The Epistles of John, Part 28: Playing with Fire

The ancient Greeks told many tales of myth and fable set against a backdrop of gods, goddesses, demi-gods, heroes, and monsters.  One such story is that of Icarus.  He and his father, Daedalus, were imprisoned by King Minos of Crete in the labyrinth that Daedalus had designed for the purpose of keeping the monstrous Minotaur away from society.  To escape, Daedalus designed and crafted two sets of wings, one for him and one for his son.  These wings were constructed of feathers attached to a wooden frame with wax.

Daedalus cautioned his son not to fly too close to the sun because the wax would melt, causing the artificial wings to fall apart.  But Icarus, overcome with the exhilaration of flight, chose to ignore his father’s warning.  Rising too high, the heat of the sun did indeed cause his wings to be rendered useless, and Icarus fell to his death in the sea.

The point of the myth is to warn of the dangers of hubris.  But what I find interesting in light of 2^nd John is the aspect of heat and the damage it causes.  Heat requires a source to generate it, such as the aforementioned sun or a fire.  The heat then moves outward from its source in waves, eventually dissipating in the air.  What is fascinating about this is that the heat itself is all that is necessary in order to be in danger and to sustain damage.  It is not required to put one’s hand directly into a fire in order to be burned.  One just has to get too close and, as with Icarus, disaster will strike!

The principle I’m talking about is not limited to heat.  It really applies equally well to many forms of danger.  A fatal fall from a high cliff need not be preceded by a willing leap over the edge.  The foolish person courting death merely has to get too close to the precipice and either through their own disorientation resulting from vertigo or the erosion of soil resulting in a weak cliff face, they may find themselves in free fall unwillingly. 

Of course this idea is particularly relevant theologically in the form of sin and the tempting dangers it poses when we merely come close to it.  Paul warned Timothy twice of the need to not just avoid temptations but to actively and aggressively flee from them.  In 1^st Timothy 6:11, in describing false teaching, greed, envy, strife, and abusive language, he tells his disciple to: flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.  Later, in 2^nd Timothy 2:22, Paul again urges his protégé to: flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  It was critically important to Paul that Timothy learn this lesson well.  The reason is because of the swift and sure path that leads from lust and temptation to sin and death that James speaks of in James 1:14-15: But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  Indisputably, the Bible teaches us to run away from spiritual danger as fast and as far as we can.

In the last part of 2^nd John I think we see another example of this timeless biblical principle.  He begins in verse 9 by outlining the situation: Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.  The phrase “goes too far” is an interesting one and bears some discussion.  It stems from a single Greek word, “proago” (pro-ah-go), and is alternately translated as “runs ahead”, “goes on ahead”, or even “transgresseth”, depending on the translation being consulted.  “Proago” only appears 20 times in the New Testament, limiting our ability to gain a wide angle view of the word through cross referencing.  However, the occurrences we do have are more than sufficient to give us the sense in which John must have used it.

In Matthew 2:9 we read of the magi from the east, who are seeking the Christ child in order to worship Him.  The text states: after hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before (“proago”) them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.  This verse illustrates the most common pattern of usage in Scripture for “proago”.  It means to lead, to go before, or even to be sent on ahead.  But this seems too mundane for John’s purpose, considering the context of how he is using it.  He is clearly describing false teachers; those who deny the teaching of Jesus and, rather than remaining in them, choose to depart and go another direction.

It is in this light that 1^st Timothy 5:24 is helpful: The sins of some men are quite evident, going before (“proago”) them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.  The point that Paul is making to Timothy is that sometimes the evil that people do is clearly seen in the “light of day”.  Either because their sins are so flagrant and grandiose that it is impossible to hide them or because the sinner just doesn’t care enough to attempt concealment, all who observe them can clearly see the wrongdoing they are responsible for.  Thus it is obvious such a person is headed to judgment and torment.  In a sense, the sins they have previously committed are paving the way to their destruction.  This usage by Paul casts “proago” in a decidedly negative light.  No longer is it simply a word of neutral leading and following.  Suddenly it takes on an overtone of a duplicitous and ultimately destructive leading or moving away from righteousness.

The third angle in the New Testament, and I believe the final piece of the puzzle, is found in Hebrews 7:18: For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former (“proago”) commandment because of its weakness and uselessness.  The context of this passage is a discussion of the priesthood of Christ relative to and contrasted against the Levitical priesthood of the Mosaic covenant.  In verse 18 we can clearly see the idea of something new coming along and replacing something old.  The latter usurps the former, in the case of Christ, righteously.  But this usurpation could also be done unrighteously, as we will see in a moment.

I believe in John’s use of “proago” in 2^nd John 1:9 we see all three of the aforementioned elements at work.  Let me summarize.  “Proago” indicates leadership.  It is sometimes combined with an unrighteous motivation leading to the destruction of those who follow.  Additionally, there is the idea of a departure from something former, such as rules or practices.  I believe these building blocks are inclusive to the way in which John uses “proago”. 

The person being described is one that “does not abide in the teaching of Christ” (v.9).  He has departed from the true faith and is straying into realms of human wisdom, satanic fantasy, and godless apostasy.  This person is devoid of a relationship with God.  In stark contrast to a true child of God, who is “in Christ”, this idolater “does not have God” (v.9).  He does not possess life in Christ (1^st Jn. 5:12).  He does not love God and God does not love him (1^st Jn. 2:15).

But the situation is even worse than that.  John is not describing someone who “merely” goes astray.  Rather than limiting his disobedience to himself alone, this person leads others away from the teachings of Christ.  He transforms leadership, which should be noble and honorable, into a toxic parody of itself.  Christ beckoned “come, follow me” and led His disciples into the Kingdom of Heaven.  But this person that John is describing beckons “come, follow me” and like the fabled Pied Piper of Hamlin, leads his followers straight into the pits of Hell.

He stands in direct opposition to the truth of God that has been previously set forth and handed down from ages past.  I think there is a distinction implied by John in the false teacher of verse 9 and the faithful disciple of verse 6.  Unlike a true child of God who obeys the commandments that have been given to us from the beginning, the enemy departs from them and moves to a new doctrine.  He presents a new teaching.  He twists the commands of the Lord and is in every way the antichrist and deceiver that John warned us about in verse 7.

Such a one presents a serious threat to the church.  This is the framework around which 2^nd John is structured; this wider theological war that is raging for the soul of the body of Christ.  So is no wonder then that John not only unilaterally condemns a leader like this but proceeds to blast anyone who associates with him in verses 10 and 11: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.  Our adversary has been clearly identified in the preceding verses.  We know who we are dealing with.  Now then, what exactly is John telling us to avoid in response to this situation?

First of all, we need to understand that John is once again turning to the Greek imperative mood here.  Both the phrase “do not receive” and “do not give” are placed in the imperative.  For anyone who has been with me from the beginning of John’s first epistle, you will recall that this is the Greek mood of command.  When a writer uses the imperative, whatever they are saying passes from good advice or gentle exhortation into explicit and unyielding authority.  In John’s case, he is bringing all of his apostolic authority to bear and barking out a sharp, no nonsense order that we had best heed for our own sake.

To make sense of this and interpret it into present day application, I believe we need to focus on the two phrases I mentioned above.  First, “do not receive”.  What does it mean to receive something in the way John is using it here?  The word in Greek is “lambano” (lahm-bahn-o).  Cross referencing that word with John’s gospel I believe we can find an answer in chapter 1, verse 12 and chapter 3, verse 11.  In the first passage John is giving a summary or an overview of the ministry and work of Christ.  And he says in verse 12: But as many as received (“lambano”) Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.  These people did more than listen attentively to Jesus and concede the value of what He was teaching.  They accepted the teaching deep within their hearts.  They bought into His identity as God in the flesh.  They gave themselves over in surrender to a new way of life, completely subsumed in their new identity in the god-head.

In stark contrast and opposition, we find Jesus conversing with Nicodemus.  Unlike the people described back in chapter 1, Nicodemus, much like his fellow Pharisees, is reluctant to accept the message of repentance that Jesus is bringing.  In 3:11 Christ says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept (“lambano”) our testimony.”  Although there is evidence later in the gospel that Nicodemus eventually came to repentance, at this point he would not “receive” the true gospel.  He refused to take it into his heart and make it a part of himself.  He could not conceive of submitting himself to the radical message of this upstart Galilean rabbi.

So I think that to receive someone the way John is meaning is to welcome them joyfully and unreservedly into the inner sanctum of our life.  It is to take them deep into our confidence and make them a close associate we are bound to.  To put it another way, what John is teaching here is that we should receive the message of the false teachers he is warning of exactly the same way Nicodemus and the other Pharisees received the message of Jesus.  The shoe has been placed squarely on the other foot and it is now true Christians who should stand in opposition to the enemies of the gospel.

The second phrase that bears examination is “do not give them a greeting.”  Again we must ask what is John’s meaning here.  The answer is easier to ascertain this time.  Backing up just a few verses to 2^nd John 1:4 we find the apostle describing his reaction upon finding the Christians at his sister church walking faithfully according to the truth.  John says he was “very glad”.  In John 16:22 Jesus was soothing His disciples against the time of grief and mourning that was rapidly approaching with His betrayal, arrest, and death.  He said: “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice.”  Both “very glad” from 2^nd John 1:4 and “rejoice” from John 16:22 are the same word as “greeting” in 2^nd John 1:10.

Imagine the disciples on the darkest night of their lives.  Everything they thought they knew and understood has suddenly been stripped away from them.  Perhaps it occurred to them that the last three years of their lives had just been poured out upon the ground like water in the middle of a desert.  They would have been experiencing loss, disorientation, distraction, and a profound sense of aimlessness.

Now imagine this same group of men when Jesus appeared in their midst three days later.  In an instant, all of their grief, all of their sorrow, all of their confusion, all of their anger melts away in a single moment of the sweetest euphoria they will ever experience this side of heaven.  Suddenly all the teachings of Christ over the past three years crystallize into a splendor of joy and a firm resolve of perseverance.  After taking them through the deepest valley imaginable, Jesus has just led them by the hand and caused them to scale the mountaintops of victory.  From this point forward, for the sake of this Man, these men will be willing to go through the middle of a fire while smiling joyfully at the adversaries all around them.

I think that is the sense John is conveying here in his negative command.  He does not want us to respond to these false teachers in this way.  He does not want us to experience this kind of joy and elation when we are confronted with their insidious message.  He instead wants us to respond with revulsion and loathing.  But such responses must be handled carefully and pointed in the right direction and at the right target.

Namely, it is the false teaching we are to stand in opposition to.  The Christian’s mission in life is not to attack the messenger but rather to attack the message.  Jesus told His followers that He came not to bring peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34).  But it is the message of truth that is divisive, not the messenger who bears the truth.  Jesus calls us to be salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16).  Our mission is to bring spiritual flavor to people’s lives and provide the light of the gospel to show them the path to salvation.  Jesus calls us to offer our other cheeks to those who slap us (Matt. 5:39).  Our mission is to welcome the persecution we receive as an opportunity to partake in the sufferings of Christ and as a means to point our enemies to Christ with our selfless conduct.  Jesus calls us to pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).  Our mission is to recognize the horror of our enemies’ lives, whether they understand it or not, and long for them to come to repentance and discover true joy.

In the same way as his Master, John is not instructing us to be rude, hostile, or belligerent to the false teachers he is warning us about.  Nowhere does the apostle say we are to be aggressive and attack the false teachers for their heresy.  All he has said is that we are to avoid bringing them into our confidence and we are to refrain from any sort of glad expressions of joyfulness in response to their teaching. 

If we take John’s teaching here and construe it into some sort of mandated campaign of hostile aggression against those who deny the teachings of Christ, as some in our modern day have done, we are butchering the text and in a supremely ironic twist, ourselves departing from the teachings of Christ; the very thing we are being warned against in the first place! 

How horrific to think that we might become that which we despise.  Even secular writers understand the danger of such tendencies.  Friedrich Nietzsche, a devout atheist to his death, famously wrote “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.  And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”  If someone as profoundly godless as Nietzsche understood such paradigms, how much more should we, who have the likeness of Christ, understand and avoid them.

As if that was not terrible enough to contemplate, in verse 11 John gives the ultimatum which lies at the core of his warning.  If, he says, we disobey his teaching and do in fact invite false teachers into fellowship and greet them joyfully then we are guilty of the same crimes they are.  There is a guilt by association implicit in this verse.  Whether we are the ones bringing the false teaching or not is irrelevant.  By condoning the actions and behaviors of these enemies of the gospel we might as well have committed their atrocities ourselves.

A similar yet distinctly different nuance to this truth can be found in 2^nd Thessalonians chapter 3.  Paul is instructing the church regarding the pursuit of hard work and avoiding gossip.  In verses 14 and 15 he writes the following: If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.  Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.  Paul is very clear that the expectation for disobedient Christians is to shun their behavior.  The hope is that through experiencing the condemnation of the church the wayward brother will be brought to embarrassment leading to repentance.

Yet, Paul says, even in the midst of this orchestrated shunning we are still to regard our brother as truly a brother in Christ.  We are not to treat him as we would treat an enemy.  We are still to be kind to him even as we rebuke his disobedient lifestyle.

But here is the distinction between Paul’s instruction in 2^nd Thessalonians and John’s teaching here in 2^nd John.  The false teachers John is warning us about are clearly not brothers in Christ.  The situation Paul is describing to the Thessalonians is one of a sin of omission.  The brother in question is not controverting the teaching of Christ by actively opposing Him and leading others in such a course.  He is instead simply refusing to follow the instructions he has been given.  But in 2^nd John we are faced with a very different kind of animal.  As stated previously, this is someone who is intentionally putting themselves in a position of leadership for the purpose of drawing others away from the faith.  They themselves are undoubtedly not of the faith because they are not abiding in the true teachings of Christ at all.

So you might say that the unrighteousness on display in 2^nd John is of a much greater magnitude.  This is why John warns us so urgently to completely avoid and distance ourselves from such men.  If we welcome them, we may quite possibly unwittingly give the impression that we approve of their teaching and so cause others to go astray because they believe we are in agreement with the unbiblical lies being espoused by these enemies of God.

Now then, with all of this being said, I think a very important question remains.  Namely, how do we recognize these false teachers?  To answer this, we can follow the train of logic that John has given us.  He said in verse 9 that the criteria for identification is a failure to abide in the teaching of Christ.  What is the teaching of Christ?  In the context of this letter it is to love one another and to acknowledge Him as the Messiah, or God in the flesh.  But in the broader context of Scripture there is more to the teaching of Christ.

In Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus taught: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”  Jesus was referring here to the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures.  He is making the claim that His ministry is the fulfillment of all the oracles of God that have come before.  So His teaching is literally the whole of the Old Testament made manifest.

Beyond that, the gospels describe His ministry, the Apostles continued His ministry, and their body of work that constitutes the New Testament is based entirely on His ministry.  Thus the teaching of Christ is literally the whole of the New Testament as well.  So it is quite fitting, accurate, and appropriate to state that the teaching of Christ is the whole of recorded Scripture.

Therefore, our test for false teaching is, quite simply, to match it up against the Bible and see if it holds water.  Obviously, we cannot do this unless we know what is in the Bible.  So it follows that in order to obey John’s commands here we must be good students of Scripture in our own right so that we can properly discern truth from falsehood.  As he pointed out in 1^st John 4:1: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  We must remain on our guard against such as these.

There is one more component of John’s instruction in this letter.  It is a particular aspect that is important both for walking in truth and love as well as guarding against false teaching.  And it is something that is perhaps in more danger in our modern high technology rapid information age than ever before; it is the human element.  John describes it in verses 12 and 13 as he closes: Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.  The children of your chosen sister greet you.

It is fascinating to me that the Apostle John would make such a significant point out of meeting with his fellow Christians in person.  Not that this is surprising, coming from John.  He has repeatedly expressed his fondness for other Christians.  He called them “my little children” repeatedly in 1^st John (2:1, 2:12, 2:28, etc.).  His first century audience were his “beloved” (1^st Jn. 2:7; 4:1, 7).  He considered them his brothers (1^st Jn. 3:13).  So it is entirely anticipated that these people, for whom John had such deep and abiding affection, would be the object of his desire to visit personally.

However, it must be acknowledged that personal visits and cross country travel were certainly not as easy or efficient as they are today.  It would most likely have taken John weeks to travel to this church.  The journey would not have been comfortable, and may have even been dangerous.  Nature, the possibility of encountering brigands, and old age would have presented considerable obstacles to the idea of John actually pulling such a trip off.  So then, even if John’s desire for such a visit was strong, his means to do so may have been lacking.

This makes it all the more interesting that he would place such emphasis on something so difficult.  It would seem that John saw great value in communing in person with his brothers and sisters in Christ.  Remember how he began his first epistle.  In 1^st John 1:3-4 he wrote: what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.  These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.  The similarities between that passage and this one are striking.  The concept of joy being made full or complete in Christian fellowship is a recurring theme for John. 

The phrase he uses here in his second letter to describe such a meeting, translated as “face to face”, is literally “mouth to mouth” in the Greek.  John believed that in order for the church to experience complete joy as Christ had intended there must be intimate inter-personal interactions between believers.  Letters were insufficient for this task in John’s mind.  He wanted to experience community with his fellow Christians in much the same way he had experienced Christ Himself: through hearing, through sight, through examination, and through touch (1^st Jn. 1:1).

Not only that, but notice in verse 12 John’s ulterior motive for arranging such a visit.  It was to teach and instruct.  He had already written so much goodness and truth to this church.  But he was full to bursting with additional teaching.  He longed to impart his wisdom and knowledge of God the Father and His Son to these Christians.  But he wanted to do it in person.  He wanted to interact with them “in the classroom”, as it were.  John was not satisfied with having them read his words.  He wanted them to hear him speak, watch his facial expressions, hear the inflections in his voice, understand his word pictures, and so on.

With this in mind, let us turn our attention to our present day.  Some Christians would espouse the value of distancing themselves from a local church.  They would find fault, perhaps rightly so, with the problems that are sure to abound any time two or more sinful human beings are placed in close proximity.  Such problems exist in all social groupings, whether it is biological families, work associations, or even churches.  But some believers seem to consider church as an optional member of that list.  In spite of the difficulties experienced within families they stick it out because it’s family.  Regardless of problems faced at work they remain employed because a paycheck is necessary to live comfortably.  Yet they are not willing to extend that same level of importance to a local church.

The advent of technological advances in the past half century have only aided and abetted such notions.  If you don’t care for your local pastor’s preaching style or ability, why bother to submit yourself to him?  After all, you can easily gain access to a treasure trove of sound preaching from the best teachers God has gifted us with today, at the click of a mouse button.  And for good measure, is the worship leader at your church not as skilled as you would like?  No problem!  All the best contemporary worship songs can be found and played in the comfort of your own home.  Why bother with the fuss and hassle of attending church?

Now, I recognize that what I have just described is an extreme case.  Most people, even if they feel some antipathy toward church attendance, are not going to go that far.  But even for those of us who do place a high value on being present with our bodies at a local gathering of believers, we still face the difficulties inherent in any inter-personal relationships.  People annoy us, we annoy them, we disagree, we offend, we are insensitive, we mock, we gossip, and we harbor bitterness.

But in spite of these difficulties, John says it is worth it.  With his stated desire to come to this church in person he communicates loud and clear the value of being together in fellowship.  We have looked at it before, but the Greek word for this kind of togetherness is “koinonia” (koin-o-nee-ah).  It is an intimate bond between people.  It is a joyful celebration of like-minded values.  It is communion in the best and most sacred and most holy sense of the word. 

And this is the real point of attending church.  It really is not about the building, or the service times, or the structure of the corporate worship, or the quality of the preaching, or the taste of the coffee, or the paper the bulletins are printed on, or the ambient lighting, or the comfort of the pews, or anything else. 

In fact, the word we translate as church is “ekklesia” (ek-le-see-ah) in Greek.  It never refers to a structure or a building in the Scriptures.  It always is used in reference to a gathering of people.  The biblical purpose of attending a local church “building” is so that the real church, the people, can be assembled together in “koinonia”.  John understood this.  He preached it and longed for it.  He purposed to engage in it, even at great personal cost to himself and at a very advanced age.  Do we place the same value on joining together with the “ekklesia” in “koinonia”?

We must see participation in a local church this way.  We must cultivate a profound and earnest lifestyle that engages the body of Christ, the church, in an intimate sharing of lives.  Our love for God’s people must be of such a high caliber that it is more important to us than every carnal pleasure and desire.  We must be willing to stand up for the truth of Scripture so as to protect this “ekklesia” we are a part of.  We must do this even if it means that we have to sever some ties with those who are found to be leading others into false doctrine.  To do otherwise is to play with fire.  And when you play with fire, eventually you get burned.