Alright brethren, let's go back
now to the second epistle of John. I just want to read the
first three verses. The elder unto the elect lady
and her children whom I love in the truth, and not I only,
but also all they that have known the truth for the truth's sake. which dwelleth in us and shall
be with us forever. Grace be with you, mercy and
peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father, in truth and love. I've titled this Love for
the Truth's Sake. Love for the truth's sake. Now let me draw your attention
to what John says here concerning truth and love. He says of God's
elect there in verse 1, Whom I love in the truth. Speaking of God's elect, he said,
Whom I love in the truth. And then he says there in verse
1, This is true of all they that have known the truth. All who
have known the truth love one another in the truth. All God's
elect who have known the truth love one another in the truth.
And then he says, verse 2, for the truth's sake. We all love
in the truth for the truth's sake. And then he tells us, he
ends it by saying that grace, mercy and peace from God our
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ His Son are in truth and
love. He mentions truth and love here
repeatedly. Repeatedly. All the elect of
God love one another in the truth for the truth's sake because
we are saved in truth and love. We love one another in the truth. We love one another for the truth's
sake and we do so because we are saved in truth and love. Now the first thing I want to
begin with is something I don't normally do. I want to jump down
to verse 3 and I want to begin with this. This is his greeting,
but in this greeting we have the gospel. All God's elect are
saved in truth and love. He says grace be with you, mercy
and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ
the Son of the Father in truth and love. God is truth. We saw in 1 John, he said God
is light. That's the same as saying God
is truth. He's light. In Him is no darkness at all.
And we also heard John say in the 1st epistle that God is love. And Christ, the Son of God, is
God in human flesh. Whatever God the Father is, Christ
the Son is. Christ is the truth. He said,
I am the truth. No man comes to the Father but
by me. And Christ is love. Because God is love. And He's
God. He's God in human flesh. Now
He tells us here, grace be with you, mercy and peace. Who's the
source of all grace, all mercy and all peace? Who is the source
of it? Who works it in His people and
for His people? It's from God the Father. It
says it clearly there, from God the Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. God the Father elected
His people by grace, apart from anything in us, and He did that
in His Son. Doing so, God the Father had
mercy on His elect. He withheld from us what we deserved,
and He did this in His Son, in the surety from the foundation
of the world. And then God sent Christ into
this world and God was in Christ reconciling the world of His
elect unto Himself not imputing our trespasses unto us because
He made Him sin for us who knew no sin. That we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him and thereby God wrought peace
for all His elect. All grace, all mercy and all
peace is from God the Father from the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father. And He saved His elect, He did
all this in Christ in truth and love. Everything He did, He did
in truth and love. Why God would love me, I have
no idea. It just is of God. Why He would love a sinner like
me is entirely of God apart from anything in me. And the same
is true of you and all His elect. It's not of anything in us. It's simply of God. And that
love is one place. It's in Christ only. We saw that
in Romans 8. Who shall separate us from the
love of God? And He said there's nothing that
will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus. That's the only place God loves
is in Christ. He loves those He put in Christ. He chose us in Christ. Blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ according as He chose
us in Him. And this is all of His love,
free, unmerited love that's of the Father. And when He sent
forth His Son, God did not love His people in lies and iniquity
and unjustly. The Scripture says, He's the
rock. His work is perfect. All His ways are judgment. A God of truth without iniquity,
just and right is He. We just sing, Holy, Holy, Holy. We worship one God in three persons. That's why we sing, Holy, Holy,
Holy. He's the thrice holy God. That means whatever He does,
He's going to do it in judgment. He's going to do it justly. It's
going to be right. It's going to be done in truth.
Scripture says all His works are done in truth. Now, you and
I, who He came to save, we're sinners. So if God's going to
show us mercy, He's not going to just overlook the fact that
we're sinners. He's not going to just sweep
our sin under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist. The soul that
sinneth must die. We have got to be dealt with.
in order for God to remain just. This is the whole issue. This
is what God is declaring. He is showing us how He is righteous. That's the whole purpose of making
this world. That's the whole purpose of sending
forth His Son into this world is to show God's character. Holy. Holy God. Just and right. Righteous. That's God. That's
who He is. And so He sent His only Son into
this world to be made flesh so He would actually truly take
the place of His people. He had to come and be made in
our likeness so real that He could absolve our sins. And the
way He did that was He came and was made flesh like unto His
brethren. He came, the one who gave the
law, came and made Himself to be under the law. And He walked
through this earth as the one man God looked to. The one man
God looked to. He's the God-man. God looked
to Him. I was just talking to Melinda
about this the other day. He's God. He proved He was God. He showed several times He's
God by the miracles He wrought and how when they came to arrest
Him, He announced who He was, I am, and when He did, they fell
on the ground. But while He walked this earth,
He made Himself servant to the Father. Just like a believer
has to trust the Father. Christ made Himself servant to
the Father, trusting the Father for everything. That's why He
said in John 6, All that the Father gives Me shall come to
Me. He was, as the servant of God,
He wasn't saying, I'm going to draw them to Me. He was saying,
All the Father gives Me will come to Me. The Father is going
to draw them to Me. And He was trusting the Father
to draw them to Him as He walked this earth. He was in all points
depending upon the Father. And He goes to the cross. And
He willingly submits Himself to be the Lamb of God. To have
the sin of God's people laid on Him. To be made sin in the
place of His people. And to suffer all the wrath of
God in place of His people. So that then he gave up the spirit,
he gave up the ghost, and he died and was put in a tomb. And he trusted the Father to
raise him. He could raise himself, but he
said, into thy hands commend thou my spirit. He trusted the
Father perfectly. So that he is the perfect faithful
believer who fulfilled the law perfectly, and then took the
sin of His people and justified His people perfectly and in all
of that trusted the Father perfectly and fulfilled all the law and
honored God, exalted the Father to the highest. So do you think
God the Father is going to look to me and you now? when He sent
His Son and His Son bore what He bore and fulfilled what He
fulfilled in such perfection, do you think He's going to look
to you to do the work that's required to bring yourself to
God? Of course not. You and I must
cast our care on Christ. We must trust Him alone to bring
us to the Father. But God the Father sent His Son
and did this because He saves in truth. He saves in truth. He did it in judgment. He did
it justly, righteously, without iniquity. He made mercy and truth
kiss in harmony. So that His justice was not offended
and His mercy was not offended. They are both perfectly, fully
intact. Mercy and truth. and that's because
he's a God of truth. That's how God loves. This love
men are talking about where they say God loves everybody and he's
got a plan for you, but the little sinner's got to let God do something. That love, let me tell you something,
that love is completely foreign to this book right here. It's
completely foreign to this book. They didn't get that out of this
book. That's a man's own imagination
twisting the word of God to try to make it say what he wants
it to say. The love of God is a holy love. And he saves in
Christ, in judgment, in justice, in righteousness, in perfection. That's how he saves. And God
didn't reveal the truth to us by lies either. Now that statement
I just made is an absurd statement if you think about it. I shouldn't
have to say God did not reveal the truth to us through the preaching
of lies. That's just an absurd statement.
But preaching is the one area where men think sinners can be
brought to the truth through the preaching of a lie. They can't. And God doesn't bring
them to the truth through the preaching of a lie. You think
He would have sent His Son to uphold the truth and go to such
lengths as to crucify His own Son in the place of His people
and then save through lies that dishonor His Son? Of course not. He sent the gospel to us and
the preacher that Christ sent to us spoke the truth in love. He spoke the truth in love that
we might grow up into Him in all things which is the head,
even Christ. The Holy Spirit of truth led
us into all truth through the gospel of truth. This is who
God is. Christ is indeed the way and
the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by
Him. Everything God did to save us, He did it in truth. In truth. So truth and love are of God. And truth and love, therefore,
are inseparable. wherever God has put love, when
He's made a new heart in that child that He's made to be born
again, that new nature, that new man in you is going to be
created in truth and is going to be a lover of truth. And also,
He's going to be created in love. He's going to have the fruit
of the Spirit, which is love. They can't be separated. Where
you have the truth, you're going to have love. And where you have
love, that's a true believer. True believer. So therefore,
secondly now, now let's go back to verse 1. All God's elect love
one another in the truth. In the truth. Verse 1, he says,
The elder unto the elect lady and her children whom I love
in the truth. Now we don't know if John's writing
to a particular elect woman and her children or if he's writing
to the church and calling the local church the elect lady and
her children, those that are members of that local church,
it could be either way. But either way, he's writing
to the elect. That's who he's writing to. That
includes you and me sitting here today who are the elect of God.
If you're the elect of God, He's talking to you. That's who He's
writing to. So it really doesn't matter,
but in the New Testament, believers are called the elect more than
any other name, with one exception, and that's saints. They're called
saints more often, but right behind that, they're called the
elect. And that's fitting, because everybody that God elected in
eternity, He sanctifies in time. to the belief of the truth. Listen
to this, 2 Thessalonians 2.13, you're very familiar with it.
We're bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. There's election. Through sanctification
of the Spirit, that's how we're made saints. Through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. whereunto he called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. So it's to the elect that John
writes and he says this, whom I love in the truth. God's elect love one another
in the truth and this is so of all his elect. He says and not
I only. John is not just saying this
is just me that loves this select lady in the truth. He is saying
also all they that have known the truth. All who have known
the truth love in the truth. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. And every one that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that has begotten of him. We all love
one another. All the elect do. But it's a
narrow love. It's a love in the truth. It's
a love in the truth. Notice it's not merely truth,
but he says the truth. There's only one truth. There's
only one truth. The truth is Christ Jesus, the
Son of God. He is the truth. All the elect
are made to know Him when we're born of God. He's who we're brought
to know. And He is the truth. Ephesians
4.21 says, if so be that you've heard Him and have been taught
by Him as the truth is in Jesus. We hear Him, we're taught by
Him, and the truth we're taught is all wrapped up in the Lord
Jesus Christ. That verse 2 there where He says,
which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever, that's Christ
the truth. Christ the truth dwells in His
people. and He shall be with His people
forever, and will be with Him forever. And all God's elect
born of God know the truth of Christ. All who are born of God,
taught of God, know the truth of Christ. Remember John said
in 1 John chapter 2, He said, You have an unction from the
Holy One, and you know all things. You know all things. We know
who Christ is, He's God in human flesh, so that He's a man, a
real man, so that He took our place as our head and representative,
and He's God, eternal God, so that everything He accomplished
is eternal. We know what He accomplished. He came forth, and by His blood,
He redeemed His particular people, so that He's our wisdom, our
righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. And we know
where He is now. He's risen, He's reigning, and
He's ruling, bringing the gospel to each one He redeemed and revealing
the truth in us in love. That's what He's doing. We know
the truth. We know the truth in love. And
the truth also not only includes Christ who is the truth, it's
all the doctrine of Christ. It's all the doctrine that Christ
Himself teaches us in His Word concerning how we're to conduct
ourselves for His glory and the edification of His people. Christ
taught us a lot. Doctrine means teaching and Christ
taught us how we're to walk in this world so as to honor Him
and so as to be used of Him for the edification of our brethren.
And that's included. For instance, remember when the
Apostle Peter, Paul was writing about him in Galatians and Peter
was sitting at that table eating with the Gentiles. And when the
Jews walked up, Peter got up and left the table with the Gentiles
and went over and sat at the table with the Jews. And Paul
wrote and he said, when I saw that they walked not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel. That's what he called
that. He called it walking not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel. Why? Because here was
Peter who lived as a Gentile, eating whatever Gentiles ate,
and knowing that he's not saved by the works of the law, and
yet when these Jews come up, he got up and went over there
and sat down with the Jews, and Paul said, and by that you're
compelling, you're compelling these Gentiles to live as do
the Jews. You're telling the Gentiles that
they'd be better off living like the Jews. He should have been
doing just the opposite. Telling the Jews they'd be better
off living like the Gentiles. Because we're saved by grace
through faith in Christ apart from our works. But you get what
I'm saying? He didn't walk uprightly according
to the truth. His conduct led believers in
error. And so Paul said something about
it. My point about that is, brethren,
is that character and conduct matter. Character and conduct
do matter. A preacher can speak the truth
and be correct in his doctrine, what he preaches, and yet deny
the doctrine of Christ by mistakenly leading sinners into a serious
error as Peter did. I just read to you. He said he
walked not uprightly according to the gospel. And he didn't
mean to do that. It was a mistake on Peter's part,
but a preacher can do that. And he leads believers into error. Or he can be more nefarious about
it and be after filthy lucre, after personal covetous gain,
or after personal glory, or by sowing discord or something like
that. And he can totally deny the gospel. He may be speaking
the truth with his mouth. And that might be all men hear.
but out of the pulpit by his conduct, totally denying the
gospel of Christ. So if anyone comes doing that,
brethren, denying the doctrine of Christ in word or deed, what
are we supposed to do? That's not in truth, is it? We
love in truth, don't we? And that's not in truth, is it?
So what are we to do? Look at verse 7. Let's look down at verse 10.
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house, neither bid him God's speed. For he that
biddeth him God's speed is partaker of his evil deed. So he says,
no, we're not to love one who's doing that. That's not in the
truth. That's not in the truth. He's
denying the gospel. Now if it's a brother that you
love, like Peter, you love him and correct him and you know,
but he's saying if there's somebody that's an antichrist, you don't
bid him God's be. That's not in the truth. It's
not in the truth. We love in the truth. Now lastly,
I want you to see this. God's elect love one another
in the truth for the truth's sake. for the truth's sake. Look there in verse 1, he says
the elder unto the elect whom I love in the truth, verse 2,
for the truth's sake. Now you take a husband and a
wife, they marry, they vow to love one another for better or
for worse. That means come what may, they're
together. Now if they love one another,
If they really love one another, then nothing is going to separate
them. Nothing is going to separate them because they love one another.
They made a vow before God, so whatever the worst ends up being,
they are going to stay together. Nothing is going to separate
them. Believers have something even stronger. We have something
even stronger. It's called the love of the truth. the love of the truth. It's supernatural. It's of God the Holy Spirit.
It's created in us by God and many waters cannot quench this
love. It can't be quenched. It's of
God. God sustains it. It can't be quenched. It's a
love for the truth. We don't love our brother or
our sister because they're necessarily lovable. In fact, a lot of time, we just
aren't lovable. That's just the truth of it.
Because we're sinners. And that's just how it is. But
we love one another for the truth's sake. Listen to this. Go back to 1 John 4, 10 and look
at this. Isn't that how God loved us?
Look at verse 10. Hearing His love, not that we
loved God, we weren't lovable, were we? We weren't loving Him,
but He loved us. And sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us,
if He loved us after that manner, we ought also to love one another
after that manner. We love one another for the truth's
sake. Not because somebody is lovable. and treated me just like they
ought to treat me. There can be a lot of times we're
not going to be treated like we ought to be treated. There
can be a lot of times I don't treat you like I ought to treat
you. And that's how we ought to think about it. Not so much
that that brother's not treating me like I ought to be treated,
I don't treat you like you ought to be treated. That's how we're
to look at these things. God's elect not only know the
truth, we have to have the truth preached to us. We want to know
more of the truth of Christ. We want to know more. You ever
encountered a will worshiper and you start talking to him
about the doctrine of election or the doctrine of predestination
or you talk to him about the doctrine of particular redemption
and they close up their ears and they say something like this.
The thief on the cross didn't know that. I've heard that over
and over and to be honest with you, that's just not a very good
argument. It's not a very good argument. The thief on the cross
had an unction from the Holy One and knew all things the same
as every elect child of God when we come to Christ. When the comforters
come, Christ said, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. He means that this is what the
Holy Spirit convinces all His people of when He brings you
to faith in Christ. He convinces you of sin because
you believe not on Christ. He convinces you of righteousness
because Christ has gone to the Father and you see Him no more.
This gospel is the righteousness of God and therein the righteousness
of God is revealed. And He reveals to you, judgment
is settled because the prince of this world is judged. And
this every believer knows, brethren. Every believer knows. But the
elect child of God is not running from the truth. We're not trying
to see how little truth we can know and still be saved. We want
to know more truth of Christ. When you love somebody, you started
You started dating Rob. You want to know everything you
could about him once you fell in love with him. And that's
how it is. When you fall in love with somebody,
you want to know all you can know about him. You don't want
to, oh, don't tell me anything about him. I don't want to know
more about him. I want to know everything about him. More about
Jesus what I know, more of His grace to others show, more of
His saving fullness see, more of His love who died for me.
That's the believer's heart. And God's pleased to give that
knowledge through the preaching of the gospel that glorifies
Christ. That's how He's pleased to give
it. And therefore, for the truth's sake, for the truth's sake, I
must preach the gospel of Christ for no other motive than for
the truth's sake. That's it. Just for the truth's
sake. Go to 1 Corinthians 9 and look
at this. 1 Corinthians 9 and look at verse
19. Paul says, Though I be free from
all, yet I have made myself servant unto all that I might gain the
more. To the Jews I became as a Jew
that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law
is under the law, that I might gain them that are under the
law. To them that are without law is without law, being not
without law to God, but under the law of Christ, that I might
gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak,
that I might gain the weak. I made all things to all men,
that I might by all means save some, and this I do. Why? For the gospel's sake. I sell
the reason. I do it for the truth's sake,
that I might be partaker thereof with you. That's the motive for
all Christ's true preachers, is for the truth's sake. That's
it. That's it. And then for the truth's
sake, because we must have the gospel of Christ preached to
us week in and week out, because we all must have it, and we all
have to have each other to have it. Unless somebody here is just
going to volunteer to pawn everything you've got and sell your property
and foot the bill, we're all going to have to have each other
to have the gospel. So, when I'm offended, what am
I going to do? Forgive. Forgive. Look at Ephesians 4 verse 30. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption, that all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking
be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ's sake. for the truth's sake has forgiven
you. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved
us and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet smelling savor. There it is again, walk in love
for the truth's sake, for Christ's sake. So as God's elect, let
me ask you this, You that are God's elect, you that know the
truth and know what Christ has suffered for you, is there anything
that your brother could do to hurt your feelings so much that
you'd walk away from the gospel of Christ who suffered the cross
for you? Is there anything that a brother
could do to you short of denying Christ Himself? Is there anything
a brother could do that would be worth walking away from the
gospel of Christ? Nothing. Not if you know the
truth and love for the truth's sake. Nothing. Listen to this, The kingdom of
heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, to which when
a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and
selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. You found
the treasure in the field. That's what we found. It's like
a merchant man, Christ said, seeking goodly pearls, and he's
found one pearl of great price. And when he's found it, he sells
all that he has and buys it. That's what we have when we have
Christ and the gospel of Christ. We found the treasure. So we're
willing to part with anything and everything so we can keep
this treasure. Buy the truth and sell it not,
Solomon said. So for the truth's sake, God's
elect are willing to take the wrong. Somebody accused you wrongly,
so what? They could have got it right
if they had just kept on accusing. They would have hit it sooner
or later. There's a lot they could accuse me of. We bear one another's burdens.
And that's true love. That's the love of Christ. Go
to Galatians 6. We do this for the truth's sake.
Look at Galatians chapter 6. This is true love, brethren.
Verse 1, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, and that's
what happens, isn't it? We just become overtaken in a
fault. You don't mean to fall into a
fault, you just get overtaken in a fault. You which are spiritual,
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself,
lest you also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens.
That means bear one another's sins. Bear one another's offenses. Bear one another's shortcomings. And so fulfill the law of Christ. That's the law of love. so fulfill
the law of love. For if a man thinks himself to
be something when he's nothing, and that's what we do when we
won't bear with our brethren and we won't forgive and we are
so insistent, we're thinking ourselves something when we're
nothing and we're deceiving ourselves. So for the truth's sake, there's
something else. We stand up for brethren, we
defend one another, we provide for one another, We do whatever
is needed for one another because here is why. What we do to our
brethren, we are doing to the truth Himself. Go to Matthew
25. Whatever we do to our brother,
we are doing to the truth Himself. Matthew 25 and look at verse
34. Christ said on that day when
He put the goats on His left hand and the sheep on His right
hand, Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand,
Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungered
and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger and you took
me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was
sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a-hungered, and fed thee,
or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch
as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me. Do you get what I'm saying? We
do whatever is necessary to help one another, to provide for one
another, to defend one another, to comfort one another, because
whatever we do to one another, we're doing it to the truth Himself. And so for the truth's sake,
we love one another in the truth. But as Christ taught us, three
out of four kinds of hearers have not been born of the truth.
Three out of four. The wayside hearer never hears
anything. He just doesn't even make a profession.
But then there's two other kinds that make a profession. There's
the stony ground hearer. But here's the problem. He endures
for a little while, but he doesn't have any root in himself. And when tribulation or persecution
arises because of the Word, rather than defend his brethren Love
and comfort provide for brethren. For the truth's sake, he's offended. And then you have those that
are the thorny ground hearers. They hear the word and the care
of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and
he becomes unfruitful. Three out of four kinds of hearers
don't hear. They don't hear. but you who
are born of the truth. The truth dwelleth in us and
shall be with us forever. And therefore you love in the
truth. You love in the truth. And you love for the truth's
sake. For Christ's sake. And therefore you walk in the
truth. That means you continue in Christ. You continue in the
doctrine of Christ. You continue under the gospel
of Christ. You continue loving those Christ
loves for Christ's sake. For the truth's sake. Look at
verse 4. 2 John verse 4, I rejoice greatly
that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we received
a commandment from the Father. You see there the Father commanded
that. Now I beseech thee lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment
unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that
we love one another. And this is love, that we walk
after His commandments. He just told us what they are.
Walk in the truth and walk in love. That's love. That's love. That's God-created love. To walk
in the truth of Christ, do everything for the truth's sake, in love
to your brethren. That's love. And look what He
says in verse 8 now. Look to yourselves, brethren,
that we lose not those things we've gained, but that we receive
a full reward, that we receive God the Father and God the Son.
Abide in Him is what He's saying. So here's what I want to end
with. Brethren, Love one another in the truth. Love one another
in the truth. Whatever is not in the truth, we are not commanded to love
outside of the truth. And when a brother or sister
is not being lovable, don't act surprised. Don't be disappointed.
They are just sinners like you are. But love them for the truth's
sake. For the truth's sake. Take pleasure
in affirmities and in reproaches and necessities and persecutions
and in distresses for Christ's sake, for the truth's sake. Because
when you're the weakest, that's when you're the strongest. And
if you've never believed on the truth, if you've never cast all
your care on the truth, I pray God give you grace right now
to cast your care on Him. That's the only salvation there
is, Christ the truth. Amen.