He cured the sick and blind without administering a single dose of drugs;
In history, He is the Beginning and the End;
In government, He said that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace;
• In religion, He said no one comes to the Father except through Him;
? Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master;
? Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher;
? Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer;
? He had no army, yet kings feared Him;
? He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world;
? He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him;
? He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.
? Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.
? Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest.
? Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.
? Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.
? Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.
? Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.
? Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.
? Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.
? He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today!!!
He is our Lord, our Savior, our Prince of Peace, the beginning and the end.
And the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of all. He is my Lord, and my Savior and I hope that He is yours. If He is not, He can be simply by you asking.
So the three foundationally essentials of a Christian life are truth, love, and the foundational teachings of Jesus and who He is. This passage is relevant to us because we live in a time when some have such a lackadaisical view of truth and shallow knowledge of Scripture that we wouldn’t catch any errors if they stared us in the face.
The danger of us accommodating and accepting these false doctrines, or not remaining in Christ's teaching, is a constant threat in the lives of believers. If this were to happen, our service would prove futile, and we would surrender part of Christ's future reward for our work and ministry.
So the question is where do you stand with Christ? Does His truth shine forth from you? Do you love as Jesus loves? Are you firm in your foundational knowledge of Jesus's teachings?
If you don't know Him as your personal Savior, please don't let another day go by until you ask Him to come into your life. Won't you let this be the day?
During our response time just come and tell me that you want Jesus as your personal Savior and I'll show you how easy it is to become a child of God.
