August 14, 2022
THE LETTERS OF JOHN: WALK IN TRUTH
August 14, 2022
Pastor Jonathan Falwell
Sometimes people are dissatisfied with the way they have lived their lives. If you could live your life over again, what would you change?
Today we will finish our series on the Letters written by John the Beloved. Now in his nineties, John was so widely known that he could send a letter to the churches as being simply from “The Elder,” and believers would know who wrote it. John writes this last letter—3rd John—as a personal letter to Gaius (unknown). Because God was the originator of the words, John’s letter is as pertinent today as it was when he penned it. This letter deals with the importance of walking in truth throughout our sojourn in this life.
Focal Passage: 3 John.
Walk in Truth
- Read 3 John verses 3-4. What lesson should we learn from these two verses? Read Psa. 51:6. How important is it that we walk in truth?
- Ultimately, Who is really saying “I have no greater joy than to see My children are walking in truth”? What are some things that make our “Dad” proud?
- In three simple ways, how can our responsibility toward truth be summarized? Why and how do we seek truth? How will we know truth? What will happen when we walk in truth?
Help others do the same
- Read verses 6-8. Why is it so important that we who are at home help support those who go “into the world and preach the gospel”?
- What happens when we support missionaries? Why are you not leaving home to spread the gospel? What are the ways in which you can participate in being part of missions?
Avoid hypocrisy and jealousy
- Read 3 John verses 9-11. As we read of Gaius (verses 1-7), Diotrephes, (9-11), and Demetrius (vv. 11-15)—what do they represent in our modern churches? What are some things that the “Diotrephes’s” of our churches do? Who was ultimately behind his agenda? What did/does Satan desire to do? What motivates him?
- What was the sin that characterized Diotrephes? What do leaders like him thrive on? What role does slander play when someone is ruling by pride and, in effect, being a bully in the church?
- What does slander eventually lead to—whether in the church or in any leadership role? What must be done if this person is “running the show”?
Trust in the faithfulness of God
- Read verse 15. What does John wish for Gaius—and ultimately for us? What is the only way whereby we will know peace? Who is the only One who can give peace?
- What is so important about greeting people by their name? Do you know anyone who refuses to use someone’s name? What message does that send to them? Why is it one of John’s final remarks?
Close:
When Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr., was Chancellor of Liberty University and pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, the most amazing fact that stood out to everyone was his ability to greet anyone he had ever met by name! Story after story exists of him seeing a student again after five, ten, or even twenty or more years, and calling them by name. God gave the man a memory like no other, so that he could bring about the birth and growth of the world’s largest Christian university—and we continue to feel his impact and hear the beloved stories even a decade and half later.
John knew his days were getting short, and his words would be the only thing he could leave the church. He used this last letter to admonish us to always seek truth, know truth, and walk in truth.
It is amazing that, in his day, John saw the same categories of believers that we have in modern times. Gaius represents those who love God—and therefore loves people. He was always walking in the truth of God, being a great role model. Diotrephes is a good representation of those in leadership positions who rule by bullying—so filled with their own self-proclaimed “greatness” that they want no one around them who is a threat to their key position. One wonders why he was allowed to continue being the prideful bully. Was John on the way to Gaius to remove Diotrephes from this body of believers? We hope so! Would that Christians everywhere have such a strong sense of righteousness in the church that anyone who uses their position to self-aggrandize their own arrogant ego would be removed from the body of believers!
Demetrius—well, he was probably the representative of that army in every well-run church who are made up of faithful members of the body, who want or expect no recognition, who serve as a volunteer for the joy of serving the Lord Jesus Christ in a manner that only wants to make the Father “proud.” It is enough to serve Him, enough to be faithful, and enough to speak of Him with love whenever and wherever possible. That is a good testimony, and as the song goes, “May all who come behind us find us faithful…” May we only seek to glorify the King of Kings.