A Good Testimony

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Last week we looked at John’s simple instruction to imitate what is good. It seems simple enough, but in our world today, there are many things that compete for our attention. Avoid what is evil; imitate what is good. If that’s a person, so be it as long as they are imitators of Christ. Authentic Christians do good because we are of God. This morning, John mentions another name and closes out his letter.

Take a close look at 3 John 12-15.

We start off with an example of a do gooder. We looked at what Gaius did, then we looked at what Diotrephes did and how John responded to that, now we have another example. Look at v. 12 which is really connected back to v. 11. Diotrephes is connected to, “what is evil” while a man named Demetrius is connected to, “what is good.” We don’t have an abundance of information about Demetrius. His name was pretty common in the first century. There is one other man named Demetrius in the N.T. back in Acts 19:24. He was a silversmith that made shrines to a worthless goddess named Artemis (Diana). He publicly opposed Paul and the Gospel so it is unlikely that this is the same man. All we know about this Demetrius is what is found here in 3 John. Unlike the four negative things about Diotrephes, John tells us three positive things about Demetrius. “Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone.” Wow – everyone, all inclusive. This doesn’t mean everyone in the whole world. This is everyone who has come in contact with Demetrius: everyone in his community, neighborhood, church, workplace. He’s not one type of person at work and someone else at church. This isn’t a used to be a good testimony; it isn’t about what Demetrius used to do. Received is in the perfect tense which gives the idea that Demetrius has been like this for some time and still is. This good testimony is who he is, what he is about. It means a good reputation. This same phrasing was used during selection of the first deacons in Acts 6:3, of Cornelius in Acts 10:22, of Timothy in Acts 16:2, of Ananias in Acts 22:12 and is the same phrased used in the hall of faith of Hebrews 11. Demetrius walked the walk that he talked.

Demetrius has received a good testimony, “from the truth itself.” Remember truth is a major theme for John. His devotion to the truth was evident in his life and evident to all those he came in contact with. Notice the pronoun “itself.” Some suggest this refers to Jesus remembering that He described Himself as the way and the truth in John 14:6. 1 Jo. 5:6b, “It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” Perhaps when you line up his life up with Scripture, it matches up.  Remember Jo. 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” While we cannot for certain say exactly who or what itself refers to, we know that anyone who would observe Demetrius would come to the same conclusion about him.

John and his colleagues, “add our testimony.” If everyone’s testimony is not enough, if the testimony from the truth itself is not enough, John puts his stamp of approval on Demetrius too. It is a personal recommendation about the authenticity of Demetrius. He was the opposite of Diotrephes. Why does John feel the need to talk about Demetrius? Perhaps it was Demetrius who carried this letter to Gaius. Diotrephes practiced evil because that’s who he is. Demetrius practiced good because that’s who he is. He was consistent. He was steadfast. He was authentic.

John tells us three good things about Demetrius and concludes that by saying, “You know that our testimony is true.”If you want to doubt everyone else, fine, but you know that we speak the truth. Our word is golden. Some people have the attitude, “I don’t care what people think.” While that may be true to a certain extent, we need to ask ourselves why we don’t care. Demetrius had a good reputation in the church and in the community. He was well respected because he consistently acted in a godly manner. Don’t think I’m taking liberty with the Scriptures here. He received a threefold verification of his character. It came from outside the church, from the truth, and was verified by the elder and his colleagues. Demetrius is an example to follow and is a total contrast to the behavior of Diotrephes.

We now come to John’s final words. As he said in 2 John, he had more to write, but wanted to wait until he could be there face to face. As John is writing these final thoughts, you get the feeling that he really loves Gaius. He’s looking forward to spending some time with him. Remember though, this isn’t totally a feel good letter. John is really concerned with Diotrephes’ behavior and he is going to address it in person according to v. 10. Tit. 3:10 says, “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning.” Factious means inclined to dissentions. That’s Diotrephes. Rom. 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”  John’s not letting this situation go hoping it will fix itself. For us, the application is the same. If there are issues around us as there will certainly be, we can’t just complain hoping it will go away. Something that I am often engaged in is conflict resolution. Situations rarely resolve themselves and we’ve got plenty of guidance in Scripture how to deal with these matters, but ignoring them is not one of them. John was, “Not willing to write them down with pen and ink.” If you think about this, it isn’t strange. He wanted to let Gaius know that he knew what was going on and to keep doing what was right, just as he had been. We should have the desire and courage to handle issues at the lowest level possible. John will deal with the issue just as soon as he can get there.

John tells Gaius, “I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.” This is nearly identical to what he wrote in his second letter. He wants to spend time with Gaius, to encourage him, to commend him, to tell him good job. Getting a note of encouragement is great, but it doesn’t beat sitting down over a cup of coffee or sharing a meal. Real relationships take effort and take time. The ever growing arena of social networking is leading to shallower and shallower relationships; impersonal relationships. Absolutely use social media to its fullest, but don’t think that writing on someone’s wall or mentioning them on Twitter is the same thing as talking face to face. John wanted to see Gaius face to face and we should have that same longing to spend time with the people that we love; with the people that love us. John finishes by saying, “Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.” Even amidst the trials at the hand of Diotrephes, John says peace to Gaius. Rom 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” No matter the situation you’re in, the suffering you’re enduring, the heartache you feel, you have a peace that passes all understanding because that peace comes from Jesus Christ.

We looked at John’s final words, but I have some final thoughts. As we bring John’s letter to a close, I’d like to highlight a couple of important aspects. Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” Nu. 32:23 says, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” Cain couldn’t hide from God. David couldn’t hide from Nathan. Judas couldn’t hide his betrayal of Jesus. At one time I’m sure the people around Diotrephes thought he was the real deal. We don’t know the time line of his behavior in the church, but one thing is for sure, it became apparent who he really was and what he was all about. You can probably fool me, but the Lord knows who you really are. You cannot keep your real identity secret forever. Is. 53:6 says, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” The good news is that Christ is not finished with us.

We’ve looked at three people that were involved in a local church. Gaius’ church was not without problems and neither is ours because it is filled with people. Until Christ comes back, we’ll continue to battle our human will, but we don’t have to give in to it. If you profess to be a child of God, there must be evidence to support it. Not evidence of what you used to do or used to be, but a continual transformation into what God wants you to be. We are being transformed minute by minute and day by day into Christ. Change is inevitable so the question becomes, “How much am I going to let Jesus change me?” Am I going to be like Diotrephes who wants to be first, or am I going to let Jesus be in control of my life? It’s a great question and only you can answer it.

Show Some Love

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Last week we began our journey into this short letter. This letter was not his last writing, but it’s still a very important message. We saw it was written to a man named Gaius whom John praised for being spiritually healthy. How did John come to that conclusion? Gaius was walking in truth. This morning we’ll see some additional insights as to why Gaius is so beloved by John.

3 John 5-8 says, “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

John offers more praise to Gaius. This is so significant. John tells Gaius, “You are acting faithfully.” Again this is present tense so it’s not what Gaius used to do. It can be very discouraging to hear people say what they used to do. I used to tell people about Jesus, I used to read my Bible, I used to pray, I used to go to church. I often wonder why people stop. Is there some tragic even that draws a person to Christ and then when Christ does what is asked of Him, they go back to the way it was? What leads a person to quit on God? Sometimes it’s because God seems distant; sometimes we convince ourselves that it doesn’t work; sometimes we think God doesn’t care. Sometimes there is no answer. What do you do when those doubts or those fears invade your brain? What do you do when discouragement and disappointment reign in your life? Do what Gaius did – he walked in truth. Combat the doubt that creeps into your mind with the truth found in God’s Word.

Not only was Gaius walking in truth John told him, “You are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren and especially when they are strangers.” We can break this down pretty easily. In the context of this letter, the “whatever” relates to the hospitality Gaius showed to other Christians – especially strangers. This isn’t very difficult to understand. Hospitality is a very important characteristic to have. Some Christians are particularly gifted in this area, but that doesn’t negate the responsibility for all Christians to act in a hospitable manner. If you look at hospitality in the O.T., it was not only a part of the culture, it was a demonstration of faithfulness to God. Job 31:32, “The alien has not lodged outside, for I have opened my doors to the traveler.” Is. 58:7, “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”  In Gen. 18 we see Abraham meeting three strangers while in Mamre. He saw to it that their feet were washed, that they had a place to rest, and he literally fed them the choicest calf. If you continue reading in Gen. 18, you’ll see this is the time when Sarah laughed because she overheard one of the strangers tell Abraham that she would have a son at the same time next year – the birth of Isaac; the son of promise.

In the N.T., hospitality is no less important. Gal. 6:10, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” In Rom. 12:13 Paul told the church to, “Practice hospitality.” Heb. 13:2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Gaius was a hospitable man. He acted faithfully. He took care of the brethren, especially the strangers.

How do we know? According to v. 6 these strangers, “have testified to your love before the church.” John and Gaius were not in the same location. The people that Gaius took care of likely were sent by John’s church. Church here is the Greek word ekklesia. You may have heard that word used before. The word was around for several hundred years prior to the Christian era. Before Christ it meant an assembly of people with a well defined membership. It was typically associated with a socio-political entity based on citizenship of a city or state. In the context of 3 John, it is a specific local assembly of people that trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is the local place where John met for fellowship, for corporate prayer, for teaching – for worship. Although strangers to Gaius, these travelers were not strangers to John or the church. When they returned, they gave a report, they testified, they gave evidence of Gaius’ love for them. His love was demonstrated by opening up his home to people he did not know. He took care of these traveling evangelists. He opened up his home; fed them, made sure they had everything they needed; Gaius’ attitude was my home is your home. So these evangelists go back to the church and relate all that happened on their trip, just as we did when we returned from Romania. We told you how we were taken care of by Matthew. How we were taken care of by the families we stayed with, how they opened their homes to us, took care of us, washed our clothes, fed us, made sure we had everything we needed. Our Romanian friends, just like Gaius, made it possible for us to accomplish God’s work.

Fast forward to today and you might think, “Well I don’t have a chance to demonstrate that kind of faithfulness.” Pastor Ben Cloud of Amadeo Church in Higley, AZ says “Before asking someone to church, invite him or her into your home.” The application of hospitality is a broad one. Host a get together at your house.  Invite your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers. Host a Community Group, a Bible study, a prayer group. Have someone over to your house for coffee or tea. Some are going to say my house isn’t nice enough, I don’t have time, it’s too much work, my house isn’t clean. You’re going to make some excuse to yourself why you cannot do something rather than just doing it. I believe Gaius was always ready to have people in his home and I assure you, his house was not nearly as nice as your house. His house was most likely made of volcanic rock. It probably had a dirt floor or at best, a wooden floor. Guests may have had a wooden framed bed to sleep on, but most likely slept on the floor with mats they carried with them. We could compare it to primitive camping.

It is not the house, but what makes it a home that provides a welcoming, warm, and inviting atmosphere. I think that’s what Gaius had going on; he had a desire to make people – even strangers – feel welcome in his home. We should have the same desire. If you think your house is dirty – clean it. If you think your house is messy – pick it up. Most people don’t care so much about the house, but who is inside it and how they feel when they are there. In the last part of v. 6 John says, “You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.” “Will do well” is in the future tense. John conveys the confidence in what Gaius is doing and will continue to do for evangelists. These evangelists were on a mission from God. It was a gospel mission – a good news mission – the good news that is found in Jesus Christ – the truth that John is so faithful to. Doing this, “in a manner that is worthy of God” is the only way to do it. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” (Col. 3:23)

Here’s a great reason and a great reminder. The reason John says to do this is because, “They went out for the sake of the Name accepting nothing from the Gentiles.” It is the name of Jesus Christ. He is the One and only way. The only reason they went out was to proclaim the truth that is found in Christ. There is power in the name of Christ. Phil 2:9-11, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It was a singular mission; it was a powerful mission and they accepted, “nothing from the Gentiles.” This is really interesting. If you’re thinking, “Hey I’m a Gentile so none of this applies to me.” Nice try, in this context, Gentile means unbelieving, it means non-Christian. The evangelists relied on God’s provision through the gifts and generosity of God’s people.

Remember in John’s second letter he told us not to entertain false teachers? If we give false teachers a platform for their deception, we’d be guilty by association. Here John tells us the exact opposite. “Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth,” When we exercise our generosity, our support, and our gifts we become fellow workers with the truth. We are participants. Not everyone can do everything. Not everyone can go, but all of us can participate in God’s work through our hospitality and our generosity. This support is something all Christians can do.

No matter your status according to the world, you can be an active participant in spreading God’s truth. Not only should we do this, we must do this. It is our duty, our responsibility, our privilege.

Walk in Truth

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Last week we closed out John’s second letter to the church. He had so much to write to the church, but he wanted to see them face to face. Too much more to say in that letter. John wanted their joy to be full and the only way to do that was to see them in person. Now John writes a third time. Is this another letter to the church? If so, why again? Didn’t they get it the first two times? What are the circumstances surrounding this letter? Let’s find out the answers to these questions and many more as we dig into John’s third letter.

I encourage you to all of 3 John to get a feeling for its context.

So who is this letter written by? As he did in his previous letter, the author calls himself the Elder. His reader knows who it is. Maybe he recognizes the handwriting. Maybe the person delivering it tells the reader who it’s from. He calls himself the elder and that title carries the idea of authority and leadership, of someone that is an example of Christian character and maturity. Peter told his readers that elders are examples to the flock in 1 Pet. 5:3. Based on writing style and content, the author is most likely the Apostle John. This letter is another short one just like 2 John. Just 15 verses, but these 15 are unique; contain unique instructions, contain unique warnings.

For the first time in his writing, John writes to an individual. We see from v. 1 that this letter is written to someone named Gaius. Writing to an individual is not unheard of. Paul wrote personal letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Who is Gaius and what is his relationship to John? In the N.T. there are three men named Gaius. There is the Gaius from Macedonia in Acts 19:29; the Gaius from Derbe in Acts 20:4; and the Gaius from Corinth in Rom. 16:23. Is this the same Gaius? Probably not; Gaius was a common name at the time John wrote. So what do we know about this Gaius? In v. 1 John described him as beloved. Beloved comes from the agape root word. It really means more than beloved. It means dear friend, prized friend, friend like none other. John goes even further than saying beloved.  He personalizes it by saying, “Whom I love in truth.” Remember for John, truth is a major theme. In this short letter, he mentions truth seven times. For John, love and truth cannot be separated. They go together, hand in hand. Without love, truth becomes harsh. Without truth, love is an undefined emotion. For John and for us, truth and love should be a fundamental way of life. John sums up his feeling for truth back in 1 Jo. 5:20 when he says, “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” Truth is wrapped up in the package that is found in Jesus Christ who described Himself as, “The way, the truth, and the life” in Jo. 14:6.

In v. 2 John provides a good pattern for prayer. “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” It was common in John’s day to offer prayers for a person’s health. Preventive medical care was scarce. First century people did not go running to the doctor or the emergency room when they had the sniffles. These people were tough. No phones, no lights, no motor cars, it was as primitive as could be. There was no running water, no electricity, no refrigeration, no Walmart. Living was difficult.  John says he wants Gaius to prosper. It means to flourish or go well with you. It’s an overall, “Hey, I hope everything is all good.” John also offers a prayer for Gaius’ health. Was he sick? Did he suffer from some unwritten ailment? We don’t know.

John says, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” I don’t want you to miss this. What we do know is that John wanted him to prosper and be in good health and the comparison is to Gaius’ spiritual health. John’s prayer is that Gaius’ physical health matches his spiritual health. There seems to be no issue with Gaius’ health spiritually. What if we put as much effort into our spiritual health as we do our physical health? We live in a physical world in a physical body. We have to be careful to avoid extremes in the spiritual sense. Over the years in an effort to avoid the world, we’ve been told that we can’t go to the movies or to the beach; we can’t listen to certain kinds of music; we can’t dance or play cards; our hair has to be cut a certain way; men can’t wear shorts and women can’t wear pants. If we participate or do any of these, we risk being labeled liberal and that translates into legalism. Paul gives us insight into this way of thinking in Col. 2:20-23. Avoiding such things of the world looks right. It seems to be Christian. The reality is that following a set of rules for behavior is just religion. Of course the other extreme is license. Since salvation is by grace through faith and not of works, some would conclude that what is done in the body has no bearing on the spirit. As we saw in 1 John, that notion is clearly not true.

John’s prayer is that Gaius, “may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” Christians are not guaranteed good health and success. We are in the body and are subject to the fleshly limitations. Physical health is not a reflection of spiritual health. Compare your physical health with your spiritual health. The word order of this phrase is important. The standard of measurement is spiritual. What was John’s main concern? Gaius’ spiritual health. That’s not to say that physical health is not important, but comparatively, spiritual health is far more important. There is no question about that. Gaius had it going on – he was spiritually healthy. His, “soul prospers” – notice the present tense. How do we know? Because of John’s praise.

John offers a quick, but very defining report on Gaius’ spiritual health. Look at v. 3. John was not just glad, he was, “very glad.” Glad means well pleased, it means happy. When you throw in the adverb very, it gives you a sense of the immense happiness John had concerning the spiritual life of Gaius. There was evidence in Gaius’ life that exemplified his relationship with Christ. He didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk of an authentic relationship with the Messiah. John tells Gaius that, “brethren came and testified to your truth.” Who exactly are these brethren? We’ll see more clearly next week, but they were Christians that had the pleasure of observing Gaius in his daily life. These brethren thought enough of Gaius’ to report back to John that he was the real deal. What was so special about Gaius? The, “brethren came and testified to your truth, that is how you are walking in truth.” Gaius walked in the truth – present tense. This wasn’t something he used to do; not something he was going to start doing; not something he promised to do; not something he thought about doing. The truth was what Gaius was all about. In Ps 25:5 David wrote, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.” Ps. 86:11, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” Ps. 145:18, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (Jo. 17:17) As we have seen in John’s writings, truth mattered. Gaius was walking in truth.

John’s greatest joy is seen in v. 4. There is no greater joy. Even if his favorite team won the national championship, the Super Bowl, the NBA finals, the world series, the world cup, or the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Nothing makes John jump for joy more than hearing his children are, “walking in the truth.” Not past or future tense – present tense. Was John concerned that people wouldn’t follow the truth? Of course, remember there were deceivers and false teachers undermining the truth found in God’s Word. The same is true for today. I want our people to walk in truth because I know that’s the only thing that matters. John 1:17, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

Walking in truth is important and nothing makes John happier t hear that his children, people of faith are actively pursuing an authentic relationship with Christ. The same is true for me.