Itinerant preachers were the means by which Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. They looked to local churches to aid in their mission by providing hospitality. The problem was that some of the people seeking room and board were false teachers, expounding erroneous doctrines; others were just free-loaders, pretending to be ministers of the word in order to get free hospitality. 2 John was written, in part, to help local churches sort out this problem. John, inspired by God, warns the church to beware of those who teach false doctrine. John says in verse 10 “do not take them into your house or welcome them.” The false doctrine seems to be the same false doctrine John spoke against in his first letter; that Jesus did not come in the flesh (2 John 7). Another close connection between 1st and 2nd John is John’s concern for “truth”, mentioned 4 times in 2 John, and “love”, mentioned 5 times in 2 John. We can sum up this short letter with two words, love and truth. 2 John thus illustrates that doctrine and conduct do connect, and that false doctrine lessens love.
This Sunday we will take a look at this short but extremely important book of the Bible. Audio of the sermon and our Sunday morning Bible Study focusing on Isaiah chapter 44 will be available on our website by noon on Sunday. Praying everyone has a blessed week.
In Christ,
Gary T.