3rd John: Encouraging the Faithful and Confronting Deceit - Puritan Reformed Church

We will have a council meeting this evening following the fellowship meal.

There will also be, during the public worship today, we'll be going through 3rd

John. We will be receiving teaching by Deacon Schaeffer on Psalm 119

Resh or T, 119 T. We will be singing

Psalm 119 S as well. I think that's everything.

Alright, Mr. Nye, testing?

Yeah, I took a hearing test recently online.

It was an internet hearing test, so it was totally real. I said I was 71, so my hearing is really good.

That's where things are. I'm doing very well. Okay, is that louder?

Is that good enough? Great. I can hear me now. Alright, our call to worship is from Deuteronomy chapter 6.

Let's stand for the reading of God's word. Deuteronomy 6, verses 4 -9.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And these words, which I command you today, shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.

And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. You may be seated.

Let's pray. Father, we are a weak and helpless people.

We are incapable of saving ourselves. We are in need of your salvation.

We are guilty without the ability to bring our own righteousness before you.

Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And so, Father, we ask that you would be merciful to us, we who are sinners.

That you would forgive us for Christ's sake.

And that you would see us as righteous for Christ's sake.

Father, we are miserable in our darkness and unbelief. And we ask that you would dispel that darkness.

That you would remove it from us. That you would cause the light to shine.

Father, we ask that you would cause us to possess life and to possess it abundantly. Father, you have sent your

Son to redeem a special people. Father, you have caused

Him by His ordinances and by His Spirit to gather

His people. Father, we ask that you would cause the reign of Christ in the earth to be more and more visible.

That you would bless us with well -ordered and properly furnished church here and broadly.

That you would have the joy of seeing good and orderly presbyteries and synods and general assembly.

That you would cause the order of the church and the unity of the church to be visibly on display in the earth.

Father, we ask that you would help us to keep covenant with each other. That you would help our doctrine to be right.

Father, we know that we will speak error unless you cause us to speak truth.

Father, we pray that you would help us to not neglect any truths, but to hold to your whole counsel.

Father, we ask that you would help us to know how to worship you properly. And that you would help our attitudes to be right in the use of worship.

Father, we ask that you would use the ordinances of worship to build us up, to edify us.

Lord, we pray that you would give us good government and help us to do things rightly and to judge justly.

Father, we pray that you would cause us to bear fruits of love, to bear fruits of the spirit in abundance.

That our vines would be heavy with fruit, our limbs heavy with fruit.

Father, we ask that you would teach us to be hospitable and generous and kind.

To be courageous and bold and steady. I ask that you would give to us endurance and fortitude and all good virtues.

And that we would point them all to glorify you. I ask that you would bless my lips to speak truth in the teaching tonight.

That you would bless Deacon Schaeffer to speak right words. Father, we ask that you would help those who hear to discern and have wisdom.

To judge rightly, to search the scriptures, to see if these things are so.

Lord, we pray that you would give to us good and godly magistrates.

The wickedness around us is thick. The darkness is suffocating.

And we ask that you would bless us with godly rulers to restrain the wickedness.

Father, we thank you for little ones and the new Rodriguez baby.

We ask that you would give life to little ones in body and soul.

That you would cause them to know you from their youth. That you would cause them to bear fruit at a young age.

To give their parents joy from early days, seeing their children walk in the truth.

Father, we have no power to do any of these things. We cannot establish the work of our hands.

We need you to do and to give. So we look to you as a servant looks to his master to provide.

Father, we ask that you would help us to remember the glories of your gospel. We pray this by the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the

King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen. Deacon Schaeffer, if you could please come forward.

Open your Psalters to Psalm 119t. Please stand for the reading of God's word.

Psalm 119t from the Psalter. Think on my affliction and save, for I do not forget your law.

Defend my cause, deliver me, revive me according to your word. Salvation's far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.

How great your tender mercies, Lord, save according to your judgments. Many persecute me as foes, yet from your law

I do not shrink. I'm grieved by the transgressors because they do not keep your word. See how

I love your precepts, Lord, save according to your mercy. Oh, the whole of your word is truth.

All your righteous judgments will stand. You may be seated. All right.

Psalm 119t is broken into four metrical verses in our Psalter. The first, which is the thesis, is about a desire to be treated as the righteous.

The second is about salvation and external success not being the same. The third is expressing grief at sin.

And the fourth is about God's word enduring. So let's look at the first metrical verse. Think on my affliction and save, for I do not forget your law.

Defend my cause, deliver me, revive me according to your word. So this describes the condition of those committed to God's service.

Though God does generally reward his servants in this life for their service, we must be committed to the battle when the rewards are not apparent.

So often to pursue righteousness requires sacrifice of things that we'd rather not give up.

We're engaged in war, so we should not be surprised at adversity. And yet it's also not wrong to desire to be treated as righteous.

So we should want to be viewed as having desirable lives and relationships, thriving community, the city on the hill.

And we do have the door of prayer open to us. But the psalmist here is calling upon God to plead his case in a different situation.

It would appear that justice is not being served. If you have to appeal to God to plead your case, that's a red flag.

He asks for deliverance because this justice is not being served. And he's ending the verse with a plea for revival according to God's word.

So that's an important point to remember. What we can hope in, what we ought to pray for, it all starts with the scriptures.

And the scriptures God has given us are where we learn what to do, what promises we can call upon, and what we can trust

God to do. So this first metrical verse is expressing his desire to be treated as the righteous are, and he's basing it on the scriptures.

So moving into the second metrical verse, which is about the differences between salvation and external visible success.

Let's read that. Salvation's far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes. How great your tender mercies,

Lord, save according to your judgments. So on the other hand, the wicked don't have any of that foundation to draw on that the righteous do.

And the funny thing is that so often they might have outwardly successful lives and still end up in hell.

They falsely believe they're secure when in fact they're in the most horribly precarious position.

While the believer has the promise of eternal life, ultimate security. So he's appealing to God to save according to God's judgments, and he's basing it on the most secure thing there is,

God's word. So the third metrical verse, grief at sin. Many persecute me as foes, yet from your law

I do not shrink. I'm grieved by the transgressors because they do not keep your word. So again,

God's servants are engaged in warfare, active conflict. There will be temptations to go astray, even to use the enemy's weapons in sinful ways, to fight as they do, without regard for God's law.

There will be temptations to take shortcuts, to despair, to forget God's providence. But he tells us, the psalmist tells us that he does not shrink from the law.

He's facing these things and he stays on target, on mission. So in the short run, very easy to go astray.

But the thing that he thinks most useful to indicate grief about is that the enemy isn't following God's law.

So we're inclined to be primarily focused on the injustices against us, but he's expressing in this verse that that greatest concern he has is really the injustices against the

Lord. So let's look at the fourth metrical verse. It's about how

God's word endures. See how I love your precepts, Lord. Save according to your mercy.

Oh, the whole of your word is truth. Your righteous judgments will stand. Again, he appeals to be treated and saved according to God's mercy, based on his love for God's law.

He wants to see God's deliverance of the righteous. We all do. God's word will endure. Whatever man thinks he can do,

God has the final say. And whatever God decides endures forever.

Comments, questions, objections from voting members or those with speaking rights?

All right. Please stand.

Think on my affliction and save,

For I'd forget your

Defend my cause, Deeming to Salvation's far from For I'd seek your

Statue Your Lord Saying to You as For They do

Not See Lord According To See All your

Righteous Judgments Will stand. Remain standing now.

Open your Bibles to 3 John. 3

John has 14 verses. As we read it, there is one majority text difference.

In verse 11, the second half of verse 11 says, He who does good is of God.

He who does evil has not seen God. The but there is not in the majority text.

It obviously doesn't change the meaning, but it is not in the majority text. Chapter 3

John verse 1. The elder to the beloved

Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health.

Just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you.

Just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers who have borne witness of your love before the church.

If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well.

Because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the

Gentiles. We, therefore, ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds, which he does, pratting against us with malicious words.

And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren and forbids those...

forgive me, I'm going to read back from verse 9. I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds, which he does, pratting against us with malicious words.

And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God.

He who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has a good testimony from all and from the truth itself.

And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink.

But I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face.

Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

You may be seated. We have at the beginning of 3

John the same title as in 2 John. John refers to himself as the

Elder. He is also writing another private letter, a letter to an individual,

Gaius. We find a Gaius referred to in Acts in two places. We also find a

Gaius referred to in Romans, and a Gaius referred to in 1 Corinthians. Whether this is different or the same,

I do not know. He writes to Gaius as a brother.

He calls him Beloved, whom I love in truth. Love is such an emphasis of John.

We must not allow the word to simply wash over us without understanding. We must think on its meaning.

So what is it to love? To love is to desire the well -being of the object.

When you love someone, you want what is good for them. So to the

Beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved.

Love in truth. Fellow believers ought to be objects of our love and to be dear to us.

They serve the same Father. They are under the same

Christ. They are empowered by the same Holy Spirit. And so they ought to be dear to us.

And to love in truth is to love not just in pretense, not just with hypocrisy, some outward statements of love, but to love with an actual desire for the well -being of the person.

In order to seek the well -being of a person, you must know what their well -being is, what's good for them.

The good for man is to know God. To love in truth is to love, again, with sincerity or without hypocrisy, but also to love according to truth.

To love not based upon falsehood or the false conception of love or good, but this idea of loving in a way where you're seeking the true good, and not just a worldly love, but a true love, where you're seeking the other grow in the possession of God.

Verse 2. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health.

This is reading the beginning of 2 John and 3

John. You might start to feel like John feels a little bit like a prosperity preacher. There's all this health and wealth and peace.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things. That your work, in other words, that you'd have resources.

That your work would be fruitful. And health. Physical health.

How do we know he's talking about physical health and talking about physical prosperity? Because he says, just as your soul prospers.

He's talking about both types. Just like in 2 John, praying for grace, mercy, and peace in terms of the outward things of spiritual powers.

Not necessarily salvation for grace. Remember last time we talked about mercy as in being spared from temporal judgments.

And then there was peace being spared from strife and poverty.

Here, there was also then in truth, and so it was this idea of love being in truth back there, was the spiritual realities were connected.

Here we have the same thing. This idea of prospering in all things, being in health, just as your soul prospers.

So he's affirming here that there's a prosperity of soul. What does it mean for your soul to prosper?

Your soul prospers when your soul is filled with treasures. What are treasures of the soul?

Treasures of the soul are the things that Colossians says all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.

The idea of them being hidden in Christ, being hidden in the Father. The treasures are wisdom themselves.

The prosperity of the soul is the possession of the knowledge of God and to have it in abundance.

Verse 3, For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you.

So this is an argument to support the fact that John believes that Gaius' soul has prospered.

Why does he believe his soul has prospered? Because the overflow of the heart comes out of the mouth.

I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that's in you. How would the brethren know about the truth that's in Gaius?

Because they've talked to Gaius, and what Gaius talks about is theology.

He's that guy. The conversations with Gaius are conversations about the prosperity that's in his soul.

And he's just not walking around going, my soul is super prosperous. He's not just doing that.

He is taking the treasures of wisdom out and laying them on the table and telling people, you can take these.

They're yours. Any of the ones you want to take, you can just walk away with.

When you share truth with people, you are taking treasures out of your heart, and you are putting them on the table and asking them to take them away.

Here's the crazy thing. When they pick it up to put it in their bag, yours is still there.

No matter how many people are there to pick up the treasure off the table, yours is still there.

And in fact, what's funny is, when you take the treasures out and put them on the table for other people to look at and consider taking, they grow.

I don't remember that being that big last time. Because as you teach a thing, you understand it more deeply.

So you put the treasure out on the table, and it gets a little bigger. So you put it away at the end, and you've got more treasure.

For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that's in you. They were able to testify of the truth that was in him because of what he spoke to them.

And then here's the other thing. Just as you walk in the truth, they also got to witness

Gaius applying the law. So when they watched

Gaius, Gaius was doing what God commanded. So they heard about the treasures of wisdom in his heart because he spoke them to them.

And they witnessed his love for them. They witnessed his law -keeping toward them and toward the

Lord. And so John's response on hearing this report, you know,

Gaius, I love you. Like, really man? I love you. I love you. This is the way he starts the letter.

Imagine you get an email from me. It says, Hello, beloved. I love you. Beloved, how are you doing?

Would you be a little creeped out? I mean, just a little bit. This is

John's letter. Beloved, I love you. Beloved, beloved,

I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers.

Because I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and told me about all the theology you shared with them and how much you diligently applied the law of God.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

In the reformed standards about the fifth commandment, it talks about how the fifth commandment is addressed to this idea of honor your father and mother.

And it applies not just to natural parents, but to all those who are in authority in house, church, and commonwealth.

And also in giving honor to those who are older and who are more gifted. This is one of many proof texts to that.

Why? Because John is saying, you fellow churchmen who are of a lower rank than me,

I have no greater joy than to hear that you, my child, walk in truth.

Beloved. Number five. We're on five. Right? Beloved Gaius, I love in truth.

Beloved. No, maybe this is four. This is four. Forgive me. Five is down in verse 11.

Beloved, you do faithfully. You know what? I'm not done with verse four. We're going back to verse four. Look at verse four. Look at it harder. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Do you want joy? Share the gospel. Do you want joy?

Help others to walk in the truth. Do you want joy? Raise your children to have wisdom.

Do you want joy? Seek to serve so that you can see other souls prospered.

Do you want joy? Because if you want joy, taking on increasing service so that you can have the joy of hearing that your children walk in the truth, that is the way to get the greatest joy in life.

The knowledge of God gets you joy. Applying that knowledge increases your joy.

And spreading it gets you the most joy. Because it's all three.

It's a hat trick. You get to grow in the knowledge of God. You get to act according to it when you're teaching it.

And you get to spread it when you're teaching it. You get all three. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.

I might come back to that one. We're going to go back down. I just might come back anyways.

Verse 5. Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers who have borne witness of your love before the church.

Think about that sentence for just a second. Who has borne witness before the church?

I mean, brethren makes total sense. Who's talking in the church? The brethren. The strangers?

Where did they hear about him loving the strangers? Who bore witness about this?

It says they did. How? How could that work? There are only two ways that I'm aware of to make that make sense.

One. These strangers were strangers to the church and because of his hospitality and love towards them and evangelism towards them they became not strangers to the church.

They became brethren. So evangelism. The other possibility is strangers to the local church believers from outside who came.

Now, that doesn't seem like the easiest reading for me. The problem is I'm actually kind of inclined to it because when you keep going it says who have borne witness of your love before the church and if you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God you will do well because they went forth for his namesake taking nothing from the

Gentiles. So this is a specific set of people he's talking about and these people seem to be men who have been sent on mission.

So the strangers I don't think are just strangers in the general sense these are strangers to that local church.

And so we have this duty remember we have a duty to saints that aren't just in our local church.

There is a duty to saints that come amongst us for us to care for them as fellow saints and to seek unity in the church.

And so this idea of acknowledging strangers so even though it may seem easier to believe that the strangers here being talked about are those who have been evangelized to and therefore can bear witness to the church

I think this is actually a strong Presbyterian verse that helps us to see the idea of Presbyterian government where there's an interconnectedness of the congregations where there's strangers to the local congregation but they're not strangers to the church broadly and they're treated with hospitality.

So remember in 2 John there's all this about don't take bad teachers in for hospitality.

3 John is making sure we don't fall off the edge on the other side and say

I'm not going to give anybody any hospitality this is very convenient. Because that way

I won't be responsible for their sins. On the other side you have a duty to receive some people.

Beloved you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers who have borne witness of your love before the church.

These brethren that are local brethren to Him and these strangers in terms of being strangers of that local church they're strangers to it but they're not outside of the church altogether they have borne witness before the church of the faithful work of Gaius.

If you then send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God you will do well because they went forth for His name's sake taking nothing from the

Gentiles. So these men these teachers sent by John church planters missionaries you know men sent forth to teach if you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God you will do well.

Sending them forward you take the men hospitable to them the church can receive them but this is about Gaius this is about Gaius and Gaius does not appear to be an officer.

If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God you will do well. This is about hospitality to true teachers.

It applies to believers broadly. Faithfulness towards the brethren and strangers.

Those are broad categories. And then these specific men who have been sent forth from John as teachers if you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God you will do well.

A manner worthy of God. What's that about? A manner worthy of God. It's offering this service to send them on in a manner that's worthy as though you were doing the work for God.

Hospitality can be done to angels unaware. Hospitality was done by Abraham and Sarah to a theophany.

Hospitality when done to the littlest believer is done to Christ.

What kind of hospitality would you give to Christ? If you send them forward on their journey in a manner that's worthy of the kind of hospitality you would have given to Jesus you will do well.

Because they went forth for His names. For God's names sake. Taking nothing from the

Gentiles. John was an apostle to the Jews. But there are 12 apostles that are apostles to the

Jews. And there are 70 apostles that are apostles to the

Gentiles. 70 elders. Sent out two by two.

Paul is one of those. John is one of the ones to the

Jews. John is dealing with churches and church planting and evangelism.

And you've got some guys that have been sent out. They're in a place with those Gentiles and they didn't get anything from the

Gentiles as they go forward. So they're leaving without that help. That's the kind of thing that happened to Paul in Corinth.

The Corinthians didn't give him anything. That typically happened when you were dealing with ministering to a people who were stinging.

We don't want to make a stumbling block. So even though we have a right to get help here, we're not going to ask for it.

They took nothing on. When they get to Gaius, John is saying, if you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well.

Because they went forth for His names sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. That means, give them a place to rest.

Give them something to eat. Engage with them. Encourage them in the truth and righteousness.

But it also means, Gaius, could you help them on their way?

Could you give them something? Since the Gentiles didn't.

There's an encouragement to generosity there. We therefore ought to receive such.

You're going to find that word receive also down at verse 9 with an example of not receiving.

And you're going to find the same thing in verse 10.

There's a duty to receive. We ought. Ought. What does ought mean?

Ought doesn't mean is. Ought means you should. It means you should.

It's your duty. We therefore ought to receive such.

The type that go forth for the glory of God's name. That we may become fellow workers for the truth.

Now, there's a couple of things there in verse 8. If we receive them and send them off in a manner worthy of commissioning off Christ, we help them in the work.

We're fellow workers. But you know what happens when you're a fellow worker? You partake in the blessings or the curses of the work that's done.

That's the communion of the saints. We have giftings we're supposed to use. We use them towards a common goal.

We use them for each other's good and in supporting each other. What happens is we also participate in each other's blessings.

Little gifts. Little help. Little support. You participate in each other's blessings.

Giving to the church. You participate in the work of the church. Giving to others in need.

You participate in the good works that they're able to do with those resources. We, therefore, ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

Now, Gaius is being commended here. He's being commended because he had a good testimony.

He's being commended for his hospitality and generosity. And he's being exhorted to carry on in accordance with his reputation and reminded of a duty.

Hospitality is so important. John is reminding of the duty of private homes, the private ministry that you have.

You all have this. You all have this domain. You all have the duty and you all have the power to exercise the ministry of hospitality and to be the theology talker like Gaius and to give a good example of godly behavior like Gaius and to encourage each other on and to share in your resources and to be generous to fill needs like Gaius.

I wrote to the church. It seems to be Gaius' church.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, apparently the moderator of the session at Gaius' church,

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

He doesn't receive other Christians. He doesn't receive the Apostle John. He doesn't receive other elders. He doesn't receive missionaries that are sent on.

Why? Well, the Apostle John is higher than Diotrephes. His people he sends are people that take from Diotrephes' glory and his sight, his own assessment of things.

He loves to have the preeminence. Notice John here is teaching

Gaius to disobey Diotrephes. Any Romanist or any high -handed

Presbyterian or whatever who wants to tell you that officers are lords of your conscience, they should do more reading about Diotrephes and less imitating of him.

Diotrephes is an imperious officer that demands honors not due to him, obedience not owed to him, and rejects legitimate officers and legitimate teachers, legitimate brothers without cause.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

John is teaching Gaius disobedience to a church officer based upon an appeal to the truth as having authority higher than the officer.

The officer exists to serve the truth. The truth does not exist to serve the officer.

Which is why you must judge what is taught. Therefore, if I come,

I will call to mind his deeds, which he does, pratting against us with malicious words.

This nonsensical, hateful speech. Bad arguments put hatefully.

If John comes, he is going to call to mind his deeds.

In other words, he's going to bring charges. Then he interrupts himself.

Because John says, if I come, I'm going to call to mind his deeds, which he does. What are those deeds? Pratting against us with malicious words.

Also, he's not content with that. He himself does not receive the brethren and forbids those who wish to putting them out of the church.

This tyranny. Diotrephes is not content to say malicious, nonsensical things against true officers.

And against a true apostle. But he himself does not receive the brethren.

Doesn't receive men who are legitimate brethren. Does not accept men with a credible profession of faith.

Men who speak the truth and walk according to the truth.

And he forbids those who wish to receive them. Those that want to obey

God rather than Diotrephes, Diotrephes forbids them. And then guess what?

Some of those brave souls went against Diotrephes and did what their duty was in the sight of God and received true brethren.

And then what happens? Diotrephes kicks them out of the church.

He puts them out of the church. Putting out of the church is what we normally call excommunication. Right? There's four types of discipline in the church.

There's rebuke. There's admonition, which is essentially harsher and second rebuke.

There's suspension from the Lord's table. And there's being cast out from the midst of the church.

Diotrephes is casting people out from the midst of the church. He's putting them out of the church.

Calling for curse on them from Satan when they receive brothers that they have a duty to receive.

That calling of curse is not just. Any illegitimate calling of curse by a church rebounds onto that church and is ineffectual.

On the other side, legitimate calling of curse by a church and the putting out of a person with just cause calls legitimate curse.

These are very serious matters. The putting out of a person out of the church must be dealt with with all sobriety and seriousness and be judged in the truth.

And there is no excuse of saying I was just following orders. It's your duty to disobey diatrephes.

And it's your duty to obey lawful commands from legitimate officers and to agree in legitimate judgments.

V. 11, Beloved. We have

Beloved Gaius, v. 1. Whom I love in truth, v. 1. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers, v.

2. V. 5, Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers.

V. 11, Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

Custom is the excuse of many who do evil. I witnessed this example.

Others did this before me. I was imitating what I saw. Beloved, we must examine things before we imitate them.

Following an example is not sufficient. Traditions by themselves are of no authority.

The apostolic tradition captured for us in scripture alone is the only authoritative tradition.

And we ought to imitate the apostolic tradition of approved examples.

But we must discern between good and evil, between ought and ought not.

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

What does that mean? But what is good? But imitate what's good. Imitate what's good.

When you see a good example, take note of it. We often see bad examples that we don't like and we can complain about it.

We can say, oh, it's bad, whatever. Taking note of good examples, being inspired by it, and following after it.

Bad examples, we should take note of and principally use them to help ourselves to avoid following them.

Good examples, we should take note of, praise God for, honor the person for, and seek to follow the good example.

Verse 11, the second part here continues on with the theme from 1 and 2 John that you can use works as a way of judging a confession.

He who does good is from God. He who does evil has not seen

God. The profession of theology that people make and the works that they display.

How do you know who you should be hospitable to? What teachers should you help on their way? Whose works do you want to participate in?

Those who profess the true religion and have works that testify to their teaching as right.

Verse 12, Demetrius has a good testimony from all.

We have John who wrote this letter. We have Gaius who received it. We have

Diotrephes, the tyrant. And we have Demetrius, the godly officer commended to Gaius by John.

Demetrius has a good testimony from all. And from the truth itself.

Now, good testimony from all. In other words, he has a reputation such that others say he speaks the truth and he walks with piety.

But the idea of the truth itself? Is this the apostolic commending?

Is this the idea that the doctrine he's teaching is something that commends him?

I'm unsure. Demetrius has a good testimony from all and from the truth itself.

And we also bear witness. And you know that our testimony is true.

Now, if that's the case that the truth itself is the apostolic testimony, then we have

John and his apostolic band bearing testimony that the truth testifies to him.

And then an assertion again that our testimony is true. This could be reasserting this idea of the truth itself testifies that Demetrius is a man worthy of your support.

We, an apostolic band, bear witness. That's how you know the truth. And you know that our testimony is true.

So that idea, that would be an epistemic argument supporting this. We're not going to get that generally. You're not going to have a missionary come to the door and have a legitimate apostolic letter of commendation.

So the application there is not real direct for you.

But so how would we have the truth testify? Again, look at the works.

Look at what they say. And you compare what they say to what the Scriptures teach.

That's the prophetic test of contrariness from Deuteronomy that we talked about before.

There's the other test of presumption which is prophesying when God has not told you to speak.

False prophecies are one thing, but also the idea of somebody even continuing to claim to be a prophet at all now is an act of presumption.

Verse 13. I had many things to write. You know that John was a preacher because he's always saying that he didn't get enough time to say the things he wants.

You go to John, he says, yeah, there's a lot of other things to talk about. The earth could be filled with all the books that I would have written though.

Alright, John, I get you. And then you get 1 John, and he says a lot of things.

And then you go to 2 John, and he says there's a lot I want to tell you, elect lady, but we'll talk in person.

And then you get to 3 John and he says I've got a lot of things to write, but we'll talk about it.

He has a lot of things to say. I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink.

John has so many interesting turns of phrase about words. This idea that there's the eternal

Word, that the Word is deposited within, that the Word was incarnated, that the Word is spoken, that the

Word is written. This equating of the doctrine, of the truth of God Himself with the doctrine.

I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink.

He wants to write to them, and he wants to do it in person. He wants to speak, and to do so in such a way as to write on the heart.

You get that? He wants to write on their hearts by talking to them about the truth in person. In 2

John, verse 12, it says, Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

He wants to write on the heart of the elect lady by talking. Hospitality allows you to have private ministry where you can write on the hearts of people truths from the eternal

God. And those truths will not go away. They are treasures that will be stored up in the hearts of people forever.

And you will grow in your possession of those treasures. You get to write on the hearts of others.

Not directly. You don't effectually have the power to do it. The Holy Spirit does it. But the means that are appointed for you to do this work is to speak words to them in person as well as to write letters, phone calls, text messages, e -mails, old style mail, just all the things that you can do to communicate with each other.

And acts of hospitality and private ministry. John here is exemplifying for us as an elder what it is to give this private ministry.

You know you read through 2 John and 3 John and you kind of go these kind of seem like the points that you made in 1

John, John. Did you name it that letter? Because that was that's a weird name for you to pick.

The idea that 2 John and 3 John are repeating points from 1 John, yeah.

How many times do you think I've taught the same doctrines from the public pulpit? How many times have

I had to teach the same doctrines in private ministry? That's good.

But the idea that the same truths get repeated, that there's this work of writing on hearts, repetition of the fundamental things, of the things that matter, that these things, we rethink about these truths, and as we rethink about these truths, there's a groove that's made in our mind for a habit of thought and sound patterns of words.

That as we work through these things over and over again, they provide resting places for our minds.

That there's a replication of the truth from heart to heart by the work of the

Holy Spirit through the means of speaking and writing. Hospitality and private communication allow you to deal with things in a way that's powerful.

You know, I can't tell you how many times I have talked to people and I know,

I know, I know that they heard the teaching that I just gave them privately in multiple sermons, but the private teaching,

God used it to click. The repetition of the same doctrines in private is powerful.

Private ministry is powerful. Hospitality is powerful. Private communication is powerful.

It's not just the preaching. It's private worship, family worship, hospitality, godly discussions, holy conference,

Sabbath discussions about the things of God. Working together in ordinary life and having by the way discipleship.

These things are powerful. They are all given to us as ordinances.

I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink, but I hope to see you shortly and we shall speak face to face.

Peace to you. Peace. The absence of strife, the absence of poverty, but also peace with God and this psychological peace.

These are all blessings, right? Peace to you.

Peace with God gives psychological peace. God is the one who gives prosperity.

God is the one who takes away strife. Our friends greet you.

Isn't it nice to know when you have people who love you in the world and to receive greeting from them that they call blessing on you?

Greet the friends by name. Greeting is a big deal. It's a big deal.

Greeting is a big deal. It's important and it's powerful to build bonds and withholding of it is a powerful thing.

Greeting the friends by name, there are few words that people respond as strongly to as they do to their own name.

You can be across the room and all of a sudden somebody says your name and there could have been a din of noise and your name goes off and you go boom.

What was that? It's weird. This way that we pay attention to our own name.

Greeting the friends by name. Greeting is powerful. Greeting by name is powerful. It's calling blessing and acknowledgement on a person and the name suggests that you know them.

Hey man. Right versus hello brother,

Justin, Joel. That difference of calling out people by name.

These are things that we are taught. This is the apostolic example. We are called to imitate what is good and not what is evil.

To receive the brethren. To judge them based upon doctrine and works.

We want to share in work with worthy workmen and to share in their blessings.

We must resist diatrophies. We must support Demetrius. Gaius is a man who

John thought to call for health on. One last thought to leave you with here.

There's something weird about this. Why doesn't he know about diatrophies? Why did John need to tell him about diatrophies kicking people out?

Gaius seems to be in bad health. Which is why John calls for good health on him. May your body be healthy just like your soul is.

But Gaius seems to be of means because he's still providing hospitality and sending people on.

So he's not just a man whose hospitality depends upon the sweat of his brow temporarily. He has means.

And he's being hospitable. And he's able to send people on. But he's in bad health.

And even in his own church he doesn't know right now what's going on. Perhaps he lives far enough away that it's a significant journey for him to be able to make it to the church.

Probably made it with one horsepower. Going very slowly. Or on foot.

And so this idea that Gaius doesn't know about all these things. John is giving him bad reports about problems that are happening in his own church.

Stuff that's been going on for a while. Gaius has been kept away because of health. And even though he has been kept from the public ministry because of health and inconvenience of being able to attend.

His hospitality is so renowned in the church that the Apostle John asks him since your church is tyrannically not receiving missionaries that I send would you be the kind of hospitable that apostles would speak of?

Comments, questions, objections from the voting members and those with speaking privileges. Mr. Walker?

Joelle, if you can start to come up so you can read the psalm for me. That's a good question.

So because of the great risk. So the question is is John saying give good hospitality to anybody who says they're a good teacher and then stop it if they give evidence or do we need evidence before we receive them as teachers?

We need evidence before we receive people as teachers. We're not supposed to be quick to lay hands on. We don't want to be quick to participate in other people's sins.

You want evidence which is why the Apostle John is writing this letter to Gaius to commend these men to him.

And furthermore he had previously written to the church so letters of transfer, letters of credential, letters of commissioning are all legitimate parts of church government and are things that we don't think much of.

Commending brothers is sort of a membership transfer, a letter of good standing. The Apostle Paul does it all the time.

John is doing a credentials letter right here. And he's saying I sent credential letters to diatrophies and he rejected those letters.

And he cast out people in the church that said we need to accept this credential letter. And so the idea that yes there needs to be a credential and you need a legitimate basis for receiving a teacher as being commissioned.

If you don't have evidence for that teacher being commissioned properly you're to be concerned about them as somebody who's trying to illegally get into the sheep pen.

So that's why ordination process, election process, all that matters.

You need the church to testify to that man being fit to teach. And so that idea the importance of evidence to support a teacher is actually exemplified for us in 3rd

John itself. Does that answer the question? Mormon missionaries are antichrist and to give them hospitality is to fellowship in their sins.

I think we should evangelize to them but if we give them hospitality we're participating in their sins.

They have been commissioned to teach by an antichrist institution. And they are taking to themselves the public name of missionary for this false

Christ. So it says to not greet them and it says to not receive them into your home.

So let's consider that. So let's in 2nd

John 2nd

John verse 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine do not receive him into your house nor greet him.

For he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. I think we are required to have the guts to be far more hostile to false teachers than we as American evangelicals tend to have.

This is about teachers. People who have been publicly commissioned to teach

I think is who is being talked about here. John.

So the idea that stronger action should be taken sure. It's rough all over and it was rougher back in the apostolic time.

So like John had to get a person to take this letter. Maybe that's a part of what they are doing and if those people don't get listened to maybe

John is going to go himself. But John is prioritizing stuff and he's got again one horsepower motor transportation and we are talking about movement is slow movement is expensive.

There is work to do every place. So he is trying to deal with stuff. Gaius is so sick he doesn't even know that diatrophies is kicking people out of the church.

He hasn't been there for a bit. Gaius is not the guy for the fight. But Gaius can provide a base of operation for the missionaries that John is sending so they can plant the second

Presbyterian church of wherever they are and then there is a place for them to leave so the people can leave there and flee the tyranny of diatrophies.

Diatrophies does not seem to be particularly careful to care for due process. He is kicking people out. He is kicking people out.

It doesn't say the church is. It doesn't even seem like diatrophies is holding congregational votes for excommunication.

He just seems to be booting people. So yeah, things are bad, diatrophies should be booted.

Great. Deacon Rodriguez come forward. Let's pray.

Father we ask that you would bless the word to our souls. We pray that you would prosper our souls and that you would prosper us in all things and that you would give to us good health.

We ask that you would give us peace and that you would help us to pick to be fellow workers in truth, in good ways, in wise ways.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Please open your psalters to Psalm 119

S and stand for the reading of God's word. Psalm 119

S I cried with my whole heart to you, O Lord hear me and I will keep all your statues.

I cried unto you, O save me so that I might keep all of your testimonies.

I woke before the dawning of the morning light. I cried and I hoped in your word.

My eyes go before those that watch through the night so that I might ponder on your word.

Hear my voice according to your loving kindness, O Lord, for your judgment revive.

They draw close to me who seek after mischief, for truly they are far from your law.

But you are near me, O Lord, and your commandments are all the very truth itself.

And concerning all of your testimonies, I know you founded them forever. I cried with my whole heart to you,

O Lord hear me and I will keep all your statues.

I cried unto you, O save me so that I might keep all of your testimonies.

I woke before the dawning of the morning light. I cried and I hoped in your word.

My those that watch through the night so that I might ponder on your word.

Hear my voice according to your loving kindness,

O Lord, for your judgment revive.

They draw close to me who seek after mischief, for truly they are far from your law.

But your commandments are the very truth itself.

And concerning all of your testimonies,

I know you founded them forever. I'll be participating in the

Lord's Supper. Grace to you and peace in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please remain standing for the word of institution.

Luke chapter 22 When the hour had come he sat down and the twelve apostles with him.

Then he said to them with fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

Then he took the cup and gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves.

For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, this is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, he also took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.

But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. And truly the

Son of Man goes as it has been determined. But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.

Then they began to question among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing.

Now there was also a dispute among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors, but not so among you.

On the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.

For who is greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves?

Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the one who serves.

But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my

Father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

We will not all judge the twelve tribes of Israel, but we will all judge angels.

And so these principles apply to us. This is commanded of us to be done.

We are given approved example here, and necessary inference provides for us the fact that we are to carry this on.

Additionally, this is an institution of this very ordinance.

So if you have been examined by the council, and have examined yourself to see if you're in the faith, can discern the

Lord's body, are at peace with others as far as it depends upon you, and that you are not holding on to a cherished sin,