Do I listen when Scripture warns?
Sermon series on biblical trustworthiness. Sermon 9
We’re going to finish this series by studying two very short letters today and next week. Perhaps you could call them “postcards from John.”
Second John taught us to be weary of false teachers. Do not just let anyone come into your home. Fulfill the command to love your neighbor, but don’t sacrifice truth in order to show love - love by its definition is obedience to the truth.
Third John takes us in the opposite direction and John writes perhaps his most personal letter. He names three men and employs kind, direct speech to commend two of these brothers and strongly reprimand the third. These three men are Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius. The problem is between Gaius and Diotrephes and this letter brings home a problem that we still face in the Church: pride gets in the way of ministry.
I want to draw three lessons from the way John speaks to these three men.
ENCOURAGE BELOVED BROTHERS THAT WALK IN THE TRUTH (1-8)
He is addressed as “beloved”. He was loved by John and by others. He had a good reputation, which is required of anyone that serves the Church (1 Tim. 3:7). He had soaked up truth (“his truth”) like a sponge and made it his own. And here also Gaius is one of those that walked in truth. He was honest, trustworthy and someone you could count on. Even the traveling preachers had testified to Gaius’ love and service to them.
Gaius was one of those men that every Church should have. He turned the Church into a welcoming place, where strangers could feel at home.
Gaius teaches us how to balance truth and love and put deeds to our words. These are the men that we should encourage in ministry.
CONFRONT HAUGHTY BROTHERS THAT HINDER THE TRUTH (9-10)
What a contrast in the verses that follow. John doesn’t mince words and succinctly puts his finger on the sore spot in the Church. Diotrephes likes to be first. Now there is a fine indictment to many Church problems, isn’t it? He just wanted to be first. Never unlearned that childish behavior of thinking the world revolves around his wants and desires. The Church serves him! His name means “reared by Zeus” and somewhere along the way this man heard the gospel. Let’s not assume this man is unregenerate and in the Church… that could be, but perhaps this man just has a lot of growing to do… God is still at work… the Church put him in a place of authority before he was ready. Who knows? But he has a pride problem and it is not serving the Church well.
Where his problem is most notable is that he does not submit to authority. John has apparently written him a letter… it was confiscated and ignored. He even spoke evil of John and his traveling preachers. Now that’s a problem… he’s rejecting apostolic authority. This happens today all the time, by the way. We ignore the authority of what has been written to us. We don’t submit to what Scripture says. Sometimes preachers censor the Bible… some passages are just not so popular to the modern audience. “Let’s gloss over them.”
Diotrephes closed the Church doors to men of truth. Here is someone who is the opposite of the elect lady in 2 John. She opened her door to false teachers. Diotrephes closed the door to truth teachers. Strong words too, because apparently Diotrephes threw them out of the Church and anyone that stood against him.
John warns Gaius not to go along with Diotrephes. Don’t be influenced by him. Don’t let distrust slip into the Church. Men like Diotrephes are not needed in the Church.
WELCOME TRUSTWORTHY BROTHERS THAT PREACH THE TRUTH (11-12)
We don’t know much about Demetrius. He just had an excellent reputation and may have carried this letter from John to Gaius. Everyone speaks highly of his commitment to truth. The truth itself is a witness to this man… that means his doctrine and teaching is thoroughly Scriptural. John himself testifies to this man’s trustworthiness and commends him.
A threefold witness to this brother. May this be said of us… may the Truth testify of us.
This brings us to a conclusion that is very practical in the context of the Truth and our relationship to the Bible.
Second John teaches us that Truth must never be sacrificed on the altar of Love
Third John teaches us that Love must never be sacrificed on the altar of Truth.
My favorite part of these letters are the verbs that are attached to Truth:
Walk in truth
Love in truth
Correct in truth
Invest in truth
Jesus said it clearly: Thy Word is Truth. (John 17:17)
