Well this morning we are going to be in the book of 2 John. It’s toward the end of your Bibles. First John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and then Revelation. I thought for my first Sunday morning sermon we’d tackle a whole book – all thirteen verses of it! Second John. Second John is addressed to “the elect lady.” Now it’s best to understand “the elect lady” as a church. John is writing to a church in Asia Minor. During this time, there is much distress, primarily because of the infiltration of false teachers into the life and into the community of the church. Before we read 2 John, I’d like to go and have a time of prayer before we read God’s Word.
Let’s pray.
Father, we need to hear from You. As we just read in the Psalms, our souls, they wait upon you like a watchman. But now we get to hear from You. We get to hear from Your Word and hear it read and preached. And I would ask that You would ready our hearts to hear what You have for us, that You would shape us, that You would mold us by Your Word, through Your Spirit. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.
The book of 2 John. This is God’s Word:
“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady – not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning – that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
The children of your elect sister greet you.”
Well as Christians, faithfulness is on our minds. We want to be faithful people. And maybe especially this morning as we gather corporately, and even more so as we think about electing elders, faithfulness is, it ought to be on our minds. But faithfulness is difficult. Faithfulness is hard. We live in a culture that does not promote faithfulness. We have sinful hearts that do not help us in the path of faithfulness. We fight temptation against unfaithfulness. We can feel lost. We can feel apathetic. We can feel discouraged in the path of faithfulness. And so we need help. We need direction. We need strength. And the message of 2 John, it’s not flashy; it’s not novel. It’s simple. It’s timeless and it’s straightforward. But it tells us how we remain faithful during trying times. It answers the question, “How do we remain faithful?” It says we walk in love, we hold fast to the truth, and we always remember God’s faithfulness. Love, truth, God’s faithfulness – it’s the path towards faithfulness.
Walking in Love
So first – What does faithfulness look like? It looks like walking in love. The author of 2 John is the disciple whom Jesus loved. He recorded scriptures such as, “Greater love has no man than this…” and “For God so loved the world…” He wrote things such as, “There is no fear in love.” And John loves this church. He loves these people. He expresses his love right at the beginning. He says, “The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth.” Verse 4 tells us that he rejoices at the spiritual wellbeing of many in this congregation. In verse 12 we learn that he longs to see them face to face so that his joy may be complete. John loves these people. He expresses his love, and also in verse 5 he commands that they love one another. He reminds them of the same command that Christ gave to His disciples, this age-old command, this timeless command to love one another. This is John’s burden for the people that he is writing to. Sincere love for one another.
That’s because faithfulness looks like love. It’s always been this way. It always will. Love must always be central to the life of God’s people. We probably know this. We’ve heard this before. And love is great. Love is great until it’s required of us, because oftentimes it’s much easier to fight fire with fire. It’s much easier to lash out or grow cold. It’s much easier to become bitter. It’s much easier to add unnecessary saltiness to our speech. But you see, what John is telling us is that you can’t ever leave love behind. Love is vital. You cannot set it aside. It’s non-negotiable. It’s essential. There is no such thing as faithfulness without love.
So I want us to think corporately, to think as a church for a moment. There is this question – Do we love one another? That question, that overshadows other questions. That overshadows questions like, “How impressive or how excellent are we?” That overshadows questions such as, “How many people were in the pew this morning?” That overshadows questions such as, “How influential or respected are we?” It matters more than how nice the music is or how polished the preaching and teaching is. It matters more than how effective our ministry programs are. The big question is, “Do we love one another?”
There is a basketball coach, college basketball coach whose team was down one, stole the ball, and made a shot at the last second sending the fans into bedlam. But what was interesting is this coach never changed his expression – arms crossed; watched the whole thing unfold. And as the fans and the team was celebrating, he walked straight across and shook the opposing coach’s hand without showing really any expression at all. And so he was asked about it in the press conference and he said, “Why did you not show expression when you won the game, when the team made that last second shot?” And he said, “That’s not how I evaluate my team. Whether a crazy shot like that goes in or not, that’s not what’s important.” You see, he was concerned about what matters most like defense and hustle and the things that actually win a game.
And I think there is actually something that we can learn from that. What is it that matters most? Not outward success, but love. Do we love one another? Paul says without love we gain nothing and we are nothing. So that begs the question, “What does love actually look like?” There are many books and movies and songs, I’m sure, that you can think of that are all attempting to show us and tell us what love is and what love looks like. And oftentimes it’s shown to us as emotions or moments or sentiments. But actually, love is selfless and sincere and sacrificial action for the good of another. Verse 6 tells us specifically. Verse 6 tells us that to love is to obey. John writes in verse 6, he says, “This is love, that you walk according to God’s commandments.” To love is to obey.
Now this doesn’t mean that love lacks emotion or warmth. “Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy or boast. Love bears all things.” But one thing that love never does, love never disobeys God. Love never disobeys God. And this means that God’s commands about your time, about your money, about your sexuality, about your work, about your worship and speech and so on, that has everything to do with love. It has everything to do with love. And I think that we doubt this. There is a popular – I guess it’s a clothing brand now but it originated as street art and in big letters it said, “OBEY.” In big bold letters. So if you passed it in a city you’d see “OBEY” in big letters. And part of the effect that this was intended to have was to make you contemplate your own experience and understanding of obedience. And I think often that a lot of us are suspicious of obedience, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. We see obedience as oppressive, or maybe we see it as a joyless duty. You see, God’s laws are never oppressive. They are given to us so that all that is good and all that is beautiful and all that is true can run wild in our lives and run wild in this world. God’s laws are good and His commands have everything to do with love that is so precious and love that is so vital. They are given to us in love and for love. John writes in 1 John, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” And His commandments are not burdensome. So I want you to hear this. God is not holding out on you. He gives you His commands in love and for love.
Holding Fast to the Truth
So what does faithfulness look like? It looks like love. It looks like walking in loving obedience. It always has, it always will; it’s timeless, it never changes. And this timeless and never changing command to love one another has an age-old counterpart. It has an age-old counterpart named “truth.” And this theme of truth runs throughout this whole book as well. And so faithfulness also looks like holding fast to the truth. That’s the second point. Faithfulness looks like holding fast to the truth. You see this in verse 1. John says he loves this church “in the truth.” It is the truth that creates the bond of love that he has for this church and they have for each other. The truth matters.
And we see this most clearly in verses 7 through 11. In verse 7, John pivots. He’s talking about the inner life of the church and he begins to look outward. He says that there are people who have gone out into this world, false teachers, and they actually, in verse 7, it says, “They do not confess the coming of Christ Jesus in the flesh.” In other words, they deny the fact that Jesus was incarnate; in some kind of way they deny this. He says these people who deny this are actually fundamentally against God. They are anti-Christ, he writes. You see, these are high stakes. These are high stakes because to deny the incarnation is to deny implicitly the atonement. It’s to deny Christ’s mediation for us. It’s to deny His example to us. It’s to deny His sympathy for us in our sufferings. In sum, to deny the incarnation of Christ is to implicitly deny redemption. These are high stakes. John Stott says, “they have advanced so far that they have left God behind.” In verse 9, he’s being a little bit sarcastic when he says, “They have gone on ahead and they do not abide in the teaching of Christ.” They’ve gone so far that they’ve left God behind.
And so the principle for them is the principle for us now. The difference between right and wrong, at least about Christ, is the difference between knowing God and not knowing God. These are high stakes. This really matters. So what do you do with this? You do what John tells the church to do in verse 8. You watch yourself. “You watch yourself so you may not lose what we have worked for.” But they want a full reward. This isn’t talking about real Christians really losing salvation but it is saying there is real harm and real damage done in the life of the church when the truth about Christ is tampered with. And so you must watch yourself.
And I think it’s fascinating. He doesn’t say, “Watch out.” He doesn’t say, “Watch the news.” He doesn’t say, “Watch what other people do.” He says, “Watch yourself.” He’s talking to us. We don’t first need to look out, we need to look into our own hearts because unbelief runs straight through our hearts as well. So this means we need to know the truth about Christ – who He is and what He came to do in all His beauty, in all His glory, in all His goodness, in all His grace. We need to know this truth. We need to know what He has done for sinners. We need to hold fast to it, to know what God’s Word says about what is true. We need to apply all of God’s Word to our hearts and lives and act upon it. We need to hold fast to the truth.
But we also need to pay attention to what’s going on around us. And that’s the point of verses 10 and 11. In verses 10 and 11, John, he commands this church, he says, “Don’t welcome anyone who does not bring the proper teaching about Christ.” He says, “Do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” What he is not talking about is the idea that Christians should never be hospitable to somebody who doesn’t believe in Christ. He’s not saying that we should have no interactions with the world around us. What he’s talking about is false teachers. And in that day, false teachers needed access to the homes of people in order to perpetuate their false teachings about Christ. And so to bring those false teachers into your home would be to aid them and enable them. It would not be to love them. And so John says, “Don’t welcome them into your home.” To do so would be to take part in their wicked works.
And so the call here, likewise, is to hold fast to the truth. Hold fast to the truth of the Gospel by not allowing the enabling of false teaching, to not allow the distorting of the beautiful message of the Gospel that we have received in His Word, to not allow the twisting of it. And so for us this means that God’s Word always, always has the final say. Not tradition, not family, not political ideology, not our feelings; only God’s Word has the final say in our life. It also means that leadership matters. This is a day that, Lord willing, we will elect new elders. Leadership matters. And to every elder in this room – every teaching elder, ever ruling elder, to every parent, to every mentor, to every friend, anyone that has any kind of spiritual influence – God’s Word, this is your greatest tool. God’s Word is your greatest aid, your greatest tool. And my prayer for us is that we would rely on God’s Word as we seek to lead those who are younger in the faith.
Then lastly, really practically, we need to apply ourselves to discerning wisely between what is enabling sin and what is loving our neighbor. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of wisdom. But we need to have these categories in our minds. We need to understand that these can often be two different things. We need to hold fast to the truth. There is a woman that I knew that was part of a church and she was different, just about, than everyone there. She was a different race, she lived in a different part of town, she was in a different social and economic class, and oftentimes she said her friends would ask her, “Why do you go to his church? You’re so, in so many ways, unlike everyone there.” And her response was, or at least what she told us was, “I say, they love me and they teach me the Bible. They love me and they teach me the Bible.” Love and truth. That’s the path of faithfulness. This is the way of faithfulness. It’s always been this way. It always will be this way. It’s not novel. It’s not flashy. But it’s age-old and it’s timeless and it’s true. This is the pathway of faithfulness in trying times. Love and truth.
Remembering God’s Faithfulness
And to end here would be to set us all up for failure. You see it’s one thing to see something; it’s another thing to do something. I can watch Steph Curry hit step-back threes; I can’t do that! Maybe if the game was on the line in Wednesday night basketball I could step up and do that, but, no, I couldn’t! It’s one thing to watch something; it’s another thing to see it, to do it actually. And so the question for us is, “Where do you find the strength to live a faithful life? Where do you find the strength to cling to the truth? Where do you find the strength to walk in love?” Well it’s in the faithfulness of our loving God and Father. It’s in the faithfulness of the work of Jesus Christ. It’s in God’s faithfulness that we find the strength.
And so the final point this morning is this – in order to be faithful, we always need to remember God’s faithfulness. And we need to see this. We need to see this in the text. It’s actually that we see this in the beginning of the text. It’s a foundational point and it’s also our final point this morning. So we need to end at the beginning. And I want you to look at verse 1. In verse 1 he writes, “The elder to the elect lady and her children.” He doesn’t say, “The elder to the lady whom God is disappointed in.” He doesn’t say, “To the lady who is struggling.” He doesn’t say, “To the lady in peril.” He says, “To the elect lady.” And then in verse 2 he says that God’s truth has been revealed and God’s truth abides in them. And that means that for the struggling Christian this morning, if you believe in Christ, His truth abides in you and is with you and will be with you forever as he says in verse 2, “God has revealed Himself to us.” He has invaded our lives and He will never leave us. And then verse 3 promises, “Grace and peace and mercy from God will be with us,” given “in truth and in love.” You can count on this – God is always faithful. Never forget God’s faithfulness. We believe lies. We fail to love all the time. But God is faithful.
There was an early Christian martyr named Polycarp. And one of the last things he said before his death was this – before he was killed, was this – He said, “Eighty-six years I have served God and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” I want you to hear what he said, but I also want you to hear what he didn’t say. I want you to notice what he didn’t say. He didn’t say, “Eighty-six years I have served Him and it would be really silly to turn back now.” He said, “Eighty-six years I have served Him and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” You see, Polycarp was faithful to the end because he knew a faithful God who had always been good to him, who had always been merciful to him, who had never left him and never forsaken him. So actually it is God’s faithfulness to us that will strengthen us in the fight to remain faithful during trying times. God’s faithfulness is our motivation to remain faithful. It’s our strength when we fail. It’s our comfort when we are weak. It’s everything to the Christian. God’s faithfulness. And of course the greatest picture of God’s faithfulness we know is Christ’s perfect life and death for us. He was perfectly faithful in every way, only ever full of obedience, sincere, full-hearted love. He was nailed to the cross for our lack of love, for our coldness, for our disobedience. He is the way and the truth and the life and He died for deceitful, unloving sinners who twist the truth and run from the truth, for sinners like us, and He did this because He promised to do so and God never lies.
So have you received this life-changing truth? Have you seen the faithfulness of God? Do you know that Jesus deeply loves and cares for sinners like us? Have you sensed His love for you? Have you let it calm your aching heart and comfort your weary spirit? Always remember God’s faithfulness to you. Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Look to Jesus, “the author and perfecter of your faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.” And it’s only then that you can run the race of endurance that is set before you. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Remember His faithfulness. Let me pray.
Our great God, we long to be faithful and we are weak, so as we seek to walk in love and cling to the truth that You have so graciously given us, we need You. We need You to be with us. We need You to work in us and through us. You are our strength. You are our hope. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.