2 JOHN 1 THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE AND DECEIVERS2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 John 1 The Truth About Love And Deceivers

This morning as we look at the book of 2nd John, again it's written by the Apostle John. He's at this point the last remaining Apostle as he's writing this. All of the others have been put to death. He is the only one who is surviving. The Roman authorities have attempted to put him to death.

But he survived being boiled in oil. He survived being exiled to the island of Patmos. And so he's writing to us this letter at a very old age, the last survivor really of those 12 apostles that Jesus appointed. And so he refers to himself in the beginning here in verse 1 as the elder.

And so he speaks to us as one who has authority, one who's been around and one who knows what he is talking about. And as we go through this letter this morning, there's four points that I want to highlight for you, things that I think are important for us today as we look and consider these words of the elder, John the Apostle, as he's approaching the end of his life,

he writes this letter to, he says, the elect lady. Now,

Now there's some discussion that we could have about who the elect lady is. It's to the elect lady and her children. And some suggest that the elect lady is a specific woman, perhaps a woman who had a church meeting in her home or a woman that John was familiar with. Others suggest that the lady that John is referring to is actually a church and he's kind of speaking to it indirectly as the

the elect lady, because of persecution. And there has been persecution that has broken out around this time. And so if the letter was to fall into the wrong hands and him being the last apostle for that specific...

or that specific church not to be targeted for persecution. And so it's thought that he kind of deals generically so that if the letter doesn't arrive to the destination he's sending it to, they won't be faced with extra persecution because he's communicating with them.

Regardless though, if it's to a specific woman or a church, the principles are the same and the truths are the same. And he really focuses on the subject of truth in this letter. The first four verses here have the word truth five different times. And

It caused me to make the first point to walk in truth. The rest of the letter will be based upon the truth that he's referring to here in these first four verses. And so he talks about truth in a few different contexts.

But we are to walk in truth as Christians, as those who are chosen. We are the elect and we've been chosen by God to walk with Him. There is a truth that we hold on to and a truth that we are to walk in.

Now John speaking says to the elect lady, whom I love in truth. And this is one aspect of truth that is very important for us as Christians. John says he loves her in truth, or he loves her and the children, or the church and its members, the congregation. He loves them in truth.

As John is talking about the subject of truth, he's using a word that means reality or something that agrees with reality. It

Truth is not just a statement or a doctrine or something like that, but it's something that agrees with reality, something that is for real. As opposed to just the appearance of reality, John says, I love you in truth. I don't just appear to love you. I'm not just faking it. I'm not just saying it. In reality, I love you.

And it's shown by my conduct, by how I live. It's talking about, John is talking about reality. And reality is something that is not subjective. Reality doesn't change from one person to the next. Reality really is based upon what God says, the standard that He has set, what He has declared. And reality includes...

more than just the temporary things that we see and hear and taste and touch right now, but reality includes all of eternity in the spiritual realm and the things that are taking place that we can't perceive or comprehend.

And so when John is talking about the truth, he's talking about a big subject. He's talking about an important subject. As we saw last week in 1 John 5, that the world is deceived, the world is under the sway of the wicked one, John said in 1 John 5.19.

We understand the importance of reality because the world is deceived. They do not have a grasp on reality. They don't understand what reality is. But as believers, as those who have believed in Jesus Christ,

who said He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is reality. We have a grasp on reality like unbelievers cannot because we've come to terms with the person of Jesus Christ. We've come to Him and received Him as Savior and Lord.

And so John is able to say to his audience that he loves them in truth and it's based upon reality. It's not based upon an illusion or delusion. There's a lot of times that people tell one another, I love you. But even though they use the words, that statement is not necessarily based upon reality.

To love someone, as John is talking about here, using the word agape love, is loving them with a perfect, a selfless love, a love that wants the best for the person receiving the love. And so to say, I love you to someone, but to not be obedient to the word of God or not to help them to grow in a relationship with God is not based in reality.

To say I love you to someone so that you can involve yourselves in sin is not based on reality. To say I love you to someone unless it's based upon the love that God has given to us and the love that the Bible describes in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, it's not based upon reality. It's a statement, but it's not real if it's not the love that God has for us. John says, my love for you is real.

True love can only be found in Christ. The only person who can genuinely say and really say, I love you, is someone who has found the love that Christ offers to us and then is able to extend that kind of love to others around them. True love for people and true love from people can only be found in Christ.

True love has its root, its foundation in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Anybody can do one loving act.

You know, a final loving act that maybe cost them their life. Or they can love here and there. But God's love is... Well, it's a continuous love. It's not just one act. It's a continuous doing what's best for another person. It's a continuous selfless and giving love. And it can only be given by those who have received it from Jesus Christ. And so John says...

I love you in truth. It's reality. I have a genuine and real love for you. And he says, it's not just me who has this love for you, but he says it's all those who have known the truth.

And so he says, I love you in truth. And then he says, everyone who has known the truth loves you as well. Everyone who knows the truth has this same type of real love, a love based in reality for those that John is writing to. Of course, he's referring to the love that we have for one another as Christians. The love that exists because we are part of the body of Christ.

And the body of Christ, as described throughout the Scriptures, has this care for one another.

This desire to see one another grow. This concern for one another. This genuine and real love for one another. Wanting what is best for each other. And so in a sense, we're kind of like an exclusive group. We're like a secret club, but that we want everybody to be a part of it. Of those who know the truth. And outside of those who know the truth...

Well, there's no real understanding of what love really is. There can be no understanding of love apart from Jesus Christ. You can't be a part of this group that loves one another by buying your way in. You can't pay money in order to be a part of those who know the truth and love one another.

You can't educate your way into this group. You cannot con your way into this group. The only way to be a part of this group that loves one another is to be born into it. That is to be born again. The only way is to know the truth, to agree with reality that Jesus is the Savior. And by believing in Him, we have life in His name. That's the only way to be a part of...

Those who agree with reality. Everybody else, as we'll deal with later on in this chapter, later on in this book, everybody else are deceived or they are deceiving others if they do not receive Jesus as the Savior.

And so he says, I love you in truth. It's reality. This is for real. And it's not just me, but everyone who has known the truth, everyone who receives the truth. We have this love for one another. It's a love that God has given to us for one another. And it's a love that has been commanded, as we'll see in a couple of verses as well. The only way to be a part of the church is

The only way to be a part of this love is to agree with reality. The world is deceived. Those who reject Jesus Christ are being led astray. As again John said in 1 John 5.19, the whole world lies under the sway, under the influence. They're caught captives to the plans and purposes of the devil. This world is

by design is leading people away from God. They're living in a delusion, an illusion that is presented to them by the enemy. It's only those who have come to terms with reality that have escaped the grip of the enemy, been delivered by Jesus Christ. The reality is that you and I are lost and hopeless without God.

But He sent His only Son to die upon the cross for us that we might have life in Him. That is reality. And only those who've known that reality have an agreement with the truth or agree with the truth. Only those who hold fast to that reality are the ones who hold fast to the truth. Those who have received Jesus Christ are the only ones who really know what life is about.

Verse 2, he says, "...because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever." And so he says, I love you in truth and all those who have known the truth love you as well because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. And so this love for one another is based upon this truth that is within us and this truth that will be with us forever. This is not a truth that changes over time.

If you go back and look at your history books from your school days, probably some of the history has changed as it's presented now in history books to what it was then. The truth that was presented at that time is presented differently or different.

or not at all now. There's changes that go on through the textbooks and through the things that we understand, through scientific discovery and so on and so forth. Things that people always accepted to be true sometimes is proven false. You know, at one time many people thought the world was flat.

And that was just considered to be true. But of course, it's not true. That idea that the world is flat does not agree with reality. The reality is the world is round. Well, in the same way, the truth that we have is based upon reality. And there's lots of ideas and there's lots of philosophies

There's lots of opinions about life, but the only one that is real, or the only one that is true, is the one that agrees with what is real. The only one that is true is the one that agrees with reality. The truth that we have, John says, it abides in us and will be with us forever. It does not change. It's not a changing reality. It's...

Well, it's a reality that is with us now, but will be with us forever. Receiving the truth requires faith because it requires accepting the reality that we cannot see at the moment. Accepting the reality of who Jesus is and our need for God. It's not apparent to our eyes. It's not perceivable with our senses. And so it requires faith. It requires faith.

That we accept God at His word and receive the reality that He has presented to us. Which would you prefer? To live your whole life in a delusion and face reality when you enter into eternity and then regret it forever and ever as you spend eternity apart from God? Or would you rather to face reality now

even though it's maybe not something we like to hear or talk about, but to face reality now, to live in the truth and then enjoy the rest of eternity. We get the choice. We can try to live in a delusion. We can deceive ourselves. We can put aside what God has said and try our own way and live in that delusion that we've created for ourselves. Or we can face reality.

Face the fact that God says that we are sinners and we need a Savior and that our only hope is found in Jesus Christ and that He is the way, the truth and the life. And that life really comes from walking in relationship with Him. If we will face that reality now, we will enjoy that decision. We will enjoy the truth for the rest of eternity. But if we insist on ignoring that reality...

We will come to grips with that reality at some point. We will stand before God. And if we have ignored His truth, if we have ignored His word, we will regret it for the rest of eternity. Verse 3. He says, Grace, mercy and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father in truth and love.

Here John gives a customary greeting of the day, grace and peace. He adds in the idea of mercy as well. This is how God relates to us in grace, mercy and peace. He says, these things will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Son of the Father. And so he refers to God the Father and Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The Son of God is a reference phrase

to Jesus' deity, that He is the Son of the Father, puts Him on the same level as God, and that He is God as well. Jesus Christ is God. He's not the Father, but He is God. And from the Father, and from Jesus, we receive grace, mercy, and peace. And this is so exciting.

Because as we look at reality, it can be quite scary. When we face reality of who we are and how bad off we really are, the type of sinners that we are, the wickedness of our own hearts, as we face that reality, things can get very uncomfortable. Well, because we see the wickedness. We see the judgment that is due to us.

And so it's great comfort to know that God relates to us through grace, mercy, and peace. To those who receive the reality that God presents and receive Jesus Christ as Savior,

God extends to us His grace, mercy, and peace. Grace, we talk about a lot. Grace is God's goodness to us that we don't deserve. It's God giving us things, blessing us, giving us salvation. It's God ministering to us. It's God speaking to us. It's God dealing with us in wonderful ways that we do not deserve.

Mercy is the same type of thing, but it's the other side of the coin. Mercy is God not giving to us those things that we do deserve. The things that we do deserve are judgment, wrath, punishment, penalty,

Those things that we have earned because of our rebellion against God and our sin against God, God withholds. He is merciful. He's compassionate towards us because He remembers that we are just dust, Psalm 103 says. He remembers our frailties. And so He does not deal with us according to our sin for those who are in Christ Jesus. He deals with us with grace and mercy.

And not only that, but He gives us peace. Paul talks about the peace that passes all understanding. It's the peace, Jesus said, that He's leaving, not as the world gives, but a peace that lasts. A real peace. It can only be found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

And so grace, mercy, and peace, He said, will be with you. God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son will be extending to you grace, mercy, and peace in truth and love. In reality, God is offering to us grace, mercy, and peace.

He combines these ideas of truth and love here in verse 3. And John talks a lot about both in all of his writings. In the Gospel of John, in the first epistle, the third epistle that we'll see in the coming weeks. Truth and love, they go together and cannot be separated.

If we have truth without love, it makes us harsh. It makes us not very gentle. We can speak the truth for sure, but we're ending up beating up people with the truth instead of loving them the way that Christ loved them. Now, if we have love without truth...

Well, that leads to compromise. It leads to sin. It leads to leaving people in a condition that they are going to continue to hurt themselves and harm themselves and destroy their lives. And so, love and truth are necessary. They need to go together. That we love people enough to tell them the truth, but that we don't beat them up and destroy them with the truth and condemn them with the truth, but that we love them enough

Give them the truth in love and gently share with those who are around us those things that are destroying their lives and messing them up.

And so John is dealing with the subject of truth and reality. In reality, God is extending to us grace, mercy, and peace. And those who have received that grace, mercy, and peace from God, they have this love for one another that's real, that's genuine, that cannot be known outside of Christ. Verse 4.

He said, I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in the truth, or walking in truth, as we have received commandment from the Father.

So he talks about loving in truth and knowing the truth and grace, mercy and peace in the truth, abiding in the truth, the truth that will be with us forever and now walking in truth. And so there's this continuation in the truth, continuing to live in reality, continuing to walk, basing our lives upon the reality that God has presented to us.

And John says it brings him great joy. He rejoices greatly that he's found some of their children. Now, whether again that be members of the congregation or that specific woman's literal children, either way, he rejoices when he finds that they're walking in the truth as children.

He says we've received commandment from the Father. God's commanded us to walk in truth. He's commanded us to live our lives based upon the reality that He presents to us. Because what is before us is a facade. These things are temporary. Paul says everything that we can see, that we can taste and touch, these things will not last.

But the things that are not seen, those are the things that are eternal. And so we have to accept God's Word. And God says, here's what I say about life. Here's what I say about your life. Here's what I say about your condition. Here's what I say about how you are to conduct yourself. And we are to accept God at His Word and be obedient and live life according to the reality that He presents to us. We're to walk in truth.

And you know, there's a confidence that comes from walking in truth. There's a comfort that comes from walking in truth. There's a security that comes from knowing that we are in the truth because we're holding fast to the reality. We have the ability, we have the opportunity to love one another freely, without care, without worry about, well, maybe they're

not worthy of my love, or maybe they don't love me back, or maybe they're taking advantage of my love. We don't have to worry about those things. We don't have to worry about the lies and the deception. We don't have to worry about the facades. We are able to love one another freely and to walk confidently because we have the truth. We know the truth and we're living according to that truth.

And so John begins the epistle talking a lot about truth, the importance of truth in our lives. Really, I can't use enough words to express that importance. We must hold fast to the truth that God presents. The world is presenting to us all types of illusions. And the world says, you should follow this way and involve yourself in these types of activities and then you'll really be fulfilled.

Solomon tried that. You remember in the book of Ecclesiastes. He tried everything that the world had to offer. And he chased after riches. He chased after wealth. He chased after popularity. He chased after fame. He chased after sexual pleasures. And he found that it was all empty. Big promises, no results. He came to the conclusion, he realized finally,

Life is really about fearing God, walking with Him, keeping His commandments, agreeing with God about the reality that He presents to us. And so we need to walk in truth. We need to continue in the truth that God has presented to us. We need to be loving, knowing, abiding, and walking in the truth that God has given to us.

And so the first thing John deals with is truth. And he tells us to walk in the truth. Or rather, he says he rejoices when God's children walk in truth. The second thing we find in verses 5 and 6 is the command to love one another. Look at verse 5. It says, 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. He says, I plead with you. I'm begging you.

I'm not writing you a new command. It's not something that you've never heard before. But I'm begging that you would be obedient to this command that we've had from the beginning. This is a commandment that has been from the very beginning. We find in the scriptures, even going back into the Old Testament, that the command is to love.

To love God and to love one another. That's God's command and that sums up all of the commandments. Loving God and loving one another fulfills the whole law, Paul says. Jesus said,

The first commandment, the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And then he said the second commandment is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. These are the things that God has commanded from the very beginning. And so John says, look, I'm not writing to you a new command. I'm reminding you of what we've had from the very beginning. And that is that we love one another.

Jesus commanded that we love one another in John 13 and John 14, as well as other areas of the Gospels. John reminds us repeatedly, we saw it over and over again in 1 John, the importance of loving one another, the command to love one another is something we are to take serious as Christians.

Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 9, that they were taught by God to love one another. You and I as believers are taught by God. As we walk with God, God teaches us to love one another. It's one of those things that God builds into our relationship with Him. As we grow in our relationship with Him, as we walk with Him, we grow in love for one another.

But then he goes on in 1 Thessalonians 4.10 to tell them that they are to increase more and more. He says, we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more. And so it's something that God teaches us, but it's also something that we are to practice. It's something that we are to exercise. It's something that we are to grow in, to love one another more and more.

And so John focuses heavily on this idea of loving one another in all of his writings because this is the command that we've had from the beginning. It's something that God builds into our relationship with Him, but it's something also that we need to increase in more and more. Are you growing in your love for other Christians? Have you grown in your love for other Christians? Have you developed love?

your ability to love others as you've been walking with God. What does that love look like? He tells us in verse 6. He says, "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." He says, "This is love." Here's what that love looks like, that we walk according to His commandments. Love for one another in our lives

happens when we walk in obedience to God. Walking according to His commandments is the best thing that we can do for one another. My obedience to God is the best thing that I can do for you. One of the ways that I can love you best is to walk according to His commandments.

He says, look, this is his commandment. You've heard it from the beginning. You should walk in it. It's kind of a reciprocal, circular thing. He says, here's the command to love one another. What does that love look like? Obeying the commands. One of those commands is to love one another. And so it continues to increase more and more.

As we love one another, we're obeying God's commands. And as we obey God's commands, we're loving one another. It's something that is meant to increase. It's something that as we walk in obedience to God, it is a demonstration of love for those around us.

Walking in love is walking in obedience. Love and obedience are intertwined. Just as we talked about truth and love being intertwined, love and obedience is intertwined. So again, dealing with the subject of truth, that is reality as God has presented it to us, obedience to that reality is

is essential. And we cannot say that we have the truth if we are not obedient to God. And we cannot say that we have the truth if we do not love one another.

The reality that God has given to us, the reality of our need for a Savior, the reality of eternity, the reality of hell, means that you and I, if we believe it, if we grasp hold of the reality that God has given to us, it means that we will love one another and that we will be obedient to God's commands.

One of those commands is to love one another. And so we will take God's commands seriously. Our lives will be based upon what God has said. We will be living according to His word. He says, walk according to His commandments.

Jesus said in John chapter 14, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. Again, we see that idea of love and obedience wrapped together. You cannot separate the two. You cannot say that you love God while you are living in disobedience to Him.

Well, actually, you can say it, but that's going back to the delusion that we talked about before. It's not a reality. The reality is you do not love God if you live in disobedience to Him. Love and obedience must go hand in hand. Jesus went on in John 14, 24 to say, He who does not love Me does not keep My words. And so if you love Jesus, you keep His words. If you do not love Jesus, you do not keep His words.

Jesus makes it very clear for us. As we often say, or as I often point out, not that we're perfect, not that we don't fail, but it's about the lifestyle that we live and the choices that we make. Are we continuing to live in a lifestyle of disobedience to God? Well, that demonstrates and it proves the reality is we do not love God.

Do we live a lifestyle of obedience to God? Walking with God? Well, that proves, it demonstrates that the reality is we do love God and we have that relationship with Him. Paul told the Thessalonians again, God teaches you to love one another. It's His command to you. Increase in it more and more. And so you and I as believers are to love other Christians. And how do we do that? Well, we do that

John says, by walking according to His commandments, the best thing that you can do for those that you love is to obey God, to keep His word, to put it in practice in your life. What are some of those commandments? Just briefly touching on a couple things. Meeting people's needs is part of God's commandments. Showing hospitality, being generous,

Lending to one another without expecting return. Those types of things are things that God calls us to do. Showing hospitality and ministering to one another physically and financially. It's part of what God commands us to do. But then we also have God's command to be good stewards of the gifts, the spiritual gifts that He has given to us. 1 Peter chapter 4 talks about that. That God is...

gifted us spiritually, supernaturally as Christians with gifts and abilities so that we can minister to and edify the body of Christ. Now, if we love one another, we will be desiring to exercise those gifts, to use the gift that God has given to us, that other people might be blessed, that they might receive what God has in store for them, that they might receive the best that God has planned for them.

We can love one another in prayer. By interceding for one another. By praying for one another. As we talked about last week, we can pray God's will for each other's lives. And it's an effective and powerful prayer that God will answer. And so there's lots of ways. God has commanded us to be involved in each other's lives as the body of Christ, as Christians, to love one another. And so He calls us and He reminds us

That this is the command from the very beginning. Sometimes as Christians we try to live our own lives, we try to be lone rangers, we try to not really share our lives with anybody. But that's not the command that we've had from the very beginning. From the very beginning God said, look, you're going to be part of my body. You're going to be part of the church. And there's lots of great illustrations there about how the body relates to itself and how it needs all of its members.

We are commanded to love one another, to involve ourselves in each other's lives, to serve one another, to minister to one another, to meet one another's needs. It's the command that we've had from the very beginning. It's not about you. It's about the people that God has placed around you. Paul said in Philippians chapter 2, "...let everyone not look out only for their own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Love one another. Pay attention to the needs and the interests of those who are around you. And live to meet their needs. Minister to them. And let that be your focus and goal. That's the command that we've had from the very beginning. Love one another. Well, the third thing we find here in 2 John is that we are to watch ourselves. John says, watch out.

Look at verse 7, he says, "...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." He says, "...many deceivers have gone out into the world." But he starts off with the word for. One of the reasons that we're to love one another and to remember this command and grow in this love for one another is because there are many deceivers.

Loving one another and obeying this command that God has given to us helps us protect ourselves from those who would deceive. It helps protect those who would be led astray. It helps insulate us from those who would come and destroy the church and tear apart and lead people away from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

He says, many deceivers have gone out into the world. Not, you know, oh yeah, a couple, you don't have to worry too much about them, there's a deceiver here and a deceiver there. No, he says, many deceivers have gone out into the world. There's a good chance of deception. Why? Because the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And so there's a mass...

There's a mass attack on multiple points. Why do you think there's so many different religions? It's because the enemy is skilled and tactically he's saying, I'm going to bring as much deception as I can and give people as much confusion as I can and give them incredible amounts of opportunity to ignore what God has said and ignore Jesus Christ. Many deceivers have gone out into the world.

There's many who would lead others astray. There's a good chance of deception in the world around us. And that's why he says we are to love one another. He says these deceivers come who do not confess Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh. The basis for our belief as Christians always boils down to the person of Jesus Christ. That's what everything is really based upon. If Jesus is not who he claimed to be,

Our faith is void. It's worthless. We might as well just ignore everything else the Bible says if Jesus is not who He said that He is. If He's not the Savior, if He's not the Messiah, if He, being God, did not become man and die upon the cross for our sins, our faith is bankrupt. We have nothing to base our faith upon. If Jesus Christ is not coming again, if He didn't resurrect from the dead...

Our faith is useless. He says, look, there's many deceivers who do not confess Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh, either past or future. There are those who, they disregard, they discount the person of Jesus Christ. Those who hold fast to the truth, to the reality of Jesus. Well, those are the people that we can have fellowship with, and we'll get into that in a few minutes. Those are the people that have received God, that have received the truth that God has presented, and they're not

But anyone that presents Jesus in a different way than the Bible presents, that person is a deceiver. And they've gone out into the world to lead people astray. That's why Paul was able to say to the Galatians, look, if anybody comes to you and presents a different Jesus or a different gospel, he says, let them be accursed. Because it's not the truth. It's deception. And it's designed by the enemy to keep people astray.

from a relationship with God. Deceivers do not confess the truth about Jesus. The word confess means to agree with or to say the same thing. They do not confess Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh. They do not say the same thing. Say the same thing as what? As reality. It goes back again to the truth. They don't agree with the truth. What does that make them? It makes them deceivers and liars.

Those who do not agree that Jesus has come in the flesh or is coming in the flesh. Those who do not agree that Jesus is the Savior. That Jesus being God became man to die upon the cross for our sin and resurrected and is coming back again. Those who do not agree with the truth about Jesus. They don't agree with reality. They're deceived and they're deceiving others.

They're deceivers and liars because they do not say the same thing as God. They do not agree with reality. If you don't agree with reality, it really makes you insane. It's a crazy thing to do, to disagree with reality. But it's very, very common. Verse 8, he says, "...look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for."

but that we may receive a full reward. So there's many deceivers. There's great threat of deception. There's much reason to be warned, to be alarmed. And so John says, look to yourselves. Now, that's not to selfishly look out for number one. What he's saying here, the word look to, it means to examine or expressing an intent and earnest contemplation.

On purpose, earnestly, fervently, take heed to yourselves is what John is saying. Pay attention to your life. As Paul told Timothy, watch your life and your doctrine closely. Pay close attention, pay careful attention to what you're doing and what you're thinking. How much time do you spend double-checking your own heart? Or do you just assume you're always right?

Do you just assume that your opinion is the right one? Do you just assume that the choices that you're making are good choices? How much time do you spend double-checking your heart and your thoughts and your beliefs? Do you just assume that everything you believe about God is the truth? How much time do you spend watching out, making sure that you are not deceived, double-checking what you think and what you believe with what God has told us in His Word?

John says, "Look to yourselves, watch out, take heed, pay attention to what's going on inside of you, because there's great opportunity for deception." And he says, there's a warning here, he says, "That we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward." The word "lose" also could be translated "destroy". He says, "Pay attention to yourself so that we don't destroy those things that we worked for,

John's saying, look, we've worked hard. The Christian life is hard work. There's great rewards that you've stored up for yourselves by being obedient to God. So take heed. Pay attention to yourself. Don't get led astray. Don't destroy those things that we've worked for. Make sure that you receive a full reward. You have the opportunity to receive a full reward.

As Jesus talked about in the parable that one day we'll stand before God and those who are faithful, He says, well done, good and faithful servant. You have that opportunity to stand before God, to receive a full reward. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, or chapter 3 rather, verses 13 through 15, that...

In that day, everyone's work will become clear. How you lived your life, it'll be crystal clear on that day. There will be no smooth talking. There will be no deception. You can't trick God. He says it's going to be tested by fire. Whatever gets burned up, you'll suffer loss. He says whatever endures, that you will receive as reward. We'll be tested. Our motives, our heart, our lives will be tested when we stand before God.

And we have the opportunity to receive reward. We have the opportunity to suffer loss. And so John says, look to yourselves, watch out, pay attention, that you don't get led astray because many deceivers have gone out into the world. And so he says, watch yourself, pay attention, take heed to yourself. Make sure that you are still in agreement with reality. Make sure that you haven't gone crazy in some aspect, in some area.

Make sure that you're holding fast to what God has said. The fourth point we find in verses 9 through 11, and that is do not receive deceivers. Look at verse 9. He says, He says, He says,

Not abiding in the doctrine of Christ. Whoever goes beyond the boundary that is set by the doctrine of Christ, he says that person does not have God. What is the doctrine of Christ? The word doctrine is just teaching. What does the Bible teach about Jesus? Jesus.

the Savior, the Messiah. The Bible teaches that Jesus is God, that He became man, that He died upon the cross for our sins, that He was resurrected, and that He's coming again. Whoever goes outside of the boundaries of that doctrine, of those truths about Jesus, whoever tries to say something different about Jesus in those respects, he says that person does not have God.

You cannot reject Jesus and still have the Father. You reject Jesus, you reject the Father. You accept the Father, you know the Father, you walk with the Father, you walk with Jesus. Jesus said, there's no other way to the Father except through me. John says, he who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. You can't pick and choose which one you want. You receive both when you abide in the doctrine of Christ. To have the Father is to have the Son. To have the Son is to have the Father.

Verse 10, If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. And so here John says, look, there are those who are outside of the doctrine of Christ. They teach something else about Jesus. They don't agree with reality about who Jesus is. They're teaching lies and deception. They're teaching what is false. Now if they hold fast to

to the reality of who Jesus is. They have the Father and the Son. We have fellowship with them. There's an agreement with reality. And we love one another. But those who reject that, he says, if anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, and so if anyone comes to you, but they teach something else about Jesus, they teach something differently about Jesus, they do not agree with reality, John says, do not receive them.

Don't accept them. Don't receive them. Because they are deceivers that have gone out into the world. They are those who would lead people astray. And maybe they have good intentions. Perhaps they're deceived themselves. But those who come and bring, that is those who are proclaiming another doctrine, John says, have nothing to do with them. He says, don't even greet them.

John Corson puts it this way, those who reject Jesus Christ, those who are not looking for Jesus Christ, those who have diminished the person of Jesus Christ are to be shunned. We're not to have anything to do with them. We're not to receive them. Now, as he talks about receiving them into your house, he's not talking about, you know, we throw rocks at them or throw Bibles at them or something like that.

When he talks about not greeting them, he doesn't mean that we can't say hello, you know, we don't ignore that they exist, that type of thing. What he's talking about is a showing of hospitality, a giving of support or aid and helping them in this task that they are involved in, in spreading false doctrine and speaking something that is not the truth about Jesus.

In those days, traveling teachers were common. And so Christians were asked to show hospitality as teachers came through, like the Apostle Paul. It wasn't like today where you could just get put up in a room somewhere. If there was hotels or something like that in an area, they were not good places for Christians to be. And so...

What was common was for Christians to open their homes to those teachers who would come through. But what John is saying here is make sure that you're checking out whoever it is that you're showing hospitality to. That you don't just receive them into your home and feed them and help them and bless them when they're teaching something that is not true about Jesus.

John's saying, be responsible. Don't just receive anybody. Make sure they have good doctrine about Jesus Christ. You don't want to help them spread lies. Now, there's lots of other things that you and I can discuss and have friendly disagreements on. But when it comes to the person of Jesus Christ, we cannot budge. We must hold fast to what the Bible says about Jesus. We cannot compromise in that area.

Now another way of looking at this when he talks about not receiving him into your house, because churches were most often meeting in homes in that day, John might be referring to receiving him as far as the church is concerned and giving them a place to

to share their false doctrine. Don't let false teachers teach on Sunday mornings or use the pulpit or teach at your services. It might be that type of message that John is giving. Either way, the message is the same. We're not to receive. We're not to support. We're not to aid or to help those people

Who are teaching false doctrine. He says we're not even to greet them. In the King James Version it says, do not bid them God's speed.

This is the idea of saying, maybe our English equivalent, you know, farewell, goodbye, God bless you. He says, look, don't even extend that type of greeting to them. Don't be saying to them, okay, God bless you. Because he says the problem with that is, he who greets him, there in verse 11, shares in his evil deeds. And so if you're supporting them or encouraging them, you're helping them, you're supporting them,

He says, you're taking part in their deception. You're taking part in their evil work. You're helping them lead people astray. Now this works two different ways. It works kind of both ways. So,

We'll see in 3 John, when we get to it, that if we support and help and show hospitality to those who speak the truth, who are genuine believers, who teach the truth about Jesus, we get to participate and take part in the rewards of their work.

And so as missionaries come through, as we help support them, as we pray for them, as we send them resources and funds, we were involving ourselves and we participate in the fruit and the rewards of their work.

Again, we'll deal with that when we get to 3 John. But here's the other side of that coin. When we support, when we take part, when we encourage those who are teaching false doctrine, we also take part in their rewards, which those aren't good rewards. Those are, well, we're taking part in their evil deeds. We're helping them spread deception and lies.

And so John says, that's why you're not to receive them or greet them. You don't want to have any part of them because you don't want to share in their evil deeds. Because they don't bring the truth. Again, it boils down to the truth. Their message does not agree with reality. Don't help them lead people astray. He finishes off in verse 12 and 13,

He says, Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and speak face to face that our joy may be full. The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

And so he lets them know, I'm on my way. I want to come. That's why I'm writing a short letter. I'll be there soon and then we can talk about everything else that's going on. But in the meantime, we have these things to hold on to. That we are to walk in truth. That we are to love one another. That we're to watch out for ourselves. Make sure that we're walking according to reality and not being deceived. And that we do not receive deceivers. That we don't receive those who are leading others astray. Let's pray.

God, I pray for us this morning that you would help us to be obedient to your word and to walk in the truth. Help us, God. Give us eyes to see reality according to what you have said. Help us, God, to believe your word and to hold fast to it and to not substitute it for the lies and the deception of this world.

And so, God, I pray that you would help us to walk in agreement with your word, in obedience to your word, loving one another, guarding our own hearts, and, Lord, keeping ourselves from participating in those who do not teach the truth. Help us, God, to walk with you.

And to be a shining light, a good dose of reality to the world around us. That they might have the opportunity, Lord, to know you and to receive salvation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.