Sermon: 3 John Walking in the Truth

There comes a time in a parent’s life which brings a whole mix of emotions. It’s the moment when their child has grown up, and they’re moving out, setting out on their own adventure. It might happen when they move away to university; maybe they’ve got married, or they have finally decided they want their own space.

Perhaps you’ve been through this, either as the parent or the child. Or maybe you know this day is coming closer, and you’re wondering how you’ll cope. How do you feel in that moment, as the door closes, and they’re gone? There’s a pick n mix range of feelings - joy, that they’ve finally moved out? Sadness, that they’re no longer your little baby? Worry about how they’ll manage?

The first time I was away from home was when I went on our P7 school trip to York. For weeks beforehand, I was nervous about being away from home, and anxious about travel sickness. I had mum and dad very worried. But when I was away, I was having so much fun that I forgot to ring home during the week!

Mums and dads naturally have these kinds of concerns for their children. And those who are in leadership in the church have the same concerns for their spiritual children. Will they keep on going in the way they have learned? Will they continue to walk with Jesus even if we don’t see them?

That concern is driving the letter that we’re looking at today. As you can see, it’s a short letter, it fits on about half a page. And at the top of the page, verse 1, we see who the letter is from and who it’s to. ‘The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.’

The elder is John, the author of the gospels, and the other two letters of John, and also Revelation. That word elder can mean a church elder - the Greek word is presbyter. But it also means an older person.

And John is writing to Gaius, someone he knows, and loves, and cares for. Gaius is one of his spiritual children, someone John has told the gospel, and nurtured in the faith, and discipled. Do you see how he puts it? ‘To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.’ Gaius is his dear friend, he cares for him. We’ll see that that same phrase, ‘dear friend’ provides the structure for the whole book - as it’s repeated at key points in the book.

John also loves him in the truth - he’s a friend in the gospel; they have been brought together because they both belong to Jesus.

This is a personal letter, but not a private letter. It’s a letter for us to hear, and to read over Gaius’ shoulder, because it teaches us about what it looks like to live as a Christian. And the phrase that John uses to describe the Christian life is to be ‘walking in the truth.’

In verses 2-4, we see why John is writing this letter. And he begins with a prayer for his dear friend: ‘Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.’ John knows that Gaius’ soul is getting along well - it is well with his soul, and he prays that the rest of him will be just as well - that he will enjoy physical health, just as he is enjoying spiritual health.

But that raises the question - how does John know that it is well with Gaius’ soul? That’s what we see in the next verse, and it’s why John writes his letter. ‘It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.’ (3)

John has heard about Gaius from some of the brothers - other Christians. They have told him about how Gaius is faithful to the truth - to the good news that John taught him in the gospel - and how Gaius continues to walk in the truth. John is delighted to hear the news - it gave him great joy.

You see, in those days, you couldn’t just ring up someone for a chat. You couldn’t log in to Facebook to see what they’ve been up to. You couldn’t skype them. So since John and Gaius have been separated, John hasn’t heard about how Gaius is getting on. It took these brothers to come to tell him, to give him the joy of hearing that Gaius is still walking in the truth.

So when I was in York, having a great time, and my parents were at home worried - it turns out they weren’t that worried, because they were hearing news and updates from other parents, and they knew everything was ok.

John is the spiritual elder of Gaius, his spiritual father, and so John is concerned for Gaius - how will he get on with the faith he was taught. And all of us can be spiritual parents of others, concerned for them, praying for them, helping them. The sign that I’m getting old is that my first spiritual children were the young people I taught in Sunday School and Youth Fellowship - and now I hear of them getting married, and some going on with the Lord.

John is delighted to hear of how Gaius is getting on - ‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.’ (4)

So who will rejoice when they hear that you are walking in the truth - who are your spiritual parents, the people who care for you? And who will you rejoice over when you hear that they are walking in the truth - who are your spiritual children, the people you care for?

At the start of verse 5 we see another ‘Dear friend’ - and in this section, we see what exactly it was that Gaius was doing that showed he was walking in the truth. Gaius was showing love and hospitality to the brothers, to fellow Christians.

‘Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.’ (5-6)

These brothers are gospel workers, Christians who are travelling around, sharing the good news of Jesus. Even though Gaius doesn’t know them, he welcomes them in, and loves them in practical ways. He has put them up, fed them, and cared for them.

These men have went out, for the sake of the Name - in order to preach the name of Jesus, to give him honour. And because they are Christian missionaries, the pagans aren’t going to help them or support them, so it’s up to Christians to support Christian ministry and mission. And John shows that when he do that, when we support missionaries in practical ways, we are sharing in their work: ‘We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.’ (8)

To walk in the truth is to be seen in our love and hospitality, so that we work together for the truth. We may not be able to go on mission, but we can give to mission. So what are the signs that it is well with your soul, that you are walking in the truth, and working for the truth?

The last ‘Dear friend’ comes a bit further down in verse 11. It sits in between the descriptions of two men known to Gaius; it marks the divide between them, and highlights the differences in the two men. ‘Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.’ (11)

As Gaius continues to walk in the truth, he is given two possible alternatives, two possible role models. But he’s not to imitate the evil, he should only imitate the good.

Diotrephes, he’s the negative example. Don’t be like Diotrephes. Why? He loves to be first, to assert himself, to be seen, to be considered most important. He has rejected John’s authority, and rejected John’s letter to the church. He wants nothing to do with John. But John is going to come along some day, and he’ll deal with the problems. He’ll call attention to the way D gossips maliciously - how he’s not walking in the truth; and the way that D refuses to welcome the brothers (what Gaius had been doing), and even stops the people who do want to welcome them, and even puts them out of the church. Do you see how he’s the opposite of walking in the truth, and showing the hospitality and love of the gospel?

So don’t be like Diotrephes. But do be like Demetrius. ‘He is well spoken of by everyone - and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.’ (12) John is concerned for his dear friend - the danger is that he will stop walking in the truth; that he will follow the wrong role model.

John wants Gaius to continue walking in the truth - by showing love and hospitality, by sharing in working for the truth, and by imitating what is good. That’s what we are called to as well. But we don’t have to do it on our own - we have one another, for help and support and encouragement, as we keep going together, and walk in the truth together.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 12th May 2019.

Sermon: 3 John 1-15

There comes a time in every parent’s life which brings a mix of emotions. It’s the moment when their child has grown up, and they’re moving out, setting out on their own adventure. It might be when they move away for university; they might have started a new job and off they go; they may have finally decided they want their own space.

Perhaps you’ve been through this, either as the parent or the child. How do you feel in that moment, as the door closes, they’ve left? There’s a dolly mixtures range of feelings, aren’t there? Joy, that they’ve finally moved out; relief that they’ve gone? There might be some sadness, that they are no longer your little baby; or worry or fear about how they’ll manage. Will they keep going in the way they’ve been brought up?

I remember the first time I was away from home. We went on the P7 school trip to York from Monday to Friday. Beforehand I was probably a little homesick (before I had even left), so mum and dad were naturally concerned. When I got away, well, I had so much fun I never bothered ringing home once... while the parents were rightly concerned about me! But don’t worry, I got a telling-off when I got home that Friday night about not keeping in touch!

Just as mums and dads have these kinds of concerns for their children, so those in spiritual leadership in the church have the same concerns for their spiritual children. Will they keep on going in the way they have learned? Will they continue to walk with Jesus even if we don’t see them or aren’t around?

Which brings us to our reading tonight. It’s a letter from ‘the elder’ (whom we know is John), to a man called Gaius, a Christian who is described as ‘beloved’ and also ‘whom I love in truth.’ It’s clear that John and Gaius know each other, it appears that John had previously ministered to Gaius, but is now elsewhere. He writes to Gaius now because he has heard of what Gaius has been doing, and it does his heart good.

He begins with a prayer: ‘Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.’ (2) John prays that Gaius will be as physically healthy as he is spiritually healthy. Now how does he know that it goes well with his soul? It’s what he has heard, based on his actions:

‘For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.’ (3) John refers to a group of men, ‘the brothers’ who are Christian workers. They’ve been to see Gaius, and when they return, they share the good news that Gaius is continuing to walk in the truth.

Ever since John had sown the seed of the gospel in his heart, Gaius has been continuing to walk in the truth. Even though John is not around, Gaius continues to walk with Jesus. He hasn’t given himself to follow lies, or to walk away, but rather he’s still on the path of truth.

And this news gives John great joy. In fact, as he says: ‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.’ (4) I wonder if you’ve ever had that joy. Perhaps it’s a friend from school you haven’t seen for a long time, lost touch, and then you bump into them, and discover that they are now a Christian. What joy! Or it might be someone you taught in Sunday School or GFS or the BB, and you hear that they’re serving the Lord themselves, continuing to walk in the way you taught them all that length of time ago. It’s brilliant!

I’ve been discovering recently that I’m getting (or at least feeling) older... It’s when the children you first taught in Sunday School are now graduating from university; and when the ‘young people’ from the youth group at church back home are now getting married...

It can be sad to hear of those who have heard and turned away. They know the truth, but they walk away. You feel frustrated, but they go in their own way. How much more then, the joy of hearing that some are still in the way.

I wonder have you spiritual children you can rejoice over? How have you used your influence and example and witness with someone else? It’s never too late to start, you could become a spiritual mother or father at any age, young or old. Who will you celebrate with in heaven? Who could you reach?

But, you might be asking yourself, what does it look like to walk in the truth? What should we encourage each other to do, so that we walk in the truth and help others to do so as well?

John gives us some examples, both positive and negative. Just like a weaver or a tapestry, he moves from one to the other, in and out. First, the positive example of Gaius. What was it that was so great?

He had received and welcomed and supported these brothers - even though they were strangers - simply because they were gospel workers. He didn’t know them, but because they loved Jesus, he loved them, and provided for them. He didn’t sit back, but put himself out for them, ‘in all your efforts for these brothers.’ (5) As we support fellow Christians, we are ‘fellow workers for the truth.’ (8) Hospitality and generosity are marks of the true believer, of the one walking in the truth.

But then we shift to the negative, as we’re introduced to another man called Diotrephes. He ‘likes to put himself first, [and] does not acknowledge our authority... talking wicked nonsense against us.’ As if all that weren’t enough, he also ‘refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.’ (9-10)

He’s out for himself alone, proud, wanting to be important, trying to get his own way, and tries to prevent fellowship and partnership. Do you see the contrast? It’s the difference between day and night!

So when we come to verse 11, we’re given a choice: ‘Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good.’ Seems obvious, but here’s why: ‘Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.’

There’s another positive example - Demetrius, who ‘has received a good testimony from everyone...’ It’s as if the two D-men are lined up side by side, Diotrephes would get a good testimony from noone, Demetrius from everyone. This is the difference between walking in the truth, and going astray, led by wickedness.

Perhaps tonight is an opportunity to stop, and take stock of your life. Ask what way you’re going. Consider whether you are a cause of joy for other people as they hear of the report of your life and witness. And resolve to walk in the truth, loving and giving for the work of the gospel, partnering with those who serve, and all for the praise and glory of Jesus Christ, who is our saviour and example. Amen.

This sermon was preached in the Brooke Memorial Hall, Brookeborough on Sunday 13th January 2013.