Imitate What is Good (3 John 11-15)

In the previous section, John warned about Diotrephes who rejected those sent by John. Now another person, Demetrius, loved the truth and shows a contrast to those who do not. John admonishes his readers to not imitate the bad but the good. This sermon helps us see that to obey the truth we must be able to understand what God has said through His Son and the Biblical apostles. Those who believe the truth and respond in faith are those who welcome the love of the truth. We warn against a common but fatal pitfall which is to claim that words can convey binding truth. This effectively makes it impossible to know the difference between what is good and what is evil and thereby makes it impossible to do what John commands. On the contrary, God has spoken words that He chose which convey meaning that we can understand and be morally bound to. When the evil that confronts believers is idol worship, we should be like Joseph and flee. Those who truly know God are those who believe on Jesus Christ and trust His once-for-all atoning work and thus find “peace” as the Bible defines it.

Bob DeWaay references Critical Issues Commentary podcast featuring well-known speaker and teacher Mike Gendron which can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5BvtOshrs.

Sermon handout and slides available under Downloads tab.