Read with Me
2 John 7-13 (HCSB)
Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves so you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it, does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and don’t say, “Welcome,” to him; for the one who says, “Welcome,” to him shares in his evil works.
Though I have many things to write to you, I don’t want to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to be with you and talk face to face so that our joy may be complete.
The children of your elect sister send you greetings.
Listen with Me
At this time in history, several heresies had sprung up and were leading some of the disciples off the path. Among the most damaging of these was Gnosticism, which denied the divinity of Jesus, claiming that He was just a man who had gained enlightenment, and whose teachings could thus serve as a guide for others to receive that same enlightenment themselves.
John was strong in his condemnation of these heretics, identifying them as deceivers (those who intentionally lead others astray) and antichrists (people who have taken a stand against the reality of who Jesus is and what He has done). And he warns “the elect lady” that to follow such deceivers off the path is to follow them all the way to perdition. In fact, he uses very straightforward and, to our modern ears, harsh language, saying that anyone who turns away from the true teaching about Jesus, that He was and is the eternal Son of God made flesh, does not know God or have fellowship with him. They are simply lost and condemned to an eternity in hell.
But such a warning is not harsh, simply truthful. It was important that all the disciples realized that these heretical leaders, some of whom were charismatic and well-educated, could lead them off the true path if they were given any quarter, any entrée into their lives.
It was for that reason that John warned his reader that should one of these heretical leaders come into town, none of the believers were to offer him or her the hospitality that was the norm in those days. They were not to provide food or lodging to them, because John saw how that would not only allow them to access to the household to teach their heresies, but how it also provided material support that enabled them to continue to spread their lies.
John realized that he could go on much longer in this cautionary teaching. But he had made his point, so he chose to close his letter with his intention to visit this woman and her household, and likely the congregation that she was a part of, to discuss this matter more fully. So, he simply gave her greetings from her family members whom he knew, and prepared to send the letter off.
Pray with Me
Father, it is easy to see that John had no patience with heretics, not because he was unloving or narrow-minded, but because he knew the potential they brought with them to shipwreck devout souls. A part of their teaching was that the sins of the body did not corrupt the soul, which they taught was made of a completely different substance than the flesh, so that the two were independent of each other. Thus, they encouraged people to sin, and assured them that such “freedom of the flesh” proved that they were truly enlightened. But of course, that went against everything that Jesus Himself taught, and everything His disciples had passed on. It led believers off the narrow road of righteousness and holiness and into the broad road of sin and bondage that leads to hell. Lord, help me, help us all today, to be diligent in our devotion to You, true to Your teachings, and resistant to the siren song of the supposedly “enlightened” people who are teaching a different gospel, a different Jesus, and a freedom that is really a bondage to sin and corruption. Amen.