Epikos Church

How do I apply what the Bible says?

One of the harder practices of being a Christian is reading the Bible.  By “harder,” I do not mean the mere reading of God’s Word, but understanding the author’s original intent (theological term: Authorial Intent) and discovering how to apply the truths professed nearly 2000 years later.  For the purpose of this blog we are going to go through a text, discover the original author’s intent, and then figure out some relevant applications.

A very helpful but often overlooked practice is simply reading an introduction to whatever book you’re reading (all study Bibles have introductions, or simply read a couple of introductions from the internet). Just like when we receive an email, we read it through the lenses of who emailed us and the purpose of the email.

Although, all Scripture is God breathed (2Timothy 3:16), it was God’s will to use human authors in particular historical contexts.  2John has historically been credited to John the disciple.  2John was written to “the chosen lady and her children,”.  Scholars debate whether this was a particular woman or a reference to a particular church, but as you continue reading 2John it is very clear that this letter was written for congregational edification.

Since we know the author (John the disciple), to whom it was written (a particular congregation), and the purpose (edification), we can now move into the meaning of the text.

Here we go, read this passage of Scripture from the epistle of 2John

⁷Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ⁹Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. ¹¹Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work. (NIV)

Verse 7 starts out with a statement that “many deceivers…have gone out into the world.”  The reason why these people are deceivers is also given in verse 7, “who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh”.  One of the historical heresies that have faced the church is groups of people who claim that Jesus was not God in the flesh, or that he was merely phantom and not truly human.  The heresy that John was coming up against is termed Docetism.  This heresy stemmed from a philosophy that believed that all matter was evil.  Since these deceivers believed that all matter was evil, they refused to believe that God would come in the flesh and subsequently denied the doctrine of the Incarnation.

Verses 8 and 9 are simply warnings.  John declares that to accept these teachers we will lose what we’ve worked for and will not be fully rewarded.  John also lays out a terrifying warning that those who hold on to this teaching do not have God.  John is saying those who deny that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh (1Timothy 3:16) are not Christians.  Verse 9 ends with the encouragement that those who hold on to the doctrine of the Incarnation “has both the Father and the Son.”

In verses 10 and 11 John tells us how to respond to those who bring aberrant teachings regarding the person of Christ.  John tells us not to welcome any of these deceivers into our house and if we do, we are sharers in their “wicked work.”  At this point we need to address a particular cultural practice that might be foreign to us.  2000 years ago many teachers traveled from city to city and it was common practice that the church they were visiting would house and feed the traveling teacher (Galatians 1:18 Paul stays with Peter).  A good way to look at “welcomes him” could be, “one who financially supports him.”

Now that we know what John meant, let’s take a look at some applications.

John was obviously addressing a particular theological heresy (Let me take a second to define what I mean by “heresy.”  When I use the term heresy I am referring to a theological view that if a person believes and never repents of, the person is not a Christian and will go to Hell.  So I am not using the term “heresy” or “heretic” lightly.).  Since the Bible is clear that the Incarnation is how God chose to reveal Himself, John’s assessment of these deceivers is not out of line. There are other doctrines that historical Christianity has also declared as essential truths. Examples of these are; that God is Triune, man is sinful and in need of salvation, salvation is only found in Jesus Christ, the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and on the cross Jesus took on the wrath of God for the sins of mankind.  There are many other doctrines that are vitally important truths that Christians should believe, but if anyone denies any of the truths listed earlier they are not Christians, but heretics.  Therefore, any professing Christian who denies these truths,  should not be asked to speak at our church and we should not financially support them because they are deceivers and we will be guilty of sharing in their wickedness.

Before I finish let’s walk through a situation.  For the purpose of conversation let’s say an author writes a book.  In this book the author claims to be writing about or giving us a picture of who God is and what God is like.  Let’s say the book makes statements like “Jesus is the best way to God” or “that in heaven there will be buddhists, muslims, and mormons.” The book further states “God does not punish sin, sin is a punishment in itself” and claims that Jesus did not take on the Wrath of God, for the salvation of men.  If one of these statements was taught or written in a book, we’d have to assume that the person was not a Christian. It would actually be biblically accurate to say the author is a heretic. Now that we’ve learned how John viewed heretics and those who support them, how should we respond?  If we are going to follow the teaching of John and show our love to Jesus (2John ⁶And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.), we would need to reject the author and their teachings.  Biblical rejection would mean that we do not buy this person’s book, we wouldn’t support their ministry (financially or spiritually), and we should warn our brothers or sisters who liked the author.

If you are reading this blog and know you have been guilty of supporting heretics be of good cheer.  John adamantly comes against the deceivers because the doctrine of the Incarnation reveals that God desires to be known.  Despite the fact the no one was seeking God (Romans 3:11) and man by nature is an object of His wrath (Ephesians 2:3), Jesus CAME.  He came for the joy set before Him…the cross (Hebrews 12:2).  On the cross Jesus expressed His love for mankind by taking on the wrath of God due sinners.  The forgiveness needed for supporting false teacher (and EVERY SIN you’ve ever committed) is provided through the cross of Christ.  Confess your sin and enter boldly into God’s presence because of the blood of Jesus.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 4:43 pm and is filed under Theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.