For those of you who may be unfamiliar with my history, I grew up as a pastor’s kid. I actually was born during the time my dad was in Bible college and he became a pastor shortly thereafter. So consequently, I spent most of my early life in church. I grew up hearing the gospel, the stories of the Old and New Testament, singing the hymns, participating in some sort of church service at least three times a week, and sometimes more.
But when I was about 21 years old, I left home, pretty much abandoned my faith, and ran as far away from my upbringing as I possibly could. The result was that I reached a point when I wasn’t sure what I believed anymore. During those years I had also been exposed to certain doctrines from churches which called themselves Christian, but which were in opposition to a lot of what I had been taught growing up, and the result was I was very confused.
When I finally came to my senses, to use a phrase from the parable of the prodigal son, I surrendered to the Lord one evening in a garage in Redondo Beach, California. I had been wrestling under the conviction from the Lord all day, and finally came home to a party going on in my apartment, which I had no interest in joining in, so I went down to the garage and shut the door and tried to pray.
At first it seemed that my prayers bounced right back at me off the ceiling. They didn’t seem to go anywhere. And at that moment fear gripped my heart as I thought perhaps I had gone too far, and God would no longer hear me. Desperate at that point, I cried out to the Lord in earnest, crying out loud, “Lord, have mercy on me! Please hear me!” I knew I had gone astray. I needed to be saved from my sin, delivered, cleansed, restored. And God heard me, and He cleansed me, He forgave me, He renewed a right spirit within me.
I prayed a lot of things to the Lord in that garage, but one thing that was foremost in my prayer that I remember clearly, was saying to God that I wanted to know the truth. I didn’t care if the truth was different than everything I had learned growing up in the church, but I wanted to know the truth, and I said if God would show it to me, then I would be obedient to it.
Well, after I finished getting right with God in the garage, I went upstairs to my room, and I found a copy of the New Testament and opened it to the gospel of John. I read the entire gospel in one sitting. Not that big of a feat, by the way. You can read it through in a couple of hours or so.
And towards the end of the book I came across a particular verse which seemed to answer my prayer about knowing the truth. It’s in John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” Later on, I found another verse speaking of that same principle in 1John 2:27 which says, “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and 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, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
Now let me make it clear that those verses are not saying that we don’t need to hear the preaching of the gospel, or to attend a Bible study, that we don’t need to be taught anything. It’s not saying that. There are a lot of scriptures instructing pastors to preach and teach the church. But what they are saying, is that it’s possible to know the truth. The Holy Spirit, which John calls the anointing in 1 John 2, is given to us so that we might know the truth. God wants us to know the truth. The truth matters to God, and the truth is essential to our salvation and sanctification.
It should be patently evident, that not everything you hear in the church today, or read in some Christian book, or see or listen to on Christian media, is the truth. John spent quite a lot of time in 1 John warning us that there are antichrists in the church, false teachers in the church, that deceive, that twist the truth, pervert the truth, and obscure the truth. So we must be discerning, and we can be discerning by the Spirit of Truth who is in us, who will guide us in the truth as we are obedient to the truth.
So God confirmed to me through scripture that I could know the truth. It may take perseverance and obedience to learn the truth, but God wants us to know the truth. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. He said you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. So it’s critical that we know the truth. Jesus also said, “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” In His high priestly prayer Jesus prayed to the Father, “Your word is truth.” He also said He would send us the Spirit of Truth to guide us in the truth. So we cannot be saved without knowing the truth, and we cannot worship God unless it’s in accordance to the truth. Adherence to the truth must be paramount in the Christian life.
So the truth must be of paramount importance in the church. I started this church out of a passionate desire to proclaim the truth. There are a lot of churches out there, but I felt a need to start a church that is founded on the truth and does not deviate from it. My calling to preach the gospel is due to the conviction that I had that the truth needed to be proclaimed in a direct, and unequivocal way.
One of the verses that I based my calling to preach upon is Paul’s admonition to a young pastor named Timothy which is found in 2Tim. 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
So the scripture is the source of absolute truth. And through the guidance of the Spirit of truth we must study the word so that we might know the truth. There is no other reliable source of absolute truth. And that means that the source of truth in preaching is the truth of the word of God. That means that the foundation of the church is the truth of the word of God. Paul said in 1Tim. 3:15 “but in case I am delayed, [I write] so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” That means that the basis for Christian fellowship is the truth of the word of God. You know, a lot of people put their desire for fellowship at a higher premium than their desire for truth. But there can be no unity without unity in the truth. Our fellowship is to be based on a common belief in the truth.
Now all of that is perhaps the longest introduction to a message I have ever given. But John has a lot to say about truth, and particularly in this little epistle of 2 John, we see a great emphasis on the truth. For instance, just in the first four verses he mentions truth five times. Altogether, John speaks of truth some 37 times in his writings. So truth is important to John, it’s important to God, it should be important to the church, and the truth’s essentiality is the reason for this letter.
As we look at this letter, we see that the writer identifies himself only as the elder. And he writes to the chosen lady and her children. The conservative view is that ancient Bible scholars have always attributed this letter and the next letter as from the apostle John. John would have been in his 90’s at this point. He is the last living apostle. It’s possible that the term elder is indicative of his age. But it’s also probable, and more likely, that he uses elder as a title, which he has not only over the church in Ephesus, but over the church at large. He obviously considers himself the elder to the lady he is writing to, and she is obviously not in his church in Ephesus. So more than likely it is a term that has superseded the term apostle, since his apostleship is not in question by this point, and furthermore, he is the only one still living.
So it’s well accepted that John is the author. What’s not so universally agreed upon is who is the chosen lady. There is a lot of debate on this point. Some see her as an individual lady who he is familiar with, who has children that he knows, and who is well loved by the churches. Others see the phrase “chosen lady” as a reference to a particular church. John is writing at a time of persecution of the church, and so he may be deliberately disguising his name and the name of the church in order to avoid persecution. I guess I tend to lean towards the idea that he is writing to a church. Though in the next epistle, he writes to an individual man by the name of Gaius, so it’s possible that he is writing one letter to a woman, and another letter to a man, but in both cases, the letters have a broader audience than just the recipient. But I suppose that it’s best to look at it from the perspective that he is writing to a church and her children would refer to the members of that local body.
Now there are four points that I think John makes concerning truth in the opening four verses of this passage. And the first point he makes is that the truth unites us. I have already alluded to this principle which is found in many places in scripture. It is the truth that unites us. Look at verse 1. “The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth and not only I but also all who know the truth.”
What John is saying there is that our commonality is the truth. Our unity, our fellowship is not based on a denomination. It’s not based on some perception of spirituality. Our connection to one another is based on a body of truth, the word of truth, the revealed truth. It is the truth that unites us. As Christians, our common denominator is that we hold to the truth taught by the scriptures. There are certain doctrines that must be held in common for us to have fellowship with one another. True believers are linked not by an organization, not by some nebulous testimony to Christ or God, but by a common knowledge of and belief in the truth of the gospel. John says the basis of their relationship, the basis of Christian love, is the truth. Without that shared truth, there would be no relationship, no fellowship, no unity, no love for one another.
To be honest, I get a little exasperated with some Christians who seem to have this insatiable desire for fellowship at the expense of truth. They may come to our church, they at least tacitly acknowledge that we teach the truth, they seem to appreciate that. But then they go to other churches, other “Bible studies” or whatever you want to call them, for the sake of fellowship. But from the little I know of a lot of such groups or churches, they don’t hold to the same truth that we hold to. They remind me of the warning that Paul made concerning the latter days, in 2Tim. 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” We need to have a greater desire for the truth than a desire for fellowship, especially fellowship with those who don’t teach sound doctrine, who have turned away from the pure truth of the word for doctrines designed to please people. For teaching that tells you what you want to hear, rather than what you need to hear.
So John says it is the truth that unites us, that we have fellowship in. Secondly, John says that the truth indwells us, in verse 2. He goes on to say about the chosen lady, “whom I love in truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.” We’re not only united by the truth, we’re indwelled by the truth. The truth abides in us and will be with us forever.
Back in 1 John chapter 2 vs 20, which I quoted earlier, John says, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” So you can know the truth because the Spirit of Truth has come upon you. If you are a Christian, then the Spirit of Truth dwells in you, to teach you, to guide you in the truth. 1Cor. 2:12 says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” That’s the Spirit’s primary purpose, is to guide us in the truth. He has revealed the truth primarily through the scriptures, and then He gives us insight so that we can understand the scriptures.
This is a very critical passage in which Paul explains how we are indwelled by the Spirit of truth so that we might know the truth. 1Cor. 2:12-16 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual [thoughts] with spiritual [words.] But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” We are indwelled by His Spirit, the Spirit of truth, so that the truth of Christ is in us.
And by the way, the indwelling of the Spirit is not some sort of second blessing that you have to seek, you have to have some ecstatic experience in order to receive. You receive the Spirit upon conversion, at salvation. Paul says in Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” So if you’re saved, you have the Spirit in you. If you don’t have the Spirit, then you are not saved. You receive the Spirit instantly upon salvation.
So how important is the truth? It is the source of our salvation, it is the source of our fellowship, and it is our abiding confidence. Notice John says there in vs 2, “for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.” The truth will be with us forever. 1Peter 1:25 says, “BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.” I believe that’s a reference to the fact that the truth is eternal. It will never pass away, or become irrelevant. It is eternal. And so the truth is with us forever.
But vs 2 also indicates that we can put our complete trust in the truth of God’s word. God’s word will never fail. His promises are going to be fulfilled. We can trust in the truth of God’s word as if our lives depended upon it. Because our lives do depend upon it. Our eternal destiny depends upon it. And God has written it down so that we might be even more certain of it’s truth, and of it’s fulfillment.
Jesus said in[Matt. 5:18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The truth abides with us forever.That gives us confidence as we live our lives here on earth. God’s word never fails.
That confidence in the truth of God is saving faith, by the way. We’ve talked recently about what is involved in saving faith. How much faith do we need - faith in what exactly - what constitutes saving faith? Well, saving faith is not a deeply held wish, or even a fervently held belief, but it’s trusting in the word of God. Trusting in the promises of God. That’s what it means to believe in Christ for salvation. Believe what He has promised. Believe in the promises of God. That’s saving faith. And that’s why knowing the truth is so important. Because we need to believe the truth, what the Bible declares is truth. Not just what we want to be true or hope is true. But you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
That leads us to the third point that John makes regarding truth, and that is that truth is the source of blessing. Vs. 3, “Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” The blessings are grace, mercy and peace. Thats a common New Testament benediction used by a number of the apostles. But that doesn’t mean that we should gloss over it. These are real blessings for the believer that come through God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father. I want to point out that in this statement John presents Jesus Christ as God, as being on the same level with God. That was one of his major points in the first epistle of John, to establish the deity of Jesus Christ. And John does so here without fanfare or explanation. But even so it’s a great statement of the deity of Christ.
Now as to these blessings - grace, mercy and peace. To the carnal mind they may not seem like too much to be rejoiced over. We love to talk about how God blessed us with a new job, or a windfall of money, or some new possession that we can enjoy. But these are spiritual blessings. And sometimes we tend not to think of them quite so highly as we ought. But let me remind you that grace is the means by which you were saved. It’s not by your own merit, but by the gift of God that you were made righteous and declared holy unto the Lord. There is no other means by which we are saved than by grace. Grace is a gift of God, and as such a great blessing.
Mercy speaks of not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, which is life, which is righteousness, which is an inheritance in heaven. But mercy is not getting what we do deserve, which is death. The wages of sin is death, and we are all sinners. Christ paid our debt to sin, so that we might be free. Mercy speaks of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a great blessing.
And then peace. Peace means peace with God. We who were enemies are now made His friends. Even more than friends, we are adopted into His family. We have peace with God. He is on our side. He is not against us, but God is for us. Peace with God, a very great blessing. And John says these blessings come through the Father and the Son, “in truth and love.” These blessings could only be realized as we come to know the truth of the gospel. Only as we worship God in spirit and in truth, can we realize these blessings of salvation.
And love speaks of the great love which the Father had for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is love, that Christ died for sinners so that they might be forgiven and receive life in Him. That is the truth about the love of God for us, which makes all the blessings of God possible.
The final point is found in vs 4. We said that truth unites us, indwells us and blesses us. Truth also controls us. “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.” Now we are taking it to mean that in this church John found some of them walking in the truth. To walk in the truth is to be obedient to what God says in His word. It means the same thing as walking in the Spirit, being guided by the Spirit. To walk in the truth means that you are obedient to the truth shown by the Spirit, and then you continue to be obedient as He reveals more truth. It’s continuing in the truth.
Notice John says to walk in the truth is the commandment from the Father. It simply refers to the idea of a believer who confesses the truth of God’s word and then lives in harmony with that word. Everything he says or does portrays a life that is governed by God’s truth. To walk indicates action, it indicates application. It means living out what you have been shown to be true.
But notice what did John say he found? Some of your children walking in truth. That’s probably a universal appraisal of the church. Unfortunately, not all who believe are walking in the truth. Some people in the church are sporadic walkers at best. They walk for a while and then they get distracted. They become interested in something else that distracts them from their devotion to the Lord. Or some may have been walking at some point, but they no longer walk in the truth.
I’d guess that in the life of the church, about only half of the people at any given time are actively walking in the truth. I think lethargy, and laziness, and complacency are more the order of the day for a lot of people. And that should be a scary place to be. It’s kind of like working out, trying to stay in shape. You have good intentions, you start off on some new program, and you’re all gun ho for a while. Then you start getting distracted. You start making excuses why you don’t need to work out today. And before you know it, you’re out of shape again. And that makes it twice as hard to get back into shape, doesn’t it? It’s harder than ever to get back in the routine of going to the gym, and the workouts seem so strenuous that you end up giving up.
That’s what happens when we stop actively pursuing our walk in the truth. When we stop coming to church on a regular basis. We start skipping devotions. We make excuses why we can’t go to Bible study or attend some special event at church. And sooner or later, without realizing it, we are backslidden. We have abandoned the truth for a lie. We think we can live without abiding in Him, without walking with Him, without walking in the truth. We fall for the lie of the devil.
John said I was happy to see some of your children walking in the truth. Any pastor, any elder of the church is happy to see his people walking in the truth. Because they know when a person stops walking in the truth, it’s like walking down hill. You find it easy at first, and then you start picking up speed, and then before you know it, you’re falling head over heals, and end up bruised and broken.
I urge you today to examine your walk in light of the truth which we have been preaching today, and see if you are abiding in the truth, and the truth is abiding in you. If it is not, then I urge you to call on the Lord to forgive you, to restore a right spirit within you, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, so that you might be brought back into fellowship with Him.
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