2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Today’s passage, 2JN: 7-11, takes up the subject of false prophecy (false teaching). You already know that our Elder was writing to early church members who were being assailed with the lies of Gnosticism. When we realize that the letters which are the subjects of 1, 2, & 3 John were written in the first century AD, we can stand in considerable awe of the relevance their messages have for us today. Yet, that is true of all of God’s messages; they apply to us at any time in human history. The lies and deceptions to which we are exposed now may seem different than Gnosticism with its denial of Christ’s divinity while He was incarnate, but they share a common source, the adversary. We may think we are so well educated and sophisticated that we are too wise to be taken in by them, but the truth is that we sometimes are. That is because they are cleverly packaged or hidden from immediate notice in this day of news “sound-bites,” impatience, rejection of God in our institutions, and poor scholarship. Now, read the words of today’s passage: “Many deceivers have gone out over the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came as a human being. Such a person is a deceiver and the enemy of Christ. Be on your guard, then, so that you will not lose what we have worked for, but will receive your reward in full. Anyone who does not stay with the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God. Whoever does stay with the teaching has both the Father and the Son. So then, if someone comes to you who does not bring this teaching, do not welcome him in your homes; do not even say, ‘Peace be with you.’ For anyone who wishes him peace becomes his partner in the evil things he does.”
The Lord led me right to this Scripture this morning: PR 3: 5-7. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong.” We must ask ourselves how many times and in what situations are we tempted to rely on human understanding over what the Lord tells us. It’s a question we must examine as individuals as it applies to our own lives. Our Lord gives us advice when faced with this temptation in MT 7: 7-8, “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks.” More is said on this subject in REV 3: 20, “Listen! I [Christ] stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with Him.” This has greater meaning that Christ sharing a meal with us, although it isn’t a stretch to think of the meaning of taking the sacrament that is suggested. I think of this door as the door into one’s heart, the willingness of one to submit to Christ making Him the Lord of his life. It’s the same concept that Paul spoke of when he wrote in RO 2 about the hypocrisy of traditional Jews who claimed that their physical circumcision and their genetic link to Abraham was enough to allow them the right to judge others. The key to God’s slant on things is RO 2: 29, “Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of the God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives his praise from God, not from man.”
I would like to share a personal experience that happened to me many years ago. Remember that our passage today speaks of not welcoming deceivers into our homes. The church I belonged to encouraged us to have the family gather one evening a week for a lesson about spiritual matters, refreshments, and socializing. That isn’t a bad idea at all, particularly in today’s world with all its pressures and temptations against family interaction. Since I was part of a group of people who didn’t have access to their families, we put ourselves together for this activity. Often, visitors to our community would come to our group who also wouldn’t otherwise have access to this activity while they were in town. On one such occasion, a tall, heavyset man who was visiting the area was invited to be a part of our group. He knew nothing about my background and seemed friendly upon his arrival. As the group discussion proceeded, he opened up and began telling our group how proud he was to be a follower of George Lincoln Rockwell, the leader of the American Nazi Party and a rampant anti-Semite. I was furious with myself for allowing such a person to come into my home and immediately began thinking about how I could remove him from the premises. Talk about not following the teachings of 2 COR 6: 14! I was convicted! “Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together?” Silently, because I didn’t have the courage to pray openly since my faith and knowledge of the Scriptures wasn’t what it is today, I asked God to give me an idea for what I could do. The Lord must have heard my prayer, and an idea came to me. I invited this man to come with me, saying I wanted to show him something. He willingly complied while the others were somewhat confused by this. I took him to my front door and opened it, then I asked him to step outside. Once he was on the doorstep, I told him that he was to leave immediately and was no longer welcome. I didn’t give him time to argue before I closed the door. Had he reacted badly, I would have called the police. The others were stunned, until I explained to them the reasons for my behavior. Thankfully, he left without complaint, never to return.
It is my hope that none of you ever have to take such stark action, but I have never regretted it to this day. There are some people who truly fit the construct of the warning our Lord and Savior gives us in MT 7: 15-16. “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves. You will know them by what they do. Thorn bushes do not bear grapes, and briers do not bear figs.” I must once again reiterate my heartfelt belief that God equips us to discern these “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who come among us with Satan’s lies, temptations, and deceptions. He has done this through a gift of His grace, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit allows us to understand the Scriptures, have a dynamic prayer life, learn from our circumstances, and be encouraged in our faith by interaction with our congregations. This is one of my many reasons for taking such joy in the word (or should I say, the Word) of God. 2 TIM 3: 16-17 says it better than I ever could. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” EPH 2: 8-10 helps us to a better understanding of God’s will. “For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.”
PRAYER: O Lord, You understand the temptations, lies, and deceptions put in our path by the adversary and love us enough to give us a way to deal with them. Your compassion for us is great enough that You are willing to lend us help even when our faith is not what You wish it would be. Through the Holy Spirit, You give us a hunger for Your word. By that mechanism, You encourage us to take righteous paths that will eventually lead us to eternal life with You. We come to You so undeserving of this and offer You our humble thanks for it. We understand that when we know the Scriptures, we are given the discernment to deal with false prophecy and the temptations of the adversary and his followers. Through making Christ the rightful Judge, You have taken the pressure of that off our unqualified shoulders and placed it where it belongs. We stand in awe of Your wisdom, and take joy in worshipping, honoring, glorifying, praising, and loving You. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
The final words of 2JN are verses 12-13. “I [our Elder] have so much to tell you, but I would rather not do it with paper and ink; instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you personally, so that we shall be completely happy. The children of your dear Sister send you their greetings.” This warm conclusion to this short letter certainly demonstrates an example of the kind of love God wants us to show toward other believers and potential believers. We really are brothers and sisters in Christ. Tomorrow, we will begin looking at 3 JN. God lovesyou and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn