From Pastor Perry

3 John 13–15 (ESV)

Final Greetings

¹³ I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

¹⁵ Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

It is interesting that I don’t have much to say, but the Lutheran Study Bible has a lot.  “John gives Christ’s blessing of peace and extends the greetings of all of Gaius’s friends in Ephesus. John withholds all that he might say about Diotrephes until he meets with Gaius face-to-face. Today, when called upon to tell the truth in any controversial situation, you should exercise similar care and discretion. The peace with which the apostle John blesses Gaius is a peace that none can take away; it is peace not as the world gives, but only as Christ gives.”

I pray: Heavenly Father, You called each one of us by name through Baptism into Your Son. Grant us the peace that passes all understanding, which is beyond the reach of men who put themselves first. Keep us in Christ’s peace until the day when we have no more need for the Word of God on paper and in ink—for then we shall see Christ the Word face-to-face. Amen.^[1]

3 John 11–12 (ESV)

Support and Opposition

¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. ¹² Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

Today’s reading says to do not imitate evil. Christians were not to use their influence or position to gain personal power in the congregation. The Church already has a supreme head, Christ. Believers serve Him and follow Him (cf Lk 22:24–27). We are to walk in the light, not in darkness.

I pray: O Lord help me to seek good and protect me from evil.  Amen.

3 John 5-10

Support and Opposition

⁵ Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, ⁶ who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. ⁷ For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

⁹ I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. ^[1]

Since Christian teachers could not accept any monetary help from pagans, they had to receive all of their support from fellow Christians. When they supported those who taught the truth, Christians were working for the truth of the Gospel.^[2]

I pray: O Lord, help the church to support the church workers.  Amen.

3 John 1–4 (ESV)

Greeting

¹ The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

² 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. ³ For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Walking in the truth is not a Christian option.  In fact, we are commanded to live our faith.  This is not Gospel, but Law.  Whether you are looking at Ephesians 2:8-10, or yesterday’s 2 John reading, we are to live our faith.  Our life is to be a living sacrifice.  We don’t want to hear this, but it is all over the New Testament.  We are to be walking in the truth.  I just got back from a circuit conference which was led by Dr. Joel Biermann from Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis. This was part of his topic.  The timing of 2 John and 3 John fit into our conference.  Wow.

I pray: O heavenly Father, help us to walk in the truth, not just verbal, but in action too.  Amen.

2 John 1:4-13

Walking in Truth and Love

⁴ I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. ⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. ⁹ Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹ for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

¹² Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

¹³ The children of your elect sister greet you. ^[1]

Since 2 John is so short, we will cover this in two days, so here is day 2.  I love John’s Epistles, they are short and to the point.  There is a lot to be said about “walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father."  We are not only commanded to talk the talk, but to walk the walk.  We are to be actively living our faith.  I find that too often in the Lutheran Church, we talk the talk, but are complacent in walking the walk.  John says “you should walk in it.”  John also warns us to “watch yourselves” against the antichrist who is trying to derail your walk with the Lord.  Part of the warning is found in his statement: “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”  How do we know what this teaching is unless we go to church and study God’s Word.  It is convenient to not read it and to not know how we are to walk, which leaves us walking how we want to walk instead of walking in God’s.  This is one of the reasons that I write this blog site is to bring God’s Word to you on a daily basis.

I pray: O Lord, help me to hunger for your Word and your ways.  I know I fall short, but like King David, I ask to “renew a right spirit in me.”  I repent of my sins, “restore the joy of my salvation.” Amen.