Disassociate With False Teachers

Transcript

GRM 1011
6/29/2008
Disassociate with False Teachers
II John 9-13
Gil Rugh


We've been studying the little epistle of II John together, so if you'd turn to II John, a couple of pages before the book of Revelation which we know of generally speaking as the Revelation of John which is really the Revelation of Jesus Christ which was given to His servant, John. But the Apostle John, the writer of the gospel of John, the writer of I, II and III John, and the writer of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that concludes our New Testament.

We're talking about the relationship of love and truth and the danger of false teaching and deceivers to the church. And John has a great concern for this as do other New Testament writers. I want to read you a couple of excerpts from different writings. One comes from yesterday's newspaper on an opinion poll that was taken. Americans open-minded on religion, a survey finds. The United States remains a nation of believers, but a new survey finds most Americans don't feel their religion is the only way to eternal life. The findings revealed in a survey, can be taken either as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance or disturbing evidence that Americans dismiss or don't know fundamental teaching of their own faith. Among the more startling numbers in the survey, 57% of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life. Generally evangelicals are identified as those who believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. But 57% of those who attend evangelical churches say that they believe many religions can lead to eternal life. Something is not right. I won't ready you anymore from the survey because ............

Let me read you something else. This comes from the president of an evangelical seminary. I would have questions about the evangelical, but it is recognized as an evangelical seminary, he would claim to be an evangelical Christian. In fact in his article that I printed out in the last couple of months, he makes a point that he is a conservative Calvinist and believes the doctrine of Calvinism regarding salvation by grace through faith and so on. However he is of the opinion that even people who hold different views can be saved. And I'm just breaking into his article because it is a multi-page article, I just brought a couple of excerpts.

Many evangelical commentators these days insist that salvation is closely tied to doctrinal clarity. Here for example, is how one prominent evangelical leader criticized those of us who have endorsed the various evangelicals and Catholics together documents. So this seminary now is going to quote this man who criticizes those who have been supportive of the evangelical Roman Catholic agreements that have been signed. “What those signers are saying is that while they believe the doctrine of justification as articulated by the Reformers is true, they are not willing to say people must believe it to be saved. In other words, they believe people are saved who do not believe the biblical doctrine of justification.” That was that man's criticism of those who are signing documents that support some kind of agreement between Roman Catholics and evangelicals. He said they believe people are saved who do not believe the biblical doctrine of justification. This seminary professor responds, “I can't speak for others who look for common ground with Roman Catholics, but he certainly has me right. I am passionate in my agreement with Martin Luther on justification by faith alone, but I do believe that a person can be confused about this doctrine and still be saved.” __________ __________ believe salvation is by faith alone, justification by faith alone. But a person doesn't have to believe that to be saved. Do I believe a person can be confused about this doctrine and still be saved? Absolutely. I wish that many of my Catholic friends would subscribe unambiguously to the views about salvation by grace alone that I hold preciously. But is their failure to do so a reason for me to doubt their salvation? And his conclusion is no. The reason is to whomever Christ is God, Christ is Savior. In other words all that is necessary to be saved is you agree that Jesus Christ is God. Everyone who agrees that Jesus Christ is God is saved. In other words, the Judaizers that Paul said were condemned to hell in Galatians 1 were really saved. Because they didn't say they didn't believe Jesus Christ was God and there is no indication they denied that in the Jerusalem Conference in Acts 15. What they said was salvation is not by faith alone, it's by faith plus keeping the law. Our disagreement with Roman Catholics is not that they don't agree with Jesus Christ as God, they also agree that salvation is by faith. They just do not believe it's by faith alone, it is by faith plus works. But the Bible says that condemns you to hell.

This president of what is recognized as an evangelical seminary, in fact this appears in a magazine that the title line gives its name and says its a magazine of evangelical convictions. And they are supportive of this. The way false teaching infiltrates among believers is you have false teachers who claim to be believers, who can set forth doctrinal truth with clarity. But they can go on to say it's not essential, it's not necessary, you don't have to believe it. And that sets us back because how could a man who says I believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone turn around and say, but you don't have to believe that to be saved. Well if you don't have to believe that to be saved, why believe it? Why do you believe it if it is not necessary to be saved? What are you saying? It's essential or it's not essential, you are saved by faith alone or you are not saved by faith alone. I believe justification is by faith alone, but I also believe that those who don't believe that are saved. Then salvation, justification is not by faith alone, is it. Because people who don't believe that are also saved. So you have people that claim to be Bible believing Christians who are denying what the Bible teaches. And so since they claim to believe what the Bible teaches, believers open their arms and say, they must be believers. And then they come in and they start teaching that people who don't believe what the Bible teaches can also be saved. And pretty soon you have this teaching, _________ well let's not be so narrow. So then you end up with a survey, 57% of the people sitting in the evangelical church believe that people of other religions can also be saved. And it's viewed as a positive because we've learned to be tolerant, we've learned to be open.

In fact the title of this article is An Open-Handed Gospel. We have to decide whether we have a stingy or a generous God. Now when you put it that way, do any of us believe that we have a stingy God. Is not our God a generous God? Well, yes. Well then I guess he has a point to make. And so we get confused and we take our eye off the focus on truth. And then he brings in, God is not stingy, He's generous. So even though I believe with you that justification is by faith alone, our God is not stingy, He doesn't limit Himself the way we limit ourselves, so He is open to people who don't believe that to also be saved. And so you put it in the sense do you have a stingy God or a generous God? Well if that's the only choice of course we're going to pick the generous God. Well then you don't believe He just limits Himself as though only those who believe exactly like we believe. In other words it's not those who adhere to truth that are saved. On what basis is God saving them? How does this get to be accepted.

And the sad thing is, this is an on-line thing, people can respond to the article. The overwhelming number of responses in this evangelical magazine are positive. What a wonderful article, someone expressing what I believe, too. Evangelical doesn't mean anything anymore.

There was a book written, back several years ago now, around the turn of the century, 2000, entitled God of the Possible by Gregory Boyd. It's a biblical introduction to the open view of God, openness theology. The idea that God is not truly omniscient, that He hasn't determined, He does not know for certain all the future. He doesn't know where you're going to lunch today for certain, although He has a good idea because you went there last Sunday, too, and the Sunday before. But He doesn't know for certain because you may pull a surprise and go to someplace totally different today. So He won't know until you get there. That's basically my summary of open theology.

Here are some quotes from the preface and introduction to the book. I just want you to see how as a false teacher he tries to disarm you to be accepting of his unbiblical teaching. These are quotes, but not necessarily sequential, I've just pulled them out. “I began to embrace what is now generally called the open view of God. Next to the central doctrines of the Christian faith the issue of whether the future is exhaustively settled or partially open is relatively unimportant. It certainly is not a doctrine Christians should ever divide over.” Now see right away he's going to talk about he's committed to the doctrine of openness theology, that God doesn't know for certain the future and He hasn't determined the future. But of course that's not a major doctrine that we should ever divide over as Christians.

“Finally it is vitally important that we keep this issue and the multitude of other issues that Christians debate in perspective. Jesus' final prayer to the Father for His church was that they may be one as we are one, John 17:22. Believers are called to exhibit a loving unity among each other that reflects nothing else than the eternal perfect love of the trinity.” John 17:22 was fulfilled at the death and resurrection of Christ. Ephesians 2 says indeed God has brought together into a relationship of oneness Jew and Gentile alike. So that's not a prayer we're trying to fulfill today, that was fulfilled with the death and resurrection of Christ. And we just read the rest of the New Testament and we find out it's so. His statement, “believers are called to exhibit a loving unity among each other reflects nothing less than the eternal perfect love of the trinity.” You see where he is going. Where does truth fit into this? Love becomes the most important thing and we don't want to divide over truth because the most important thing is we demonstrate unity with love, as though you could do that among believers without truth.

He goes on, “ for lovers truth all theological issues are important. But compared to our common faith in the Person of Jesus Christ and the importance of our loving unity in Him, this issue and most other theological issues are peripheral.” You see what's happened here, and we're studying II John about love and truth, what people like to do is play them off against one another. So he first wants to disarm them. “For lovers of truth, all theological issues are important. But compared to our common faith in Christ and the importance of our loving unity in Him, this issue and most other theological issues are peripheral.” In other words, we all love truth but you understand truth doesn't matter, what matters is love. And truth and those issues of truth that would divide us, really we can ignore those, they are peripheral. What matters is our loving unity in Him, as though you can have that apart from truth. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. Jesus in His high priestly prayer that he referred to in John 17 prayed to the Father, sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth. This whole concept of love outside of truth.

Then he says, “I pray that evangelicalism will come to see more clearly that the love with which believers debate issues is more important to God than the sides we pick.” In other words it is more important to God that you have than it is whether you stand for the truth. As long as you have love, you may be on the side against truth. “The love with which believers debate issues is more important to God than the sides we take.” Now how did he learn that is more important to God than the sides we take. And the sides we take are talking about where you stand as it relates to the truth. So you see the pattern of satan doesn't change. The same thing that John is dealing with in this second letter is this issue we are dealing with. How do the false teachers get into the church and corrupt it and confuse it? The same way false teachers are today. We all love the Lord, we all hold to these doctrines. Some of these things that are peripheral, I mean, we can disagree on. But we all can agree on we have to show love and unity before the world. And we all must agree you cannot do that unless you stand for truth.

That's why we've looked through not only John but other places in the New Testament that show that love and truth are inseparable. This letter began, verse 1, the elder to the chosen lady and her children whom I love in truth. Not whom I love whatever your position on truth is, whatever your relationship to truth is. I love you in truth. Not only I but all who know the truth love you. You see there is no love going on outside the realm of the truth as John is writing. Because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. So indeed we must have love, and those who are living in the truth and have the truth working in them will manifest them. That's an outworking of the work of the truth in us. And the Spirit of truth who indwells us produces the character of God in us, and the fruit of the Spirit is love. And you don't produce that apart from the Spirit of truth. And the Spirit of truth does not produce error.

Back up to I John 2:21. I hope you have underlined the last statement of verse 21, no lie is of the truth, no lie is of the truth. How can this person say the love with which believers debate issues is more important to God than the sides we take. It doesn't matter to God whether you promote a lie as long as you do it in love? How can you promote a lie in love? You don't, it's an artificial smokescreen to disarm Christians. In fact a leading evangelical scholarly organization, they couldn't decide that these men couldn't belong to this organization because they were evangelical enough to be accepted. So now the very character of God has been attacked and undermined because He doesn't know the future, and He's just as much in suspense about what you're going to do this afternoon as anybody else is. It's open and nothing can be known for certain until a decision is made and it's done. And then God knows it. His only advantage is He has a long history. You say, I don't know if people believe that. It's growing, growing, growing. And all these things, the devil just hammers in so many ways and pretty soon we get to the point, I don't know how to sort out all that and somebody else will have to do it. As long as they believe in Christ, that's good enough for me. Well it better not be good enough because it's not good enough for God. He didn't speak just to hear Himself speak. He spoke to give truth.

Look in verse 8 of II John, watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished but that you may receive a full reward. Watch yourselves. Command here given in the present tense. They are to pay attention, they are to watch, they are to be on guard, if you will, constantly. Remember when Paul met with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 he told them in verse 28, be on guard for yourselves and for all the church over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Verse 31, be on the alert. All these are commands given in the present tense, this is to be the constant attitude of believers—to be on guard, to be on the alert, to watch that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. The danger here that they would lose the rewards that God has promised to those who faithfully serve Him. This matters.

Come back to I Corinthians 3. You know false teachers will be responsible, they will be held to a strict judgment. Remember we referred to James 3:1, don't let many of you become teachers because teachers will incur a more severe judgment. But you understand the listener also has great responsibility, they are not to allow themselves to be deceived. And I will be responsible to God for allowing myself to be deceived and deluded by false teachers. I Corinthians 3:8, now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. Jump down to verse 11, no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident. For the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire. The fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which is built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, so as yet by fire. In other words, those who have truly believed in Christ and are building on that foundation of Him and yet they don't serve faithfully according to the Word of God, they lose rewards. That's what John is saying when he says he doesn't want them not to get a full reward, all that God would bestow on them for faithfulness to His truth. Watch out, be on guard, be careful all the time. How do we do that? We examine things in light of the Word, we check them with the scripture. We look and see, is this what the scripture teaches. I don't listen to them tell me this is not an important doctrine of the scripture, this is not an important doctrine. So it's all right if you hold a different doctrine. I still hold to the view that everything God says is important and I am compelled to agree with God that no lie is of the truth. So don't tell me a lie and then imply that you are a teacher of truth. I don't believe it.

So what John says back in II John, watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have accomplished, what we have done in building God's Word into your lives and helping you get a firm foundation and pattern your life and the walk you have as a believer according to the truth. And that's why I'm thrilled, verse 4, very glad to find some of your children walking in truth. This is what God commanded us to do—walk in truth. And that means you'll be walking in love.

Down to verse 9, anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. One of the ongoing criticisms that come ministries committed to the Word of God is that the are narrow, they are arrogant because they think they have the truth and nobody else does, they think they are right and everybody else is wrong. And all those criticisms are correct. I think there is only one way to heaven. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Me. I don't believe there is any other way to heaven. Well, that's narrow. It is, and I believe the way to life is narrow. Jesus said, the gate to life is narrow, the road to life is narrow, there are few that find it. The way to destruction is broad, the gate to destruction is broad and there are many traveling that. You're arrogant, you think you're the only one who has truth. No, I don't think I'm the only one who has truth, I think God is the only One who has truth. I think His Word is the only truth. I have truth as long as I am preaching His truth, and it's His truth, not my truth. It is true not because I preach it, it is true because God said. It will be true even if I preach contrary to it. I will be preaching a lie but the truth will still be the truth. So anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Period.

So these teachers coming to you with a contrary teaching regarding Christ, His Person and His work, they don't have God, they are not God's servants, they don't belong to God. He is not their God, their Savior. That's a strong statement. You say, John, this is a book about love, we don't want to divide over all these issues. We're dividing, they are deceivers, they are antichrists, as he said at the end of verse 7. But I thought this was a little epistle about love and truth. Now you're running around calling those who disagree with your teaching deceivers and antichrists. And now you're saying they don't have God. That's awfully judgmental, I don't think that's love. That's biblical love, that's telling the truth, biblical truth.

The one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. Back up to I John 2. We just quoted and looked at the end of verse 21, no lie is of the truth, no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah. This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you, what you have heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. Down in verse 27, as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you. That's the Holy Spirit, who has been given to every believer. You have no need for anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie, just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. In other words, the ministry of the Spirit to the heart is the basic teacher. I can't teach you the Word of God in the ultimate sense, I teach you the Word but only the Spirit can truly instruct your heart and mind. Some people would sit here, it just bounces off, doesn't penetrate, doesn't make any difference, doesn't bring about any change. Why? Because the Spirit of truth does not abide in them and so does not take the truth of God and make it alive to them and bring their lives into conformity to it. John said those who have the Spirit that abides in them, that's the basic teacher. That's why we can discern truth and error.

Remember in I Corinthians 2, the person without the Spirit cannot know the things of God for they are discerned by the Spirit. But the person who has the Spirit of God is able to discern all things, because the ministry of the Spirit puts the truth of God in the heart and mind of the genuine believer. You don't have to go get a doctor of theology or a doctor of philosophy degree, you don't have to go to seminary. You have to be a serious student of God's Word and handle it properly. This is not something given to the intellectual elite, there are not two classes of Christians—the average laymen who hasn't really grappled with scripture and then those who have studied on a serious level. No, the Bible is given for common people. There are not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble. Called. God has chosen to use the everyday average people like us and give us His Spirit. That doesn't mean we don't have to seriously grapple with the Word, be serious students of the Word. But we have the Holy Spirit to instruct us as we come to the Word.

I was reading a book this past week, the man claims to be a believer, he can set out the gospel as clearly as I can. But he's trying to tell me how all modern studies have enabled us now to truly understand the Word and know things about the Word that we couldn't know until we've gotten to modern speech, act, theory and all these kinds of things. I don't know if I can even understand what the guy is talking about when I'm reading his book. I say, what did the church do? Sit in darkness for 2000 years until some intellectuals came together and figured out how speech, act, theory should work, and the way we learn and now how we should really interpret the Bible and reinterpret it. I say, what kind of nonsense is this? Does that mean that people that Paul, John and Peter spoke to didn't have any idea what they were talking about because they hadn't understood modern theories of language and communication? You know what it is? It's a way of pulling the Word of God out of the hands of God's people and replacing it with the thinking of men.

Those who abide in the teaching, come back to II John, they have both the Father and the Son. Now it's not just knowing, it's living there. These men who can spit out truth doesn't mean they abide in the truth. I look at what they're teaching, they're not staying with the Word of God. They're abandoning truth. It doesn't matter, well I read what they said and they adhere to this doctrinal statement, at least they say they do. But what they're teaching is contrary. If they don't abide in the truth, if they don't remain there, that's not where they live, that's not where they stay, then they don't have the Son or the Father. That helps keep us from being deluded because we're trying to figure out, I wonder if they're truly saved, I wonder ......... They set out the gospel pretty clearly. You could learn a lot of facts and not be saved. I have many commentaries in my library written by men that are not born again men. They write a lot about the Bible and they know a lot about it, even though they don't understand its basic message. So we have to be careful we don't get deluded and deceived and think they profess to be believers, they hold to the basic facts, so I have to accept them as Christians and love them as Christians. They have to stay in the truth or I reject them. It's not good enough to have held it at one time, they have to stay in the truth, they have to abide in the truth.

The one who abides, is abiding, present participle, in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. Where are they now? Well, they've veered off now, now they're saying that God is not omniscient. But you know I think they just made a mistake, well they're teaching something contrary to the Word. I can't tell for sure where you have confused believers and where you have those who have never been born again. But I don't have to make the ultimate decision, I just have to stand and say what they're teaching is not truth and we reject it. And any teacher teaching that is rejected. To teach at this church you have to adhere to our doctrinal statement which is a very detailed doctrinal statement. We believe that's what the Word of God teaches. Well why does everybody have to adhere to that as a teacher? Well why would we have someone teaching what would be a lie? We believe that is not the truth of God so you'd be teaching a lie. Oh that's all right. No, it's not all right. That doesn't mean we're not all growing and we're sorting through verses, but these truths are there, they haven't changed. In my almost 40 years here my doctrines haven't changed, the Word of God hasn't changed. I still come and interpret the Bible in a historical grammatical way. Nothing has changed, because the Word of God is the same.

If anyone comes to you, verse 10, and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, do not give him a greeting. Well, that doesn't sound very loving. Don't receive him into your house, don't give him a greeting. I thought we were talking about love and the truth. We are. We're talking about there is no love apart from the truth. The devil always seems to be effective with this argument, you have to show love. But what about truth? Well these aren't the important matters. How will I know what the important matters are? I mean, I read you from a president of an evangelical school, and justification by faith alone was not an important matter to him. Who's going to tell me what the important matters are? How am I going to find out? Well how about if I just go here. What has God said? I mean, isn't it the utmost arrogance to say yes, this is what God said but it's not important. That I a created being would say to the Creator of all things that what He said wasn't important—how arrogant can I be? Of course it's important, important enough to die for. Of course it's truth.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, do not give him a greeting. The point here doesn't mean I would never have one of the cults come in and sit down in my living room as I explained the gospel to them, but I would not have traveling teachers stay in my home for the week while they're here. I don't agree with your teaching but I would like to show you hospitality, I want you to know that I have love for all people. I'm going to demonstrate my love to you even though you teach doctrine contrary to what I believe is true, I'm opening my house to you. No, no, no, no, no. Nor do I pray for them and say, the Lord bless you. We have our disagreements but the Lord bless you. No, I don't do anything to encourage them in their ministry. That doesn't mean I have to be rude, doesn't mean when I pass them on the sidewalk or in the store I don't say hello. But I won't say, may the Lord bless you in your ministry, I hope it's going well at your church, you false teacher and promoter of lies. Or I hope it's going miserably for you, I hope they kick you out soon, I hope they don't get enough income to pay you. I don't have to be rude on the street, I can say hello. He's not saying don't give them a greeting. But I don't do anything to imply in any way that I am supportive.

Some of you are aware and I've shared with you, some of you saw the program. A number of years ago now I was on a television program with a man who pastored another church and we have strong doctrinal differences. And I've talked with him personally as well as publicly and by his own testimony he doesn't believe the doctrine of salvation that I believe is necessary for heaven. After our being interviewed together on a program where he was giving the idea that we were in the same “business” I ended by saying, before we leave, before the program is over I have to make one thing clear. So-and-so and I have visited here with you, but I want everyone to know so-and-so and I are theological enemies, mortal enemies. We have nothing in common when it comes to the truth, our beliefs are totally different. And I don't want the program to end with people thinking, they're friends. We are not friends, we don't have anything in common, we're not doing the same ministries. The ___________ said, thank you and signed off. The other man that I just referred to didn't say a word, got up, walked out, slammed the door as hard as he could and left. The guy doing the interviewing sat there and stared with his eyes wide. Well ............

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, do not give him a greeting. You know I can't for the life of me figure out how believers who end up places sit in churches where the truth is not being taught and go there week after week I mean, I'm greatly encouraged that you are here. That is supporting my ministry. You say, I didn't put any money in. That's all right, I'm just glad you're here. What are you doing sitting where the truth is not being taught, supporting a ministry by your presence and depriving a ministry that you ought to be part of where the truth is taught? Believers have no business in fellowship with darkness. This is serious business.

Then he goes on, verse 11, for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. Anything you do encouraging him makes you a participant in his evil deeds, in his false teaching. The word participant, we translate the word fellowship. You've become a fellowshipper, you share in common, basic meaning of the word, with this person in his ministry. I don't want anything to do with false ministry, teachers who are not teaching what is biblical.

Come back to I Corinthians 10. At issue here, when we studied I Corinthians some of you remember, about whether you can eat food that has been sacrificed to idols, what are the guidelines on this and so on. Paul is giving guidelines and there is room here, so eating food sacrificed to idols is not always wrong. We can't go back into his breakdown of it, but there is a strong warning here. Look down in verse 19, what do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrificed, they sacrificed to demons not to God. And I do not want you to become sharers, there is our word, fellowshippers, in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, you can't partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy. We're not stronger that He is. What do you do by this kind of fellowship with false teachers? False doctrine is demonic doctrine, it is the devil who is trying to corrupt the Word of God, he's a liar and the father of lies. That's why Paul warned Timothy, in the last days believers will be tempted to give ear to the doctrines of demons. I don't want you to be a fellowshipper with demons. John says, I don't want you fellowshipping in their evil deeds. And when you encourage them, when you help them, you are sharing in their evil deeds. What a terrible thing. I'm not saying that Indian Hills is the only church in this city or the only place people can go. I'm saying you have to be part of the truth. We have people going to the worst kind of places and they don't even have to be there. They are there because of other reasons. I've asked people, what are you doing there? Well I have to make a living, I have to ......... Well maybe so then the Lord has you there for a purpose, but don't be part of false teaching, don't be joined with false teachers. You may be there, then, to plant a church. Then hit the streets and share the gospel, lead people to Christ and bring them into your home as a Bible study and build a church. The option is I'll go and fellowship with demons, I guess. Some of us just not ought to be going where we are going because there is no place to fellowship there and I don't have to be there for any necessary reason. We act like we're playing games. This is the concern of John, we have to take this seriously. The concern of Paul, this is serious business. You start talking about having fellowship with demons and if you're a believer you're just provoking God to jealousy because you are someone who belongs to Him and now you're out fellowshipping where this doesn't go. Do you thing you are stronger than God? You'll bring His wrath down on you and discipline. And the church is just paddling around, we're just being loving, we're not narrow, everybody doesn't have to agree with us. As though that was a demonstration of something. It's a demonstration of ______ but it's not a commitment to the God of truth, it's not a commitment to the Person of Christ who is the truth, not a commitment to the Word of God which is truth. It's not love. If you love Me you'll keep My word, if you love Me you'll obey My commands. That's where love takes place, in that context.

Come back to II John. John is wrapping it up, verses 12-13, though I have many things to write to you I do not want to do so with paper and ink. I will come to you and speak face to face so that your joy may be made full. There are a lot of other things I want to write about but I am planning on coming and being able to address you face to face, personally, so I won't write it out right now. I look forward to when we can be together personally so that your joy, or better, our joy may be full. I mean this is not a downer. He has just talked about, rebuked some, and warned them about those who are deceivers, those who are antichrists, those who don't have the Father and the Son. The things I'm talking about, make your joy full. Now it draws lines, it excludes, it's narrow, but it's the message of truth, it's the message of love, it's the message that brings joy and brings your joy to fullness.

The children of your chosen elect sister greet you. Remember he started out addressing the elder to the chosen lady and her children. Now he concludes, the children of your chosen or elect sister greet you. As I said it could be an individual woman and their family, and sister and family. I think that probably these are local churches and the members of the churches. So the church where John is sends their greeting, they are the elect of God. We're afraid of the word election, don't mention election. If so-and-so comes they'll go through the roof, they'll never come back. John doesn't have that problem. I'm writing to the elect people, and it's the elect people who send their greetings. Like Paul said, I do all things for the sake of the elect that they might come to the knowledge of God. We ought to give up on trying to make the world love us, trying to make the world think we are magnanimous and open and broad. And our God is not stingy, He'll save you even if you don't believe salvation is by faith in Christ alone. Don't you ever believe it, He will never save anyone contrary to the way He said He would save them. We think, why does the world say such bad things about us? Why does our church have such a negative reputation? Why do they think we are narrow? Why do ...........? Because we are, we're narrow, we believe the Bible is God's truth and there is no other way of salvation. Everyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation is lost and doomed to hell. We desire them to be saved, we beg them to be saved. But we can't compromise the truth. This is love, this is God's love. We talk about, I believe God is love. How do you believe that? Why do you believe that? You see people dying in storms, you see people dying of diseases. What makes you think God is a God of love? What is the evidence? Do you believe it in spite of the evidence? You don't know what God's love is. I'll tell you what God's love is, this is the great demonstration of God's love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. That's the demonstration of God's love.

We live in a world under the judgment of God, doomed to the wrath of God, bearing the awful consequences of sin that God has poured out on them in disease and tragedies of one kind and another. I'll tell you about the love of God, it's the God who sent His Son to be the Savior. How are you going to talk about the love of God apart from that? Babies are dying and people are ................. On it goes. You're going to try to put the love of God out there as some touchy feely and the God who does good things. And why do bad things happen to good people? We say, there are no good people, bad things are happening to bad people, folks, because all have sinned, there are none righteous. And the worst things have yet to come to the bad people. And that's why the love of God is so important. We are not showing love by abandoning truth, we're showing selfishness, we're showing self-interest. It's the truth that matters and the stand for truth.

One more passage and we're done. Romans 16:17, now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances, occasions of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you learned and turn away from them. You know vigilance is our responsibility, it's your responsibility, it's my responsibility. Keep your eye on those who cause dissension. It's not those who teach and preach truth who cause division, it's those who preach error. If they cause dissensions and occasions of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you learned. This is the standard—biblical truth. Anybody who teaches contrary to this causes division. We have the idea, people who hold to the truth are divisive. No, they're not. We're talking about truth being the unifier, and those who teach contrary cause dissension, they cause people to stumble.

You are to turn away from them, don't think about it. Turn away from them. Why? Such men are slaves, not of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of their own appetites. And by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. This is the danger. They have smooth and flattering speech and Christians get caught up with their personality, their ability to communicate. What did they say about Paul? Well he's not a good speaker, when you hear him in person, when you see him in person he's not very impressive. What does that have to do with it? He taught truth. These teachers that come and they are so good and they can hold an audience in the palm of their hands, but they're not teaching truth. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

The report of our obedience has reached to all. Therefore, I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. I'm not writing this to you, Paul says, because you have not been obedient. I'm rejoicing over your obedience. But I want you to continue to be wise in what is good, innocent in what is evil. Keep your eye on those who teach anything contrary to the Word. Not just my responsibility as a pastor, it's your responsibility. It's not just the elders' responsibility, it is also yours. We all are the people of God who have placed our faith in Christ, we must be faithful to truth, the truth of God that has brought us salvation, the truth of God in which now we walk.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Thank you for the greatness of your love. And this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us and He sent His Son to be our Savior. Lord, we thank you for the greatness of your love. And we love you because you first loved us. Your Son is the One who is the satisfaction for our sins. We have entered into your love because of your grace, and now we walk in that love and we walk in love, showing it to others. We walk in truth. Lord, may we as a church be careful. There are pressures from within and from without, dangers from within and from without. And we would be deceived by smooth and flattering speech, those who would lure us away from the truth in the name of love. Lord, may we be faithful to you, may we be faithful to your Word, may we be faithful to walk in truth and thus walk in love. Lord, for any who may be here who have never entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ who is the truth, never experienced the transformation you bring to a life when a person places his faith in your Son, may this be a day of salvation for them. May the Spirit bring conviction to their heart and mind, may they submit to that conviction, respond to the manifestation of your love and grace and believe in your Son. We pray in His name, amen.