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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Words are fascinating.  In fact, there is an academic discipline known as ‘philology,’ the study of human language. ‘Philologists’ investigate and analyze the origin and use of words, and they distinguish between what a given word denotes—what it actually means—from what it connotes—how it is actually used. And there is one thing that the study of words reveals. Words are ever changing in terms of their connotation—their development and usage over time. Illustrations of this change, or progression, are in abundance. Just consider the terms ‘charity,’ ‘gay,’ ‘justice,’ or ‘marriage’ for example. Over time, our vocabulary undergoes a transformation, sometimes massively so! And this is true for words in the vocabulary of Christianity as well.

One example of this is the word ‘grace,’ the Greek word charis.  In the early days of Christianity, the word ‘grace’ was used frequently on the streets of the Roman Empire to indicate favor, kindness, delight, or gratitude.  One was considered ‘gracious’ when he did “something pleasant for someone,” or gratified them in some way (C. Brown, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 116).  But as employed by first-century believers in Christ, this rather common word took on a whole new connotation. The authors of the New Testament reached back into the Old Testament to re-shape and re-define this word ‘grace’ in light of God’s dealings with sinful, undeserving humanity.  In the hands of the Biblical authors, ‘grace’ referred to something more sublime and magnificent than any human mind could possibly comprehend! In fact, this simple word ‘grace’ could summarize the whole story of God’s saving initiative in the redemption of fallen sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son!

We encounter this word “grace” in 2 John 1:3, and there it is accompanied by two other important New Testament terms, “mercy,” and “peace.” Together these three ‘Christianized’ words (linked frequently in the New Testament) serve as the three blessings in the dictionary of salvation.  On Sunday we will begin our look at each of these blessings, and we will seek to understand them as they are deployed in Scripture.

With regard to “grace,” I’m sure you recognize how this word has been re-defined in popular culture, and even in popular Evangelical culture. I think of this fact every time I hear John Newton’s hymn, ‘Amazing Grace,’ sung as the anthem of those who reject the claims of Christ, and have sought to re-craft Christianity into a religion of morality or social justice. In such a context, Biblical “grace” has come to mean ‘nice.’ But, as we will see, this is far removed from the New Testament witness to this blessed word.

So our task this week will be to recapture the wonder of this common term found in the lexicon of salvation.  And as we do this, guided by Scripture itself, we will be filled with that same excitement and joy that characterized those who first came to know this amazing “grace” in the Person of our Redeemer and Lord.

I love you all, and look forward to meeting with you before our Father on Sunday!

Gracefully yours,

Mike

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Beloved Brothers and Sisters in our Lord,

I was a bit amused some time ago when I saw a television commercial promoting a device that enables you to pack and store large things in very small spaces. It consisted of some sort of a vacuum tube that you would attach to a special bag filled with clothes, linens, or other such things. Once the device was activated, the air would be suctioned from the bag, reducing it to just a fraction of its original size.  Thick quilts, for example, could be shrunk down to the size of a small lap-top computer, and stacks of clothing reduced to something akin to little pancakes. How clever! With a little ingenuity, you can pack a mountain of things in a small space!

In 2 John 1:3 we find one blessed verse in this little New Testament ‘postcard’ that reminds me of that old TV commercial.  Now, to be sure, verse 3 sounds fairly plain.  We encounter words that we are very familiar with, and we have read similar things at the beginning of other New Testament letters.  On first glance, this appears to be your ‘normal’ greeting—what we have come to expect in first century letters.  But what we actually find here, packed tightly into the 23 words of this verse, is anything but mundane!  Once we ‘open’ it, we discover a literal mountain-sized collection of inspired truths that both enlighten and encourage us.  For example, just think of the unfathomable depth of words such as “grace,” “mercy,” “peace,” “God,” “the Father,” “Jesus Christ, “the Father’s Son,” “truth,” and “love.”  Each word and phrase could be the subject of a hundred sermons, and even then not the half would be told!

For the next few Sundays we are going to dig down deep into this one tightly compressed verse of Scripture. There is a reason John begins his Second Epistle with such a power-packed affirmation.  And as we explore this verse, we will discover that the beloved Apostle is showing us the One True Source for all of salvation’s blessings, summarized and condensed as that beautiful tripartite collection of terms, “Grace, mercy, and peace.”  Our focus this coming Lord’s Day will be upon the Divine Source itself—“from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son.”

For those of you who would like a little ‘homework’ to better prepare you for Sunday’s message, let me suggest that you trace the word “Father” (as applied to God) in the writings of John (the Gospel, the three Epistles, and Revelation).  A beautiful and most comforting picture will emerge, guaranteed!

Before signing off, let me express to you how much I value your faithful and kind prayers.  So many of you have assured me that you are praying for our Church, for her Officers, and for the ministry of the Word.  To know that you are lifting me up before our Father is the greatest comfort I could ever have. Your prayers are indispensable, and through them the Lord is both strengthening and encouraging me in His good work.  I can’t thank you enough, nor can I properly express how much I love you all!

I can’t wait to see you on Sunday!

Love,

Mike

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord,

No one ever wants to be called ‘gullible.’

We take such a criticism as a grievous personal insult.  Gullible people are perceived as being ‘out to lunch,’ or ‘out of touch,’ intellectually.  They are often painted as unthinking and uncritical, always gobbling up, without discernment, the latest and greatest ideas, and embracing the most recent fads and passing trends. The simplest definition, or description, of those who are ‘gullible’ is that they believe everything they hear.

Well, oddly enough, the Apostle John had something to say about just such people. In his First Epistle he begins the fourth chapter with these strong and convicting words: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit ….”  This is his way of calling out his first century readers for their spiritual gullibility and lack of discernment. And when he mentions “every spirit” he has in mind anyone who claims to speak, write, teach, or preach in the name of the Lord.  We simply cannot be guilty of believing everything we read or hear.

Now, maybe you wondering what, if anything, this has to do with our sermon series on 2 John. The answer is that in his second letter, John expresses his deep concern that his brothers and sisters in Christ, or his dear “children” in the Lord, should be on the alert for the “many deceivers” who have “gone out into the world” (1:7). These are the false teachers (and false-brethren) who “do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh” (1:7).

In his first letter, however, John had already cautioned them about this grave spiritual danger, and we find his powerful words of admonition in 1 John 4:1-6—

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (ESV).

This coming Sunday we will take a brief detour from 2 John to consider these critical words found in the fourth chapter of the First Epistle.  And, by the grace of our Lord and the power of His Word, we too will be properly warned and equipped to hold on to the truth while recognizing all counterfeits. For the fact is, none of us can afford to be gullible when it comes to matters of eternity.

I love you all so dearly, and pray for you constantly!

In His grace,

Mike

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

So far in our study of the Epistle of Second John we have learned that there is a vast difference between our definition and use of the word “love” and that found and employed in the world apart from Christ.  More to the point, we believe that in order to understand “love,” one must also have “truth.” And this, as we have seen, is evident in 2 John 1:1-2 where the aged Apostle John assures his readers that he loves them “in truth,” and that “the truth” with which he dearly loves them is that truth which “abides” in them and stands “forever.”

Of course, this leads us to consider something else: what is “the truth”?

Like our use and definition of “love,” believers in Christ also speak of “truth” in much different terms than those outside of faith in Christ. When we talk about “truth,” we have in mind something revealed, unchanging, eternal, and objective (as opposed to being subjective, or different for different people). And, fundamentally, “the truth” which has been revealed and that we believe and proclaim has everything to do with our Lord Jesus Christ. This “truth” concerns who He was and why He came.  It’s all about Jesus!

When John wrote his three letters in the late first century, this “truth” was under assault.  You can see this in 2 John 1:7 where he warns his readers about the “deceivers” out there “in the world” who do not affirm nor “confess” that our Lord Jesus has “come in the flesh.”  In other words, they get Jesus all wrong, and thus, do not possess “the truth.”

This coming Sunday as we go deeper into 2 John, we will probe this “truth” further. In preparation for our message, take some time to reflect upon John 1:1-18 and 1 John 4:1-6.

I love you all and can’t wait to worship our Lord and Savior with you on Sunday!

Mike