II John 12,13

"I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink.  Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.  The children of your chosen sister send their greetings."  (II John 12,13)

Isn't it neat to see how John ends this short letter?  He starts out sharing his heart and affection for the recipients and he closes it with affection and love.  This is a good model for us when we need to correct or rebuke someone.  Start off with affection, share the truth and the warnings, and end with affection with affirmation in the person. I have heard it said before that in order to be effective anytime a rebuke is made, the proportion should be 90% affirmation and 10% rebuke.

The New Application Commentary of II John says that II John "was meant to warn....and was motivated by love."  Akin says in his commentary that "When we make a skillful pleasing defense of what we believe in and then back it up with good works, we create a wonderful message.  We need to argue forcefully and candidly while demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ to the world."

Some conclusions we can draw from this short "postcard" epistle is that:

• Loving God means obeying His commandments, not just saying the right words or looking for "feelings".
• There are many deceivers in the world and we need to "watch out" for anything that distorts the message of the gospel.
• Be aware that one of the main deceptions in the world today is that there is no absolute truth and every person is free to decide what is right for himself/herself.
• The opposition in this letter is not about modes of baptism, structure of the Sunday morning service, beliefs about charismatic gifts, etc. but is an attack on the theological basis of our Jesus Christ and our salvation.
• We must walk in love and truth.

II John 7-11

"Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.  Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.  Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.  Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God, whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.  Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work." (II John 7-11)

In this passage, John gets to the main part of his message.  He is warning the recipients about a heresy that has been intruding into the church--it is a heresy called Gnosticism that totally denies that Jesus was fully human and fully God.  the phrase" runs ahead" meant to go beyond.  "Any development in theology that does not continue in the teaching of Christ is to be condemned and rejected without compromise.  there is no place for any type of universalism or inclusivism."  (Akin, Commentary on I, II, and III John)

Any false teaching will cause disruption and division.  He is telling them to "Watch out!"  There are many false teachings in our culture today that are creeping into the church.  It can be easy for some people to water down the gospel to please others or question whether or not absolute truth exists.  Today, in our current lives, we must watch out that the doctrine of Jesus Christ remains true.  We must constantly be on guard for anything that would distort the truth.

John has another command in this passage that says "do not take him into your house or welcome him..."  this is NOT talking about building a relationship with an unbeliever in order to talk to him/her about Christ.   What he is saying is not to help anyone who is spreading false teaching.  We should not give anyone assistance to anyone who is trying to distort the truth of Jesus Christ.  For example, we should not let Mormons use our church buildings for a function or allow them to come and preach.  That would give blessing or a platform for a heretical group to spread their doctrine.  We are commanded not to do this.

We must not dilute the message of salvation nor reduce Christ to something less than what He is.

This week, let's evaluate the teachings of Christ and His Word by scrutinizing TV shows movies, commercials, magazine ads, newspaper articles, etc. and  see if we can recognize ways that the truth of the Gospel and of God's Word is being maimed or minimized. 

II John 3

"Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love." (II John 3)

This verse is John's greeting to the "chosen lady and her children" [whom most scholars believe to be a local church and its members rather than an individual; however, either interpretation does not change the meaning of this passage.]  John emphasizes three attributes in this greeting:  grace, mercy and peace.  (The only other place these three attributes occur is in I and II Timothy.

Grace is God doing what we do not deserve.  Mercy is God not doing to us what we DO deserve; Peace is God giving us what we need based upon his grace and mercy.  Commentaries concur that the word order is significant.  God's grace always precedes anything.  Mercy and peace flow from His grace. 


The end of this greeting closes with the words truth and love.  BOTH are essential to a Christian, to his/her local congregation, and to evangelism around the world.  The church has to show a commitment to a truth that is not compromised in any way and must love each other in a way that is limitless.


"Grace, mercy and peace flourish in an environment where truth and love prevail." (Akin, Commentary on I, II and III John)  As we intentionally share the gospel, we must show in our actions and attitudes mercy and peace and emphasize God's grace in giving us what we do not deserve  In addition, we must also hold strong to the truth of the gospel and not let anything contrary to God's Word ever take root in our heart or the church at large.

II John 1,2

"The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth--and not I only, but also all who know the truth--because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:" (II John 1,2)

The book of II John (one of the two smallest books in the bible) has much to teach us about our Christian walk and in resisting false teaching.  John was an old man by the time this was written and he did not need to refer to himself as an apostle, so he refers to himself as "the elder." An elder was a person with authority who was respected in the church.  Scholars differ in their interpretation of "chosen lady and her children" with the majority thinking it is more than likely a figurative reference to a local church rather than an individual lady and her children.

It is important to see that love and truth are communicated at the beginning of the letter.  Danny Akin, in his commentary on I, II and III John says:  "No letter more beautifully balances the twin Christian graces of love and truth."  (p.  221) 

John will explain in this letter that walking in love means walking in obedience to God's commands.  He will also indicate his interest that the truth of Jesus Christ is personal and spiritual.  Truth matters!  We must be careful to heed this call to truth and not let any false teaching slip into our lives and churches.

(We are going to take a look at II John over the next few Fridays to see what John can instruct us on evangelism.)