Paul W. Manuel: The Christian walk: Walking in obedience (2 John 4-6)

THE CHRISTIAN WALK IN JOHN'S EPISTLES:
Walking in Obedience (2 John 4-6)
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2009

When I was growing up, I enjoyed the prospect of snow. Now, the thrill of snowball fights and building snowmen has been replaced by the less enthusiastic prospect of shoveling it and driving in it.

It was snowing heavily and blowing to the point that visibility was almost zero when the new secretary got off work. She sat in her car while it warmed up and wondered how she was going to make it home. Then she remembered her father's advice that if she ever got caught in a blizzard, she should wait until a plow came by and follow it. That way she would not get stuck in a drift. This made her feel much better, and soon a plow went by. As she followed it, she was feeling very secure. She was not having any problem with the blizzard conditions.

After a while, she was surprised when the snowplow stopped and the driver got out, came back to her car and signaled for her to roll down the window. "Ma'm, you've been following me for quite some time. Are you all right?" he asked. "Oh yes," she replied, and told him about her father's advice to follow a snowplow when caught in a blizzard. "That's fine, ma'm," he said. "Follow me as long as you like. I'm headed for K-Mart...as soon as I finish with the WalMart parking lot."

Before you follow someone, it is good to know where he is heading. That is what John cautions the readers of his second epistle as he advises them to be Walking in Obedience.

In the late first century, a nascent version of Gnosticism is competing with orthodox Christianity. Both belief systems have reaching heaven, where God dwells, as their goal, but they employ different and contrary methods of getting there.

For Gnostics, knowledge is the way to heaven, which is only available through them.

What is important is what one knows, not how one lives. You can exhibit all the acts of the sinful nature that the apostle Paul condemns:

Gal 5:19b ...sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

How you conduct yourself here is entirely irrelevant. Your behavior in this life has no bearing on the next life. The goal in Gnosticism is to escape this physical realm and enter the spiritual realm, where God dwells, and only Gnosticism provides the directions for that transition. For Gnostics, knowledge is the way to heaven.

For Christians, forgiveness is the way to heaven, which is only available through Jesus.

What is important is who one knows and how one lives. You must exhibit all the fruit of the Spirit that the apostle Paul commends:

Gal 5:22b ...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23a gentleness and self-control.

How you conduct yourself here is immensely relevant. Your behavior in this life demonstrates if you belong to God, and you must belong to God if you want to be with God and live where He lives.

For Christians, forgiveness is the way to heaven.

Unfortunately, the differences between these two belief systems and how important those differences are for a person's future are not apparent to many first-century Christians in Asia Minor, where Gnosticism is gaining popularity.¹

The apostle John speaks to this problem in each of his epistles, including his second letter, which he addresses to the matriarch of one particular church, expressing his affection for her and for those who gather with her, perhaps in her home.

2 John 15 ¶The elder, ¶To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

He goes on almost immediately to the reason for his letter, which is to encourage these believers in their walk with God, especially as they are encountering ideas that could lead them astray. He states that, even if others are uncertain whether Christianity or Gnosticism is right, members of this congregation should know that...

I. The source of our instruction is dependable (2 John 4-5).

2 John 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady,² I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.³

John expresses his satisfaction with the spiritual response members of this small group exhibit. He is under no illusions that everyone has the same degree of spiritual commitment, but he is happy to note that "some," at least, are acting in accord with what they know is true,⁴ because...

A. It is from the Father and has authority.⁵

Unlike Gnosticism...

It is not a product of man's imagination.

This is no small difference. In John's first epistle, he notes that his readers have received a moral compass from God, something the Gnostics lack and something that makes a difference in a person's future.

1 John 2:16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

This difference in origin leads to a difference in outcome.⁶ Gnosticism is the product of human imagination, of man's speculating about God, and those who adopt it align themselves with a system that will pass away. Biblical faith, however, is the product of divine revelation, of God's speaking to man, and those who adopt it are on track to live forever. Mmm—pass away or live forever. Which would you choose? ...This difference in the foundation of our faith is what gives us confidence in what we believe, a confidence others lack. It is from the Father and has authority. Moreover...

B. It is from the beginning and has stability.⁷

Unlike Gnosticism...

It is not subject to change.

Again, this is no small difference. In John's first epistle, he makes the same assertion, that what his readers initially accepted has not subsequently altered.⁸

1 John 2:7a ...I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had [from] the beginning.... 24a See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.

Gnosticism is a new system of thought, still developing in the first century. Consequently, it is subject to revision as it proponents suggest new ideas. Gnosticism has no historical record and no way of verifying its claims. In stark contrast, biblical faith is ancient, with a consistent record of God's activity through history, a record buttressed by fulfilled prophecy and impressive miracles. This difference in the documentation for our faith is what also gives us confidence in what we believe, a confidence others lack. It is from the beginning and has stability.

As is true of any group, people are not all at the same point in their relationship with God. Some have a greater degree of maturity or a greater level of commitment. They are not swayed by competing ideologies. They know that, in the smorgasbord of religious options, all directives are not equal, and all paths do not go to the same place in the end. If you have not encountered them already, you will meet individuals with very different ideas about how a person can reach God.

Some, like the Gnostics, will say, "It depends on what you know."
Others (like some Pharisees⁹) will say, "It depends on what you've done."

While what you know can help you appreciate your redemption, and what you have done can increase your eternal reward, it is less about you and more aboutJesus, about what he did for you and about whether or not he knows you.¹⁰ Beware of those who make him a different person or assign him a different purpose. John, in his gospel, states clearly that Jesus was God in the flesh and that he came to make your union with God possible.¹¹

What made Gnosticism a threat to the early church was that it used Christian concepts to present an alternate view of God. It talked about Christ and heaven but in ways that were different from what John and the other apostles were teaching.¹² While Gnosticism, as an ideology, died out by the fourth century, the threat it posed continues today, not necessarily from Gnostic thought but from ideas that mimic Christian ideas yet are contrary to what God has revealed. How can you tell the difference? How can you know if what others teach is true?¹³ ...John's counsel in this second epistle is still useful:

Look to what has authority, because it is from the Father, and...
Look to what has stability, because it is from the beginning (and not just the beginning of your spiritual journey).

The only resource that meets these criteria of authority and stability is...the Bible. So, when someone tells you what he believes about God, if it seems at all odd, compare it to what God Himself has said,¹⁴ because, as the author of Hebrews writes...¹⁵

Heb 4:12 ...the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Because the Bible represents God's perspective, it is a reliable tool for distinguishing truth from falsehood, for identifying right ideas about God and His son. Keep in mind, though, that however familiar God's word is to you will determine how useful it is for you. Put another way, if you cannot articulate the truth, you may accept a lie.

After stating that the source of our instruction is dependable, John continues in the next verse, stating also that...

II. The substance of our instruction is understandable (2 John 6).

2 John 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love [lit, walk in it].

Because there is no single, authoritative source for information about Gnosticism, it does not have a clear set of guidelines. There are, in fact, very few guidelines, at least few that relate to the here and now. As I said, the person who embraces Gnostic thought can live as he pleases, because his behavior in this life has little if any bearing on his status after this life.

He can torment his brothers and sisters.
He can eat as much dessert as he wants.
He can gratify all the desires of his sinful nature.

That freedom to do as one pleases may sound attractive, but it offers no direction, no way of making decisions, and it certainly does not prepare a person for the next life, when (even according to Gnosticism) he will meet God.

Biblical faith is very different, because it has directives for this life, and John says that...

A. We are responsible for the many commands of God.

As such...

We may not live as we please.

Despite their emphasis on knowledge, the Gnostics have no way of knowing God—of knowing about His character and concerns, about His personality and plans. They are limited to speculation and imagination. They will understand nothing for certain until this life is over and they stand before Him...and that will be too late. God has not given man this life to waste on himself or to wait for something better. This life is an opportunity to prepare for eternity. The wrong decisions now will mean separation from God later. The right decisions now will mean union with God later. Of course...

A person must first establish a relationship by addressing the sin separating him from God, a remedy made possible by the redemption of His son.

But it must not stop there.

A person must then develop that relationship by ordering his life to please God, a resolution made possible by the revelation of His word.

Notice that John first regards those divine precepts as a collection and not something from which we choose the ones that appeal to us. We are responsible for the many commands of God. Then John focuses on one in particular, saying that...

B. We are responsible for the main command of God.¹⁶

...which is to love God and one another.

We must not think only of ourselves.

Herein lies one of the weaknesses of Gnosticism: It permits, even promotes narcissism, the self-absorbed attitude that no one else matters, which is contrary to the most common injunction in scripture: to love others.¹⁷

A sincere Gnostic can be selfish, because his goal is to escape from this life to the afterlife, and he believes that what happens here has no bearing on what he will experience there.
A sincere Christian must be selfless, because his goal is to prepare in this life for the afterlife, and he believes that what happens here has every bearing on what he will experience there.

Which way is the right way?

Gnostics have few if any guidelines for the present and—here is the clincher—they have no guarantees for the future. Their knowledge of what awaits them on the other side of death is based on conjecture, their own wishful thinking.
In contrast, Christians have many guidelines for the present, revealed in the word of God, as well as solid guarantees for the future, rooted in the work of God. Your knowledge of what awaits you on the other side of death is based on revelation from the one who is waiting for you.

This life is not just jail time you must endure until the great prison break of death. This life matters—both what you decide about God and what you do for God.

We generally prefer simplicity to complexity. We would rather do what is easy than what is difficult.

Why stand on a long line at the grocery store if a shorter line is only two cashiers away?
Why drive the back way when the highway is more direct?
Why practice your instrument for thirty minutes when you could play through the exercises really fast and finish in ten minutes?

We would rather do what is easy or quick than what is difficult or slow. Sometimes we have the same approach to God's commands. Why keep all God's commands when we can keep just one? After all, Paul says...¹⁸

Gal 5:14 The entire law is summed up in... "Love your neighbor as yourself."

If you keep that one, you have kept them all. This is what the modern theologian John Lennon wrote: "All you need is love" (1967). Right?

"Such advice is meaningless if the nature of love is not defined" (Marshall 1988:68), and that is what the rest of God's commands do: They define what love for God and love for man entails.¹⁹

While love is certainly important and may be a sufficient guide in deciding many cases, love alone cannot sort through a host of options, some of which may be contrary to what God has revealed. In other words, ethical decisions of varying complexity require legal counsel of varying specificity. (Manuel 2007)

The only way to express love properly, love for God or love for man, is by following the Lord's commands—all those that pertain to a given situation. You need the whole counsel of God to be a whole child of God. So Paul also says...

2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This is why John refers to God's many commands even as he highlights God's main command. Again, however familiar God's word is to you will determine how useful it is for you.

Before you follow someone, it is good to know where he is heading. As John writes to the members of this small congregation, he is confident of some and concerned for others, those who may be following the wrong person and heading in the wrong direction. Gnosticism is gaining in popularity, attracting interest even in the church. If that interest continues to grow and takes hold, the church will soon be a very different group with very different goals, and not what God intended.

When you encounter beliefs that are different from your own, and you wonder if they are correct, you can depend on the same assurances John offers in this letter. What you believe is not dubious ideas, the uncertain product of man's imagination.