Truth, Love, and Faithfulness- Part 4

We are reaching the end of our Truth, Love, and Faithfulness series and we are exploring the second half of Third John. 

So far in these letters, we have seen several commendations: The Lady and Her Children, Gaius, those who walk in love and truth. We have also seen some warnings: Do not follow the deceivers, be on guard for the work of those who are anti-christ, we must remain in the doctrine of Christ if we are to abide with Father, Son, and Spirit. 

Today, we are going to read of a church trouble maker named Diotrephes and of a trusted worker named Demetrius. We are called to imitate the good and call to mind, or reprimand, the bad. Let’s look at verses 9-14.

1. The Church Agitator (vv. 9-10)

After the praises of Gaius in the first half of the letter, the tone quickly changes as John must address a church trouble maker. At some point, John had written to this local church, but Diotrephes was not willing to receive his teaching. What was the teaching? It was what we spoke about last week, blessing and sending the faithful workers of God. Itinerant Missionaries who were traveling needed help to continue the Gospel ministry. Some, who are stayers, were called to aide the goers. 

For entirely selfish reasons, Diotrephes wants nothing to do with aiding these ministers. Listen to what it says, “Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them”. Preeminence is greatness or superiority. So Diotrephes wants to rule over the body, have all authority, and does not want to bless the missions work (compare his attitude with Romans 12:3-8). Desiring superiority is nothing new in the church, as even the Disciples disputed who was the greatest and who would sit at Christ’s right and left hand.

There are times when we must stand up against false teaching and heretical doctrine. There are times when we must stand up against abuse and abuses of power and authority. Nothing leads us to believe that this is what Diotrephes was doing. In fact, his argument was so weak that he attacked the character of John, rather than doing the work of ministry. This is called an “ad hominem” and is a terrible way to argue. 

Reading Hebrews 10:23-25 lets us see how we are supposed to conduct ourselves in church and with brothers and sisters in Christ.

• Hold fast to the confession, make sure the doctrine is correct
• Stir up good works. Too many times people stir up gossip, or dissension, or animosity, etc. Scripture commands us to stir up good works, if the doctrine is correct, see the order
• If the doctrine is correct, and we are thinking of others, and we are stirring up good works, commit to the Fellowship. Too many today want to jump ship and leave if they don’t get their way. Or they create trouble like Diotrephes. 

As we saw last week, let us love one another, let us care deeply for one another, and let us praise one another. 

2. The Calling of Faithful Membership and Discipline (vv. 9-10)

What do we do then with the church agitators, with those who insist on causing trouble?Well, too often, we do nothing. We simply let it continue. Sometimes, even if it is causing people to leave, we let it continue. As we see here, Diotrephes puts out of the church those who are giving charitably to the Gospel mission. 

But what does John say he is going to do? He is going to call to mind these deeds when he comes. What John is telling us is that he is going to bring Church Discipline as needed against Diotrephes.  Church Discipline is something that no one wants to talk about. It is something that is rarely enforced. Even mentioning it can make people uncomfortable. But it is 100% Biblical.

We cannot have meaningful church membership without loving, Biblical church discipline. Let’s look at some discipline models from the New Testament.

• The Matthew Model- Matthew 18:15-17
• The Corinthian Model- 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
• The Roman Model- Romans 16:17-18
• The Titus Model- Titus 3:9-11

But meaningful membership and loving church discipline has a purpose. The following verses show us that restoration and re-commitment is the purpose of Church Discipline.

• Hebrews 12:11
• Galatians 6:1
• James 5:19-20
• 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

So discipline is for the purpose of keeping peace in the church AND bringing the offender to repentance, restoration, and back to fellowship

3. What am I Imitating? (v. 11)

We could also ask who. Paul said to imitate him as he imitated Christ. So what am I imitating . . . And what would people who imitate me look like. If my example was the normal for my church, what would the result be?

4. Praise the Faithful (vv. 12-14)

Throughout recorded Biblical history, we have names that bring something to mind:

• Negative- Jezebel, Goliath, Judas, Ananias and Saphira, Balaam, King Saul, Diotrephes
• Positive- Noah, David, Barnabas, and here Gaius and Demetrius

What are we saying about the faithful in our lives? Are we praising them like John or are we maligning them like Diotrephes? If John, the Elder, were to visit my church, what would he have to say to me?