SonRise Community Church Evening Seminars

SonRise Communtiy Church
SonRise Communtiy Church

Weekly Podcast of our Sunday Evening teaching series.

  1. Oct 18

    Be Imitators of Good

    Last week we worked through the call to hospitality. We saw the elder encouraging Gaius to be faithful in welcoming and sending these evangelists and missionaries well. They go out for the name of Christ and take nothing with them, so they need the support of the church to further the mission. John encouraged Gaius to keep it up. This echoes the positive side of 2 John. At the end of 2 John, we saw the other side: false teachers are not to be welcomed into the church or given hospitality. The opposite is true of true believers: welcome them in, and send them on their way well. Last week ended with Gaius being encouraged to keep up this good work and not shrink back. Today, John gives him two examples, one negative and one positive, so that he can see what to imitate and what to avoid. A Negative Example: Diotrephes (9-10) Our first example is Diotrephes. I have mispronounced his name every single time Ive said it, and I will probably do it again, even though I have the pronunciation in front of me. Demetrius, the second example, is much easier to say. John says, I have written something to the church. He doesnt say directly what he wrote. Something was written to instruct the church on certain matters, but Diotrephes has stepped in and, in his own mind, nullified Johns authority to instruct the church. Having put himself first, he no longer acknowledges their authority. He has taken up a position in the church as the authority. John doesnt give us the city or any other details, which again highlights the personal nature of this letter. What we see is a man who has set himself up as the ruling authority in this church, and to do that, he first has to nullify the authority of the apostles. This is our first direct example in the text of a kind of cult leader, because that is ultimately what he is doing. We see it in many cultic leaders and Christian sects. The first thing you have to do is eliminate the actual teaching of the apostles. You eliminate what Scripture says and make yourself the authority. Diotrephes is in effect saying, I am now the authority. What John says is wrong. John clearly isnt instructing you properly. I, having put myself first, am your ultimate spiritual authority. In many ways, we see this pattern in history. The Catholic Church began its error when it ceased to be Scripture-based and became papal-based, where the tradition and the words of the Pope supersede the Word of God. Its the same thing whenever a man sets himself up over the authority of Scripture. What stands out with Diotrephes is that he uses Johns own teaching from 2 John. In 2 John, we highlighted last week the instruction not to let false teachers into the church, and to put out anyone who has anything to do with them. Diotrephes turns that instruction around and uses it against John, as though John himself had become the false teacher. He refuses to welcome the brothers, stops those who want to welcome them, and puts them out of the church. In doing so, he does the very thing John said the church should do to false teachers. Diotrephes takes the truth of Gods Word, shifts it a little, and uses it against John, the apostles, and true believers. You dont have to manipulate the whole thing. You change a couple of pieces and then use it against the faithful. We see this happen throughout history. Paul makes a similar point when he says that even if an angel from heaven preached a different gospel, let that messenger be anathema. Diotrephes is twisting the truths of Scripture for his own ends, and John is highlighting exactly that. Diotrephes also does not have the good of the church in view. Putting himself first is not only about being in charge. It is also a way to reap all the rewards that come with it, and to avoid being hospitable. There is a selfishness in that. Hospitality costs money, and anyone who has been hospitable knows it isnt cheap. Bringing people into your home costs money for food, for clothing, and for the electric and water bills. These things add up. For someone selfish, if it costs anything, it isnt worth doing. So there is selfishness and pride at work in Diotrephes. And because he doesnt want to look bad, he gets rid of anyone who might do the opposite of what he does. His message is, in effect, Imitate me. We dont welcome anyone, because we are the only true church, and anyone who comes near us is bad. So they huddle together and keep everything for themselves. They build little temples to themselves. That is what Diotrephes is ultimately doing. John says, I will come and deal with it. This is an important part of the letter. John isnt simply letting it take place. He has received reports that Diotrephes is not letting the brothers in and is throwing out people who are trying to be hospitable and do what is right. This will not stand. John says he will come, and that he will bring up what Diotrephes is doing, including the wicked nonsense he talks against them. The heart behind it is wickedness, a heart opposed to the gospel. So John shows Gaius a negative example. Gaius is doing great. He is doing everything John has called him to do, everything we see in Scripture and have experienced in the gospel. We highlighted Christs own command in Luke about going out and supporting the work. Here, though, is someone who isnt doing it, and who is even twisting Scripture so he doesnt have to. That is wicked and evil, and Johns point is that he will not let it stand. He will deal with it when he comes. The Warning: Do Not Imitate Evil (11) Then John transitions with a warning, turning directly back to Gaius: Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. He sets up a contrast. Do not imitate the evil being done here. There is no benefit in it, and no proclamation of the gospel comes from turning to wicked things. Do the right things. Be imitators of God and imitators of those who do good. This is very close to Pauls words in 1 Corinthians 11:1: Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. Imitation isnt bad when we are imitating the right thing: people who are living out the faith well, who point us to Christ and not to themselves. Diotrephes is a negative example. Everything in his life points to himself. He is first, foremost, and supreme, and he is wrong, and he is wicked. Johns warning is: do not be like him. Do not give up on doing good. So this is a continual reminder to keep doing what you have been doing. Be hospitable. Continue in the work of sending the brothers. Continue to build up this good rapport. Do not imitate the evil around us, because it is not from God. It is a reminder to be ministers of the gospel in how we live and in the examples we set. So ask yourself: Is my life based on what God has called us to, and on what we see in Scripture? Or is it, in many ways, based on what is most pleasing to me, what is easiest for me, and what I get the most out of? Is it self-centered or Christ-centered? Does it make much of the Lord, or does it make much of us? This self-centered evil plays out in the church. There are people who build entire kingdoms around themselves and how they can feed themselves. They puff themselves up, stand on stages all across America, and preach something gospel-ish to build their own kingdoms and make money. John is saying: do not keep imitating those things. Rather, imitate the good: walking out the faith in truth, welcoming the brothers, sending the brothers, and being imitators of God. A Positive Example: Demetrius (12) John shows us Diotrephes, a warning, and then a good example to move toward. Do not be like Diotrephes. Be like Demetrius, who has received a good testimony from everyone. Everyone who has met Demetrius says he is legitimate. That is a statement from the apostle John: everyone who has met this man speaks well of him. His way is righteous, faithful, and true, and his testimony comes from the truth itself. The impression John gives is that Demetriuss life is truthful in both how he lives and what he says. His faith and his life match. People who see him and hear him say, That is a godly individual. This reminds me of one of the qualifications for an elder, one that often stumps people and is quickly passed over: an elder must be well spoken of by outsiders (1 Timothy 3:7). Thats a strange thought for our day, and most people would be confused about why its in there. It means that a persons conduct is not antagonistic but is grounded in the truth. Well probably unpack that in QA. The picture is that there is something in how they carry themselves, how they live out the gospel, that is well spoken of by everyone. Their word and their life match. They speak a gospel of forgiveness, grace, and humility. That doesnt mean they shrink back from the truth, but they speak it in a well-intentioned way, seeking the salvation of others and not making it about themselves. As Paul continually shows, this isnt about building a kingdom for himself. Its about saving sinners from death in the name of Christ. That is the motivation. So Demetrius has this testimony about himself: his word and his deed match. The way he treats people matches the gospel. He is one who lives out the faith, and John is holding him up to encourage Gaius to be faithful. In our day, I encourage people to read Christian biographies. I dont know if you enjoy a good biography, but there are many good ones out there. A good biography highlights the struggles people have and avoids overly heroic portraits. As people work through the faith, they face real struggles. Well watch a video on Luther next week, and it does highlight some of that. It wasnt simply, Im going to nail a bunch of theses to the wall about how bad Catholicism is, and the rest of his life was perfect. There was struggle and hardship, and those hardships were growing him in godliness. Christian biographies help us do in our own lives what Demetriuss testimony encourages. Look

    Be Imitators of Good

  2. Oct 11

    The Heart of Sending

    Sermon transcript, edited for reading As we have done throughout our series, we begin by reading the whole text. It is not a long letter, but it helps to see all of it before us. The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. I've written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to, and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God. Whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name. This is the letter of the Apostle John to Gaius. Today we come to the idea of missions and hospitality: the idea of receiving and sending. I have always found hospitality an interesting subject, the idea of welcoming people into your home as part of the family. When I was in high school, two women come to mind who were very good at this. The first was Doreen Greer. Her son was one of our friend group, and we practically lived at their house every single weekend. Back when getting a car meant you could finally hang out with your friends, that's where we were. She would make us food. There were four of us, four teenage boys, and every Saturday we'd get a Stouffer's mac and cheese platter. Sometimes it was two. Double it. We would eat the whole thing. I was not as big then as I am now, but we were still a lot to feed. She always had food. We could go over to their house whether or not her son was home, and she would welcome us in. She'd feed us, hang out with us, and talk with us. She always had an open home for us, and she was always there when we needed her. It was a wonderful motherly compassion. She opened her home to her son's friends. The second was what we called our group mom, Tanya. She was not much older than us. I was about 18, our group was 18 and 19 year olds, and she was 26. But she was so much more mature than we were that she felt much older. Anything we did, she made sure we stayed safe and did not hurt ourselves, and she always brought food. If we were going to play flag football, which became tackle, which became bad choices, she was the one making sure we brought water. She would bring water just to hang out and watch us and make sure everything was going well. If anyone needed a place to stay, she took in the women of the church. She ran a Papa John's and owned her own house, so she always had extra room, and she had lots of women staying with her while they dealt with different life situations. These were people with a spirit of caring for others, and I was a minor recipient of some of those graces. It reminds me of the importance of hospitality as we dive into this text. One of the things talked about most in the Christian faith is care for one another: the love of the brotherhood, the love for the members of the church. This is where the Apostle John encourages Gaius in what Gaius is doing. We talked about this last week. Did Gaius have a personal relationship with John? Was this a passing relationship? Or had John simply heard about Gaius and wanted to encourage him? We're not sure, and we'll unpack some of that tonight. But no matter what, what is being encouraged is the spirit of hospitality Gaius is showing, and John wants to commend it. As we see, this personal letter did not stay with Gaius. It was not written only for him. He read it, folded it up, and it went on. It was shared with the churches. So this personal letter, one of the personal epistles, became a church letter, read by the churches as an encouragement to do likewise. That is the encouragement: this should be the spirit of believers and the attitude Christians exhibit. It's not just, "Oh, that's nice, good job, guys." Rather, all of us are seeing what the Lord commends, and we'll unpack that from Luke in a moment. Verses 56: The Faithful Believer Beloved. John's favorite term of endearment for the saints. We unpacked this before. It is John's reminder of the unity we have in Christ. John is the beloved in the Gospel of John, but all who are associated with the gospel are called beloved, and we are all sharing in the love of God in this truth. "Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God." Let's begin with verses 5 and 6. Here we see Gaius's welcome, the efforts he puts forward before these brothers. He's faithful in this. He's faithfully welcoming people into his home, bringing them in off the streets. Hospitality was very important in Roman society. If you were traveling, where were you going to stay? The first century was when commercial inns began to form. They weren't the hotels we think of today, but they were starting to become more of a thing. Inns became more popular thanks to Roman road development. It became safer to travel. Roman citizens, by the nature of being citizens, had protection while traveling, which made travel more appealing. Before that, most people didn't leave their town unless they were merchants who had to, and even then they came with protection. The advancement of travel, as we think of it today, is part of why the gospel went so far in the first century. We've highlighted this when we study the churches. The technological advancements of Greco-Roman society, through the sovereign work of God, allowed the gospel to spread quickly. Part of that was a center of hospitality. While inns were starting to pop up, the proclamation of the gospel ultimately depended on Christians welcoming Christians into their homes. A Christian traveling through town needed a safe place to stay, and it was not uncommon for people to bring strangers into their homes. But there was a set of guidelines. Usually there was a written contract about what a guest would do and would not do, very similar to what we have today. When you check into a hotel, you sign all the things you're not going to do, or they'll charge your credit card a lot of money. They didn't charge your credit card back then, but the idea was the same: you are a guest in this house. The difference is that Christians, as is highlighted here, don't just take you as a guest. They take you as family. You're strangers who become family, so you become one with the household. In this, you build a good reputation. You become known as a hospitable person. Your house had a kind of banner over it that others would take note of and tell others: this is where you need to go. In many Roman provinces, if you stayed at someone's house and were a good guest, think Airbnb with a good review, you carried that reputation with you. If someone else was going to travel, you would write them a letter that said, in effect, "I stayed at your house. You remember who I was. This person is reputable. You should let them stay at your house." They would carry that letter from house to house. That is how hospitality worked, and we see Christians using a similar system. Gaius is known as one who makes every effort. He doesn't pass this off on someone else. He takes it as a joy to be a hospitable homeowner. He brings the brothers in, and if they are in need, he supplies it. He goes out of his way, it seems. He's not just letting them in, but going above and beyond to make them feel at home, cared for, and not a burden. It is a joy to him. He is not feeling the weight of some anxiety, but using the joy the Lord has put on him: this love. He is the beloved. He is loved by God and loved by the church, and he shares that love with the church. So through his life, Gaius lays out a faithful testimony toward these brothers, and even more striking, they are strangers. This is the point most will highlight. He probably has no actual connection to these Christian preachers, these evangelists. They probably came with a word that Gaius was someone they could go to. Here's his address, go hang out. And Gaius has a reputation, so he brings them in, overwhelmingly, greeting them and giving them all they need. Jesus will say that such a person is a man of peace, and we'll get to that in a moment. But this is a picture of one who offers himself for the good of those around him. In doing so, his love is testified before the church. His name is well known. He has built a name for himself, whether he realizes it or not, and that is what the text is saying. They come back from spending time with him, and all they talk about is how gracious he is. They testify to his love for the church and for the saints. It is always encouraging. I think of missionaries who come and talk about the different places they go and the love they receive from other Christians. How we receive some of our missionaries, the graciousness of h

    The Heart of Sending

  3. Oct 4

    To the Beloved Gaius

    So as we come this evening, , so we come to 3 John, so it is the last of our personal epistles that we are gonna be looking at. So who here has studied 3 John deeply? Who here has read it more than once in passing? Okay, so you've read it in your Bible reading plan probably. You should. You should have at some point. You remember the fine details of what transpires in this text. So again, it is one of those that it is one of the shortest books in the New Testament. Again, it is a personal letter. , so even while reading is opening up this text, , let's begin by reading the whole text that's before us. Again, not long. We're looking at 15 verses. , so let us begin in the Word. "The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testify to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers with, for the truth. I've written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God. Whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone. And from the truth itself, we also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name." Thus the letter of 3 John to us. And so as we read this, as I read it, it really quickly reminded me, take me back to elementary school. We're gonna go back in time, back when we actually had to learn how to write letters. Again, I'm looking at a generation that all probably understands this. Maybe not Isaac. Isaac's like, "We didn't have to learn how to do this. We had computers." But I was still partially in that, that part of my elementary school. In fifth grade, we had to learn how to write informal letters, formal letters, how to properly address the fir, the title, the introduction, the content, how to have a proper conclusion, how your, not benediction, but how your signature was, all of those pieces. And so we had to write different letters for different occasions. Again, 10 years later, who knew that was absolutely useless. But it's a helpful thing. But again, so there are different ways that you write letters. There's more formal and there's more informal, okay? So it's all seen in the content, and knowing your situation, you write accordingly. So in the book that we have before us, this is very much what is before us is a technically a formal letter. This is a formal Roman letter, okay? The Book of 3 John, as we cover some basics of the overview before we dive into our section, is actually considered the most secular letter in the New Testament. So secular meaning it follows a very structured Roman letter, okay? It has very much a basic introduction. It's gonna have a basic greeting. It's gonna have basic charge or purpose of the letter and a very clear, "Peace be with you." There's no benediction. It actually is the letter with the least theological introductions and conclusion. There isn't a long, , benediction at the end. There isn't a long theological greeting at the beginning, okay? You'll see a certain name is not mentioned once. What name is not in this text? Jesus. Jesus and Christ are not mentioned in our text. So this becomes a sticking point for some, like this just doesn't feel, 'cause we're all about vibes in our history , like it doesn't feel very theological. But yet while reading it, it is extremely theological, 'cause in it it's the personal theology that we're seeing. We're seeing the relationship of the apostle to another brother in Christ. So very similar to s- what we saw in Philemon. There's no new theology being presented in 3 John. If you create a new theology out of 3 John, you're a heretic. We'll cover someone who did create an entire theology System out of Third John in a moment. So it doesn't create new theologies, but it highlights the theme ultimately of true hospitality. So what we'll see in the coming weeks, especially the third week, is ultimately the abuse and the recovery of the end of Second John. So at the end of Second John, we had that theology of hospitality and welcoming and separating from the non-believers. In this, we'll see the abuse of that, where the true believers are being exiled while false teachers are embraced through Diotrephes. So we'll unpack a little bit of that in the third week as you see John's teaching get abused and twisted for people's own ends. So how false teachers can abuse true doctrine. So those are all some of the elements that we will unpack in this text. Now, history clearly associates this book with John. There is no debate of John's writing. The letter's language, structure, content all follows with Second John, First John, and has the same language that we see in the epistle or in the Gospel of John. So no one questions the authorship. Everything flows very similar. It just has a different Roman structure, which is a little different, but the content still follows his same language, his same illustrations, his same use of Greek terms. Okay? The only weird nuance is this is the only time that the word ecclesia appears in a Johannine literature. Random note for you. Um, so he will use other terms instead of the called out ones. So this is the one time that he uses that specific phrase. Um, but these are all, again, important parts of setting the tone for what is going on, as what we have here is this personal letter encouraging a brother to stand firm in the faith, to keep doing what he's doing, and to stand in the midst of those who are doing the opposite. Okay, so we're gonna see a man who is great in hospitality being forced to see those who are not great in hospitality towards the brothers, and being encouraged to continue to do the very thing you're doing. So again, not a complex book, but a lot of depth of how we can see the work of the Lord through this short fifteen verses. So this week we will follow that flow of the letter. So we'll look at the introduction and greeting tonight. We will look at verses one through four. Next week we're gonna look at that encouragement that we have to Gaius in verses five through eight, and then we'll conclude with nine through fifteen, the charge, okay? The uplifting of, , Demetrius, and then the condemnation of Diotrephes. So that will be our final week. So as we dive into this text, we begin here, of course, with an introduction. "So the elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth." So again, we open with John using his title, The Elder, okay? Not directly calling himself John, but The Elder, how he has been known. Same thing we saw in Second John, "The elder to the elect lady." Now it is the elder to Gaius, the beloved Gaius. Now again, part of this goes with our understanding that some will say that this highlights, and there are some nuances in the letter, that John may not have a depth of relationship with Gaius. Okay? That they're not buddies. They don't hang out, if you will. They are probably compatriots in that they are both believers, and that John has received this wonderful news of who-- what Gaius is doing and wants to encourage him all the more to keep doing that. So they may have a passing acquaintance, either they know similar people or very much they may have met a long life and it's like, "Oh, I'm hearing he's doing well. Let me keep encouraging him." So they don't seem to have a very, like, buddy-buddy relationship, which is usually the highlight that he uses his title rather than his personal I, John the Apostle, or John the Elder. He uses a very formal title. So again, writing a professional letter, you use a formal title, not a personal one. So he even begins in that way with a very formal address, "The elder to the beloved Gaius." And so then we come across the recipient of this letter, Gaius. Now, Gaius is a very common name in Greek-- Greco-Roman society in the first century. This is Bill. This is John. This is William. Like, this is James. This is just another name. There's nothing that sets it apart. There isn't anything that really historically you can be like, "Oh, it's this one." In the New Testament, besides this reference to Gaius, there are three Gaiuses in the New Testament. Okay, we have three up to this point. Does anyone know the three randomly? Probably not. I had to look them up because I don't remember them. So two in the book of Acts. Okay, so the first one we have in Acts 19 was in Ephesus, but he's called Gaius of Macedonia, so he's part of the time that Paul is in Ephesus. The second, in Acts 20, we have Gaius of Derbe. Okay? Completely different. And then the third one, who's the most popular, who if people want to pick a Gaius, they pick the third one. It is Gaius of Corinth. So we find him in one Corinthians 1:14, okay, that he only... This is who was baptized by Paul. So again, that's why you, if you wanna pick one, you wanna pick the guy that was baptized by Paul. So when Paul lists his, like, "I didn't baptize anyone

    To the Beloved Gaius

  4. Sep 27

    An Important Warning

    In his book Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth Alister McGrath opens with the following words, Never has there been such interest in the idea of heresy. Ancient heresies, seen by earlier generations as obscure and dangerous ideas, have now been sprinkled with stardust. The lure of the religious forbidden never seems to have been so strongFor many religiously alienated individuals, heresies are now to be seen as bold and brave statements of spiritual freedom, to be valued rather than avoidedThe rehabilitation of heretical ideas is now seen as a necessary correction of past injustices, allowing the rebirth of suppressed versions of Christianity more attuned to contemporary culture than traditional orthodoxy. Heresy has become fashionable.[1] So far throughout 2 John we have received instruction from John about how to do life in the elect lady of God, the Church. This life were called to live is a life of love, but a love informed and fueled by something John cares very much about: the truth. Because this love is inseparably connected to Gods truth it automatically makes it a love seeking to move one another toward a deeper and truer obedience to Gods commands. Being united into one body in Christ by the Spirit, this is how were to give love to another. To depart from the truth results in a failure to love, this is what we learn in v1-6.[2] But, as John continues into v7 he tells us there are a particular people who should not receive this kind of love from us. Who are these people? Heretics. Why should they not receive such love from us? Heresy. I know, I know, to speak of such things today feels extremely unsettling and deeply troubling. To disagree with another or to call someones lifestyle, actions, or opinions wrong is now seen as the height of arrogance. More so to use the word heresy and apply that label to someones teaching or beliefs is often met with the angry response Heresy? Says who? Our age is now summarized by three sentences: what we once celebrated we now condemn, what we once condemned we now celebrate, and all who refuse to celebrate are condemned as well. There is no place for Truth today.[3] Or as Isaiah 59:14 says, Truth has fallen in the street. For Johns community in view here, for this elect lady, this hits very close to home. John has come and preached the gospel, hes preached the truth to them, they believed and were saved from death to life, a church was born, he instructed them for a time, and then he left to go back home to Ephesus. When he left a group of other folks came in. They had another message that taught another gospel about another Jesus. In other words, they were teaching heresy and by so doing outed themselves as heretics. So having spiritual authority and a deep care and concern for this church, when John heard about this he addressed it head on. Our passage today, v7-13 is where he does this. In v7 he gives his main point The Nature of Heresy (v7) v7, 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. In v7 John transitions from what gave him great joy to what now gives him deep grief. Earlier he rejoiced that some of them were walking in the truth, he now tells us what the rest were doing. Rather than walking in the truth, the others were being deceived themselves and were busy deceiving others. Many deceivers have gone out into the world They defected from this elect lady under Johns care and have gone out into the community at large, no doubt to win more people to their false teaching. What is their false teaching? Notice John describes their teaching not in terms of what they say, but what they fail to say.[4] Sure this group was speaking a lot of Jesus, using familiar language that wouldve been common to many Christians in that day (much like many false teachers today). But even though they were talking a lot about Jesus they failed to say what the rest of the Christian community was saying then and still says today. They do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This statement concerns the incarnation of God, it concerns who Jesus really was when He came at His birth, and this view was growing in popularity in Johns day. Most who held this view called themselves Gnostics, others were more specific calling themselves Docetists, but what they believed was very similar. They believed in a dualism that said the spiritual was good and the physical matter evil. So when God became man in Christ at the incarnation they said God cant really become true man, we know physical matter is evil, so He must have just appeared to be a man. Others were going around teaching that the divine nature of Jesus came on Jesus at His baptism and left Him before the crucifixion.[5] Either way they believed Jesus was truly God but could never, had never, and would never become truly man. This is a massive problem. Dont think John is engaging in some kind of theological nit-picking, or creating an unneeded division over a small point of doctrine that doesnt matter. If this doctrinal departure didnt matter we wouldnt have the letter of 1, 2, or 3 John. Ask yourself: if Jesus didnt become truly man in the incarnation, could He have truly born our penalty and our curse, in our place, as our substitute? Could He have truly taken on Himself our filthy rags? Could He truly have lived a righteous life as a man and then be able to give sinful men His pure righteous robe? No! The answer is no! If He wasnt true man, all mankind has no hope, and we are in still in the first Adam because Jesus never truly became the Last Adam. In our day John would likely be labeled a Pharisee because today the only heresy is saying that theres heresy. But boldly and bravely John drops some much needed clarity on the nature of this heresy.[6] He calls this teaching and these teachers what they are. Not only are they false teachers, John refers to them using a specific title reserved for the radical and quintessential opponent of Christ, the antichrist.[7] He isnt using the title here to describe them as the one antichrist of history, but the collective spirit of unbelief he mentioned back in his first letter. In 1 John 2:18ff he says, Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that is it the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of uswho is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. They really did believe in Jesus, they spoke very similar language to the rest of the Christian community, but the Jesus they believed and spoke of was not in line with who Jesus truly is. Johns conclusion? False teachers arent brothers or sisters in Christ, theyre against Christ. They are antichrists. Is this your conclusion too? It ought to be. After describing the nature of this heresy among them he goes straight to application. In v8 he gives them a warning, in v9 he gives them a test, and in v10-11 he tells them of the inhospitality of heresy. The Warning of Heresy (v8) v8, Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. What are they to do in light of the heresy among them and around them? First, theyre to watch themselves. Meaning they are to watch their doctrine, that its in accord with Gods truth rather than simply pleasing to their own personal preferences. Theyre to watch their lives, that theyre obedient and pleasing to God, walking in step with the Spirit and bearing His fruit, ensuring their conduct matches their creed, and their behavior matches their belief. And specifically in the context of v1-6 here in 2 John, theyre to watch one another, walking in love toward one another without departing from the truth. Then comes the warning. John puts it negatively then positively. Negatively: if they give in to this heresy they will lose what they have worked for. Positively: if they remain firm and resist this heresy they will have their full reward. Taken together we see what this warning is. God has done a work in them and God was doing a work among them in their community. A church has been born, and she as the elect lady herself is to be the pillar and buttress of the truth. Theyve made a certain amount of progress there, and if they give in to these heretics and do not stand firm theyll lose all theyve labored for. Theyll lose gospel momentum and theyll lose the faithful gospel witness in their own congregation and in the community at large. Like a rock thrown into a pond eventually causes ripples throughout the whole pond, heresy, allowed to linger, will eventually cause ripples throughout the whole community of faith. If they give in now, their end will be disaster and loss. But, if they stand firm in the truth, as John calls them to, their end will be one of full reward. This is Johns warning. The Test of Heresy (v9) v9, 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. Progress is in view in v9, and progress is something we usually commend. Progress in the Christian life, progress in holiness and purity and fighting sin, progress in maturity in our knowledge of God, these kinds of progress are all good things. But the progress in v9 is not progress toward any kind of health but progress towards unhealth. When John says Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ he shows that the heretics are progressives who arent progressing in the faith but progressing beyond the faith.[8] Apparently they heard the teaching of Christ, didnt think it adequate for their own agenda, and added to it. In other

    An Important Warning

  5. Sep 20

    Walk in Love

    We are currently in a series on the Church in the small letter of 2 John. We began this series called The Elect Lady last week and will Lord willing finish next week. But I share this story because in our passage today John expresses a similar happiness and joy when he hears something specific about this church. As we approach 2 John 4-6, I want to first cover Johns happy boast over this church and humble request of this church. Then as we see each of those Id like to become a spokesman for the elders and make our own happy boast over you and make a similar request of you. Lets get into these things now. A Happy Boast (v4) In v4 John begins to unfold the purpose of his small letter and when he does so we find a happy apostle. John says he is not only rejoicing but that he is rejoicing greatly. For us to see such great joy in John is not a new thing for us. John is a very happy man and he shows it in everything he writes. His gospel is full of joy and pleasure and delight in Christ who became flesh and tabernacled among us. In 1:4 of his first letter, 1 John, he states the reason why he wrote 1 John, We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. He didnt write that their joy may be complete, or even that his joy would be complete, he wrote aiming at a collective and communal delight, our joy. In 2 John he says the same thing, he doesnt write a long letter to this church because in v12 he says he desires to come see this church face to face so that our joy may be complete. This happiness is present in 3 John too, in v3-4 when he learns of the faithful obedience of his beloved friend and fellow elder Gaius. And more, how could John not be fantastically happy as he is receiving and writing the glorious apocalypse we know as the book of Revelation? To John, joy is no small thing or side dish in the Christian life. It is something he knows deeply and feels greatly. But his joy is never just warm feelings or a general disposition to be chipper, no. His great and exceeding joy that he deeply knows and greatly feels is a joy that is rooted in the truth. So look at 2 John 4 and ask the question, Why is John, here in this context, making such a happy boast over this congregation? Answer: he is rejoicing over certain news that has come his way. News, that some people in this church not only know the truth, but are walking in the truth. News, that some in this church not only believe the right doctrine but obey it as their duty and delight. News, that some in this church not only know the right creed, but work hard at making the content of that creed their true conduct.[1] Now, it is interesting to note that John says only some of this church is walking in the truth. It is probably the case that he is glad to find some walking in truth because he knows others were not.[2] This church in view is as all churches are, a mixed bag with sheep and goats and wheat and tares, making up the membership. Hell spend time addressing those who are not walking in the truth in v7-11 as well as those false teachers who are leading them astray, but for now to introduce the main purpose of his letter his focus is those who are walking in the truth. And for John, being one of the elders of this congregation who holds a pastoral oversight over them, to hear this news brings his heart deep happiness. Why? The rest of v4 tells us, I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. So ultimately Johns happy boast is that some of those within this church know Gods commands, are obeying those commands, and by obeying them they are pleasing God. All of this brings great pleasure to John. See here a neglected teaching in our time, pleasing God by our obedience.[3] This is likely a neglected teaching today because by saying we can please God by our obedience seems to give us the uneasy feeling that were turning our backs on justification by faith alone. There is true beauty and glory to be seen in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. For God has, by His own redemptive work in Christ, saved us from death and out of our old way of life. But by not speaking of how our obedience brings God pleasure we rob ourselves of seeing the kind of lives God is now calling us into. For example, hear these passages Ephesians 5:10, Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Colossians 1:10, Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 1 Thessalonians 4:1, We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as your are doing, that you do so more and more. Hebrews 13:16, Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. 1 John 3:22, And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And finally we must be reminded this is all really just an imitation of Christ, who as John 8:29 tells us, always does what pleases God. So from seeing this obedience in this church John is happy and he tells them as much. Now I must pause and take a moment and make another happy boast as well. Much of what John is happy about here in v4 is also why we as your elders at SonRise are happy men too. For much of you, your doctrine has become your duty and delightyour creed fills out the content of your conductyour beliefs have become the foundation of your behavior. So as John will say later in 3 John 4 we as your elders can truthfully say of you, We have no greater joy than to hear that our children are walking in the truth. Really any believer should feel a deep well of joy surging up within them as they see another believer walking in the truth. So weve seen a happy boast, now see A Humble Request (v5-6) 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. John, apostle and the beloved disciple, couldve employed his apostolic authority by commanding them but the language he employs here is softer, like the language a husband would use toward his wife, or a father would use toward his children. It is the language of a humble request. So his request is nothing new but a reminder of what Christ has already taught them. What is the request? that we love one another. We could jump to all kinds of conclusions here of what this love means, what this love entails, and what this kind of love looks like. But before we do we must remember what John has said before in v1-3 and what he says after in v6. Or in other words, we must remember the context. John has already told us before in v1-3 that love cannot be defined in any kind of biblical way apart from the reality of truth. He told us there exists a unity, a bond, a deep and inseparable connection between love and truth, so much so that we cannot rightly see one of them apart from the other. John says he loves this congregation and her members in truth, he says all else who know the truth loves this congregation in truth, and he calls them to a life of discerning love toward one another anchored in the certainty of Gods truth thats fixed forever. Thats what he said before, now lets look at what John says after the command to love one another in v5-6. In 1993 the German-Trinidad musician Haddaway asked us What is Love? Thankfully when we come to v5 and read this request to love one another we dont have to define what love is because John defines it for us in v6. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments In one sense we must remember Gods love is expressed toward undeserving sinners like us in giving us commands for our benefit, but in another sense, the sense John leans into here, our love for God is expressed in our living according to His commands, and how we live according to His commands is seen in how we walk through life with one another.[4] So Johns argument is intentionally circular, The test of love is obedience to Gods commands, and the test of obedience is whether one walks in love.[5] Notice, John asks this church to do the very thing theyre already doing in v4. He asks that all of them would do what some of them are already doing, walking in discerning love with one another. This is not new, theyve had it from the beginning. This is his humble request. So, because our obedience to Gods commands is the very means by which we love another among the elect lady of God, among the church, do you see that transformation is always the inevitable result of belief in the gospel?[6] John often uses the imagery of walking in 2 John to describe how we live in this life. Do you see that how you walk, how you live this life, changes when we believe gospel? In Pauls letter to Titus, he mentions our former state of unbelief is one characterized by hating God and hating others.[7] Then he says once the gospel breaks upon the heart by the power of the Spirit, as water breaks upon a rock, our eyes are opened to see how God has reconciled us to Himself through the gospeland we find that the gospel didnt just change how we relate to God, it changes how we relate to everyone else around me. We once hated God and hated others, now because of the gospel (to use Johns language) were called to walk differently. Now, were called to love God by walking in obedience to God aiming at pleasing Him fully, and were called to display that Godward love to others by extending the same gospel discerning love to them. Johns happiness in their conduct with one another leads him to make this humble request of them. And once again, I must pause and take a moment and make another request as the spokesman for the elders. All of what John is requesting here in

    Walk in Love

  6. Sep 13

    The Elect Lady

    SonRise Community Church Evening Seminars

    The Elect Lady

  7. Sep 6

    A Gospel Parting

    SonRise Community Church Evening Seminars

    A Gospel Parting

  8. Aug 30

    The Debt of Grace

    Introduction: I invite you to open your Bibles to Pauls short letter to Philemon. Tonight is our the third message of four on this small letter, and by now I hope you have seen that this letter contains a crystal-clear picture of what the gospel is and how the gospel changes us. I want to begin tonight with the concept of rejection. Anyone here ever been rejected? Maybe it was by an authority figure, a parent, a coach, a boss. Maybe it was a family member or close friend. Maybe someone else. I think at one point or another in life weve all been there. My experience has taught me that rejection feels worst when it comes as a surprise, or from someone wed never expect it from. Theres a good reason people describe rejection as being stabbed in the back. It feels like betrayal. You can almost see the faces of others disregarding you, counting you as useless, casting you out as worthless and no longer welcome. Rejection is something felt too often not only outside the church but inside it. When I first became a Christian in college, I felt this the first time I walked into a church. God had just saved me, I didnt know what the rules were, and plenty of people whod been believers for years made me feel like an outsider by the simple fact that I didnt dress like them. Rejection comes in many shapes and sizes. Let the reality of rejection stay in your mind, because Onesimus is about to face it. Think about where weve been in Philemon these past two weeks. A runaway slave, out on the loose, somehow meets up with Paul while Paul is in prison for preaching the gospel. Hes converted under Pauls ministry, and now hes heading back home to be reconciled with his master Philemon because Paul asks for it. Onesimus doesnt know whats waiting for him. Under Roman law, a returning runaway slave could legally be imprisoned or worse, entirely at his masters discretion. Hes walking home into the very real possibility of total rejection. I tell you that because I want you to feel that weight before we see how Paul answers it. In this light, v1720 would have been soothing to Onesimus, and they're soothing today for any sinner who reads them. Follow along as I read verses 1720 Held within each verse of this passage are two statements. The first is atruth statement, a certainty Paul is conveying. The second is aneffect statement, the result that truth leads to. Four verses, four pairs of statements, forms Pauls appeal to Philemon on behalf of his slave Onesimus. v17 The truth statement:"So if you consider me your partner"The word for "partner" here is the same Greek word,koinōnos, translated sharing your faith back in v6. That this word can mean partner in one place and sharing in another tells us Paul has more in view than a business arrangement. He means a unified, co-laboring partnership in the gospel. Two men who have linked arms to bear the weight of the gospel whatever the cost. Paul saw Philemon as a partner in the faith, and you can count on it that Philemon saw Paul the same way. Both men had been chased down by Christ and redeemed, and through them Christ was building His church. They were truly partners; not only sharing their faith with others, but sharing the same faith with each other. Because of that truth, see the effect at the end of v17, receive him as you would receive me.Paul has alluded to this request throughout the letter, but here he finally makes it plain. The partnership between Paul and Philemon naturally produces a result. Philemon is to extend to Onesimus the same grace hed extend to Paul. Paul isnt asking Philemon merely to tolerate Onesimus, hes asking for Philemon toreceivehim, the way he'd receive Paul if he walked through his front door. Church, hear it. Notice what Paul is doing here. Hes not leaning on his apostolic authority. Hes appealing to Philemon as a friend, not commanding him as an apostle. And more than that, hes lowering himself further still, putting a runaway slave on the very same level as himself. Thats what receive him as you would receive me means. Was this just Paul being generous? It would be easy to read it that way. But Paul isnt just being generous here, hes showing us the cross. Though Paul is an apostle and Onesimus a slave, both were once slaves of sin who became slaves of Christ through the same gospel. How would Philemon receive Paul if Paul showed up at his door? With honor, dignity, respect, submissionbecause Paul is his father in the faith. Paul tells him: receive Onesimus exactly the same way. In this, Paul risked his relationship with Philemon for the sake of Onesimus. Church, the gospel demands we go just as far for one another. v18 The truth statement:If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anythingThe effect afterwards:charge that to my account. Its likely implied here that Onesimus stole from Philemon on his way out the door, which was common enough in this time, where slaves were often seen as unreliable and prone to theft. You might think Paul is simply being generous here, showing us an implication of the gospel. That's true. But Pauls doing more than illustrating the gospel, he isliving out the language of the gospel itself. Charge that to my account is the language of substitution and satisfaction: a debt paid on behalf of someone who cannot pay it himself. This should stop us in our tracks. The Greek word behind charge it to my account isellogeo, the very same word Paul uses in Romans 5:13, where he says sin is not counted against someone apart from the law. Paul isnt reaching for a loose metaphor. He is using precise language, the language of imputation, and applying it to a runaway slaves unpaid debt. What Paul says to Philemon on Onesimuss behalf is, in the exact same category, as what Jesus Christ says to the Father on behalf of sinners:put it on My account. Now, we need to be careful about what that word substitution actually means, because its easy to let it go in one ear and out the other as theological jargon. Substitution means one party stands in the place of another and receives what was due to that other party instead of them. Not a partial discount. Not a payment plan. A full transfer, so complete that the original debtor is no longer liable for anything. Thats exactly the shape of what Paul calls Philemon to. Not let's work something out but move the whole debt off his ledger and onto mine. Onesimus walks away with a clean account, not because the debt didnt exist, but because Paul now legally owns it. Thats precisely the pattern Scripture uses for the cross, over and over specific language. Isaiah saw it years before Calvary as he said, The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6), sin transferredontoChrist. Peter says it plainly, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), He carried what was ours, not His own. Paul names the exchange explicitly in 2 Corinthians 5:21, For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Notice, it moves both directions, there is a double transaction. Our sin is charged to His, His righteousness is credited to us. That double transfer is sometimes called the great exchange. Galatians 3:13 puts it plainly, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Somebody had to bear the curse our sin deserved. Christ did not adjust the curse, negotiate it, or absorb part of it. He took it all, in our place, as our substitute, and none of it falls on us. This is why substitution is not the same thing as mere forgiveness. God did not overlook sin at the cross, or merely wipe it away. He punished it fully, in full justice, and then placed that punishment on His own Son instead of on us. This is what the old hymn means when it sings, Guilty, vile, and helpless we, spotless Lamb of God was He, full atonement, can it be? John Piper says it so well, At the cross, the wisdom of God ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the justice of God. Nothing was swept under the rug. Every last cent of the debt was paid, just not by the one who owed it. That truth so gripped Pauls own heart that it produced in him a desire to extend that same grace to a runaway slave who had become dear to him. Pauls debt was paid at the cross, fully, legally, finally, and the moment he sees Onesimus carrying a debt he can do something about, the gospel moves him to make it his own. This is what happens every time the gospel actually reaches a human heart people who have been so loved for start looking for people they can love in the same way. v19 The truth statement:I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay itPaul typically dictated his letters to an amanuensis, a secretary. Not here. He picks up the pen himself, underlining just how personal this letter is. This is Pauls follow-through on v18. The debt he sees standing between Philemon and Onesimus, he will pay, and Philemon can hold him to it. But dont rush by what Paul says next in the rest of v19:to say nothing of your owing me even your very own self.Paul will repay Onesimuss debt, yes, but in the same breath he reminds Philemon that Philemon isalreadyin his debt, for leading him to Christ in the first place. Linger on that for a second. Paul is saying:I'll cover what he owes you, but lets not forget the debt between us. You owe me your soul.So who actually owes whom here? Philemon isnt being asked to give up something that was ever fully his. Hes being invited to let go of a debt in light of a far greater debt already forgiven. v20 The truth Paul means to convey:Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the LordThe effect, really a gentle command:refresh my heart in Christ. Philemon was known for refreshing the saints in Colossae (v7). Now Paul wants that same refreshment turned toward him. The Greek word behind benefit isoninēmi, the very word Onesimuss name comes from. Paul is punning, ri

    The Debt of Grace
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