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.
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.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
John continues his appeal that we walk in love by living in obedience to God’s commandments. John gave this warning because many deceivers or false teachers were around who did not hold to the belief that Jesus was the Christ who came in the flesh. John warned them to be careful not to be led astray because the result would be the loss of the rewards they had been working for. He was not warning that they might lose out on their salvation (because our salvation is not something we work for—it is received as a gift given by grace and received through faith). If they did fail, they would not be totally deprived of reward but would not receive the full reward they could if they remained faithful. God does not forget what we have done for Him (Heb 6:10) but our reward can be in danger if we go on ahead without God (1 Cor 3:11-15). If we deviate from the truth and go on ahead (some manuscripts have “go aside”) and do not abide in the teaching of Christ, we are going it alone without God. If we remain in Christ’s teaching then we have [fellowship with] both the Father and the Son.
In the time of writing it was common for travelling teachers and preachers to rely on local believers to support them and provide hospitality. John gives a stern warning that if someone came teaching a doctrine other than the truth, they were not to be welcomed or shown any hospitality. To receive them was to share in their falsehood and help them spread their deceit. We might see this as rather harsh but that only shows that the culture of tolerance of our society has infected our conviction for the truth. We must not underestimate the danger of heresy (any belief that is outside of sound Biblical doctrine—truth).
John ended by expressing that while he still had much to say, he preferred to visit them and speak face to face. He also sent greetings from a sister church (if he had been writing to a lady, then it would be expected that greetings would come from her sister, not her sister’s children).
While we may not have the opportunity to welcome false teachers into our homes as they travel around the country, we do have a lot of opportunities to welcome them into our homes through the TV networks we watch, social media feeds we consume, books we read, podcasts we listen to etc. How discerning are you in ensuring you are not exposing yourself to anything that deviates from the truth?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Moses in Egypt: Exodus 4-5