Remaining in the Teaching of Christ

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.839 Let's turn in the Scriptures to second John. I'll be preaching verses nine through 2 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.310 eleven, but, as I've done before with this short letter, I'll go 3 00:00:09.349 --> 00:00:32.340 ahead and read the entire thing. So, Second John, let's give our 4 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:38.490 attention to God's word, the elder, to the elect lady and her children, 5 00:00:39.049 --> 00:00:42.409 whom I love, and truth not on the eye, but also all 6 00:00:42.490 --> 00:00:46.850 who love know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and 7 00:00:47.009 --> 00:00:52.759 will be with us forever. Grace, mercy and peace will be with us 8 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:56.880 from God, the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Father's son, 9 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:02.280 in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking 10 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.189 in the truth, just as we were commanded by the father. And now 11 00:01:06.269 --> 00:01:08.670 I ask you, Dear Lady, not as though I were writing you a 12 00:01:08.829 --> 00:01:14.109 new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we 13 00:01:14.310 --> 00:01:18.659 love one another, and this is love, that we walk according to his 14 00:01:18.819 --> 00:01:22.659 commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have had heard from the 15 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:26.620 beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone 16 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:30.500 out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ 17 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:34.489 in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch 18 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:38.290 yourselves so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may 19 00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:42.569 win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in 20 00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:48.079 the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has 21 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:52.439 both the father and the son. If anyone comes to you and does not 22 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:55.920 bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any 23 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:00.750 greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. Though I 24 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:05.510 have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper in ink. 25 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:08.189 Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face, 26 00:02:08.710 --> 00:02:13.550 so that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect sister greet 27 00:02:13.590 --> 00:02:27.340 you. My God bless his word to us. When this passage, Jesus 28 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:31.770 reminds us of the importance of what he has taught us. Jesus teaches us 29 00:02:32.250 --> 00:02:37.930 about his teaching. He reminds us, he reminds us of how important it 30 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:42.330 is, what it means to abide in it and why we should guard ourselves, 31 00:02:42.449 --> 00:02:46.599 protect ourselves and those whom we love, so that we all might remain 32 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:53.680 in it together. Part of that means being careful about who comes as those 33 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:59.590 who teach us, being careful about those that we invite you into our community. 34 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:04.789 I want to look at that today with you, from versus nine through 35 00:03:05.030 --> 00:03:13.860 eleven. Nine through eleven. Begin with this point. God is everything, 36 00:03:14.979 --> 00:03:19.860 everything to us. He is our life. Notice the importance of what Jesus 37 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:24.539 says through his Apostle John. He says in verse nine, everyone who goes 38 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:30.569 on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. 39 00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:34.689 So this is the reason why we are to follow the commands that he 40 00:03:34.810 --> 00:03:38.210 gives here, because if we go on ahead of the teaching, if we 41 00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:44.439 invite people in who are against that teaching, then we do not have God, 42 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:51.080 or we risk losing on the gifts that we have. Everyone who goes 43 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:54.199 on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. 44 00:03:55.349 --> 00:04:00.229 What does it mean to not have God? What does it mean to 45 00:04:00.349 --> 00:04:05.909 not have God? Our catechism, one of the standards of our Church and 46 00:04:06.030 --> 00:04:12.060 the teaching tools that we use to confess our faith, famously begins this way. 47 00:04:12.139 --> 00:04:15.379 What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is 48 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:19.540 to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Why are we here? What is 49 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:24.220 the point of mankind in the world. What are we all supposed to do? 50 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:28.649 This is the answer to that question. What is the purpose of life? 51 00:04:29.410 --> 00:04:31.449 This is the answer to that question. A lot of times when you 52 00:04:31.529 --> 00:04:36.689 hear this asked, whether it's in literature, cartoons or whatever, usually there's 53 00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:41.160 third of the sense like nobody can really know this. Well, you actually 54 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.639 can know this and we have a really good answer to it. The purpose 55 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:49.560 is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. So, if that's what we 56 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.310 were made for, if that's who we are, if that's what God has 57 00:04:53.350 --> 00:04:58.949 done for us and is called us to, think about how extreme it is 58 00:04:59.069 --> 00:05:05.910 to say that you don't have God, to not be able to fulfill the 59 00:05:05.990 --> 00:05:12.899 very thing for which your soul and body were designed for means to be, 60 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:17.660 at the bare minimum, eternally frustrated. But of course that's not the bare 61 00:05:17.699 --> 00:05:23.170 minimum. God tells us that to be apart from him is not just to 62 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:30.529 be on some kind of neutral, self self established territory, it's to be 63 00:05:30.569 --> 00:05:34.649 under his wrath and curse. We are under God in his blessing or we 64 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:41.519 are under God in his curse. To not have God is not to just 65 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:48.480 not have something nice. It is to have death, torment, trials of 66 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:57.029 every kind, God's wrath. But to have God is to have lie itself. 67 00:05:57.629 --> 00:06:00.149 To Know God, to be in God, to abide in God, 68 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:02.629 to have him abiding in us, is to have fellowship and communion. All 69 00:06:02.709 --> 00:06:06.860 those things that we read about in Joel, that were put in earthly terms, 70 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:15.980 are amplified a million times as we and when we will experience them, 71 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:24.250 when Christ returns. Trees that produced who full abundance, that's full of oil 72 00:06:24.329 --> 00:06:27.449 and wine, grain, as much as we need, as much as we 73 00:06:27.610 --> 00:06:32.759 want, fellowship and with other human beings, fellowship with God. No more 74 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:39.920 war, always peace, no more turmoil, nor more scary breaking news, 75 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:46.629 just complete, total satisfaction. You know what it's like to be satisfied in 76 00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:51.790 a little way, right you have a good meal after being really hungry, 77 00:06:51.829 --> 00:06:58.110 a good conversation with someone that you've been wanting to talk to for a while, 78 00:06:59.029 --> 00:07:04.300 maybe seeing someone you've missed, and that feeling. Can you imagine being 79 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:13.220 able to experience that all the time without any sort of sense of exasperation or 80 00:07:13.339 --> 00:07:15.689 tiredness or well, you know, there's always the other side or the the 81 00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:20.850 other foot's going to know just everything. We were made to be. I 82 00:07:21.050 --> 00:07:24.730 like to think about plants, right. You know, when you have a 83 00:07:24.850 --> 00:07:29.810 plant that's in the right amount of sunlight and and it's in the right soil 84 00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:32.519 and it's getting it's just a happy thing. It doesn't struggle, it's just 85 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:39.199 blooms and grows and it's it's a happy plan and another planet, right, 86 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:42.439 that's not in the right spar has got mites all over it or something. 87 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:49.310 It's just as like constant struggle. But God promises for us in having him 88 00:07:49.470 --> 00:07:55.709 is to have that kind of happy plant life, but to a degree that 89 00:07:55.910 --> 00:08:00.740 we don't even fully realize, yet again, that we're speaking in earthly terms 90 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:05.500 of greater things to come. It's a wonderful thing and that's why this is 91 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:09.459 a very serious warning. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in 92 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:16.649 the teaching of Christ does not have God. He is our everything. Think 93 00:08:16.649 --> 00:08:20.610 About First Corinthians ten thirty one. Whatever you eat or drink, whatever you 94 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:26.089 do, do all to the glory of God. That's pretty comprehensive, right. 95 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:31.519 And we think about other passages in scripture like Psalm sixteen eleven. You 96 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.919 make known to me the path of life. Your presence is fullness of joy, 97 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:41.710 at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. You see where I'm getting this 98 00:08:41.789 --> 00:08:48.470 from, from the scriptures. Some forty two, one and two. As 99 00:08:48.509 --> 00:08:52.909 a dear pants for flowing streams. So my soul pants for you, Oh 100 00:08:52.029 --> 00:09:00.259 God. My Soul thirsts for God, for the Living God. These promises, 101 00:09:00.820 --> 00:09:05.259 these expressions and scripture are true and again. That's why it makes this 102 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:09.820 warning so serious. The one who goes on ahead and does not abide in 103 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:16.210 the teaching of Christ does not have God. So why is it that we 104 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:20.730 don't have God when we don't abide in the teaching of Christ? There are 105 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:26.879 a lot of people today who would contest that, as people have for ever 106 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:31.720 since God first said it. They contest that fact. Right, I can 107 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:37.840 have God without your Jesus. I can have God in my own way and 108 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:41.870 on my own time and in my own in my according to my own terms. 109 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:48.389 I can find God and pleasure and satisfaction to him apart from the cross. 110 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:56.059 I'll go on a walk, I'll read religious literature, all whatever. 111 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:05.500 But God, the one who gives these things, says very explicitly there's no 112 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:11.970 other way to him except through Christ, who is God. There's no other 113 00:10:11.049 --> 00:10:16.769 way, there's no other path. Jesus says in John Fourteen six, I 114 00:10:16.889 --> 00:10:20.889 am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the 115 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:28.399 father except through me. That's it. No one comes to the father except 116 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:33.120 through him, and so to reject him is to reject the father. Jesus, 117 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.669 Our Lord, not only a human who came in the flesh, as 118 00:10:37.710 --> 00:10:43.950 John has reminded us here, and as we confess, not only came in 119 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:46.389 the flesh and suffered and died on a cross, but he did so as 120 00:10:46.509 --> 00:10:52.700 the eternal son of God. He is the revelation of God. To us, 121 00:10:54.019 --> 00:10:56.340 he is how we know God. Jesus says, if you've seen me, 122 00:10:56.539 --> 00:11:05.529 you've seen the father. That's what it's to know God begins with knowing 123 00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:11.649 Christ, especially if we are talking about knowing him in our salvation, knowing 124 00:11:11.809 --> 00:11:16.809 him in His grace. There's no salvation apart from him. To John Twenty 125 00:11:16.850 --> 00:11:22.840 Five, Jesus says I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in 126 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:30.639 me, though he died, yet shall he live? Or John Thirty eight 127 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:35.110 or thirty seven? Rather, all that the father gives me will come to 128 00:11:35.269 --> 00:11:41.509 me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out totally secure, 129 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:48.019 totally protected, no danger under the Sun. All three of these things 130 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:54.179 that I've just spoken are the words of Christ. They are the things Jesus 131 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:58.059 says, they are the things about Jesus, they are the truth of God. 132 00:11:58.580 --> 00:12:03.809 To reject them is to reject God. This is the core of everything. 133 00:12:05.289 --> 00:12:07.730 And when we say teaching of Jesus Christ, we mean not only the 134 00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:13.929 words that are recorded for us in the scriptures, for example in John and 135 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:18.000 the gospel of John, but those words of the Apostle John, the one 136 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:24.320 who is filled by the Holy Spirit sent out by Jesus. Jesus promises in 137 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:30.230 the Gospel of John that he will send the Holy Spirit a helper that will 138 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:35.669 teach us these things. And so we don't clumb through our bibles and look 139 00:12:35.789 --> 00:12:39.990 just for quotation marks of Jesus or the letters and read and say, well, 140 00:12:39.029 --> 00:12:43.629 that's what I need to pay attention to. It's all the word of 141 00:12:43.669 --> 00:12:48.299 Christ. By his own authority, Jesus tells us that, both about the 142 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:52.059 Old Testament and the New Testament, the things to come, and so we 143 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:58.169 hold fast to the whole Bible, to the whole Bible. And when we 144 00:12:58.289 --> 00:13:03.690 hold fast to the whole Bible as the teaching of Christ, both the teaching 145 00:13:03.769 --> 00:13:07.210 that comes from him, by his authority, and the teaching that is about 146 00:13:07.330 --> 00:13:15.440 him. We abide in God because it is the revelation of God. To 147 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:20.720 trust in his word is to trust him. To trust in his son is 148 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:28.269 to trust him, and this is what John Calls us to implicitly. Explicitly, 149 00:13:28.429 --> 00:13:33.029 we have a warning, don't we do not go on ahead of the 150 00:13:33.110 --> 00:13:37.429 teaching of Christ, and you know what this means, right? It's very 151 00:13:37.470 --> 00:13:41.620 sically. Means to go out on your own, to reject it in some 152 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:46.100 way. It's interesting to me that he puts it in the terms of going 153 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:52.820 on ahead. It probably has something to do with whatever particular error was he 154 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:56.289 was concerned with at the time, and there are many people that say this 155 00:13:56.409 --> 00:14:00.649 today. They're, of course, those who reject Christ entirely, but there 156 00:14:00.690 --> 00:14:05.409 are also many who start with Christ and then go beyond him. Right. 157 00:14:05.090 --> 00:14:09.129 Yes, of course we're all Christians here, but let me tell you the 158 00:14:09.250 --> 00:14:13.159 real secret. Let me tell you that the secret thing that has been revealed. 159 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:20.039 Let me give you the extra knowledge. This is constantly promised. If 160 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:26.309 you follow my five steps, then you'll have it. If you take this 161 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:30.789 secret teaching that I received on a special day from an angel of the Lord, 162 00:14:31.830 --> 00:14:37.029 without any proof, even counterproof. Well, listen to me, just 163 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:39.419 trust me. These are the things that the world says. There are people 164 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:43.179 all the time who say these kinds of things. They go on ahead of 165 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:46.259 the teaching of Christ because they think they don't need Christ. They think you 166 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:52.289 don't need Christ. They want you to have them, they want you to 167 00:14:52.570 --> 00:14:58.250 have their teaching, their luck. But you don't want that, because everything 168 00:14:58.289 --> 00:15:01.450 that you could ever want is in Christ, the resurrection and the life, 169 00:15:01.649 --> 00:15:09.759 pleasures for ever more in Christ, not from anyone else. And so those 170 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:15.039 who tea, those who are like myself or called to bring Christ teaching, 171 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:20.639 should be bringing that. It doesn't mean that teachers are a bad thing, 172 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.710 apostles are a bad thing. The Lord himself commissions, gives these as gifts 173 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:28.750 to his church, but they are only gifts in so far as they actually 174 00:15:30.029 --> 00:15:35.029 minister Christ. That's what's that the center. That's what's at the core. 175 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:39.019 He is at the center of the core, the head of the church, 176 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:43.700 to use another metaphor. It is a dangerous thing to go on ahead, 177 00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:50.409 I imagine, using the imagery that John provides here, that language of a 178 00:15:50.490 --> 00:15:54.129 house does not abide in the teaching of Christ. I like to imagine a 179 00:15:54.210 --> 00:15:56.570 house and you sit in the house and you're safe and you're warm and you're 180 00:15:56.610 --> 00:16:00.409 happy. The one who goes on ahead as like the prodigal son who says, 181 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:04.600 I'm not happy here, I don't want to be here, I think 182 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:10.840 I can do better on my own, and goes out and leaves and puts 183 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:18.350 himself in great danger. So one morning we have, of course, is 184 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:25.470 for ourselves. We got have to be careful not to go out on our 185 00:16:25.509 --> 00:16:29.190 own. But there's also a warning here, and we'll finish with this, 186 00:16:30.750 --> 00:16:33.340 that we are not to we that we are to be careful about being led 187 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:42.179 astray by others. John's command is explicit, or rigorous, as some people 188 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:47.059 have put it. Verse Ten. If anyone comes to you and does not 189 00:16:47.330 --> 00:16:51.970 bring this teaching, the teaching of Christ, do not receive him into your 190 00:16:52.049 --> 00:16:56.009 house or give him any greeting. And he gives a reason for whoever greets 191 00:16:56.049 --> 00:17:04.880 him takes part in his wicked works. So we have to think about this 192 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.440 right what does God want for us? What does he want for us to 193 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:12.000 do? We are to search the will of God to know how we might 194 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:18.630 serve him, protect ourselves obey him. Well, certainly. What this does 195 00:17:18.789 --> 00:17:22.670 not mean is that we are not to have any kind of contact in any 196 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:29.230 way with unbelievers. How do we know this? Well, because God puts 197 00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:33.940 us in a world full of unbelievers and makes it impossible for us to not 198 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:37.140 have contact with them. That's a weak reason, but it's a week, 199 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:40.859 but it's a reason. Another reason, a stronger reason, is that Jesus 200 00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:45.089 himself goes to sinners, goes to people and reaches out to them. He 201 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:51.490 did that with us and he has done that with others. You might say, 202 00:17:51.529 --> 00:17:53.650 well, Jesus a special right. Jesus is not going to mess up 203 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:57.839 like I mess up, and that is true. However, we also remember 204 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:04.160 that Jesus sends out his apostles, human beings that are not divine like you 205 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.279 and me, who go out into the world and are called to speak to 206 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:15.430 unbelieving people, speak to their relatives, their friends, strangers even, and 207 00:18:15.710 --> 00:18:22.430 those greetings often involve, and that work often involves hospitality. We see Christians 208 00:18:22.549 --> 00:18:26.140 commended for opening their homes, inviting people in so that worship and teaching, 209 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:32.980 these things might go on. We also know that, with the scriptures give 210 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:41.299 us instructions on how to live with unbelieving relatives. Explicitly, there are instructions 211 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:47.609 given to wives with unbelieving husbands, but rules and instructions that apply the other 212 00:18:47.690 --> 00:18:52.769 way around as well. All that to say, he is not calling us 213 00:18:52.089 --> 00:18:56.839 here to put up a giant wall and separate ourselves entirely from the world, 214 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.720 and even if we could, you could probably guess what I'm going to say. 215 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.960 You remember that Jesus say is that the WH and the terrors are growing 216 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:08.160 up together, and that includes in his church. Even if we thought that 217 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:12.869 we could maybe keep keep keep people out, they'd still be in, because 218 00:19:12.910 --> 00:19:18.710 this is the way God has ordered things for now. It's not only impost 219 00:19:18.789 --> 00:19:22.109 possible, but God has called us to go, to be hospitable, to 220 00:19:22.509 --> 00:19:27.140 open ourselves up to other people, as we invite them in and as we 221 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:33.940 live commonly together in this world. So, if that's what he is not 222 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:37.019 saying, what is he saying, because he does say it very strongly. 223 00:19:37.849 --> 00:19:45.089 I believe what John is warning us against is giving support, giving support to 224 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:52.250 those who would undermine the scriptures, and especially undermine it in these explicit ways, 225 00:19:52.329 --> 00:19:56.039 in these ways of teaching as well. Now we don't always know who 226 00:19:56.200 --> 00:20:02.000 does that and who doesn't right away. But when you know, certainly don't 227 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:07.630 give harbor to them in your homes and in your hearts. There are we 228 00:20:07.829 --> 00:20:15.230 live in a world that is very keen on pluralism, on not making any 229 00:20:15.349 --> 00:20:19.670 distinctions of every kind, of being totally open all the time, and there's 230 00:20:19.710 --> 00:20:23.259 certainly a lot to be said for being open, being willing to learn, 231 00:20:23.500 --> 00:20:29.299 being humble and these kind of things, but there's also something to be said 232 00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:34.140 for being careful, for being guarding, for guarding right. If you go 233 00:20:34.579 --> 00:20:38.490 home today and you open up your car door and there's a rattlesnake sitting on 234 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:42.410 your driveway, you don't say, well, look, another part of God's 235 00:20:42.410 --> 00:20:45.970 creation. Let's pick it up and hold it and see how much we can 236 00:20:47.250 --> 00:20:52.400 interact before we get bit. Right you it's a snake, you leave the 237 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.400 snake alone. You walk away. Now, maybe, if you are been 238 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:02.440 trained to handle snakes, are hopefully you know. Sometimes we call our fire 239 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:06.109 departments, right, and they will come out, or animal control people that 240 00:21:06.230 --> 00:21:11.509 have been and they are careful too, right. They don't uncautiously go in 241 00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:15.230 and take care of these problems. They also are careful, even though they 242 00:21:15.269 --> 00:21:22.099 might come closer. Nobody should mess whether all snake, and it's like that 243 00:21:22.339 --> 00:21:27.140 here. If you know of someone that does not abide in the teaching of 244 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:33.690 Christ, someone that not only does not abide it but but is against this 245 00:21:33.930 --> 00:21:38.970 teaching, is teaching something else that does not teach and uphold the words of 246 00:21:40.009 --> 00:21:47.559 Christ. Don't bring a snake into your home. I think it's as simple 247 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:49.680 as that really. Now, of course that takes wisdom. Right, we 248 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.599 don't always know and there's all kinds of challenges with that. But and John 249 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:57.079 doesn't you know, it's a very short letter. You have to apply it. 250 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:00.750 You have to think in your own circumstances, in your own context, 251 00:22:02.029 --> 00:22:06.190 how does this apply? But you must apply it. You can't just ignore 252 00:22:06.230 --> 00:22:08.589 it and say well, it doesn't matter, because it does matter. One, 253 00:22:08.670 --> 00:22:11.190 he wouldn't say it if it didn't matter. And too he tells us 254 00:22:11.230 --> 00:22:15.460 why it matters. One, because we if we don't have the teaching of 255 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:21.220 Christ, we don't have God and to whoever greets him and takes part in 256 00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:26.220 this way takes part in his wicked works. That's not abiding in the teaching 257 00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:33.089 of Christ. There are real dangers in this world and we have to be 258 00:22:33.210 --> 00:22:41.130 careful about them. So how do we guard ourselves then from that? How 259 00:22:41.210 --> 00:22:45.359 do we become aware and awake to these realities? Well, some of you 260 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.759 are saying wrongly to yourselves. So this is no problem for me. I 261 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.079 never go anywhere or say anybody. I'll just stay at home, lock the 262 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:56.359 door and know that I'm doing just fine. Well, this is, of 263 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:02.869 course, not the answer. Isolating yourself, being alone, being a strange 264 00:23:02.990 --> 00:23:07.990 from other people, not being a part of a healthy community, is how 265 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:15.980 people become prey. One of the ways in which we guard ourselves is by 266 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:21.900 staying close to God's word, and the word that is living and active among 267 00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:27.170 the people of God. Yes, we set browndreies and we pray for our 268 00:23:27.210 --> 00:23:33.970 enemies, but we learn who belongs to Christ and who doesn't by learning who 269 00:23:33.970 --> 00:23:37.809 Christ is, learning who we are by belonging to a community that preaches and 270 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:41.960 teaches these things. Now, hear me correctly, I'm not saying that in 271 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:45.799 any way. You know I'm perfect or you're a perfect we've all got it 272 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:52.400 together. We're talking are not talking about people that are more or less obedient 273 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.950 or who are growing in their faith. We're talking about those who would seek 274 00:23:56.950 --> 00:24:03.589 to undermine that teaching and the best way to know a counterfeit to know the 275 00:24:03.630 --> 00:24:10.579 real thing. Do you know the word of God? Do you know the 276 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:14.500 teaching of Christ? It's hard to abide and learn and live in the teaching 277 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:18.420 cre of Christ if you don't know the teaching of Christ. Do you know 278 00:24:18.660 --> 00:24:22.779 what real community is? Do you know what do you know what it means 279 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:27.049 to invite people into your home and to experience that, that life together? 280 00:24:29.369 --> 00:24:33.650 There is a book that's become a popular or last few years. The Gospel 281 00:24:33.690 --> 00:24:37.759 comes with a house key. But the same is also true right John's warning 282 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:41.960 us of the other thing. He's saying the error and danger also comes with 283 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:49.799 a house key. Teaching, learning, living in the word of Christ. 284 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:55.470 Abiding in the word of Christ is a very active thing. That verb is 285 00:24:55.509 --> 00:25:00.789 a very active verb. It's a very relational verb, isn't it? Those 286 00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:04.990 relationships, that community, that life we have together, has a power full 287 00:25:06.029 --> 00:25:07.940 effect. Listen to what John says at the end of the lover letter. 288 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:11.819 Though I have much to write to you, I'd rather not use paper and 289 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:15.660 ink. I hope to come and talk to you face to face. John 290 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:21.059 Wants to be there and be with them because he knows how powerful that is. 291 00:25:22.089 --> 00:25:27.450 Sometimes we think that we can protect ourselves, I'm just, by staying 292 00:25:27.490 --> 00:25:33.250 away from people, but John is wanting to come close to them, even 293 00:25:33.289 --> 00:25:37.799 though he's writing to them the words of scripture. He desires for something more, 294 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:45.119 to draw close and to draw together. And so let us ask ourselves. 295 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:49.349 Do we know what abiding in the teaching of Christ is? Do we 296 00:25:49.470 --> 00:25:52.190 know who Jesus is? Do we know what his community is? Do we 297 00:25:52.309 --> 00:25:56.589 know the marks of a true church and a fall church, false church? 298 00:25:56.230 --> 00:26:02.230 Do we know what truthfulness is forgiveness? Do we know how to pursue these 299 00:26:02.309 --> 00:26:07.460 things in ways of faith? Well, if you don't, let me, 300 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:11.619 as a servant of Christ, welcome you into the House, point you to 301 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:17.900 Jesus and his work for us on the Cross and invite you to read his 302 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:22.089 word, to hear his word, to hear it preached and taught and lived. 303 00:26:22.450 --> 00:26:30.329 There's hope there, salvation, their forgiveness, their community there. If 304 00:26:30.369 --> 00:26:34.640 you don't know him, come to know him. His house is a good 305 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:41.039 house, because His grace is a good grace. Let's pray and ask the 306 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:44.400 God would bless us in these things. Lord