Do Not Lose Out

John and Second John give us really strong warnings. Amen! Praise the Lord. God is so good. Would you stand with me, please, and take out your Bibles this morning? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one.

We are opening to the New Testament book of Second John, which is right near the end of your Bible. So, open to the very last book, Revelation, turn a little bit to the left, and you'll find First, Second, and Third John. We are to pick it up today in Second John at verse 4.

As you are turning there, just a reminder: if you have a question about the passage of Scripture we are going through today or anything about the Christian faith, you can text your questions to the phone number on the screen. We will answer those on the Questions Podcast this week. You can subscribe at thequestionspodcast.com. Let there be light; now you can see.

Alright, Second John, verse 4, chapter 1—only one chapter, verse 4. There, John says, "I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose the things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. Having many things to write you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and speak face to face.

Joy may be full. The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

Father, you inspired James to write that if anyone lacks wisdom, they are to ask from you, and that you would give wisdom in full abundance. So, God, we pray—I pray that this morning you would give us wisdom, that we would comprehend what this text says, what it means, and what it means for us today, living in 2019. Lord, we trust that you use your word to transform us by the renewing of our minds. You use your word to cleanse us, and that you, by your Spirit, are working through your word even at this very moment.

So, I pray, God, that you would bind any work of distraction or the enemy that would seek to keep us from understanding and applying your word. God, continue to work in us a transformation. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

There is a new word and concept that has entered the vernacular of our culture. I know that it is new because, as I typed it into my notes application this week, it underlined it in red. It is not even in the dictionary of my computer at this point. I added it, just by the way.

This word and concept is being used in our culture. For many decades, evangelistically oriented Christians—people who believe the Bible and not only believe what the Bible teaches about the gospel, but also feel that it is their responsibility, their call from God, to share those things with other people—have been focused on the concept of conversion. This is the experience where a person puts their trust in Jesus; they move from darkness to light, from death to life, from being blind to seeing, and from being lost to being found. That whole experience is called conversion.

Now, our culture, which has been highly influenced throughout its history by Protestant Christianity, is speaking not of conversion but of deconversion. This is the new word, the new concept that has entered into our vernacular, one that dictionaries don't even recognize yet, but it is something that is being tossed around.

Around quite frequently now is the discussion of whether or not it is theologically possible for a person who has experienced a conversion to then experience a deconversion. This is a topic for another time, as it is not the focus of what I want to look at today. There are people who question whether or not that is theologically even a reality or a possibility.

I grew up and came of age in my Christian understanding here at this church during a time when we were encouraged to know our testimony. How many of you know your testimony or have shared your testimony before? When I was growing up in the youth group, I was encouraged to write out my testimony. What is your testimony? It is your story of conversion.

Of course, growing up as I did in this church, I always felt like I didn't really have much of a testimony. You hear testimonies like Rahl Reese's. You know Rahl Reese, the one who had a radical transformation? He was going to kill his family and then himself, but then he saw Chuck Smith on TV and gave his life to Jesus. My testimony feels like Disney Channel in comparison to that.

I can remember being encouraged to write out my testimony, and then we would go on short-term trips to share it. For some of you, you may have grown up in that Christian experience as well. However, now there are those who are sharing deconversion testimonies. In fact, just three weeks ago, the Christian Post tweeted out that they are seeking deconversion testimonies. If you have fallen away from evangelical Christianity, they invited you to email them. There are also a whole bunch of YouTube videos of people sharing their deconversion testimonies.

We are living in a fascinating time, and I'm sure you have seen that. I hope you'll allow me to step on some spiritual toes for a moment. This is not meant to be a political jab; it is just an observation that I find fascinating about where we are as a culture. Just a couple of weeks ago,

Well-known TV preacher and peddler of prosperity theology, Benny Hinn, has apparently renounced prosperity theology to the point that other prosperity theologians are calling him a heretic. When prosperity teachers are calling you a heretic, you're doing something right. So, Benny Hinn is now preaching a genuine gospel. That's surprising and fast! I'll take a wait-and-see approach on this one. I want to wait and see, but I think that's a good thing.

Another fascinating thing is that one of the leading voices seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidential election next year is a homosexual married man who chastises Christians for being unfaithful to Scripture. That's a little strange. Three years ago, and again, not intended to be a political chaplain, let's just observe this for what it is: it's fascinating. Three years ago, eight out of ten, or 81 percent, of those who identify as evangelical Christians pulled the lever, so to speak, for a man who has had five children and three marriages, two of which ended in adultery.

We are living in fascinating times, depending on where you might stand on this. It's just something to consider. The Christian Post is seeking deconversion testimonies from those who have fallen away from evangelical Christianity. According to Pew Research, one of the leading research organizations in our country, the fastest growing religious group in America today is the non-religious, those identified by sociologists and demographers as the "nuns."

It is highly likely that you know someone in this category. From 2012 to 2017, those in our culture who consider themselves religious and spiritual dropped from 59 percent to 48 percent. During the same period of time, those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious rose from 19 percent to 20 percent.

Seven percent of people probably know someone who would identify as "spiritual but not religious." Maybe you are here today and would classify yourself in that way as well. However, there is a noticeable shift: a drop in those who say they are both spiritual and religious, and an increase in those who identify as spiritual but not religious.

John writes about this in his letter. Look at the text with me, if you will. In Second John, verse seven, it states, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." Many deceivers have gone out into the world.

Quick question: Where did these deceivers come from? John answers this question in his previous book. We studied it before we came to Second John. Look at First John, just a couple of pages to the left. In First John, chapter two, verse fifteen, it says, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Then, in verse eighteen, it states, "Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard, the Antichrist is coming. Even now, many antichrists have come," which aligns with what we are reading in Second John, verse seven. Even now, many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

Now, notice verse nineteen: "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 they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us." In Second John 1:7, we see that many deceivers have gone out into the world.

Are you saying that there were deconversions in the first century? Are you saying that what we are seeing is not new, that it is not unprecedented? This was happening 2,000 years ago when one of the first apostles, one of the guys who walked with Jesus and saw the Risen Jesus while he was still alive, witnessed these events.

John, when he wrote this letter, was very likely living in a city called Ephesus, which is in modern-day Southwest Turkey, at that time known as Asia Minor. If you have studied through the New Testament, then you know that Ephesus was central to the storyline of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul planted a church there in the city of Ephesus, as recorded in the book of Acts, chapters 18 and 19.

At the end of Paul's last missionary journey, as he was on his way back to where he would eventually be arrested and almost killed by a group of zealots who hated him and his ministry, he stopped in the city of Ephesus. He met with the leaders, the elders of the church there. This would be about 35 to 40 years before John wrote Second John. In his conversation with the Ephesian elders, Paul says, as recorded in Acts 20:29-30, "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 to draw away disciples after themselves."

What kind of individuals will come into the church? Paul describes them as savage wolves, exactly as Jesus predicted would be the case in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus spoke to his disciples, and John, who is writing the letter we are studying, was one of those who was there and heard Jesus say these words in Matthew 7:15: "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." Later on, in Matthew 24:24, Jesus said, "For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand."

Point number one on your outline: Do not be surprised by deceptive influences.

Antichrists who depart from Jesus and deny His coming should not be surprising to us. At this point, some of you are composing your questions for the Questions Podcast, particularly about eternal security—once saved, always saved. I would encourage you, if you have a question about that, to send it in. We'll talk about it on the Questions Podcast.

As you do, I want you to consider some things. Is it possible that we, living in 2019 among American Christianity, have become lazy about the importance of the gospel due to our insistence on eternal security? Is it possible that we, as a body—the Church—have become lethargic about the importance of church discipline? When Paul talks about savage wolves coming in, and when John discusses similar issues in 2nd John, he is referring back to the concepts of church discipline.

Is it possible that we have become sluggish in our obedience, faith, and endurance? These are the very things that John, Paul, James, and Peter encouraged Christians to be committed to 2,000 years ago. Perhaps we need to hear similar messages in 2019.

I will be very candid: by nature, I am incredibly lazy. I won’t ask for a show of hands from those who would support me by saying, "Yeah, me too," but I think we are all pretty much the same. If I can find ways to justify my laziness, I will do it.

What, then, is the cure for laziness? I suggest that there are at least two things that can help: discipline and responsibility. These are words that are not exactly fashionable in 2019 here in the United States of America. We hear a lot about rights and liberty, but we don’t hear a lot about discipline and responsibility.

Responsibility is an interesting topic. In his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," Viktor Frankl, who survived Auschwitz, stated that what America needs is not just the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast; it needs a statue of responsibility on the West Coast. I think there's a lot of truth to that. We have been so committed to liberty—liberty, liberty, liberty—focusing on our rights and what we want to do, that we have failed to recognize what we ought to do. This is a reality for the church as well.

Responsibility and discipline are out of fashion in 2019, but look at what John writes in verse eight of Second John: "Look to yourselves." Another way of saying it would be "check yourself." He continues, "that we do not lose the things that we looked for, but that we may receive a full reward." That is language of discipline and responsibility, isn't it? We are encouraged to look to ourselves so that we do not lose out and so that we might gain the reward.

If you've been around Cross-Connection Church for any length of time, you know that I don't often talk about myself. I'm a Bible guy; I like to talk about the Bible. However, for the sake of illustration, it's fitting to get a little personal for a moment. In 74 days, I will be 40 years old. For those of you who are laughing, welcome to 40 in the rearview mirror! For those of you who are not, I understand where you're at; I get it. It brings you down to double digits, and you start to think about things.

I want to show you a picture of me at 20. Most of you don't know that guy, but that's me 20 years ago, weighing 300 pounds, maybe a little more than that. At the time, I was working here as a junior high pastor. Three and a half years later, I weighed 175 pounds. What happened there? Some discipline and some responsibility. You can take that down now; I don't need to look at it anymore.

What happened? Well, you might be fascinated to find that what occurred was something that really resonated with me from a passage of Scripture. You can note it if you'd like, or you can turn there. It's from the book of First Corinthians, Paul's letter to the Corinthians. In First Corinthians chapter 9, Paul writes this in verse 24: "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the reward?"

John is talking about the reward and the prize, not losing. In Second John, Paul reiterates, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the reward? Run in such a way that you may obtain the reward." Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we, an imperishable crown.

Therefore, I run in this way, not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight, not as one who beats the air. This is the important part: verse 27. "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."

There are perhaps many ways to read and interpret this passage of Scripture, but I can tell you this: when I read that at 20 years old, it was as if the Holy Spirit of God gave me a kick in the rear. I was preaching to others as a junior high pastor, and it was as if God said to me, "I need you to discipline yourself because you're lazy and take responsibility, lest when you have preached to others, you become disqualified." I took that to heart.

I don't show that picture to boast about anything, because if I'm opposed to anything, it's that God did a work there. But here's the thing: I believe God was working in me, too, willing to do, but I had to take responsibility. That didn't just happen without some discipline and responsibility. There had to be some discipline and responsibility.

Another version of First Corinthians 9:27, the New International Version, renders it this way: "I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave." It is basically talking about taking ownership so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize, the reward.

We spend a whole lot of time arguing the finer points of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. A lot of people have done that, especially for the last 500 years. You have this spectrum: God's sovereignty on one end, where God works and does all, and man's responsibility on the other end, where man has to do it. Many of you would find yourself at various points along that spectrum.

No matter where you align between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, you still have to wrestle with passages like 1 Corinthians 9:27 and 2 John, verses 7 and 8. We have to wrestle with this. I would like to justify my laziness, lack of discipline, and lack of responsibility in favor of God doing everything, but verses like these remind me that I must beware of losing my reward in Christ.

It seems that during the time John wrote this letter, there were some within the early church who had departed from Christ. Not only had they departed from Christ, but they also denied the fullness of who He was—His person, that He is God in the flesh. Furthermore, they were leading others, deceiving them into the same departure.

The same John who writes here in 2 John, verses 7 and 8, that we ought to be careful not to lose what we've worked so hard for, and that we would gain our full reward, is the same John who, a few years before writing this letter, penned the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book of the Bible. In the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 22, John is the penman. God is revealing, and Jesus is speaking.

Jesus says in Revelation 22, verse 12, "Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me." The same word that John uses here in verse 8, when he says that we need to receive our full reward, is the word that Jesus uses in Revelation 22, verse 12: "I am coming quickly, and I am bringing my reward with me to give to everyone."

According to his work, who completed the work for salvation? Jesus. He has a reward that he is going to give to those who have been doing the work of salvation.

Now, of course, we have to answer the question as we look at 2nd John, verses 7 and 8, and as we consider Revelation 22, verse 12. What is it that John is speaking about when he cautions us to beware of losing something? What might we lose? How you interpret that or answer that question is going to be largely influenced by whatever sort of theological commitments you bring to the text. Every single one of us comes to the text with certain theological commitments.

One of those commitments will be something along the lines of you cannot lose your salvation, and this brings a lot of comfort to many people. I completely understand that. There is so much teaching on eternal security and the idea that you cannot lose your salvation, to which I say yes and amen. However, we come to many passages of Scripture wherein we have cautions and warnings, and the warnings make us uncomfortable. They should. The whole point of a warning is to make you uncomfortable.

So, how we answer the question of what the reward is that John is speaking about, that Jesus is speaking about, will differ according to our theological commitments. One commentator on this text writes that some scholars believe the loss John is speaking about is salvation, which makes some people pretty uncomfortable. However, there is a lot of scholarship and many Bible teachers who would say John is talking about salvation. This commentator also notes that others believe the danger is a loss of reward and eternity in the context of Christian service.

He writes that it does seem clear that for John, perseverance is the proof of possession. To stay with Christ gives the clearest evidence that one belongs to Christ. To cling to him and him alone is the surest and only path to receiving all that God has provided.

You line up God's sovereignty, man's responsibility, eternal security, and the potential for losing your salvation. Whatever you line up, there's truth in it. What this commentator is pointing out, I think, is that perhaps the loss is a reward in eternity, or perhaps the loss is the reward of eternity. Yes, that makes people uncomfortable, but I suggest that American Christians probably need to be a little uncomfortable.

Here's the interesting thing: when you study Christian history, every time the church has seen an increase in commitment to the concept of eternal security, there has been a decrease in commitment to mission engagement. Anti-missionism is a real issue. I had to do a class this last semester on Baptist history over the last 600 years, and you can almost graph it. Every single time there's a commitment to the idea of eternal security, there is a loss of fervor as it relates to gospel proclamation. I don't think these things are disconnected; they are connected. We're seeing it in our own culture today to the point that we now have deconversion testimonies all over YouTube, with people sharing their stories about their deconversion.

However you view this passage, understand that there are people at Cross-Connection Church who are strongly committed to eternal security and believe you cannot lose your salvation. There are also those who are at the other end of the spectrum, and that's good. We can have conversations and disagreements about these things, and we can show from the Scriptures why we hold our positions. That's how Christians ought to be: looking for unity, not uniformity.

I think that's a valid point to drive home—unity but not uniformity. However you view this, the potential for loss, even if it's just a loss of a reward in eternity, should compel our disciplined responsibility. This is why Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, would say, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure." We have to work it out. God gives us a desire; He works in us to fulfill His purpose.

Desire and do. He gave me a desire to not be 300 pounds anymore. I had to work that out; it didn't just happen. It would have been great if it just happened. Can I get an amen? Amen! Yeah, like that would be awesome, but that's called meth, and it's illegal. You shouldn't do that, as it will kill you.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The Apostle Peter, a good friend of John's and very close to Jesus, wrote this in his second letter, 2 Peter 1:10: "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent, be even more disciplined, more responsible, more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

These words become all the more clear as we continue to read John's words in 2 John 9. "Whoever transgresses and does not abide, remain in the doctrine of Christ, the teaching of Christ, does not have God. He who abides, remains in the doctrine, the teaching of Christ, has both the Father and the Son."

As I cited previously from the commentator Daniel Aiken, perseverance is proof of possession. Point number three on your outline: departure from the teaching of Christ is a transgression and a forfeiture of God. That's what John is saying in this passage. I don't see any other way to interpret what he's saying in that verse. To depart from the teaching of Christ is a transgression, a sin, and a forfeiture of God. Strong words!

But remember that John's intent here, his desire, is to see people walk in the truth. Look at 2 John 4: "I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in the truth." There are some of you sitting right now whose children are no longer walking in the truth, and it burdens your heart. It is in your prayer requests every week. We pray.

For them, we see the pre-request: they experienced a deconversion. You raise them in the faith, but they are no longer walking in the faith. John writes in the next book, 3rd John, verse 4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth." There is no greater joy than to know that my kids are walking in the truth. Something's going on out there.

Now, here's the point: if you walk in the truth, there is no fear of loss. Hold on to that. If you walk in the truth, there's no fear of loss. John says you don't want to lose out. If you walk in the truth, there's no fear of loss.

John's strong exhortations continue. Look at verse 10 in 2nd John: "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."

In his next correspondence, which we're going to look at next week in 3rd John, he is going to exhort the church to be welcoming and hospitable to traveling missionaries who were coming through their region. Apparently, at this point in time in church history, there were missionaries like the Apostle Paul who were going throughout the regions bringing the gospel. They would pass through your hometown, and so John, in 3rd John, is going to say you should welcome them into your homes, be hospitable, and take care of them.

However, here in this verse, he says the exact opposite. If someone shows up in your home or community and they no longer hold on to or carry the doctrine of Christ, they are not continuing in the doctrine of Christ. Do not bring them into your home.

In the opening of this book, he said that we are to love one another. There would be a way in which we could read this exhortation and think, "Well, that doesn't seem very loving." But he said not only are we to walk in love and love one another, but we are to walk in the truth. Sometimes, walking in truth means taking a stand for the truth when people have rejected it.

When we walk in love and maintain the truth, we cannot receive and bless those who walk contrary to the truth.

Point number four: make no room in your heart or home for deceivers who transgress the truth.

The doctrine of Christ may seem very heavy to you, and the obvious question is: how should I respond when I hear a knock on my door on Saturday morning? It might be someone from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like the 17-year-old elder Joe, or someone from the Watchtower Society, the Jehovah's Witnesses.

You should respond in love, with kindness and grace, sharing the truth of the Gospel with such an individual. You don't have to be mean, rude, or pretend like you're not at home; they know you are at home. You can be kind and loving, but recognize that you cannot have Christ-centered, genuine fellowship with someone who rejects the teachings of Jesus. It's just not possible. There is no fellowship, what the Bible calls Koinonia, with someone in that position.

John says, "Listen, if someone comes and they have rejected the doctrine of Christ, they are a deceiver." He states that they are of the spirit of Antichrist; they are against Christ. You cannot receive them. Why? What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What communion has light with darkness?

John continues in verse 12 of 2nd John: "Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and speak face-to-face, that our joy may be full." The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

Point number five, and we'll close with this: true fellowship within the family of faith brings fullness of joy. In the Gospel of John, chapters 15 and 16, it is recorded that Jesus says, "I am telling you these things so that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." John, in the opening of 1st John, verse 4 of chapter 1, states, "These things I write to you that your joy may be full." Here, he emphasizes the importance of continuing in these things so that we may have fellowship with one another.

And that our joy would be full. Jesus desires your fullness of joy. John wrote these things for our combined fullness of joy, and there is an increase, an expanding of the fullness of joy as people come to be a part of a family of faith. This is why it's so important for us to take the gospel, the truth of God, and the love of God to a world that needs the truth and love of God. They would be added to the family of faith, and we would have fellowship with one another, so that our joy would be full forever. In God's presence is fullness of joy. Psalm 16, verse 11 states, "At His right hand are pleasures forevermore." That sounds good!

We want to increase the number of people who are a part of the family of faith. Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, I believe in First Thessalonians chapter 2, says it is our joy that you would be in the presence of God at His appearing. That's my hope; that's my joy.

As we all sit here this morning, more than 200 of us probably in this room, every single one of us knows some people who are far from God, disconnected from God. God wants to bring them into the family of faith. How is He going to do that? Is He sovereignly going to do that? Yes. Is He going to sovereignly do that without us? How shall they hear without a preacher?

I'm not the only one. I know some of you are here in this moment, but that's not what I'm saying. God calls all of us and has given every single one of us the gospel of God. Freely we have received; freely we ought to give. One day we will give an account for how we have carried the gospel, and there will be a reward. "Behold, I come quickly, and I am bringing my reward with me." Oh Lord Jesus, come! May we be those who are compelled to share the gospel and take responsibility for what God has commissioned us to do.

This culture, when you look at the things that are happening in the United States of America, or just in Western culture or the world, needs Jesus. Amen?

Just stand with me as we close in prayer. God, I thank You for Your Word. It is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and passages like this have a way...

Lord, expose areas of our lethargy and sluggishness. God, would You stir our hearts and compel us by Your love to carry that love to other people? Represented here in this room are literally thousands of people who need You. Would You stir our hearts to share the truth of the good news of the Gospel—Your salvation from sin and death—with a world that is full of sin and dying?

God, as we think about and remember Your love demonstrated for us, help us to carry the good news of the Gospel and run the race with endurance, looking unto You, Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. For the joy that was set before You, You endured the cross, despising the shame. Lord, You experienced victory on our behalf.

Help us to follow Your example and work in us to be willing to do Your good pleasure this week. Stir us to take responsibility for the truth of the Gospel being extended to others. God, do that work, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.