3 John

Now, I don't know if many of you else have this privilege, but I get to ride on the Central Line Tube every single day.

Now, I'm not on it for very long, but when I get off at Shepherd's Bush, there's one of these tube adverts, advertising a book.

I'm a big fan of books.

But this particular book is called You Were Not Born to Suffer.

It's a big white poster, a picture of an attractive author on the front.

He's got brilliant white teeth.

You can't miss it.

The shrap line for this book reads this.

Overcome fear, insecurity, and depression, and love yourself back to happiness, confidence, and peace.

It tells us that we have a problem.

Fear, insecurity, and depression.

But also, we have the power to change so that we're happy and confident.

And the answer, according to this book, is very simple.

Love yourself.

But tonight's passage is very different.

It tells us the very opposite of this.

It tells us that if we want to be changed, if we want to live a full life, a life that God intended for us,

the answer isn't to love ourselves.

It's that we need to understand the gospel.

And when this happens, the result will be that we'll no longer love ourselves,

but we'll look outwardly and love others.

Now, in this little book, John introduces us to four people who have heard the gospel.

Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius, and himself.

Three of them were changed by the gospel, but one of them was not.

And as we open 3 John this evening, and observe the contrast between their lives,

I hope that we'll see that it's only a true understanding of the gospel that changes us.

And these particular changes are shown in three ways.

Firstly, we all care about the spiritual condition of others.

Secondly, it will cause us to love one another sacrificially.

And finally, it will change our character.

Firstly, people who truly understand the gospel care about the spiritual condition of others.

Now, look down with me. The first person we are introduced to in this book is Gaius.

And John knew him very well.

And 3 John is a letter written to him.

Three dimes in this letter, John calls him beloved.

And it's in particular in John's personal writing to Gaius that we see

that John had seen him changed by the gospel.

Verse 4 hints that actually John may have brought this man to faith.

He calls him one of his spiritual children.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Now, I don't know about you, but more times than we're not,

we're not very good at finding out how people are.

My good phrase, I'm sure you know it, I'm sure you've used it even today,

how are you?

It's probably the most used sentence in the English language.

And we've all learned the acceptable responses.

Yeah, good.

Or my personal favourite, I'm fine.

And we're all very satisfied with these responses,

even though it doesn't really tell us very much.

John's greeting, on the other hand, to Gaius is completely different to this.

I pray that you may be in good health,

as it goes well with your soul.

John is interested in how Gaius is doing physically,

but his emphasis is upon how well Gaius' soul is.

And John saw firsthand that it was our souls

that need the greatest care and attention

because this is the part of us that matters to Jesus.

This is the part of us that will last for eternity,

either with God or without God.

Now, John's emphasis towards Gaius

is not something that we think about often today, is it?

I would say that the majority of us might even get offended

if we are asked about our spiritual condition.

I'm sure it often implies that we've done something wrong

or we've missed church for a few weeks.

It is a myth to say that we have to know one another well

in order to ask these questions of each other.

John's focus at the very beginning of this letter

should remind us that we need to be concerned

about one another's spiritual condition.

And this isn't the only place in the Bible where this happens.

In the book of Hebrews,

the writer instructs Christians

to exhort one another every day,

as long as it is called today,

that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

You and I need one another

to be encouraged and challenged

so that we can grow in our faith

and live out the gospel.

And as we understand more of the gospel,

we want to care for one another.

Care for one another's spiritual condition

like John cared for Gaius.

Right from his conversion,

John saw how the gospel had impacted Gaius' life.

And this brings him great joy

and so he wrote this letter to commend him for this.

John saw that Gaius had understood the extent of his sin

and how it had changed his life,

particularly in the way that he loved others.

Which brings me to my second point.

That as we understand God's love,

it causes us to love one another sacrificially.

John tells us about this love

in verses 5 to 6.

I don't know if you want to look down with me.

It says,

It is a faithful thing you do

in all your efforts for these brothers,

strangers as they are,

who testified to your love before the church.

You will do well to send them on their journey

in a manner worthy of God.

Now, Gaius probably wasn't very extraordinary.

And in fact,

we don't really learn a whole lot about him

other than that he loved others.

But he loved these brothers sacrificially.

In fact,

he didn't even know who they were.

These brothers were,

verse 5,

strangers to Gaius.

And what they were doing,

verse 7 tells us

that they were

gone out for the sake of the name.

Maybe they had been on an evangelistic mission

or maybe they were going to encourage other Christians.

But this did not stop Gaius

from opening up his home,

inviting them into his house.

He opened up his heart

and shared his life with them.

He was faithful in all his efforts.

He gave 100% to strangers.

Imagine the love that he gave to his friends.

He gave up his time,

his energy,

his home,

and his resources

in order to serve others.

And Gaius cared for their needs

before they set off from their journey.

And he prepared them for their journey.

Because he loved the gospel.

He was changed by the love

that Jesus had for him.

And this is what it means

to love others sacrificially.

And sacrificial love

is not just hospitality,

the perfect Sunday lunch

with a house full of people,

or just being nice.

It's loving all Christians

at any cost

as the opportunity arises.

This could be

serving in church,

spending time with

other Christians,

or doing something

that scares us,

like the book table

in Greenford

on a Saturday morning.

Jesus told his disciples,

people will know

that you are my disciples

if you love one another.

Now in saying this,

Jesus reveals that

not all men

are his disciples.

Only those who have been

changed by the gospel

so that they live out

a sacrificial love

for one another.

And in the same way,

at the end of this letter,

we will see that

not all people

who have heard the gospel

are truly Jesus' disciples.

John tells guys

about two men,

two men called

Diotrephes and Dermetrius.

And John very cleverly

contrasts them

alongside one another,

particularly to show

their different characters.

And this brings me

finally that a true

understanding of the gospel

changes our character.

Look down at verses

9 to 11.

Now this tells us

a little bit more

about Diotrephes.

In particular,

he likes to put himself first.

He was selfish.

And he doesn't acknowledge

church authority.

He was also talking

wicked nonsense

against John and others.

Diotrephes was a bit

of a gossip.

And he didn't recognize

John's authority

as an apostle,

which is incredible

since John had spent

three years with Jesus.

And in wanting

to cement his position

further in his church,

Diotrephes attempted

to poison the minds

of his congregation

in order to

distrust John

and other Christians.

He refused to love

other Christians

and he prevented

those who tried

to live out

the gospel.

Diotrephes

may have heard

the gospel,

but he didn't

understand it.

And we all struggle

with sin of gossiping

and selfishness

at times.

Sometimes it's a little

bit juicy,

isn't it?

But as Christians,

we want to fight

against sin

because of what Jesus

has achieved for us.

Now,

John Stock once said

to remind yourselves

of this every day.

Christ is my brother,

my sin died with him,

and I now reign

with him.

As Christians,

we reign with Jesus

and we have the power

to fight against

our struggles with sin.

This is a wonderful

truth of the gospel.

In Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

it says that

as we endure

in living the Christian

life,

it produces character

and character

produces hope.

And even though

Diotrephes had heard

the gospel,

it hadn't shown

this change in character.

So although he may

have claimed to have

known God,

John tells us that

by his evil works,

we know that he

had not seen God.

And John here is

unmasking the true

nature of his character

in order to protect

the church.

He wants to ensure

that the church

isn't led into evil

because he recognises

the danger of a

false Christian

who claims to know

the truth.

Now,

Demetrius,

on the other hand,

demonstrates to us

by his character

that he was transformed

by the gospel.

Verse 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.

Now,

there are three things

that we should take

note about Demetrius.

Firstly,

he has received

a good testimony

from everyone.

Demetrius was living

a life transformed

by the gospel

and everyone

could see it.

Perhaps you know

a Christian like her.

In a previous church

there was this

elderly lady.

She was a lovely,

sweet lady

who was genuinely

happy to give up

things for her

forsaken,

to love others.

And one time

she came up to me

on a Sunday morning

and told me

how much she didn't

like her television

and that she wanted

to give up

her TV watching

and give up

paying for her

TV license.

So that she could

support me financially.

And even now,

nearly six years later,

I'm still impacted

by how she lived

out her faith

and loved me

sacrificially.

Secondly,

about Demetrius,

the truth gives him

a good testimony.

He was living

in accord

with scriptures.

He lived

as God

intended him.

And thirdly,

the Apostle John

affirmed his faith.

This is a threefold

testimony about

the faith of this man.

The church sees it,

the scriptures

give evidence for it,

and the Apostle John

confirms it.

Demetrius was from God.

He had been born again

and was one of his children.

His life was transformed

by the truth

of the gospel

inside and out.

Just like Gaius.

And in the same way,

we too,

we need to be from God.

To be born again.

We need God

to reveal himself

to us

in order for us

to understand

the gospel

and live it out.

And this is what

changed the lives

of John,

Gaius,

and Demetrius.

So let's not settle

for what an advertisement

board tells us,

what culture tells us.

that we have the power

to change ourselves.

That we can only,

that can only be learned

through self-help book

with a couple of top tips.

Let's not listen to this.

And even as Christians,

it's so easy

to step back

into thinking

that somehow

we can change

our own hearts.

By looking inwards

to try to think

more positively

about something.

To replace sin

with something else.

But this is futile.

Jesus died for us

because we cannot

save ourselves.

So we need to put

our hope in Jesus.

And as we trust in him

and depend upon him,

we will be changed.

And we will begin

to care for each other's

spiritual needs.

And love others

sacrificially.

And our characters

will be changed

to become more

like Jesus.

Let me pray.