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Bro. Otis Fisher
In this second epistle, the message in John's second epistle is dependent upon having a good understanding of his first epistle. He deals here with the polarity of the Christian light, truth and love.
He answers the question, when truth and love come into conflict, which one is predominant? David? What? Well, I'm just mentioning love now. Yes, you're right. The truth of the matter is that truth and the right kind of love will never come into conflict.
Verse one, the elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all that have known the truth, whom I love in the truth. The word truth is emphasized in this epistle.
We'll see it all through it. As I have said in the introduction, it's a key word to the epistle, and it can only be expressed in the bounds of the family of God, those that have the truth. The truth here is the word of God and also the one who is revealing it in the word.
The Lord Jesus Christ himself, whom I love in truth, is the correct literal translation. John is saying two things. One, that the object of his love must be another believer in Christ, a genuine believer.
And also two, that he is genuine in asserting this, that expressing his love is not just a pious platitude he's uttering here. Verse two, for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever.
We need to recognize that the truth needs to be defended. We need to stand for the truth of God and for the word of God. Many of our so-called conservative men have adapted a very pious, sophisticated, and casual method in an attempt to be clever in what they say or preach.
They'll not come out flat-footed and say it just like it is, but the point is that the truth needs to be stated clearly. We do that in this church. Grace be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Love is that in God which existed before he would care to exercise mercy or grace. Love existed in God. It is what is called an attribute of God. God is love. But the interesting thing is that the love of God never saved a sinner.
You weren't saved by love. The love of God caused God to move in the direction of mercy and grace. It caused him to exercise mercy and grace. Mercy, on the other hand, is that in God which duly provided for the need of the sinful man.
God is rich in mercy. Why is he rich in mercy, David? That's pretty good. Greg? Why is God rich in mercy? That's a pretty safe answer. Because he is love. Think about it. And because God is love, he, by mercy, provided for the need of sinful man.
But mercy didn't save man. Grace is that in him which acts freely to save because all of the demands of his holiness have been satisfied. God, today, is free to act in grace. You who cannot provide anything for God, you haven't anything to offer him, a lost sinner, and I say I am love and rich in mercy.
By grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, Ephesians 2 .8. There's a fine distinction here. Salvation all stems from the love of God. We lost one. God does not save by his love or his mercy.
After all, our God is a holy God. Well, you see, God did not so love the world that he saved the world. He didn't do that. God so loved the world by his mercy he provided a savior for the world. And he can now save by grace.
By grace are you saved and that not of yourself. There's something else here that is important to see, I think. Salvation is not only the expression of the love of God, but it is also an expression of the justice and righteousness of God.
Now, let me put that all together. It is also an expression of the justice and righteousness of God. Greg, turn to Romans 3 .26 and read it. Does that say must be just or might be just? To declare, I say, at this time is righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
In order to justify you when you trusted Christ, God has to be righteous and holy and just. He could not justify you unless he himself was holy. He cannot simply open the back door of heaven and slip us in under dark.
We're not fit for heaven. We have no fellowship with him. Communication broke down in the garden. The garden of Eden. And he renewed it. Because he must be just and righteous. His mercy provided a savior.
And it was because he loves you, he can be righteous and do this. That he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. I had a question in this morning's sermon. I'll see if I can recall it.
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth. As we have received the commandment from the Father, and now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we have heard from the beginning, that we love one another, and this is love, that we walk after his commandments.
This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. Here we have it. Walking in truth and loving one another. Again, we're talking about fellowship. Talking about the love of a brother for a brother.
This is the balance that's needed today in the churches. Or else any church will become lopsided. We can become over-sentimental. In the church, there's a lot of sentiment and tommyrot going on. And it is as sloppy as it can be.
Oh, we love one another. We say that all the time. We have the agape love and all that sort of thing. But are we walking in truth? Are you really walking in the knowledge of the word of God? For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come into flesh.
This is a deceiver. And an antichrist. The spirit of antichrist eventually will be headed up, I believe, not by one man, but by two. Because two men are described in Revelation 13. One of these is a great politician, political ruler, an enemy of Christ.
He is against Christ. The other is a religious ruler who will imitate Christ and cause the world to worship him. That is, to worship the political ruler. This is coming in the future. And everything this side of it is preparing the way for the coming of this.
So much so that when the political ruler and the religious ruler finally appear, the world will be ready for them. Think about it. It looks to me like it is almost ready for them. Eight. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive the full reward.
Now, look to yourselves. What does that mean, Greg? All right. That we lose not those things which we have wrought. David? Yes. All right. That you pay attention to what you're doing so that we will not lose anything that we have worked for, but that we receive a full reward.
Don't fall short. And you do that knowingly. David? Well, let me ask somebody else. Russell? Do we know our good works when we do a good work for God? Do we know it? No, we don't know. The question last Sunday, will we recognize our good works?
I don't believe that we will because we didn't know when we did them. And that's the way it should be. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
If there come unto you, if there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God's speed. For he that biddeth him God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Now, let's talk a little bit about this. Virge, there comes two Jehovah Witnesses to your door. I don't suppose that you're bothered with them out in the country. Should you invite them? You know who they are when they come.
Should you invite them in and offer them tea and wish them a good day when they leave? Russell, do you? Russell's here, isn't he? If you entertain a false teacher, if you support him, you are partaker with him in his deeds.
So don't even wish them a good day. This is the reason that you ought to investigate everything that you give to as a Christian. Because if you're giving to the wrong thing, God considers you a partner in it, and you cannot just give it blindly and expect to get by.
Yes, that's exactly right. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and to speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of the elect sister greet thee.
Amen. In other words, John says, I can tell it better than I can write it. David said the same thing, you know. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. When David began to write that wonderful 45th psalm, David, and it's a psalm of praise to Christ, he simply said, I wish I could tell it to you.
I can say it better than I can write it. And the end of chapter 2. We'll take up next week, I Know Not Where. It may be part of this, it may be chapter 3, it would be totally up to David. Do any of you have anything to add?
Do any of you have nothing to add? First dismiss us, please.