Second John. Second John. The name of the message is the
doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of Christ. We're finally, Lord willing,
finished this study tonight in Second John. It's only been four
messages, but it's been wonderful to go through this little book.
And then next week, Lord willing, we'll start on Third John. Now
we'll have accomplished the letters, the epistles of John. Let's read this wonderful letter
again that John, the beloved disciple who laid his head upon
Christ's breast, that wonderful letter that he wrote to the elect
lady. 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
unto you, mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I found
of thy children walking in truth. as we have received a commandment
from the Father. And 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. This is the commandment
that, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in
it. For many deceivers are entered
into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose
not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive
a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not. Receive him not into
your house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him Godspeed
is partaker of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto
you, I would not write with paper and ink, But I trust to come
unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister
greet thee. Amen. So we've seen so far in
our study of this letter the importance of walking in truth,
which is Christ, and love, which is the love of God shed abroad
in our hearts. And this will cause us, of course,
to love the brethren, as we saw in 1 John, the whole study of
that book. Let's read verses 7 to 8 here
again, where we see an exhortation by John the Apostle to beware
of deceivers. And we see that there's not just
a few, but John says there's many. There's many. And it's
true of today, too, beloved. There's nothing new under the
sun. And John declares, and he proclaims by inspiration of the
Holy Spirit of God, that these false teachers, these deceitful
workers, are Antichrist, which means against Christ. Verses
seven and eight. For many deceivers are entered
into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose
not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive
a full reward. Again, the truth is the only
discloser of a lie. And the believer in Christ studies
the truth. We study the word of God. We
listen to the gospel of God's free grace preached and proclaimed.
We sit under the preaching of the gospel. And we can, by the
power of the Holy Spirit of God, of course, discern that which
is truth and that which is error. In our natural state, we could
never do that. When we were religious, we could never do that. But when
you're born again in the Holy Spirit of God, and by the power
of God, we can now discern truth and error. Truth and error. And
we can see in verse 7 that false teachers had crept into the church. They
deceive concerning Christ as God. They deceive concerning
Christ as God manifests in the flesh. This is a central aspect
of their deception. This is a central aspect of their
deception. And again, it's a direct attack
to deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. To deny that
God himself became a man. The union of two natures. God,
the nature of God, and the nature of man. To deny that is a direct attack
against the perfect propitiatory sacrifice of Christ's material
body. Because it says in this, in 1
John 4.10, it says, and this is love, not that we love God,
but that he loved us and sent his son as a propitiation for
our sins. So to deny that Christ came in
the flesh is to deny that scripture over there in 1 John 4.10. To
deny the the propitiatory work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
you deny the whole reason He came. Wouldn't you deny that? Last week, we looked at that,
to deny the Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh, also to deny
His successful redemption, isn't it? It's to deny that. If you deny that He was God incarnated
in the flesh, you deny the successful redemption that He completed,
the perfect, sinatoning redemption work, the atoning, sin atoning
work that he did. You deny all that if you deny
that Christ didn't come in the flesh. And beloved, that's the
only payment that God will accept for our sins. So therefore we
can conclude that a person who denies that does not know God.
Does not know God at all, because it's God himself who sent Christ
into this world. To be the sacrifice for the sins
of his people. And this is a denial of the gospel
at its core, beloved. It's a denial of the gospel at
its core, of salvation in and through Christ alone. Because
we are only justified before God through Christ. Through Christ. We are only redeemed and saved
from our sins through Christ. And by His shed blood, only by
His shed blood, Are we accepted by God? Accepted in the Beloved?
Accepted in who's the Beloved? Christ. Accepted in Him. So you
see, then to deny that Christ came in flesh, it's the denial
of the central core of the Gospel. And now knowing that deceivers
have entered into the world, John admonishes the elect lady
to take caution. To take caution whom she has
in her home. Remember in our first study,
I believe it was, we looked at how several commentators thought
that the church met in her home. Met in her home. And so we can see why John, I
mean, was warning her. And this warning is for us today
too, beloved. This warning is for us today,
too, because there are many deceivers in this world, many wolves in
sheep clothing, proclaiming that they have fellowship with God,
but they are liars. And if it were possible, they
would deceive the very elect, if it were possible. And how do they deceive, folks?
By a counterfeit of the truth, by a counterfeit of the truth.
It may sound somewhat similar, because they have to use certain
things, right? But there's always a counterfeit. You know what's
always in it? Man. Man. Something man's got to do.
Something man's got to do. We preach Christ did it all.
He's a successful savior. He did it all. He did it all, beloved. Everything. He accomplished it. Turn, if
you would, to Isaiah 53. When I was studying this week,
I came across this. This was, I want to share this
with you. Look at this. Isaiah 53. We all
know, we're all familiar with Isaiah 53. But look what it talks
about here. What natural man thinks of Christ?
Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? Natural man does not believe
the report that God gives of his son, right? Not at all. For he shall go up before him
as a tended plant, as a root of the dry ground, and he hath
no form nor calmliness. And when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire. That's natural man. No desire
for Christ. None. None. So that's how natural
man sees Christ. No desire for him. No desire. Now, let's see how The believer
looks at Christ and what we see in Christ. Look at verse four.
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he
was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. With his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity. of us all. That's how we as believers
see Christ. He's our substitute. He's our
substitute. Now, let's see how God sees Christ.
Look at this, starting in verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to
bruise him. He hath put him to To grief,
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall
see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hands. He shall see the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
So we see him, beloved. That's how God sees him, right? A successful Savior. He's satisfied.
So you see how the unbeliever sees him? No beauty, nothing.
The believer looks at Christ and we see our substitute, wounded
for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. And the father
looks at Christ and sees the acceptable sacrifice, beloved. So those who deny that Christ
came in the flesh are lumped in with those at the beginning
of Isaiah 53. They don't see any beauty in
Christ, not at all. And all they're out to do is
just to deceive people, just to deceive people. So we see
here in our text in exhortation a warning for the elect lady
to be careful, suggesting that she could be deceived as many
others were when she's told in verse 8 to look to herself. This is not to look inward, beloved,
as we looked at last week. This is to watch yourself. This
is to watch yourself. Be on guard. Be on guard. Because there's many deceivers
out there. Many deceivers. Let's read verses 9 to 11 now.
2 John 9 to 11. Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any
unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house.
Neither bid him God speak. For he that biddeth him Godspeed
is a partaker of his evil deeds." What we see here, verse 9, brings
forth that, "...whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, hath not God." That's not hard to understand, is it?
It's not at all. Very plain language is spoken
here by John. And remember, this is inspired
by the Holy Spirit of God. Very clear. Whosoever transgresses,
that's not talking about the law of God, because all of mankind
has transgressed the law of God. Every single one of us. And we
do it daily in thought, word, and deed. But the person who
denies the doctrine of Christ, the Messiah, has not, knows not,
and believes not God. Has not, knows not, and believes
not God. The person who denies. The person
who denies that Christ has come in the flesh, who denies the
doctrine of Christ. And transgresseth here in the
Greek means beyond or contrary to. It means to be contrary to,
beloved. So it's to be contrary to the
doctrine of Christ. And that's interesting when you
start to look at these words and what they mean. It brings
a deeper meaning to that. So he's basically saying whosoever
It goes contrary and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
hath not God. Hath not God. Goes contrary to
the doctrine of Christ. So the false teachers, the deceivers,
are teaching things contrary to the doctrine of Christ. Contrary
to the doctrines of Christ. The doctrine of Christ concerns
these things. His person as the Son of God.
His person as the Son of God. and the union of two natures,
divine and human, in one person. He's the God-man. He's the God-man. Also, his offices is mediator,
surety, prophet, priest, and king. Those are all things concerning
the doctrine of Christ. He's our one mediator between
God and man. He's our prophet, he's our priest,
and he's our king, beloved. Also, his redemptive work, his
obedience. His suffering, His death, His
resurrection, and His ascension. All these are included in the
doctrine of Christ. And also His return to judge
and to reign. That's all included in the doctrine
of Christ as well. It's all concerning the person
and work of Christ. And this is the doctrine, beloved,
of King Messiah. King Messiah, that's who our
Savior is. He is King Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the
doctrine of redemption and eternal glory, in the man or woman who
abides in the truth of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
Has both the Father and the Son. We have an interest in both of
them and a knowledge of them that we didn't have before we
were born again. But now we do. Now we do. So the doctrine of Christ concerns
the exclusiveness of Christ's person. It concerns the exclusiveness
of Christ's person, of His work, of what He came here to do. And
John in the first epistle, turn if you would over to chapter
5, John tells us this in chapter 5, look what he tells us in 1
John, 1 John chapter 5, look what he tells us here. Starting in verse 11, And this is the record that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. It's nowhere else. 1 John 5,
11. He that hath the Son, what? Hath
life. And he that hath not the Son
of God, hath not life. See the contrast again, being
brought before us. These things have I written unto
you, remember John's writing to believers in Christ, born
again believers. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God. Do you believe
on Christ? Yeah. That ye may what? That ye may
know that ye have eternal life. In eternal life, there's eternal
life. It's not based upon us, it's based upon Christ. and that
you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Now let's go
back to our text and read our text again. Look at verse 9 again.
Look how black and white this is. John's not writing so we
don't understand. John's a fisherman. Look how
he writes. Whosoever transgresses and abides
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. Very similar to
what we just read. Cut and dry, isn't it? He that
abides in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. So we can conclude, he who does not abide in the doctrine
of Christ, they don't have the Father and they don't have the
Son. They don't have either. So this speaks
of the exclusiveness of the person of Christ. And this is the record we read
there in 1 John 5. This is the record that God has
given of His Son. That life is only in Christ. It's nowhere
else. It's nowhere else. It's in the
one who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. That's who our life is in. God
incarnate in the flesh. The one who's fully God and fully
man. And beloved of God, this doctrine of Christ was the ministry
and the message of all the apostles. It was the ministry and the message
of all the apostles. And our beloved brother Paul,
he summed it up in 1 Corinthians 2. He said, I am determined to
know nothing among you, save Christ and Him crucified. He
summed it up, didn't he? Oh, he summed it up. And this
doctrine of Christ was the ministry and message of all the apostles.
All of them, it was the sum and substance of their ministry,
their message, Christ and Him crucified. And this is the sum
and substance of every gospel preacher, to preach Christ and
Him crucified. We do not preach ourselves. We
preach not ourselves, but we preach Christ Jesus our Lord,
and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. Now think of this too, in the
last two years of Paul's life, before he was martyred, he spent
those two years in Rome under house arrest. Turn if you would
to Acts. Acts chapter 28. Acts chapter
28. Look at this. Acts chapter 28. Look at verses 30 and 31. He
spent the last two years of his ministry under house arrest before
he was martyred. Look what he's doing, beloved.
Look what he's doing. Verse 28. Be it known therefore
unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles
and that they will hear. And when he said these words,
the Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves. Verse
30. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house
and received all that came unto him. What did he do, beloved?
Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence as no men
forbade him. Look what he did. He spent his
life preaching Christ. Preaching Christ. Brother Norm tells a story of
when he was a landmarker, and they're awful hung up in the
Lord's Supper, and they fence the table and all these things.
And he tells a story of the first time that he talked to Brother
Henry Mahan about all these different things that the landmarkers do.
You know what Henry kept telling him? It's not about that. It's
about Christ. It's not about that. It's about
Christ. What did Paul do? Spend the last
years of his life, right? teaching and preaching the things
concerning our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So we see here
very clearly that Paul preached and believed the doctrine of
Christ. He preached and believed the doctrine of Christ and him
to crucify. This is the message of his ministry.
Christ was his all in all. Christ was the sum and substance
of his message. And we see, let's go back to
our text there, we see even here That it's the same for John and
for every sent one of God to proclaim the good news of salvation
for sinners in and through the complete, perfect, sin-atoning
work of Christ and what he did on the cross. Look what he says
here again. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, so whoever doesn't preach Christ
and him crucified, that is, God incarnate in the flesh, hath
not God. Doesn't matter what they say.
Doesn't matter what they boast in. They have not God. Man adds works to salvation. They have not God. This is serious
stuff. Man says that Christ wasn't God
in the flesh. They have not God. They have
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Well, praise be
to God, he's given us faith that sees Christ for who he really
is, God incarnate in the flesh. We see here that John, at the
end of his letter, he's getting near the end of his letter, he's
bringing forth here that anyone going on ahead, too, that also
means that when it says, whosoever transgresseth and abide not in
the doctrine of Christ, it means in the Greek, when one goes ahead, And here's what they do, listen
to this, here, I'll read this to you quickly. If anyone comes to you, anyone
going on ahead and not abiding in the teaching of Christ does
not have God. The one abiding in the 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 house, and do not tell him to rejoice. For the one telling
him to rejoice partakes in his evil works." That's a literal
Greek interpretation of the underlying Greek text of what we see here. So we see then that John the
Apostle is clearly setting forth what it is to manifest the love
and the truth to walk in truth and love, what it really means.
Now our love for our brethren may be expressed in various ways.
We may demonstrate it just by caring for one another. Just
by caring for one another. We may demonstrate it when we
find out there's a need and we help someone out. And that is all manifesting the
love that we have one for another. But here in the text we see the
preeminent manifestation of the love of God, which is shed abroad
in our hearts. The fact that we abide in the
doctrine of Christ. The fact that we abide in the
doctrine of Christ. This is what John is bringing
forth before the elect lady, and before us here too, by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God. Let's read verses 9 and 10 again
with that in our minds. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine,
the doctrine of Christ, receive him not into your house. Don't
receive him. Don't say, I hope you have a
great day. No. Don't even say that. That's what John Gill said. Don't even say that. Don't even
bid Him Godspeed. No. It's a warning for us here. Whosoever
transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both
the Father and the Son. if there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, again, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine
that Christ is God incarnate in the flesh, the doctrine that
Christ completed the perfect work, sin atoning work of salvation
for his people, all by himself. Period. It's finished, was his
cry. Not it's almost finished. It's
finished. He did it all. He did it all. So they bring not this doctrine
of the finished work of Christ, receive him not into your house,
neither bid him Godspeed. So we see then that those who
know the truth know that it is the truth that binds us together
in love. That's what binds us together
in love, is the doctrine of Christ, which is all about Christ himself,
all about Christ. I was talking to Bruce today
and we were talking about stones made ready and how the Lord's
getting us all ready here, going through persecutions and trials
and tribulations. And then when we get the glory,
we just fit right in. Fit right in the place where
we're supposed to be. Just like how all the work was done off-site
and then they bought those stones of the temple and they just fit
right in. Perfect. No hammer was even heard. All
the chiseling work's done down here, beloved, while we're here
on this earth. That's when all the chiseling work's done. But
I was telling about what I remembered something that Brother Henry
said. And I said, Brother Bruce, I'll never forget that. Brother
Henry Mahan said, and the mortar in between the stones is the
blood of Christ. And he's like, oh, brother, and
that's it. That's it, isn't it? That's it. Christ is what holds
us together, beloved. Keeps us all together. All about
him. It always goes back to him. It
always goes back to him and what he's done. So the truth is what
keeps us together. We may have a falling out with
one another, but it's the love of the truth that always brings
brothers back together, always brings brothers back together
and keeps us on a loving plane, doesn't it? That's all, because
we're here for the furtherance of the gospel, which is all about
Christ, all about Christ. And throughout this letter and
through 1 John, our dear brother John has made it clear that loving
the truth and loving the brother is what enables us to discern
the difference between truth and false teaching. We know that.
Because remember, that same love that's shed abroad in our heart,
also by the power of the Holy Spirit, is His work. He gives
us discernment over what is truth and what is error. It's all the
work of the Holy Spirit of God. It's all His work. And now we've
been warned to look out, to look out, to be aware of false teachers
and deceitful workers. And John then lays out in no
uncertain terms, and with it defines both truth and error.
Take note, he brings before the elect lady the one thing that
is needful, the one thing that is needed, which is, look what
he says, whosoever transgresses and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. So he brings forth
that which is most needful for us is to abide, personally abiding
in the doctrine of Christ. Resting and reposing and looking
to him and him alone. Now so many religious men and
women in our day and in John's day, we know, We don't have to
look very far, but so many people in his day, in John's day, and
in our day, they diminish the value of the doctrine of Christ. And you may ask, how do they
do that? How do they diminish the doctrine of Christ? Well,
they promote such things as this. How to be a successful Christian.
That's diminishing the doctrine of Christ. You know why? Because
it's all about me. That's exactly what it's about. It's getting your eyes near,
oh, I have to do this, oh, I have to do that. I, I, I, I, instead
of looking to Him. And then you know what happens
when all the folks are saying I, I, I, they start looking at
everybody else. and finding fault with everybody
else. You know, when we look to Christ and we keep our eyes
on Christ, we won't be fault finding with other people. Because
we know what we are. We know what we are. Sinners
saved by the grace of God. So they promote these things,
how to live a higher or deeper Christian life. How to be victorious
over sin and over certain things. How to overcome this and how
to overcome that by doing certain things. Of course, there's always
a list of things in these books that tell you what you have to
do. I know, I used to read them. They're actually good fuel for
a fire. That's what they really are. They're good fuel for a
fire. Because in doing this, they've divorced themselves from
the doctrine of Christ. They've actually divorced themselves
from the doctrine of Christ. For what they call important
stuff, they actually vault those things over Christ. Over Christ. Old Scott Richardson had someone
say to him one time, said, all you do is preach Christ. He said,
can you put that on my tombstone, please? All he did was preach
Christ. He said that. Can you please
put that on my tombstone? I know what he means. Because
see, they're never satisfied with just the preaching of Christ.
They always want something else. But we know as believers, we
know this. We know that if we have Christ,
we have everything. And we have a mind that we will
never exhaust in this life. Never. Not even for eternity,
we'll be looking to our King. Oh my goodness, beloved. Oh my
goodness. And some say, well, doctrine
divides. I've heard this before. Doctrine divides. It belongs
in the halls of seminaries. But in truth, beloved, the doctrine
of Christ is the common glue for the believers. It's the common
glue for the believers. It's the glue that binds the
hearts and distinguishes every believer as the lover of Christ.
Turn, if you would, to John 17. John 17. The Gospel of John. Chapter 17. Look at this in verses
15 to 18. John 17 verses 15 to 18. Our
Master praying. He says, I pray not that thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from evil. Now think of this too. When Christ
is praying this prayer, right? He's praying this prayer for
all of his elect. Let that sink in. Let that sink
in. He's praying this for us, beloved.
If we're one of the elect. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from evil, or from the evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth,
thy word, His truth, His Scriptures. Him, Christ Himself. As Thou
hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them
into the world. Beloved, the doctrine of Christ
is what binds us together. It's what binds us together,
beloved. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God, right? If they speak not according to
the Word of God, If they speak not according to the Word of
God, you know what the Scripture says? It's because there's no light
in them. Because there's no light in them. That's pretty plain
and clear, isn't it? That's almost as clear as what
John's writing here when he says, Whosoever transgresseth and abides
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. And he that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. My, very clear. Very clear. So John, here in
our text, he's very clearly drawing the line in the sand, isn't he?
On this matter. And he makes no bones about the
fact that as to the doctrine of Christ, he's talking about
life and death. Notice that? He's talking about life and death.
He says, if you don't abide in this doctrine, you don't have
the Father. But if you do, you have the Father
and the Son. He's talking about eternal life and death here.
Serious stuff. And there's no in-between here.
One either has life in Christ, or one does not. One either abides
in the doctrine of Christ, or one does not. There's no in-between
here. One denies the doctrine of Christ,
that He's God incarnated in the flesh, in His perfect, finished,
atoning work, then He has not life. Man adds one little thing to
salvation, they have no salvation at all. They do not know God. Rejoice if you know Christ. Rejoice
if he's taught you the doctrine of Christ. Because we know you
can't come up with this by studying in our own state. You must be
born again, beloved. You must be born. The Holy Spirit
has to give us an understanding of who we are and what we are,
right? When we're born again, we have a proper understanding
of what we are. We're sinners from the top of our head to the
bottom of our feet. and we desperately need a Savior,
and he points us right to Christ. The only one needful person for
the salvation of a sinner is the perfect, sin-atoning work
of Christ. My. And the Holy Spirit reveals
Christ to us, and we, there's dust behind our feet as we're
running to our Savior. Thy people shall be made willing
in the day of thy in the day of God's power. So again, one's either born again
by the Holy Spirit of God or one's not. One's either a true
believer in Christ or they're not. One either believes the
doctrine of Christ, which is again by God-given faith. The
only reason we believe the doctrine of Christ is by God-given faith.
Or one does not, proven that they're just a false professor.
And the knowledge of the doctrine of Christ is not something, again,
gained through hours of study. No. No. It's by the power of
the Holy Spirit of God. When we're born again with the
Holy Spirit of God. And when we grow in the grace and knowledge
and truth of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the doctrine
of Christ, who Christ is, who He really is, God incarnate in
the flesh. And what He came here to do,
to save His people from their sins. And what the true gospel
of God's saving grace in and through Christ in Him alone.
We're all taught these things. And the believer knows these
to be true. Now, what are some of the consequences of not abiding
in the doctrine of Christ? Well, they go far beyond what
people call a difference of opinion. You ever hear that, people? You
talk to people, well, I just have a different opinion than you.
No, you just don't believe what the Word of God says. It's not
a matter of opinion, you just don't believe what the Word says.
I'm trying to be mean that way, I'm just being honest. They do
not, remember we saw over there in 1 John 5, they do not believe
the record. They do not believe the record,
beloved. Someone asked me how could I tell them they were going
to hell. I said, because you don't believe the record. If you don't believe the record,
you don't have life. Period. You don't believe on
Christ, you don't have life. You don't have life. Some people say this, I've heard
this before, well, your truth's not my truth. This is God's truth. It's not based upon Wayne Boyd's
thinking. It's God's truth, right? And we believe it. By the grace
of God, beloved, we believe it. We believe it. Thinking that way, thinking that
way when people say a difference of opinion or your truth's not
my truth, that's a scenario that'll kill you spiritually. Just kill
you spiritually. To not abide in the doctrine
of Christ is to transgress. Remember? To do that which is
contrary. Remember the Greek word? Transgress is contrary. It is
to break the commandment and to disobey God. And the way of the transgressor
is hard, Proverbs says this. Good understanding giveth favor,
but the way of the transgressor is hard. It's hard. These deceitful workers and teachers,
they'll soon be overthrown, beloved. Because Proverbs, it says this
too. The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, and He overthroweth
the words of the transgressor. He overthroweth those words.
That's Proverbs 22.12. So take note, beloved of God,
that the transgression that John is bringing forth here is not
to be partaking in some social evil or breaking some regional
taboo. No, this transgression is not
abiding in the doctrine of Christ. Not abiding in the doctrine of
Christ. Again, the word transgresses literally means contrary, and
it brings forth the idea of stepping aside or stepping over the truth. Remember, they put the treat
back here and they say, well, I got to learn how to live a
victorious life. I, I, I. Instead of looking to
the only one who can save us from our sins. The Lord Jesus
Christ. In this transgression that John
brings before us is the difference between life and death, beloved.
The difference between knowing God and not knowing God. This transgression is disregarding
the doctrine of Christ, of who he is. God incarnated in his
flesh, who came to save his people from their sins. The successful
Savior, who we saw, who God says he's satisfied with the travail
of his soul. And he is the only one who God
has satisfied him, beloved. He's the only one. But those who do not abide in
the doctrine of Christ, they disregard the finished work of
Christ. Leaving it behind, as the Greek
brings forth, and opting for what a person deems to be of
greater value. Now we see this in the religious
world of today. They do not see that Christ alone
is the answer. No, they look to their doing,
or they look to their activities, having no idea of their own desperate
need for Christ and for the gospel to be preached and proclaimed. Again, note how John brings this
forth. Let's read verses 9 and 10. This is a matter of have
or have not. We see that right here. This
is a matter of have or have not. Whosoever transgresseth and abide
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. There's the have
not. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. There's the have. Who made the difference? See, religion will tell you man
made the difference. That's a lie. God made the difference, beloved.
God is the only one who made us to differ from those who hath
not God. And we say glory to his name.
And look what it says here. If there come any unto you and
bring not this doctrine, which is the doctrine of Christ, receive
him not in your house, neither bid him God speak, So we see
here then, very clearly stated, that this brings forth a state
of being. Notice in verse 9 there, it brings
forth a state of being. Notice this. If one transgresses
by not abiding in Christ, it simply indicates that he or she,
no matter what they claim, have not Christ. That's their state
of being at that time. and they'll stay in that state
unless God saves them. They're without God. Therefore,
they're without hope in this world. Now, on the contrary,
we see the state of being of one who abides in the doctrine
of Christ. They have both the Father and the Son. We see that
in the latter part of verse 9. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. That's a state of
being. Isn't that wonderful? And again, the only one who made
the difference between those two is God, the grace of God,
the grace and mercy of God. Now in verse 10, we see John
tells those who abide in Christ how to react to the false teachers
and the deceitful workers who do not have the doctrine of Christ. If there come any unto you and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid him Godspeed. Very clear. Turn, if you would, to Matthew,
Chapter 15. Look what our Lord here says. Matthew, Chapter 15. Look at this. Matthew, Chapter
15. Look what our Lord says over
here. He's talking... He's told the Pharisees... He
spoke against the Pharisees' tradition and ceremonies and
their commandments that they make, that they yoke men to do.
And they were offended. They were offended at his words. Look at here in verses 10 to
14, Matthew 15, verses 10 to 14, look at this. And he called
the multitude and said unto them, hear and understand, not that
which goeth into the mouth defiled the man, but that which cometh
out of the mouth, this defiled the man. So that which comes
from the heart. comes from the heart. Look at
verse 12. Then came his disciples and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after
they heard this saying? Look what our Lord says. But
he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath
not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone. Just leave them
alone. Look at that. Just leave them
alone. That's chillin' there. They be
blind leaders of the blind. What does God have to do for
a man to go to hell? Just leave him alone. Look at that. He tells them,
just let them alone. Let them Pharisees alone. They're
the blind leading the blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall into the ditch. Sounds similar to John's language
over here, doesn't it? When our dear brother says, if
there come any unto you and bring not
this doctrine, again the doctrine of Christ, receive them not into
your house, neither bid them Godspeed. Just leave them alone.
Don't even let them in. Now Paul, do you know Paul raised
the alarm to Timothy concerning those that have a form of godliness,
which is religiosity, but they deny the power thereof. Paul
said, from such, turn away. Very similar language, too. Just
turn away from them. Just turn away from them. So
we see here, then, that Paul, I mean the Apostle John, by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God, declares that the elect lady is not to
receive. He exhorts her, do not receive
these who deny the doctrine of Christ. Don't receive them in
your home. Don't receive them. Because remember, if it is that
the church was in her house, they would be coming to teach.
And John's saying, don't even have them in. Do not have them
in. Guard that. Guard who speaks. This is a twofold this is twofold
beloved. He says do not let him into the
house as God's And this means this means the house of God as
well as your home the house of God Especially the house of God
where their deadly air can infiltrate Paul told turn if you would to
Galatians look what Paul wrote over here to Galatians Galatians
chapter chapter 2 Galatians chapter 2 look what Paul wrote here in verses
1 to 5 then 14 years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas
and took Titus with me also and I went up by revelation and communicated
unto them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles so he communicated
to them what he preaches the free grace of God in Christ Salvation's
in Christ alone, the God-man. And his shed blood, he's redeemed
us with his precious blood, which I preach among the Gentiles,
but privately to them which were of reputation, lest any means
I should run or had run in vain. But neither Titus, who was with
me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Look at verse
four. And not because of false brethren,
Unawares body and they crept in beloved they crept in Who
came in privately look at where they do to spite our liberty?
Oh? What freedom we have in Christ
beloved they came back to yoke them? To yoke them spiral liberty
which we have in where in Christ That's where our liberty is in
Christ. Jesus that they may bring us
again into what bondage bondage In verse 5, look at verse 5.
Look at this. To whom we gave place by subjection,
no, not for an hour. Didn't even entertain them. Nothing to do with you fellas.
And the church doesn't have nothing to do with those fellas. That's
what he said in there in verse 5. To whom we gave place by subjection,
no, not for an hour. That the truth of the gospel
might continue with you. See? He's guarding the sheep. He's guarding the sheep of God.
That's why we're to be on guard against false doctrine. In the
context of these verses here in Galatians, these false prophets
or false preachers had crept in and insisted that circumcision
and ceremonies were necessary to salvation. That's what they
had done. Well, we see then that Paul,
he did not give him an hour, not give him a minute. I won't have any of that. None of that. None of that. No, not for a space of an hour.
So never give value or credibility to the heir of the Lord. To those
who deny that Christ has come in the flesh. Don't give any
credibility and don't give any value to what they say. Not at
all. Not at all. Because if you do, if you do,
then they believe that what they're saying to you is acceptable and
contains an element of truth. But it doesn't. It's a lie. What they believe is a lie and
it is not to be tolerated. False teaching is not to be tolerated.
Anything that adds to the finished work of Christ is not to be tolerated. Not at all. That's what John's
saying here. Not to be tolerated. Lest we find ourselves what?
Compromising the doctrine of Christ. Now let's read the closing verses
here. We're almost finished. closing verses in this letter.
Look at this. Having many things to write unto you I would not
write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and
to speak face to face that our joy may be full. The children
of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Notice we see here just
a little glimpse, and this is the Apostle John writing this,
a little glimpse of how he feels as we feel about one another,
that sweet fellowship. He's no different than we are,
beloved. Just like we have sweet fellowship on another with one
another. He had sweet fellowship with this lady here. He loves
her. She's he loves her in Christ
or their brother and sister in Christ. And he signs off with
the hope of that. And we know if it be the Lord's
will that he he'd see her again. He desires to see her again face
to face that their joy may be full if it was the will of God.
That they could rejoice in the doctrine of Christ. that they
could rejoice in the doctrine of Christ. And he sends also
a greeting from her sister's children. And we see that her
sister is one of the elect also. Look at that. She's titled the
elect lady. And her sister here is the children
of thy elect sister greet thee. Remember they used to call each
other the elect. They used to greet each other
as the elect of God. Good to see you, my elect sister.
That's how they used to greet each other. Good to see you,
my elect brother. That's how they used to greet
each other. It's incredible. Incredible. So he sends a greeting
from her sister's children. From her sister's children. So
let's close with this. That the beloved apostle John,
who leaned on the master's breast, who leaned on the breast of Christ,
The beloved disciple, John, who wrote the Gospel of John in these
three epistles, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John, he said, Whosoever
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, which is
the very God of very God, and he has visited this world in
human flesh, abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, and hath
not God. Christ is the believer's Redeemer.
He is our Redeemer, beloved. He is our Savior. He's the Savior
of our souls. He's our ransom. He's our surety
and He's our substitute. He's our righteousness before
God. He's our justifier and our sanctifier. And He is God Almighty. He came to this sin-cursed world. to redeem his people from their
sins, and praise God he did it. It's a finished, complete atonement.
He did it all, and the believer can read what Paul pens about
us, and ye are complete in Christ. Complete in him. He walked on
this earth. The reason Paul can write that
we are complete in Him is because He came and walked on this earth
fulfilling the law in our place, beloved, in our place. And He
went to the cross and bore the wrath of God that was deserving
us. And He was buried and He rose
again, beloved. And He now reigns in glory right
now, right now. He went back to glory where He's
now seated at the right hand of the Father, the right hand
of the Father. And if you don't believe that,
if you don't preach that, and if you don't confess that, you
have not God. But if you believe that, you're
abiding in the doctrine of Christ. Glory to his name. Heavenly Father,
we thank you again for allowing us the privilege and the honor
to gather together to look into thy words And oh, how wonderful
it's been to study this little letter, personal letter written
by our dear brother John to a dear sister in Christ. And oh, Lord,
how you have preserved your word and how it instructs us and guides
us and gives us instruction even for this day, even for now. We
are so thankful to you, Lord, that you saved our souls. And
we are so thankful that you preserved your word, that we can read and
study, and it tells us all about thee. And we say praise thee,
Holy Spirit, for regenerating us. Praise thee, Father, for
choosing us in Christ. Glory to the three in one. In
Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Glory to John.