JOHN TO TODAY'S CHURCH

By DR. MICKEY CARTER, Pastor

LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH

810 EAST HINSON AVENUE

HAINES CITY, FLORIDA 33844

If John could write a letter directly to today's church it would be II John. Never is a message needed more than this one for today. If we lose the focus this little book gives us we have lost the battle for this age.

The subject is the truth. Five times in the first four verses the word truth is mentioned. God's Word is truth. It is unchangeable truth. It is true when men do not believe. It is true when society thinks it is not true.

If Bible believers want to see liberals howl with rage, just mention that the Bible is true and all that opposes it is false. The liberals say that there is no such thing as truth. Then they will say that the Bible is wrong and they are right.

The Truth's Sake, v. 1-2

John loved the elect lady and her children. In fact, all who loved the truth loved that elect woman. The elect lady mentioned in verse one is the church. II John 13 mentions the children of the lady, which are God's believers.

Jude tells us that the faith has been delivered once to the saints. That body of truth is the Word of God. II Peter 1:16-21 says that we have not followed fables but the revealed Word of God for the truth.

It is for the sake of the truth that John writes this epistle. The church holds up the truth like a beacon of light in a dark storm. The truth is hated because the world believes a lie. The truth is shunned because the world be- lieves perversion. The truth is opposed because the world pro- claims that good is evil and that evil is good. It is the job of the church to present the truth and hold its light high.

The Truth's Children, v. 4

Children of the truth walk in the truth. James says to receive the engrafted word to save your soul. Children of truth are those who have been converted to truth. When we were lost we lived ac- cording to the god of this world, that is, in darkness and deceit. At salvation, we changed to children of the truth.

Children of truth are those who are committed to the truth. It is not enough to be saved. We must learn the whole truth of the Bible and be committed to keeping it.

Jesus said in His parable that the difference between the house on the sand falling flat and the one on the rock standing firm was that, while both people of the story heard the Word of God, the one who obeyed it stood firm. It is not enough to hold a King James Bible in your hand. Hide it in your heart and obey it in your life.

The Truth's

Commandment, v. 4-5

Grace is not the privilege of going to heaven without any responsibility here on earth. The grace of God is free, but the responsibility of grace is to live right. Titus 2:11-14 tells us that the grace of God teaches us to avoid ungodliness and worldly lust and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world.

That commandment extends to how we treat the brethren around us. It says that we are to love one another. The truth does not make a person hard and mean, but confident and loving. When people in a church love one another the whole community sees Jesus. When people of a church do not love one another all the people of the world see is another bunch of religious hypocrites.

The Truth's Enemy, v. 7

In the spirit of Antichrist, deceivers will try to steal the attention from the Lord onto themselves. They may even talk about Jesus, but He is not the Biblical Saviour and Lord, but someone else who does not care how people live. The word Antichrist means both against Christ and to replace Christ. Religion becomes man-centered and pleasure oriented, not Christ centered and devotional.

The Truth's Reward, v. 8

At the day of Jesus appearing believers will receive a reward. It will be for faithfulness to the truth. It is possible to lose one's reward if the truth is compromised. That compromise can be a combination of NOT preaching the whole Bible truth and living in carnality. The truth will not pass away, but our rewards certainly can if we allow sin and compromise to let the truth slip.

The Truth's

Identity, v. 9-10

The truth centers in the identity of the person and work of Jesus Christ. If a person is wrong about His deity or wrong about His humanity, then that person does not have the truth. No matter how loving, or how sincere, or how strong a church organization they have, if they do not trust totally in the person of Christ as being God in human flesh and the work of Jesus' shed blood for their salvation they are lost. Judge all churches, all preachers, all profes- sions of faith, and all movements by their teachings about Jesus and His work.

The Truth's Stand, v. 10

Those who do not hold the truth are not of us. It is not that we are superior, it is that these people do not have the truth and are not saved. We are not to bless them or join them in their labors to spread their doctrines. They have the spirit of Antichrist, even if they do not know it.

The Truth's

Fulfillment, v. 12

This verse sounds like John wants to come to the lady's house to visit. Since the elect lady is the church, then the real heart call is for the Lord to come for us. John ends Revelation with a prayer for the Lord to come. He ends this epistle the same way. He wants to see his Lord and Saviour again.

We New Testament saints have never seen the Lord. Someday we will. We will see Him who is TRUTH incarnate. How will the Lord respond to you, reader, as to how you held the truth? Hold it high and speak it clearly.

-- The Landmark Ancho