J.C. Ryle was a pastor in the Church of England from 1841 to his death in 1900. For 59 years, he preached the Word of God to his people week in and week out. Towards the end of his ministry, he warned the church of drifting from the truth. In a sermon on Galatians 2:11-16 when Paul confronted the Apostle Peter for hypocrisy, he wrote,
We have no right to expect anything but the pure Gospel of Christ, unmixed and unadulterated; the same Gospel that was taught by the Apostles; to do good to the souls of men. I believe that to maintain this pure truth in the Church—men should be ready to make any sacrifice, to hazard peace, to risk dissension, and run the chance of division. They should no more tolerate false doctrine—than they would tolerate sin. They should withstand any adding to or taking away from the simple message of the Gospel of Christ.
For the truth’s sake, our Lord Jesus Christ denounced the Pharisees, though they sat in Moses’ seat, and were the appointed and authorized teachers of men. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” He says, eight times over, in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew. And who shall dare to breathe a suspicion that our Lord was wrong? For the truth’s sake, Paul withstood and blamed Peter, though a brother. What was the use of unity—when pure doctrine is gone? And who shall dare to say he was wrong? For the truth’s sake, Athanasius stood out against the world to maintain the pure doctrine about the divinity of Christ, and waged a controversy with the great majority of the professing Church. And who shall dare to say he was wrong? For the truth’s sake, Luther broke the unity of the Church in which he was born, denounced the Pope and all his ways, and laid the foundation of a new teaching. And who shall dare to say that Luther was wrong? For the truth’s sake, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, the English Reformers, counseled Henry VIII and Edward VI to separate from Rome, and to risk the consequences of division. And who shall dare to say that they were wrong? For the truth’s sake, Whitefield and Wesley, a hundred years ago, denounced the mere barren moral preaching of the clergy of their day, and went out into the highways and byways to save souls, knowing well that they would be cast out from the Church’s communion. And who shall dare to say that they were wrong?
There has been and there will be false teachers in every generation. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ must be zealous for the truth or the truth will be lost. Jude wrote to the church to, “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” We should desire unity and peace in the church, but we can never sacrifice truth on the altar of unity. Ryle again writes,
Yes! peace without truth—is a false peace; it is the very peace of the devil. Unity without the Gospel is a worthless unity; it is the very unity of hell…I am convinced that nothing but the whole truth is likely, as a general rule, to do good to souls. I am satisfied that those who willfully put up with anything short of the whole truth, will find at last that their souls have received much damage. There are three things which men never ought to trifle with: a little poison, a little false doctrine, and a little sin.
John warns the church of those who want to do damage to their souls with a little poison that will lead to a little false doctrine, that will lead to a little sin which will lead to eternal death. The stakes could not be any higher. I pray we heed John’s warning and make every effort to hold fast to the whole truth, nothing but the truth, with the help of almighty God.
Who are the Deceivers?
John is writing to a real church in real danger. He writes as a father to his children to warn them of danger. He does not want them to be naive of the threat. He writes, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” First, this is not a small schism for there are many deceivers. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13–14) Secondly, there are two things that mark these false teachers: they have left the community of faith and they have left sound doctrine.
The Christian faith is never a private faith. It has always meant to be lived out publicly and in community with others. John writes, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world,” implying that the deceivers are no longer called out from the world as the ekklesia but belong to the world. This is very similar language to 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” The church is distinct from the world. The church lives differently than the world. The church is called out from the world as we see even in her name, ekklesia, “called out ones.” Can you be a Christian apart from the church? Yes. Can you be a faithful Christian apart from church? Only in rare circumstances.
I can provide caveats for those who are not part of the church, those who are in transition from one church to another because of a geographical move or doctrinal disagreement, but the weight of the New Testament shows that Christians are connected to church. How can a Christian obey the commands of 1 Thessalonians 5:13-14, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, [13] and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” and Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” How do you exercise the keys of the kingdom Jesus speaks of in Matthew 16 and 18 and the church discipline Paul models in 1 Corinthians 5? How do you faithfully exercise the “one-anothers” in Scripture or display the manifold wisdom of God when diverse people live with empty-tomb affectionate love as the body of Christ? Who is your body that you are a member of that you have been commanded to build up for the common good?
The deceivers left the church. They left the community. They left accountability. They went back to the world. They did not just leave the community but left the righteous lifestyle of the faith. He does not make that explicit here, but is very clear in his first letter of the ethical implications of the gospel. John calls these people deceivers and antichrists. For those of you who are not part of the church, what is keeping you from submitting to a local church, its people, its leaders and its doctrine? Friends, it will be easier for you to not bind yourself to the family of faith, but it places you in danger. Christianity is a public faith meant to live in community. From Genesis to Revelation, salvation in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was never merely meant for the individual but to create a people for himself who are zealous for good works. I would make every effort not to be identified in any way with the deceivers. They went out from the community of faith to the world.
They didn’t just leave the community of faith but they also left the community of sound doctrine. “For many deceivers have gone into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” Can you be a Christian and not part of church? In rare circumstances. Can you be a Christian and not believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh? No. The false teachers did not believe, “the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.” They did not believe Jesus was sent from God the Father. They did not believe he was born of a virgin. They did not believe that his death was the atoning substitutionary death for sin. They did not believe he died as a man and was raised as a man. They did not believe that he was the Advocate interceding for us before the Father. They did not believe that Christ was coming again to rescue his people from this fallen world and bring us fully and finally into glory. Verse 9, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” Those who do not abide in the whole teaching of Christ are in eternal danger.
If Jesus was not truly a man, made like us in every respect, then we are still in our sins. If Jesus was not truly God, perfect and raised from the dead, then we are still in our sins. If you stand against sound doctrine you are with the deceiver and the antichrist. You belong to the world and the devil. You do not have God. We either have the true Christ or we have nothing. Do you see how serious John takes doctrine?
Who are the deceivers? The deceivers are those who have gone out into the world and away from the faith. Who are of the truth? Those who are living called out lives according to sound doctrine. Are you a deceiver or of the truth?
Watch Out for Deceivers!
There are only two imperatives in this short letter. The first is found in verse 8, “Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.” We have to watch our lives and our doctrine so that we may not lose our reward. There is a text variant here. In some transcripts it says, “what we have worked for,” while in others it says, “what you have worked for.” So it is either what the apostles have worked for or what the believers have worked for. I do not think it changes the imperative at all for I believe what is worked for is the same, “belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” The apostles are working for the church to believe and the church is working for themselves to believe. In John 6:27–29, Jesus says,
[27] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” [28] Then they [the disciples] said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
We work to believe and to continue to believe in what God has done for us in Christ. If you are not a follower of Jesus, please know that Christians are working for. We are not working to live a perfect life as if our good works will save us. No, we work to believe in the One who lived a perfect life for us. We work to believe that God created the world perfect without sin. Man fell into sin and disobeyed his word bringing the curse and death into the world. Man was separated from God so God sent his one and only Son to live for us. Jesus lived a perfect life and died a sinner’s death. He was dead and buried taking the full punishment for man’s sin. But God raised him from the dead on the third day and he ascended to the right hand of God. The great work of God was salvation given in the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The great work of the church is to believe in God’s great work salvation given to us in Christ. God has done the great work for you, you just have to believe? Will you believe in Christ? Turn from lesser hopes to the true and lasting hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So we must watch yourselves to make sure we continue to truly believe in what God has done for us in Christ. We cannot accept a little false doctrine or a little sin. We must truly believe in the true Christ as revealed in Scripture so that we may have our full reward. The full reward is eternal life. It is a life with God forever. It is God’s presence with the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at his right hand. It is the promised land of glory.
No chilling winds nor poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore;
Sickness, sorrow, pain and death,
Are felt and feared no more.
If we hold on to our faith, we are bound for the promised land, that sweet beulah land,
I’m looking now across the river
Where my faith will end in sight
There’s just a few more days to labor
Then I will take my heavenly flight
Beulah Land, I’m longing for you
And some day on thee I’ll stand
There my home shall be eternal
Beulah Land — Sweet Beulah Land
Beloved, there are just a few more days to labor. Do not lose what you have worked for, believe in the One whom God has sent. Believe in Christ and live.
How do we watch ourselves? We immerse in God’s Word. We write God’s Word on our hearts. We live in true community with one another. We live with honesty and transparency with one another. We live as faithful members of a local church encouraging one another all the more as the Day is drawing near. We exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require. We walk together in brotherly love and we will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others.
Welcoming the Deceivers
John did not want to give any foothold to false teaching in the community. He warned about participating in their wicked works, 2 John 10–11, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, [11] for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” John is most likely referring to traveling preachers who are working against true teaching. In the first century, inns were not safe so teachers would often look for homes to stay in instead. Jesus told his disciples to look for a person of peace when they entered a town and stay with them until they left that place. John is telling his disciples to not be a person of peace if they teach against Christ. He warns them not to welcome them or give them a greeting for they may be participating in their wicked works. It is a wicked work to teach something that is against the clear teaching of Christ in the Scriptures.
This doesn’t mean that you cannot welcome non-Christians into your home or provide food and drink to someone when they knock on your door if you are trying to engage them with the gospel of Christ. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Even Paul makes the distinction of the immoral of the world and in the church. The only way to avoid sinful people is to leave the world. John is specifically referring to helping the spread of false teaching. To give a greeting to a false teacher is to welcome their message in some way. Now I cannot imagine many of us are not in danger of housing false teachers in our homes giving them a base of operations to spread lies about Christ, but that doesn’t mean we are not giving them a greeting.
We may be giving a greeting to false teachers by watching their messages on TV or the internet. We may be buying their books and giving them money to further their false doctrine. Remember how John begins this section, “For many deceivers have gone into the world…” There are many false teachers and they come in all shapes and sizes. False teachers do not come as wolves but in sheep clothing. We have to work hard not to give them any false teacher greetings. Be careful what you allow into your homes. Do not believe companies like Netflix and Disney and Amazon do not have a message they are trying to bring into your homes. As our culture continues to drift from Christ we must watch ourselves to make sure we are not welcoming or giving a greeting to any false teachers or teaching for, “for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” Do not be deceived. Do not welcome false teachers.
Wisdom for our Day
As I pointed out in the J.C. Ryle quote above, there will always be false teaching in the church. The challenge of false teaching is that it never knocks on the door and tells you it’s false teaching. It comes through the window and sneaks into our homes. It is impossible for us to remain completely isolated from the larger evangelical world. If there is false teaching in the church at large, then there will always be dangers of false teaching coming into the church. I do not mean to provide an exhaustive list here, but let me offer a few areas where I believe false teaching may sneak into our church.
Prosperity Gospel Light – I do not believe that the full blown prosperity gospel is a danger to our church, but I am concerned about a lighter version of it. The prosperity gospel claims that God wants Christians to be healthy and wealthy and with enough faith we can name and claim financial and physical prosperity. The lighter form of prosperity gospel is discontent when God does not provide you what you believe you are entitled to by him. It is discontentment in your relationship status, your physical appearance, your current job, or in a particular trial. There is a subtle assumption that because I am a Christian and I am trying to live a faithful life that I should get or I deserve certain things. Discontentment is the prosperity gospel in seed form.
Gender confusion – Our society does not understand gender and its messaging may drop seeds of doubt of God’s good design. God has made us in his own image, male and female he has created us. We need to rejoice in God’s good design in gender for the world and the church. When we either reject manhood and womanhood as it is presented in God’s Word or we overemphasize distinctions between men and women in an unbiblical way, we are denying God’s good design in gender. As gender confusion is so prevalent in our society, we must watch out for our thinking to make sure we are thinking about gender from a biblical worldview.
Race – God has made one race from Adam. We are all part of the human race. Every single person has dignity and value as they bear God’s image. No one should apologize for who God made them to be. We all need to rejoice in God’s providence in our lives. Our family heritage is all under God’s sovereignty. We must rejoice in God’s plan for diversity and God’s plan for unity in Christ. We must avoid unhealthy and unbiblical ideas of race while not dismissing one another’s experience in the world.
Social Justice/Politics/Fitness/Homeschooling/Diet – They may be odd to group together, but all of them seem to offer more excitement and hope for “salvation” then the gospel of Jesus Christ. Anything that people are more excited about than Jesus Christ is a danger to the soul. Are you more passionate for your political party or activism or physical fitness or diet or education more than Jesus Christ? Your excitement level and joy are indicators if you may be susceptible to false teaching.
There are many other things I could say of dangerous heresies of Oneness Pentecostals that deny the Trinity, or Easy Believism that gives assurance of salvation without repentance, or Legalism that speaks only of behavior and ignores the heart. With so many deceivers and dangers lurking about, how can we watch ourselves and keep our reward? In essence, the answer is simple: Abide in Jesus and His Word.
But before I conclude, let me add a few more exhortations from J.C. Ryle to help us hold fast to Christ during these turbulent days.
First, arm himself with a thorough knowledge of the written Word of God. Unless we do this we are at the mercy of any false teacher…A Bible reading congregation may save a Church from ruin. Let us read the Bible regularly, daily, and with fervent prayer, and become familiar with its contents. Let us receive nothing, believe nothing, follow nothing, which is not in the Bible, nor can be proved by the Bible. Let our rule of faith, our touchstone of all teaching, be the written Word of God.
Second, always ready to contend for the faith of Christ, if needful. I recommend no one to foster a controversial spirit. I want no man to be like Goliath, going up and down, saying, “Give me a man to fight with!” Always feeding upon controversy, is poor work indeed. It is like feeding upon bones! But I do say that no love of false peace should prevent us striving jealously against false doctrine, and seeking to promote true doctrine wherever we possibly can. True Gospel in the pulpit, true Gospel in the books we read, true Gospel in the friends we keep company with—let this be our aim, and never let us be ashamed to let men see that it is so.
Thirdly, keep a jealous watch over their own hearts in these controversial times. There is much need of this caution. In the heat of the battle we are apt to forget our own inner man. Victory in argument—is not always victory over the world or victory over the devil…Let us strive to be holy in all our life, and not least in our tempers. Let us labor to maintain an uninterrupted communion with the Father and with the Son, and to keep up constant habits of private prayer and Bible-reading. Thus we shall be armed for the battle of life, and have the sword of the Spirit well fitted to our hand when the day of temptation comes.
Lastly, let me entreat all members of a church who know what real praying is, to pray daily for the Church to which they belong. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon it, and that its candlestick may not be taken away. Let us pray for those churches in which the Gospel is now not preached, that the darkness may pass away, and the true light shine in them. Let us pray for those ministers who now neither know nor preach the truth, that God may take away the veil from their hearts, and show them a more excellent way. Nothing is impossible. The Apostle Paul was once a persecuting Pharisee; Luther was once an unenlightened monk; Latimer was once a bigoted Catholic; Thomas Scott was once thoroughly opposed to evangelical truth. Nothing, I repeat, is impossible. The Spirit can make ministers preach that Gospel—which they now labor to destroy. Let us therefore be urgent in prayer.
Beloved, let us contend for the faith once and for all delivered for the saints. And let us do so with love, grace and charity and with all fervor of heart let us continue in the great work to believe the great work that God has done for us in Christ.
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