Thank you Stephen and Marie for that good song. Good morning to everyone. Beautiful sunshine this morning. It's a beautiful morning to go out on the farm. The dews are heavy now. We're looking to make second crop hay and that dew doesn't dry up for a long time on these days. It's a beautiful morning out there. 

We're going to be talking about truth. I was thinking about that song that we were singing this morning that it is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me. And that's really the core of the truth of the gospel. Is it enough that Jesus died? Did He make full atonement for my sins or do I believe that I must do something more? And this is really the heresy that John was addressing in 1 John. We just finished that book. But his main concern we'll see today in our text is about truth. 

And so I thought I'd take this opportunity as kind of an introduction to the second letter of John to talk about truth and the importance of truth, especially in the church as we see the forces and system of the world kind of forcing, pressuring in on the church and conforming our thinking. One of the most frequent questions I'm asked is about the diversity within the Christian church. How can it be that there are so many denominations, so many different understandings of doctrine and how we are to live the Christian life? 

From a lost man's perspective, even for the one who's seeking to know the truth, this can be downright disconcerting. And it can leave him thinking that there really is no way to know the truth. There are so many different interpretations, so many different denominations, opinions, ideas. How can a man possibly know what is right? Well, this certainly is concerning to me. 

But the answer that I always give when asked this question is that all men are not seeking the truth. They are all not coming to God's Word to see what He says about salvation, about faith and life and practice, about the church and what it's supposed to be doing and how it's supposed to be doing it. It's my observation that we have such an unhealthy diversity in the Christian world and the so-called Christian world because men are set in their own wisdoms, their own ideas, their own systems of theology, and they're not really interested in the truth. 

The reason I say this is that it seems to me that when we go to God's Word, when we strive to know what He says, what He has revealed to us in His Word, when we study to understand and know and believe the truth, then most things are very clear in the Word of God. I recently was talking to a man that I sold some cattle to and he invited me into his house and I saw on his couch that he had his Bible laying there right next to his hat and his work gloves. 

My friend Doug Foley says you can cure any problem in life with a Bible and a pair of work gloves. So I was impressed to see that laying there on his couch and I thought to myself, maybe this man's a believer. And then I walked into his kitchen with him and I saw that he had a huge crucifix hanging on his wall. I was thinking about this and he was doing some business there and before I left, I just had to talk to him and I asked him, I said, explain to me how it is that a man has a Bible on his couch next to his work gloves and a crucifix on his wall. 

He said, what do you mean? I said, well, are you Catholic? He said, yes. So I commented that you don't find Catholics have Bibles laying on their couch as if they'd been sitting there reading it earlier that morning. And he said to me, it's not true that Catholics are discouraged from reading their Bibles. It's just true that they are discouraged from interpreting them. That is to be left to the church, the magisterium actually. He then told me that he had no interest in knowing what the Bible said, chapter and verse, but he just used it for reference and sometimes inspiration. 

Now my friends, he wouldn't have to read very far to see a clear presentation of the Gospel in that Bible on his couch. He could read right in the Gospel of John, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned. He who does not believe in Him is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

Or maybe just even verse 36 in that chapter where it says, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Maybe he could thumb his way a little further into the book of Romans. Surely we see the truth in the book of Romans chapter 3 where it talks about the law showing us our sin and righteousness coming by faith in Jesus Christ alone and what He did. 

He died for me. It's enough that He died for me. And when I believe Him, God's righteousness is imputed to me. That's what Romans 4 says. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It says, now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. Listen to verse 5 of chapter 4. But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 

I hope that my friend keeps reading that Bible. Maybe he'll come across Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Or maybe Titus 3 where Paul said, but when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior that having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

You see, my brothers and sisters, it's not that the Bible is unclear. It's not that the truth is not evident, manifest in the Word of God. That's why He wrote it. The fact is that men do not want to know the truth. They leave that to their church, to their professors, to the scientists or experts or whatever, and they hold on to the ones that say what they want to hear, and they reject the ones that say something contrary. The issue is not that God has not made the truth clear in His Word. The issue is that men don't really want to hear the truth. 

And unfortunately, this is often true in the evangelical church as well. Men are off into all kinds of crazy things, teaching a myriad of doctrines. Why? Why? Is it because the Bible, God's Word, is so unclear, so confusing, that no one can understand it? No, it's because men don't seek the truth. They don't want to know the truth, especially if it's hard, if it contradicts their thinking or their wisdom or their system. The central doctrines of the faith are very clear in the Word of God if we would only look to Him to know these great truths. 

Now I'll tell you one who is absolutely passionate about the truth, one who is consumed with the truth, and that's the Apostle John. We've seen it in his Gospel. We've seen it in our recent studies in 1 John, and we will see it ever so clearly in these two little epistles that he wrote, 2 and 3 John. I want you to notice with me as we read just the first four verses we're going to study today how John speaks so often of the truth. 

Look at 2 John 1. The elder to the elect lady and her children whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth as we receive commandment from the Father. 

Five times in the first four verses John speaks of the truth. This second letter is all about the truth, discerning the truth, and guarding the truth for the sake of the church, of the believers, and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I've given you three points on your outline. First, we see that the church holds the truth. Second, we see that the church guards the truth. And third, we see the church is united and strengthened by the truth. 

Well, first we see that it's a church that holds the truth in the Word of God, in the Bible. In 1 Timothy 3:14, Paul wrote, These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth. Paul says that the church is the foundation, it's the ground, it's the pillar, the support of the truth. We hold the truth. 

In Jude 1:3, he wrote, Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. The faith once for all delivered to the saints is the body of truth, the Word of God. Jude found it necessary to contend for the faith, the doctrine, the truth, because evil men had crept in unnoticed. This is the theme of much of the New Testament, my friends. 

We saw this all through 1 John. He wrote truth to the believers, truth concerning our salvation, our security. He wanted us to know our assurance of salvation. But a close secondary theme in John's epistle was his concern about false teachers who had crept into the church, who were deceiving and misleading the believers with a heretical message that said, basically, you need something more than Jesus. 

Turn over to Acts 20 with me, please. Acts 20. We'll look at verse 25. Acts 20:25. This is Paul in Ephesus talking to the elders in Ephesus. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. How is it that Paul could be innocent of the blood of all men? For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things in order to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 

So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. It's interesting to note that the Apostle John, when he wrote these letters we're studying, late in his life, maybe in his nineties, that he was in Ephesus. He was an elder in that church in Ephesus. All those years ago, after Paul had established the church in Ephesus and come back in his journeys to strengthen it, Paul had left them for the last time. 

And in his parting words, had warned them. He had warned of false teachers from within and without. Savage wolves, he called them, describing a beast which would come in among the flock and scatter it, destroying, maiming. This was Paul's great concern. False teaching and its influence in the church against the truth. And now all these years later, John is dealing with this in the churches of Asia Minor. False teaching influencing the flock. Paul wrote to Timothy to give the more earnest heed to the things which he had heard. The Scriptures, the doctrines that Paul had taught him. This is the remedy. 

My friends, this is the remedy, even when men won't stand for it, when men won't listen, but want to have their ears tickled. You, young Timothy, in light of the wolves among you preaching lies, you preach the truth. Because it is the church that holds the truth. You'll find the truth nowhere else in this world. You'll only find the lies of Satan and his world system. And this is true in the secular and in the religious. No truth. Only lies and deception. 

And the essence of the spiritual battle in the Christian life is not chasing Satan around and casting out demons. It's standing in the truth. It's preaching the truth to pull down the strongholds and fortresses of lies. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty in God for pulling down these strongholds. And what pressure we see in our day from the world. Amazing, effective pressure from the world system pressing in on the church. 

I was reading the other day about a new proclamation, a doctrinal treatise put together by 150 Christian leaders. They call it the Nashville Statement. It addresses biblical sexuality. Basically, it affirms what the Bible teaches about sexuality and condemns fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and transgenderism. Let me ask you, how much do you think the lies of the world have affected the thinking of the church? 

It wasn't that many years ago, only a decade or two really, when this was not a question. This was not an issue, especially in Christian circles. But now, think on this, my brothers and sisters. We can no longer tell who is a man and who is a woman. In light of this, we could say there is no truth. That's the goal of liberal theologians. What Paul called Satan's ministers within the church to eliminate the God of the Bible, to eliminate absolute truth, to cast off any morality, especially in the sexual sphere. 

I was always fascinated listening to Hodge, who was a proponent of evolution in the early days, Julian Hodge, and they asked him, why do you think that people were so willing to grab on to the theory of evolution? And he said, because the idea of an accountable God interferes with our sexual mores. This document was drafted basically just to affirm what the Bible clearly says. And immediately, Christians United, a group of liberal pastors and theologians, drafted an opposing statement saying that homosexual, trans, and queer sex is quote, equally holy in God's eyes. 

And they also said that it's a bad idea to show a man who has no sexual motive to heterosexual sex within marriage. And guess what? Over a thousand pastors signed it. Listen to one pastor's opinion on the subject as recorded in the Huffington Post. He's talking about why these conservative pastors drafted the Nashville Statement. So why draft a big statement? Why publicize it? The answer is simple. Pretty much nobody cares what these people think anymore. Their public audience shrinking, their public presence waning, and their credibility shot to hell, the Christian right needs attention. End quote. 

Let me ask you again. Is the world conforming the church? Is a tidal wave of affirming and promoting sexual immorality in all its forms in this culture and the world affecting how Christians think? Many, many evangelical churches are softening their stance on marriage, on sexual immorality, on what the Bible says, twisting the Scriptures with fine-sounding arguments. The latest trend that I've noticed in evangelical churches is for young Christians to live together before they get married. Many seeing nothing wrong with this. 

We have to ask ourselves, we have to ask ourselves individually, has my thinking been conformed by the world? Or is my mind being continually renewed to the truth of God's Word? God's Word is clear. So clear on the issue of sexual immorality in all its forms. Do I believe and affirm the truth of what God says? Or do I compromise that truth? And am I influenced, conformed, intimidated by the forces of this world? 

The church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. If we do not know it, if we do not believe it, if we do not affirm it in our own minds, then how will we ever stand for it and preach it in a lost and dying world? This is just an example, my friends, just an illustration. We could talk about the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Christ, creation, evolution, salvation, sanctification, eschatology, submission to authority. 

God has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. And He has revealed to us the truth in all areas of life. This book is the truth. This book is the only source of truth. And we do well to heed it, to believe it, and to stand for it in our own lives, in the church, in our families, and in the world. Because the church holds the truth and the church must guard the truth. We must contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. 

We must preach the word in season and out of season, and primarily this in the church. There's a most interesting passage in 1 Corinthians 5 in the context of sexual immorality in the church. I think a vital point for us to remember is that we cannot expect the world to act like Christians. Our purpose in the world is not to force morality on pagans. Our job is to bring the saving message of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world so that they might believe and be saved. 

When we talk about guarding the truth, it's primarily in the context of the church. Because if we lose sight of the truth in the church, then we're lost. No one has it. No one shares it. We see this all through the epistles in the New Testament, the need for purity and clarity in the church so that believers might be protected from error and from accusation and might know and believe and live the truth. 

Certainly we stand against error and we proclaim what is true in every era of our lives, but we should not tell the drunk that he needs to quit drinking. We should not quote tell the sexually immoral that his cure is purity. That is not the man in Adam's problem. His problem is the sin that dwells in him and dominates him and separates him from God. The gospel is the answer for him. A new creation, a new birth, a new heart, and the Holy Spirit living in him, that's what will change him. 

But in the church, my friends, in the church, as we read in Acts 20 and Jude and 1 John, as we see all through the Word of God, in the church, we must guard the truth. We must be clear in our preaching and teaching. And believers must understand and know truth versus error so that we can discern rightly so that we can then be effective in the world. 

I want you to look at that passage because I think it's interesting what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5 at verse 9. 1 Corinthians 5 verse 9. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or idolaters since then you would need to go out of the world. 

But now I've written to you to not keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral or covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside, God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person. 

You see, for the believers in the fellowship, in the church, we cannot tolerate compromise. We cannot condone sin because it harms the cause of Christ. It works contrary to the saving purpose and the preaching of the gospel. It is in the church where the truth must rule and reign where we must be so very careful not to compromise and twist God's Word. 

But we cannot judge those who are outside expecting lost men to live holy lives. They cannot. They are not holy. So we bring to them the gospel of truth, of deliverance from sin and death and hell through faith alone in what Jesus did for them on the cross. I think Timothy in Ephesus is such a good example. Paul was so concerned as he was in a sense passing the torch onto Timothy. And Timothy was experiencing great pressure from false teachers within the church and he was afraid. 

He was afraid of them and he was afraid of what was happening to Paul as Paul was sitting in prison. In 1 Timothy 1:3, Paul writes, as I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 

Listen to what he says. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith from which some having strayed have turned aside to idle talk in the church in Ephesus. They're desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. In chapter four, Paul instructs Timothy, if you instruct the brethren in these things and good doctrine, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. 

But reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, verse eight, for bodily exercise profits little. Then he says, but godliness, godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end, listen to what Paul says, for to this end we agonize, we labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe these things. 

Command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word and conduct and love and spirit and faith and purity. Till I come, here's what Timothy is to do as the pastor of the church in Ephesus, till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things, chew the cud, roll them over in your mind, the truth, the doctrine. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them, to truth, that your progress may be evident to all. 

Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Paul's answer to Timothy's struggles was to hold fast to the Word, to the truth, to hold it, to guard it, and to preach it for his sake and for the sake of the believers in the church to take the doctrine and to give it to the people. To give a sense of the Word to do these things. 

The essence of the message in 1 John and 2 John and all the Scriptures we've been looking at concerning truth is that the church holds it and the church must guard it and must teach it in order to keep the world and its system and its lies from conforming the believers' thinking. My friends, we must first hold the truth and believe it and renew our minds to it. We as believers must think rightly, consistently with God's mind and truth if we are ever to be effective in bringing this truth to the world. 

So we see that the church holds the truth. We see that the church guards the truth. And we see as we broach our text in 2 John that it is the truth that unites and strengthens us. Look again at 2 John 1. The elder to the elect lady and her children said, I have found my love in truth. And not only I, but also all those who have known the truth. Because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. 

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father in truth and in love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth as we receive commandment from the Father. The father, the overseer of the church, writes to this dear chosen lady and her children. And he says, whom I love in the truth and not only I, but all those who have known the truth. 

You see, it's doctrine that unites us. You may have heard the expression doctrine divides. But that's not true. This is such a prevalent mood in evangelicalism today. Doctrine is downplayed. It's compromised. It's set aside in favor of being relevant to the world. And this is just a buzz word for compromise. For ignoring, rejecting, or twisting the truth so that we might become more like the world. 

I heard a preacher say the other day that in all the church's efforts to become relevant to the world, we have become completely irrelevant. What the world needs from the church is not entertainment. The world does a much better job of that. It's not fixing their problems or finances or relationships. It's not in helping them with a fitness program or becoming successful in their business. What the world needs from the church is truth. The saving truth of the gospel. 

My friends, this is our relevance in the world. True doctrine does not divide believers. It's true doctrine that unites believers. It's doctrine that glues us together, keeps us focused and united in Christ. It's when false teaching comes in, when doctrine is compromised, when believers are led astray into lies, that division comes. 

In Romans 16:17, Paul says, Now I urge you, brethren, note those, mark them out, call them out by name publicly, those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrines which you learned. And avoid them. It's when men teach doctrines contrary to Christ that division comes. The truth always encourages, lifts up and edifies true believers even when it's hard, even when we might not want to hear it. 

True believers love the truth and they will grow by it and they will become mature in Christ. Biblical teaching will divide believers from unbelievers. But if a man believes Jesus and he has a desire to know the truth, he will be encouraged. And Paul says in Ephesians 4, he'll be knit together with other believers when he hears the truth. 

On Friday, we had our weekly farmer's market at the depot in Ironwood. And this week, we were cooking up our brats and burgers and selling them for a fundraiser for the market. And we also had a blacksmith there doing demonstrations. And we had a bluegrass band. So it was brats and bluegrass and blacksmithing on Friday at the market. But what I didn't know was that the band that the market manager had booked was a gospel bluegrass band. It was a family from up by Bruce Crossing, the mom and the dad and five children, playing all hymns, bluegrass style. 

And I talked to Jesse, the dad, before and after they performed, and he told me that he had been following our farm on Facebook for two years and that they were quite impressed with what we were doing. He told me that the mission of their music was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to encourage believers. They often play at churches and gospel music events. You know, he and I had an instant bond, a fellowship, because he believes the truth about Jesus. And so do I. 

It's our common faith in the gospel, in the truth, that immediately unites us. You've had that experience, haven't you? You meet total strangers. You find out that they're believers. And you have an instant bond with them. I was so impressed when I went to India. A completely different part of the world. Culture. Nothing in common but a bond because of our faith in Jesus Christ. The truth is what unites us, my friends. And compromising that truth is what divides us. 

I would suggest that it is compromise of the Word of God for whatever reason that has given rise to the unhealthy diversity within Christendom. And it is compromise of the truth that renders the believer and the church ineffective in this world. Yet this is exactly what we see in the church today. Movement away from preaching of the Word of God. Away from sound doctrine and orthodoxy. And a movement toward worldliness and the wisdom of this world. 

I'm continually seeing articles written by evangelical pastors of all stripes talking about never judging other Christians' doctrine. Never criticizing anyone who claims to be a Christian. I read one article this week that went on and on about being the hands and feet of Christ in this world. And how when we speak in absolutes, we alienate people. And we should rather show them the love of Christ than keep our mouths shut. 

What this man meant by showing them the love of Christ was to never offend them. Never stand for any truth. Never say anything that might upset them or make them feel uncomfortable. The politically correct crazy world has had its influence in the church as well. You see, here's the problem, my friend. The Gospel is offensive to carnal men. The problem is that no man can be saved without hearing the truth about sin and judgment and the cross of Christ. 

Compromise abounds in New Evangelicalism. It's a virtue. But compromising the truth is not an option in John's mind. He's writing to the elect lady and her children to encourage them, to encourage us to hold fast to the truth. To guard it. And to continue to reject those who teach against it. This means we must know the truth. We must study it, read it, hear it preached continually, and renew our minds to it to grow. 

And it means that we must judge what is right and what is wrong according to truth. John's appeal to this elect lady is for discernment. To mark out those false teachers. To not let them into her home. To not show them hospitality. To not eat with them at all. But to send them on their way. It means we must stand in the truth. Never compromising. Never sacrificing the truth. But rather loving men enough to tell them the truth. 

And my brothers and sisters, this must be first and foremost within the church. In our conversations, in our fellowship, in our homes and daily living, as well as in our preaching and teaching. The church is the pillar and the ground of truth. If we don't guard the truth, then the truth will be lost in a world, in fact, in a church of confusion. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful that You give us the truth, that You tell us the truth, that You cannot lie. Thank You for this book that You've preserved for us that we have in our hands, that we can read it and study it every day and know what's true. And Father, I just pray that You would help us to know Your Word, to know Your truth, to believe it, to reckon it to be so, and to be discerning in this world. 

Help us to preach the Word from this pulpit that believers might grow and become mature in Christ and go out and do the work of ministry, preaching the truth in love. For Your glory, in Jesus' name, Amen.