 Second John beginning at verse one the elder to the elect lady and her children whom I love in truth And not only I but also all those who have known the truth because of the truth Which abides in us and will be with us forever 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 I Rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth as we receive commandment from the father and Now I plead with the lady not as though I wrote a new commandment to you But that which we have have had from the beginning that we love one another 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 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh This is a deceiver and an antichrist Look to yourselves that we do not lose those things we worked for but that we may receive a full reward Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the father and the son 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 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 as is my normal Method, let me give you a little bit of a background and then we'll get into Looking at these verses before us. This is the letter of 2nd John It is estimated that this particular letter 2nd John was written by the Apostle John around the year 90 AD Part of the reason why we know this to be John is because of the similarities with other writings of John and So it makes the authorship pretty clear This is written by John though. He begins by referring to himself as the elder now It's no doubt that the that the recipients of this particular letter knew exactly who this author is now he continues in this particular book to refute the errors of false teachers and When you look into 1st John You'll see that that was part of the purpose of writing 1st John. It's because there were false teachers who had been Creeping into the church and and John as the elder over the church's pastor had written a letter to them and Had clarified what was taking place in order that they might be able to refute the errors of the false teachers He had spoken concerning these false teachers in 1st John in chapter 2 verse 19 And he said they went out from us, but they did not really belong to us for if they had belonged to us They would have remained with us But they're going so that none of them belong to us And so he was speaking concerning false teachers who at one time had associated themselves as Christians But in reality we're not walking in the truth and remaining in Fellowship with those who believed in Christ and the way that John had been teaching them So these false teachers are still spreading their error So because that's a fact John is now writing another warning to the church and he's simply saying this he's saying do not associate with these false teachers So his theme is uncomplicated Remain consistent in the practice and simplicity of the gospel as you have been taught Avoid these traveling evangelists who are entering into your neighborhood churches in order to deceive And so that's the background basically that's what you're going to be seeing as we go through this particular letter together So he begins in verse 1 by saying the elder to the elect lady and her children notice whom I love in truth And so I've mentioned this to you before but during the day of the writing of the New Testament You would normally have a formula We have a formula for writing letters that are still it's still accepted to this day We'll begin with who we're going to send the letter to dear so-and-so Then you have the body of the letter and then you have your conclusion yours truly or how however you you conclude We all that's a form during this day. They had a form also it would begin with the author That's how they would begin so the author is the elder then they would say to the recipient And that's the second thing you see here and then the third thing they would do is they would give a blessing And so that's just the basic way that they would write their letters during that time So he begins by identifying himself as the elder And he identifies the recipient to the to the elect lady and her children whom I love in truth And so he begins by identifying himself then he identifies the recipient of the letter and then he gives the blessing Now when he begins by saying the elder That's a title and the elders in reference to John he's an older man as he writes this and Though he's an older man. He's not speaking of himself in terms of his age When you see the word elder in scripture sometimes the word elder is simply that it's speaking of an older man When Paul is writing to Timothy on one occasion he says to him treat the older man as fathers And so there are times that the word elder is used in terms of chronological age So an older person is an elder they're elderly We use the word to this day speaking of their age, but he's not speaking in that way here What he's speaking of is uh his his place in the church. He's using the title elder To speak to himself as the spiritual leader of a congregation And this is a way that this word could be used We see it with Peter in first Peter 5 verse 1 when he said to the elders among you I appeal as a fellow elder A witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed So in this case, he's not saying I'm an old man writing a letter He's writing as the elder of the church. He's writing as the spiritual overseer He's saying I am the spiritual leader of the congregation I mentioned that I meet with young pastors and they're not all young some some are older men But a good number of these young pastors are are just that they are young pastors. They're in the 30s And and I was sharing with them yesterday about the fact that That it's it's very important in the body of christ for the younger to learn from the older In this age of instant knowledge, all I have to do is ask almighty google for for information And and I can get information most anything I want You know and You know web md and all kinds of things I can become a doctor All I need to do is google this and google that in a time like that We we today Are actually causing our our culture to go through a huge transformation Where where where people think that they're educated? Because they spent some time quote-unquote Researching things by going on on the web well I was sharing with the young guys that that when you're young you want to have all the answers But when john was speaking and it's found in first john too when john was speaking Concerning stages of maturity He spoke of of little children and he spoke of young men and he spoke of the fathers And he said the father basically and I was sharing with these guys father Basically is the term simply to say you have known him who is from the beginning And I said and what that simply means is it's it's a tip of the hat It's a nod to the man who's been walking with god for years And he is simply now a father and I said to the guys I said I appreciate being a pastor But my role is being transformed right now as i'm In my ministry to that of like a father Somebody who has that experience Who's able to share those kinds of things with the body of crisis John was the elder he was the older man And this church had the wisdom to listen to his Instruction he was their pastor At the time of the writing he's the last remaining apostle All the rest have already Been martyred John was the last one And he's speaking concerning his pastoral relationship to the church and that's how he begins by referring to himself as the elder But notice he is writing to the elect lady He says to the elect lady and her children So the question is asked who is this elect lady and who are her children? That's another way of referring to a local church fellowship John is writing to a church. He's not writing to a particular woman and he's not writing to her children He's writing to the church again The apostle peter uses that kind of writing technique in first peter 5 13 When it says she who is in babelun chosen together with you sends you her greetings She who was in babelun is a reference to the church The church that was in captivity of the church that was under persecution And so this elect lady is the church and the congregation of the church So as the leading elder john is writing directions to a church It's a church in need of exhortation The church is viewed as a mother Needing to discipline and to protect her children Now Why would he be writing to the church in the picture of a mother and children? And the answer is there to protect Against deception the deception that is infiltrating the church through false teachers We'll look at that in just a moment in some detail So he says in verse one That he loves them and I want you to notice something here john writes that he loves him in the truth He says not only I But also all those who have known the truth So Love Love of the truth love of the truth within the congregation The love of christ is not simply to be experienced On this personal Note alone Yes, it is true that each one of us who knows christ has what is called and we've We've learned this through the billy graham crusades and all over all these years Uh, we can have a personal relationship with jesus christ You know, it's it's it's a relationship that i as an individual have but you need to always know this and this is something that Sometimes has to be repeated though. I'm sure you already know this Christianity listen carefully because this this falls on deaf ears all the time. So i'll say it Christianity is community You have to understand that Christianity is community The church would gather together in fellowship Because they knew that the world was in opposition to the truth of christ And they would gather together because it you would remain strong I used to use the illustration quite often of During the you know times I would barbecue and and you drop the coal there and you light it and it begins to heat up And if you took some tongs and you reached into the center of that that pile of coals And there may be a coal there that is white hot white hot and you pull it out and you put it by itself That coal will go out because there's nothing around it to help to keep the heat We know that because we barbecue Just take that the hardest if you'd like and take it out and put it to the side All the rest that remain there can continue in that heat But the one that's removed is going to go out And fellowship keeps us aflame for christ Our relationship to god is not simply individual though we need to cultivate our personal walk with god But it's deeper than that. It is a shared experience with like-minded believers And that's what keeps me moving in the ways of the lord So the love of christ is not to be experienced simply by one person alone God's love is experienced together It's experienced in the body of christ the community of believers And so he's writing to the church in the church family It's interesting as you look at this how he says love and he says truth That's an interesting combination When you read the first six verses here You're going to see that love and truth are used nine times Nine times in the first six six verses of this of this portion of scripture That's because the bible teaches very clearly that real love is always connected with truth Real love is always connected with truth and you can make that practical if you'd like You know, I was talking to a friend of mine just uh yesterday who was saying that he cuts hair And he says, you know, he said I was speaking to a woman customer And she said to me she's on a harmony e harmony And um he said She was talking to me and said You know that she's got a guy interested in her and She said to my friend, you know, I really ought to tell him how old I really am That would be nice because when you look at some of that They put pictures of themselves when they were younger or some somebody else Um, you know, they exaggerate their accomplishments. That is very common And he said I talk to people all the time. That's what he does. He cuts hair Sometimes 10 hours a day He does it six days out of the week So start multiplying that and he is busy constantly He's he's he's he's got a whole list of people that keep him busy cutting here And and he's been he's been a friend of mine for 32 years And so he's been cutting hair for longer than I've known him And he said Dave, he says I'm telling you that He says everyone That I speak to tell me they lie on these websites They all lie. He says and he said and even the christians are lying And he said this woman saying I really ought to tell him how old I am And he said, you know, that is a lie when you don't well, it's not really a lie It's you know, that's what we do You know, we have a tendency of of not telling the truth Love and truth are always connected always illustration You're a kid You're learning to date you do learn to date some get good at it some don't They just get married now some So I don't know what your dating experience was or if you're dating now. I don't know I can say that mine was clumsy at best You don't know if they want to go out with you When you go out with them, you don't know if they're going out because you're taking them some place They want to go you don't know if they want to be with you They don't you don't know if they want to be with you a second time. You don't know any of that It's you're taking a chance. So what do you do you you present yourself in the best light that you can You do things you normally don't do you take a bath you put on deodorant you And you charm them You charmed them And and that that was my experience you try to find the things that they like And you kind of like oh, yeah, I like that too, but it's not real A lot of times it's not for me. It wasn't it was just it was just a way to try And get them to like me. So whatever they liked I liked That's just the way it was until I met Marie When I met Marie I was old enough at that point to say this and this is what I did I said She's going to know David for who he really is Not what he pretends to be She's going to know the real guy if she likes me. She liked the real me If she doesn't she doesn't like the real me, but at least she doesn't like who I really am That's what I chose to do and wonder of wonders. She actually liked me. That was a trip, but she did And so I've never lied to her I've never never never come on like that because love and truth Are always together and when you have real love, there's real truth That's in the practical, but that's true obviously in the spiritual You see genuine love is rooted in scriptural truth Because the word of god defines love for us And in the bible Love is revealed to us You know love at least an outer appearance of love Can be counterfeited They can present themselves as very loving They're appearing to be very loving Without the reality of real love Christian love can be imitated by cults that are led by false teachers They can show an interest in you that makes you feel that they care about you When in reality they're simply using you And so that gives us insight into why he begins immediately to speak about love and truth and tie it together He's reminding them that the false teachers try to counterfeit love But real love is rooted in god's truth And his concern for them as we're looking at this as well as for the whole church Is that they lovingly live out the gospel And he's pointing that out to them Because he's speaking concerning the fact that they are those who abide in the truth and they walk in the truth God's commands have been given to us with the goal of teaching us to live in love For god And in love with others In first timothy in chapter one Verse five paul said the purpose of the commandment is love From a pure heart from a good conscience from sincere faith And christian love contains within it the desire and impulse to do good to other people And so christians don't use another person's desire for love to harm them in any way We don't take advantage of other people for our own gain In first john 3 18 and 19 john had said dear children Let us stop just saying we love each other Let us really show it by our actions It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth So we will be confident when we stand before the lord So god's goal for our lives is to transform us And as our lives are transformed our lives actually become appealing to other people They see what we have and desire it also And so he says to the elect lady or children whom i love in truth and not only i but also all those who have Known the truth because verse two of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever The truth has come to stay is what he's saying the truth has come to stay in the members of the body of christ Now again truth is more than agreeing with certain things in an objective way I want you to see this he says the truth which abides in us and will be with us So it's not just memorizing bible answers When I was sharing today with the prayer breakfast I said that I received religious instruction as a child And I could I could give some essential basics Because it really impacted me when I was young Those things that had been taught to me And so I could actually have conversations with people About rudimentary things about the faith I I could speak concerning the fact that that the bible was inspired by god because I'd been taught that I I could say to them That that god has been revealed in three persons father son holy spirit. I'd been taught that I could speak to them concerning um Heaven because jesus went to prepare a place for us. I could speak on that not deeply But at least in a way it could evidence that I had at least had some basic rudimentary instruction concerning the christian faith and and And that that is not what he's talking about. There's a lot of people who are able to to speak About things from an intellectual basis He says no the truth is abiding in us. It's with us. It saturates us The truth Jesus christ who is the truth who lives within us Has impacted our lives to the very core is what he's speaking about. It's with us forever It isn't just knowledge that oh, yeah, okay. It's time for me to put on my religion hat and talk religion It's not that at all. It is who you are and it's the abundance of your heart Again using as an illustration the prayer breakfast and speaking to the mayor and The mayor makes mention of a few things That had been Told him apparently somebody Somebody in a certain position within the city of some authority didn't want me to come out To speak because he had read an article. I had written that was published in a newspaper Related to god's design for marriage And so he felt I was inappropriate to come and speak because I don't believe in homosexual marriage And thus he really shouldn't be speaking to To these people because of that antagonistic perspective that I have And so I share it how god sets free homosexuals today at the breakfast, you know letting him know Hey, that's what god says. That's what his word says and that's what ministers do We preach the unvarnished truth of the gospel Regardless of whether you like it or not or want me to be here and that's why I turned to marie later And she said next time we come I said no, there won't be a next time You've got to just say it the way it is when you're given the opportunity But that's a fact and you don't say it with antagonism You see you're not afraid of men Your fear should be of god And if god has entrusted you with this word you speak it the way it is And you know what god has a way he does you know and that's worthy of applause not because I did that because it's true That's how it works and it's going to bubble out It's going to bubble out. That's why I was saying I don't know if I'm going to go I don't know if they could hold you know hang with me because I don't I don't I don't I don't back down. That's just not going to happen I'm going to tell them the way it is If they can handle that I'll come if they can't then find somebody Somebody else that's I don't have the time for that and so no no we want you to and bless the Lord I had a great time and all of that But the truth for the believer is actually permeating our entire being our entire existence And again, it's more than simply memorizing lines in a catechism It becomes the core of who we are in psalm 51 verse 6 It says surely you desire truth in the inner parts you teach me wisdom in the inmost place And it's that truth that directs our lives It's that truth that wells up within us and it's that truth that bubbles out And we share it he says in verse 3 we made it all way to verse 3 so fast Grace and 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 Now in this greeting he's issuing a promise grace mercy and peace will be with you from god the father If you walk in truth and love You will have grace mercy and peace from god If you walk in that if you walk in grace mercy and peace You will if you walk with god you will have those things from the lord god is giving you a promise when you walk in truth And when you walk in love you have these other things He says in verse 4 i rejoice greatly that i have found some of your children walking in truth As we receive command from the lord it's a sad statement when you look at it I rejoice to see some of your children That means some aren't That means some aren't He didn't say i rejoice greatly that i found all of your children walking in truth I found some of your children walking in truth Obviously false teaching had influenced some in the church You see love for god if you want to mark something for your own heart mark this please Love for god is evidenced by a consistent longing to know and to keep the word of god You really love god Keep his word That's that's how you demonstrate your love in Psalm 119 163 The psalmist said i hate and abhor falsehood, but i love your law Psalm 119 167 my soul keeps your testimonies. I love them Exceedingly you see false teachers entered in they began to influence some of the people in the church And there will always be young believers immature in their faith who are susceptible to false teaching I've had that here in this church numerous times Where a new believer Starts watching a program and Believes that that person on that program is really helping them to know god And it comes to my attention and i've mentioned to them You know i would be careful with that their teachings are are really not in line with scripture and And they've been influenced they've been influenced by by false teachers that happens quite often And so what had happened is the false teachers entered in they began to influence some in the church And uh, that's why systematic teaching going through the word and reading it for yourself in this fashion Is so important because it builds you up And as he's continuing in verse five he says i plead now i plead with you i beg 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 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. I'm begging you walk In love I'm begging you. I'm pleading with you I'm not writing a new commandment to you The love of god provides the purest proof That a person knows god By this shall all men know you are my disciples if you love one another That isn't some hippie theme from the sixties That's that's the biblical teaching Jesus said it himself In john 15 17, jesus said these things i command you that you love one another In first acelonians four verse nine paul said concerning brotherly love you have no need that i should write to you You yourselves are taught by god to love one another In first john 323 he said this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his son jesus christ And love one another as he gave his commandment In first john 4 7 he said beloved let us love one another for love is of god and everyone who loves is born of god and knows god He says he who loves not knows not god for god is love That's clear evidence that you know the lord is is the The love of god and the love of and this is the way that it's known by the way the love for god and the love for his word It's one thing to say i love god But to love god is to love his commandments To love god is to love his word to love to love god is to be faithful to him and that's what he's saying here This isn't something new he said this is what we've had from the beginning that we love one another But then he defines it in verse six This is love that we walk according to his commandments. This is love and and that's how you know that you actually love In first john he said in chapter five verse three He said this is the love of god that we keep his commandments And his commandments are not burdensome. I mean when you get saved you don't say oh man. Oh, I can't do that anymore Oh man, I like getting drunk. I can't do that anymore I can't go out and shoot people anymore. Oh man, you know you didn't do that They're not burdensome God's gods commandments Are not tedious they are not Heavy they are not things that grieve you God's commandments for the one who loves him are life Now as he's speaking about that And and again i'll say this the mark the mark of Having god's love in your life the mark of having god's love in your life Is obedience to his command And all we have to do if you want to do a soul check is Just ask yourself are god's commandments burdensome to you Are they things you don't want to do Are they No, I don't want to do that. I'd rather do this Now it's part of the maturing process. Let's face it. There are some things that are pet sins We enjoy those sins you want to keep them But when you begin to realize that these are sins that are are affecting you Affecting those whom you do love And especially grieving the heart of god Those are the things you start giving up those are things you start yielding up you start saying I don't want this in my life. Why did I do that? Well, because because I love the lord because I want to follow god That's why Now as he's speaking about that He says in verse seven many deceivers have gone out into the world Who do not confess jesus christ is coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist look to yourselves That we do not lose those things we work for but that we may receive a full reward Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of christ does not have god He who abides in the doctrine of christ has both the father And the son and so he points out in verse seven many deceivers have gone out into the world and they do not Confess jesus is coming in the flesh So john is identifying the false teachers and he reveals that they are self sent missionaries These false teachers are now entering into the church and influencing the church You see as i've mentioned to you many times the primary sign of the last days is deception deception is Is the proclamation of a false doctrine and there are those who are receptive They're open to spiritual error And they are open to false teaching and what happens is when you forsake the word of god That leaves you open to the deception that the enemy can bring The bible teaches us that jesus gave what is called the great commission And when he gave the great commission He had said go and make disciples of all nations Baptizing them in the name of the father son and the holy spirit And he went on to say in teaching them to obey everything i have commanded you Surely i'm with you always to the very end of the age So he said make disciples and teach them to obey It's not just the going out it's going out with the attitude of making disciples and the way you make disciples Is by teaching them to obey all things that christ commanded That's why paul when paul was speaking To the aphesian elders could say that that he had not shunned to declare to them the entire council of god He taught them the age of the z and he said that's what my responsibility Is to do we're living in a day when when people are not really preaching the whole council of god But but paul when he was writing to timothy said preach the word he said convict and reproved He said that we're to exhort with all long suffering and teaching because the time will come When people will no longer endure healthy teaching, but will heap into the selves teachers having itching ears They will turn aside from the truth and they will be turned he said unto fables And that's the era that we're living in right now And so we need to teach what the bible has to say and we need to love one another enough to speak the truth and then finally And i say finally just to make you think i'm stopping i'm not Look to yourselves that we don't lose the things we worked for He has eternity in sight Do not allow these false teachers to influence the church He's saying we planted a church with the expectation to bring the whole congregation to maturity Don't allow false teachers to steal away the people in the body of christ And remember that the christian life results in reward And those who are deceived Will stand to lose reward He says in verse nine whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of christ doesn't have god A person who the word transgress means to run out of bounds a person who runs out of bounds or goes beyond Doesn't have a relationship with lord. They're revealing that they never even really knew him And then he says and this is one of those portions that people have asked questions about in the past verse 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine do not receive him into your house nor greet him Or he who greets him shares in his evil deeds now I've had people say does that mean that when somebody knocks on the door who's bringing a false doctrine That I shouldn't bring him into my house I've had people ask that that specific question You say a jojoba's witness or a Mormon or even a friend Who's not a christian who believes in something that you know is is You know some cultic way of thinking or whatever should I not have him in my house? That's not what he's saying You need to remember that during the time of the writing that the church was meeting the houses And when the church would meet in a house they called it house church when the church would meet in the house the pastor would have the responsibility to Make sure that any Teachers that entered in to give a study in the house Was in line with scripture It's the same to this day on occasion I will receive a request From somebody who wants to come and wants to speak here and they'll tell me how much they charge They'll send me a link so I can see their message and Very often those who are wanting to come would bring a bad doctrine I have the responsibility Of as a pastor not allowing that to take place I have the responsibility and I do the best that I can To to make sure that and we'll use the word vet that we vet these people So that when they come up, they don't bring some nonsense to you That I have to come up afterwards and say I am so sorry But what they just said is is wrong and these are the reasons why so He said don't allow somebody to come not just to your house But to take the pulpit in the church service these traveling evangelists who are coming into town Don't allow them in your pulpit Because in bringing them in and blessing them you're actually blessing their efforts And their efforts are undermining the gospel of jesus christ. This is a warning to pastors Don't allow them in the church Um Today people get upset if you name names. They say you're judging people to paul That was nonsense to paul That made no sense at all because He named names And read your bible and you'll see him speaking about some of these people and he uses her name He went so far in the book of galatians to even mention a confrontation to even mention a confrontation He had with the apostle peter Brought his name up. He said he was to be blamed And he told everybody why? That is what the lord intends Because god standard is for all of us And i'm telling you i am telling you over the years i have had more than one who've gotten upset sometimes even slamming doors And i'll i'll show you how mature i am. I won't listen to what you're saying I won't take it to the lord and say is that true? Is that what the word said? No I'll just be offended because i'm very thin skinned and everything's supposed to be done my way And if you say something that bothers me, i'll show you. I'll punish you. I just won't come back Unfortunately, they go off into their error remain in their error and they pay for it Because they're not in in god's word. My responsibility is to teach the truth even if people don't like to hear it That's just love. That's what love is And then finally having many things to write to you. I didn't 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 And so he finally just concludes and he says i i i would rather not be writing to you I would rather see you face to face and your sister fellowships That's what it means when it says the children of your elect sister greet you your sister fellowships are also bringing their Their uh, their love to you. They are also giving their greetings And so listen and we'll close and have communion We're living in a day false teaching scraping in Because the church is resisting the truth resisting pible study resisting You know the uh systematic expository teaching of god's word Because the church is caught up right now with infotainment and worship attainment We want an exciting moment with god or else it's just not worth our effort It's much more open today for deception than ever before And calvary chapel began we began following the lead of our pastor chuck smith who taught the word We pastors who have remained faithful to that have seen churches grow And we've also seen them shrink and in this era right now There are people that are going to church But not being equipped for works of service. They're going to church But they're receiving bad teaching and I turn on every once in a while different programs to see what's going on And i'll tell my wife marie. I'll say it's interesting how entertaining this guy is And how energetic and You know, there's a lot of people they're listening to him Sometimes like thousands of people And i'll sit there as a teacher of the word and i'll listen And i'll say that's not what god's word says That's not what god word said That's not what paul meant by that and I I can only watch some of these programs 10 minutes And I have to turn them off Because I'll say that's not what paul was teaching and the people applaud it They cheer it because they think it's great when in fact, they're cheering the arsenic They're cheering the poison that they're consuming God helped the church to be aware that really is truth and may we embrace it