The Book of 3 John

Hello Friends!

The book of 3 John is an excellent little letter. Here are a few theological thoughts regarding John’s third epistle to consider in living out your Christian faith…

The Book of 3 John

The Apostle John’s first epistle (1 John) was written to address a group of churches scattered throughout Asia Minor, while 2 John addressed a certain lady and her family as a warning against showing hospitality to false teachers. This third and final epistle of John's was written to a specific individual believer named Gaius and commends him for the proper standards of Christian hospitality and in contrast, outlines the condemnation for failure to follow those standards. Please consider the following thoughts regarding this powerful little letter…

Remember, John wrote this final epistle just before he wrote the book of Revelation while serving as a prisoner on an island named Patmos in the Aegean Sea. John was most likely a "circuit rider" preacher. He may have started the churches spoken of by Jesus Christ in Revelation chapters 2 & 3 or at least would visit these seven churches on a regular basis.

As we read 3 John, we are introduced to a man named Diotrephes. He is a leader of a church John wanted to visit but was kept from doing so by this individual who was very domineering in that assembly. Diotrephes went even further, for he also verbally slandered the Apostle John with malicious accusations and excluded anyone from the assembly who dared challenge him and his “authority” in leadership.

John would be a shepherd to these churches and present teaching that would build up not only the church, but the individual members as well. John's pastoral ministry, at the church in question, was being hindered by Diotrephes. John sees a need to name this man for all to know about his "evil" deeds:

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God – 3 John 9-11

In fact, John tells the church to not follow these evil deeds or the one that commits them. John condemns Diotrephes and his evil deeds publicly to teach those in that church and all who will read this letter.

Also in John's third letter, the apostle points the readers to a good example of local church leadership – Demetrius:

Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true – 3 John 12

Demetrius is a leader who is reported to be a good leader among all men. Remember, the Apostle Paul wrote of the qualifications for local church leadership in 1 Timothy chapter 3. In fact, Paul says that the church leaders must have a "good testimony" of them that are without the church as well as within:

Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil – 1 Timothy 3:7

The reason for this "good testimony" is so that this church leader will not “fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” which is exactly what Diotrephes had done. Referring back once more to Paul's writings, the failure in leadership of Diotrephes is how it will also be in these last days. Paul wrote of men – “lovers of themselves” and having a “form of godliness but denying its power”:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

In John's day, the deceitful attitudes and actions of Diotrephes were evidence of the last days. That was almost 2,000 years ago. How much more those attitudes and actions depict our day. This is setting the stage for the day of the Lord's return. We must all follow John's exhortation and follow not “what is evil” but instead “what is good.” This is worth repeating lest we forget:

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God – 3 John 11

Praise the Lord!

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

Blessings!

Shane <><

How to Sing

1. Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.  Exodus 15

How do you sing to the Lord?  It doesn't have to be through song.  (Thank goodness, because my husband can't carry a tune)  You can sing through what you say, what you write, or even what you do.  What we do to praise the Lord, is the way we can each sing in our own way to the Lord.

This last weekend, my husband took me to a fundraiser that his boss was in charge of planning.  We were really excited about this.  It was a chance to dress up and go on a date, which isn't something we do very often with a two year old at home.  Also, my husband had an absolutely terrible week at work immediately preceding this.  He was really stressed out over work, so this gave him a nice excuse to take his mind off of things at the office.  The events scheduled for the fundraiser were a silent auction, fashion show, and stand up comedians.  We had a genuinely nice time sitting and chatting with a few of his coworkers while we waited for the events to start.

The events started and we all gathered into the auditorium.  He and I sat away from his coworkers (some of whom had used that as the opportunity to duck out without anyone seeing them leave).  First up was the fashion show, where they also announced the winners of the silent auction.  It was a little cheesy, but nothing too horrible.  Then we moved into the stand up comics.  The first three went and they did get progressively better, but by no means were they great.  Then, the last one came on.

I had high hopes.  Really, I did.  I wanted this one to be worth saving for last.  His jokes fell flat, there were a number of groans, and he just plain wasn't funny.  I don't know that I even cracked a smile once during his set.

And then it went from bad to worse.  Somehow he segued from Harry Potter "jokes" to Jesus "jokes."  I'm not a prude, I'll laugh at jokes where the subject matter is Christianity - provided that it's funny and not hurtful.  These were blatantly offensive, so I will not pass any of those along, but trust me on this.

I was torn.  I knew that as a Christian, I shouldn't stand for this.  I wanted to get up and walk out, not even trying to hide the fact that I was leaving.  I would have walked right in front of the stage had we been sitting in a location that allowed for it.  But, on the other hand, I'm here at an event for my husband, and he had a terrible week at work.  Being here is probably helping his image with his coworkers.  Do I want to be potentially seen as the crazy wife?

I decided that, yes, I did.  I leaned over to my husband and told him that I was ready to leave at any time and his response was just, "Ok."  With that, we grabbed our jackets, put them on while still standing in our row and walked out to the door.  We made no attempt at hiding what we were doing.  We were making a statement that we were not OK with this so-called entertainment.

Through our actions, we sang to the Lord.  We sang to say that he is respected, he is highly exalted, and he is not one to be offensively mocked.  And other people saw this.  What we didn't realize as we walked out the door, was that his coworkers saw us, and when they saw us reach the door, they followed suit.

You don't have to carry a tune to sing and to raise your voices together in a chorus.  Sometimes, you don't even have to say a word.

God is always with us

As we finish up the Book of Matthew, Jesus gives us an amazing promise. He will be with us always!

Matthew 28:16-20    ¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I know Kent covered 3 of these verses yesterday, but they include a command and promise we should never forget. Jesus promises to be with us as we courageously obey His command to go and teach others to follow God. This isn’t a new promise, but one God had already given to the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 31:6   ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If you love God and are a follower of Jesus, are you encouraged knowing God is with you and will never leave you?

How well does your and my life reflect this assurance that God is always with us? 

Hebrews 13:5           ⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Alice

The Spirit Within Us

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

This was a tough week personally as a member of my team unexpectedly passed away.  This was the first time I experienced the loss of someone who I saw nearly every day.  I asked for God’s wisdom as to why this person had to go when she did.  The thing that came to mind was that God sends angels among us, and many times, we do not know it until they have left us.  It became apparent that she had done her work among us because she had touched the lives of so many within our group that the spirit of her life was ingrained in us already.  It reminded me of the time when Jesus had spent all of His time with the disciples, and although He had conquered death, His spirit through the disciples would allow for the Gospel to spread throughout the world.

We should aspire to touch as many lives as possible displaying the spirit of Christ within us.  Today’s verses refer to the great responsibility we have as Christians (aka The Great Commission).  However, I want to focus on the moment.  The disciples had just witnessed the greatest miracle of all, the resurrection of Christ, and they anxiously waited for their next command from Him.  Jesus did not take the moment to celebrate with them or boast of His prediction coming true.  He simply stated His role as authority figure and for them to carry on His work until time for His return.  He laid the foundation for the early church, and once the message had gotten to others, the building of the church had begun.

We have greater influence on the spreading of the Gospel than we realize.  My friend’s life was filled with moments where she reached out to others and inspired them to live better.  More importantly, a bit of her spirit lives in each team member because above all, she was a child of God, and the team both responded to and loved her because of it.  Will your life to inspire others to become followers of Christ?  How can you better influence those near you through Christ?  My prayer is that we live our lives each day exemplifying the spirit of Christ within us.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Life in context

John 3:27-30 “John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (NASB)

Hello,

How do we respond when things actually go the way we wanted them to go? John the Baptist had this happen. Things were going just as planned. His message was getting out, and people were believing him. The result was that the attention to him started to fall off, as people paid attention to Jesus instead. But when that is the plan – that can be hard. Things were really lining up for John. He had large crowds and he saw his peak as his promise of a coming Jesus came to pass. But, instead of getting focused on his present success, he went back to his origins – everything came from heaven. He was able to remember the plan and the purpose, and not get caught up in the present state. He had a great sense of operating in context to where he fit, and never trying to outgrow the part he was to play.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The Book of 2 John

Hello Friends!

The book of 2 John is an excellent little letter. Here are a few theological thoughts regarding John’s second epistle to consider in walking out your Christian journey…

The Book of 2 John

The phrase, "many deceivers have entered the world" describes John's day as well as our day. In light of the situation, John in this epistle – the smallest of his writings – gives us instructions for how to walk with the Lord in our day. John lifts up the "truth" which he uses to describe the "revealed truth" the "holy" Scriptures. The Bible, as the only authority and source for Truth and Devine doctrine, is our resource for the day and age we live in today – a day of great spiritual decline and rank apostasy.

In the message to all believers everywhere, John says the truth – true doctrine – is a necessity for our daily walk. Today we hear that "love" is the driving force in relationships – not doctrine. John says love is a key component in our Christian walk, but not to the exclusion of biblical doctrine – teaching. However, John brings the two – love and doctrine – Into perfect harmony.
 
Here John defines love as walking in His commandments: 

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it – 2 John 1:6

This verse is not referring to the external moral "law" of Moses but the internal "law of Christ." God is love and when we received Christ as Savior from our sins, the divine love of God was placed in our renewed heart.
Love then is manifest in following "the law of Christ", which is to "love one another" – our fellow believers in Christ:

And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another – 2 John 1:5

Therefore, "love" and "law" – the law of Christ – are partners in our walk with Him each and every day. To me this is very practical, especially in the world we walk through today. Because we love Him we do what He wants us to do – His Will for our lives. I have found that to be the case with my dear wife Ann of 25-plus years. The longer I am with her, the more I love her and the more I want to do those things that please her. This is a simple illustration of a profound truth that John reminds us of often in his letters.

The Lord wants us to show our love by walking in His law and at the same time, He enables us to do so by the power of His Holy Spirit. The Lord also reminds us through John's letter that "reward day" is coming at the Judgment Seat of Christ for Christians and He does not want us to lose the reward He has for us:

Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward – 2 John 1:8

This verse tells us that we must do as John has instructed or we are in danger of not receiving our "full reward". Now this has nothing to do with our salvation but with the rewards we receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ. You may remember that at the "judgment seat" we will receive "crowns" that we will lay at the Lord's feet in thanksgiving for what He has done for us:

The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne… – Revelation 4:10

There are many folks today that say "doctrine divides" and it is better to "love" than to allow doctrine to divide believers. However, as we read the Scriptures, we can plainly see this view of “doctrine divides” is simply not true – for the believer. John's perspective is that true Bible doctrine will "unite" believers, not divide them. That said, as Jesus Christ promised, doctrine will divide believers from unbelievers.

Biblical Truth is the foundation of Christian love. John also gives us some directives for the last days in which we should pay close attention. John tells us about “deceivers” – many of them will enter this world at the time of the end. These “deceivers” will deny that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and has come in the flesh. John is pretty tough on these deceivers – he calls them "antichrists". Not the "antichrist" - but an “antichrist“ spirit:

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist – 2 John 1:7

Then John reveals the method for us to deal with these “antichrist deceivers.” He says if they come and bring their false doctrine, do not allow them to enter your house – place of worship. John also says do not bid them God speed – blessings. In fact, if we do allow them into our homes and bid them God speed, we are partakers of their evil deeds. 

That said, here is a bit of clarity to this scenario which has caused much debate and confusion. The first-century church operated in smaller group/home settings and not the large “buildings” that we are accustomed to today. Therefore, I believe the reference to “house” outlined here by John is not as we understand the modern term of a living space, but rather an actual church setting – specifically the pulpit. To allow a known false teacher or heretic to speak from our church pulpits today would be a grave mistake indeed – not to mention a major lack of discernment. However, to have a doctrinal discussion with a cult member or other non-Christians at our door step or in a public setting is obviously appropriate – and Biblical.
 
Remember, it was Jude and the Apostle Peter who admonished believers to “defend the faith!”     

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints – Jude 3

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear – 1 Peter 3:15

The Apostle John is straightforward with this message warning of false doctrine and those who propagate it in this world. We must not only heed his warning, but follow his example in our own associations as well. – Amen to that!

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><