Becoming fruitful Saints
3 John 1-15
The Letters of John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . Max A Forsythe
Introduction: We turn to the
third letter of John for lessons on hospitality, the support of Christian Missionaries,
and indirectly the application of Christian charity. In addition, there is the warning of how to
measure and evaluate the ministers of Christ.
We must always remember even in these fractured denominational times –
that Christians must often travel to serve the catholic universal church. We should also note on the basis of this
letter – that not everyone who claims the Name of Christ is truly serving the
Lord of the Church. Sadly as well, the
building up of personal empires often competes with the kingdom building
engaged in by the Church at large. And
finally, we see the admonishment of verse seven to carefully keep our
ministries uncorrupted with worldly finance and influence.
Let me begin today from the third point before
moving on to the other three points. There
is always a danger in unregulated sharing the Lord's money with the destitute
and in our day and age even with some so called "Christian ministries”. The cultic or gullibility factor must more
and more be considered when you are being asked to give to a person or an
organization. For this reason we have always been careful to consider the
missions or individuals which we have supported in the past and will continue
to do so in the future.
In this same context we must also be careful from
where the monies for ministry come from and how it is collected. In the immediate neighborhood a local church
has become almost dependant on a monthly weekend breakfast service to the
community. I have known of other
churches and Christian institutions that have included bazaars, carnivals and
sales programs to raise the necessary funds to function. Also, we have only to look at the new
national program to bring government dollars into support of Christian
charities and the likelihood of school vouchers flowing into private Christian
schools – to comprehend that John’s advice to “[accept] nothing from the Gentiles,”
is hardly considered as sound advice in our time and place.
In that verse where John observes the pagan
community ought not to be relied upon for help, I am reminded of several
Christian agencies that appear regularly on United Fund appeals. I wonder if
Christ's Church is missing its calling to give those agencies the necessary
assistance, or are those agencies becoming too worldly to be counted any longer
within the Church? I do not have a ready
answer for that question, but I think that the issue ought to be carefully
considered!
The implication of the text is that the Christian
community is expected to support itself from the tithes and voluntary giving of
the members of Christ’s Church. In
addition, we should also recognize that the fellowship of hospitality is also a
vital part of supporting brethren in the faith.
Development:
As we move on to consider the first two points; we
must also remember our primary purpose in this third letter is to consider our
personal attitude to the reception of Christian brethren outside of our
immediate knowledge or experience. Yes, locally we can hear from our supported
ministries about once a year. Foreign missions are another matter as those
missionaries rotate home only after five years abroad. Our national board of
missions, known as
We may also be assured that the Lord's pleasure is
also made known through the generosity of the Lord's people. Some missionaries
never get to the field because they are unable to raise the necessary funds.
Some missionaries do not remain long on the field because they do not measure
up to the intensity of the calling. One missionary group was headquartered in
In our letter today we see that the Apostle John
has just such a ministry to deal with in one of the early Churches. In this
letter, three early Church leaders are mentioned by name. Two come off very well in this description,
while the actions of the third are condemned.
Let us consider that last one, first in our evaluation of this necessary
ministry of John's. As we see in verse
nine, his name is Diotrephes. Now, Diotrephes just loves to be first and
evidently will have nothing to do with even the Apostle John! In addition,
Diotrephes will not welcome visiting Christians or allow members of his
congregation to do so either. My first
impression is that he wanted to maintain control over the congregation.
Whenever any congregational leadership is reluctant
to allow official visitors to come in and observe local workings, any
biblically legitimate Presbytery should be very concerned. This is how volatile
personalities like the late Whacko in
Now, one of my commentators observes that the
regular practice in the New Testament allowed traveling brethren the privilege
to stay overnight one or at the most two nights. Any longer than that and the
travelers were expected to pay for lodgings and food. Specific official
visitors were even to be given money to travel to the next Christian community.
In verse eight John notes that by such assistance we may work together for the
sake of the truth.
Our fourth point is worthy of special
consideration. While the despicable
character Diotrephes does not appear to be afflicted with heresy, the personal
vanity and ambition are condemnable within the Christian community. Pastor Barnes observes: “This is a sin
which is neither peculiarly ancient nor modern but perennial. There are people who love to be first, to be
regarded ad pre-eminent. The church just
becomes a stage upon which they may strut and so gain applause and
prestige. The Scripture makes it clear
that Christ alone is to have the pre-eminence in the church” as the
Apostle Paul agrees: Christ “is the head of the
body, the church. He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:18)
We have only to remember the words of our Lord
Himself in this context: “You know that the
rulers of the Gentles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise
authority over them. It shall not be so
among you. But whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, and whoever should be first among you must be
your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20: 25b-28)
By contrast, Pastor Barnes outlines John’s concerns
about Diotrephes who:
In this context we should carefully realize that
heresy is not the only reason to separate from ungodly brethren who are crassly
unable to commune with the true leaders of Christ’s Church. This type of activity should not be chargeable
to the servants of Christ.
Conclusion: Our fifth and last point in this short letter is a
contrast whereby, John encourages Gaius to imitate another saint of the Church.
We know this individual as Demetrius.
Little else is told us about him except that he is much more worthy of
imitation than Diotrephes! In such a way
has the Church grown over time, through the work and witness of the real saints
rather than their poor substitutes whose concern like Diotrephes is for
themselves rather than for Christ.
Self-centeredness is never appropriate in Christ's Church as we learn in
this short letter. Well should we learn that correct doctrine is never the only
measure for leaders who would serve our risen Lord. We must also learn that our actions speak
louder than our words.
In closing may I invoke the same fond affection
that we see in verses thirteen through fifteen.
“I had
much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face
to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them.” May the Lord continue to bless our little
fellowship with similar love, hospitality and true fellowship as well. Amen.
Resources Used: Alexander, William. The
Expositor’s Bible: Epistles of St John.
Barnes, Peter. Welwyn Commentary
Series: Knowing Where We Stand.
Stott, John. Tyndale
New Testament Commentaries: Epistles of John.
Good News Publishers. The
Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
Copyright (C) 2002 Christ Covenant REFORMED (Presbyterian
Church in
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