2 John 1:7 – 11 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, that you may be fully rewarded. Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.”
WOW! John is really upset! In John’s time, hospitality was a major virtue. There were few inns and most traveling Christians, especially traveling teachers, would expect to be welcomed into someone’s home as soon as they reached a new town. For John to issue such a strong warning goes against established culture. Why should John say these things?
John is still referring to false teachers, particularly those teaching that Jesus had to either be purely spiritual (Son of God only) or purely physical (Son of Man only.) Remember the theological problems that these teachers were attempting to address. To re – quote John Dummelow, “These dangers resulted from the great main problem which lay at the foundation of all Oriental religions—the relation of finite man to the infinite God. How could that chasm be crossed? how had it been crossed in the work of creation? how were spirit and matter related? how did evil enter the world, and what was evil?
Almost all early thinkers were driven by these questions into some form of Dualism. There were, they must believe, two Powers in conflict. Since spirit was the higher, matter was evil; it was the work of the inferior god. The material, the natural, was therefore to be fought against; the spiritual man could have nothing to do with it. Indeed, so far as he was truly spiritual, he was already freed from and above it. Hebrew religion, in its moments of clearest insight, set itself against this Dualism. The creation, it declared, was not the work of an inferior deity or deities, but both worlds, those of spirit and matter, were called into being by one and the same infinite God. (This is why the Shema, the foundational statement of Judaism, states that “The Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is One.”)
John has a right to be concerned. Once one of these false teachers has gotten entry into someone’s home, they might stay for an indefinite period doing all kinds of damage to the faith.
Several years ago, when we were raising funding to return to Ghana, we visited a congregation that had hosted a Ghanaian pastor who had stayed with one of the deacons for several weeks. This same pastor had preached in the church we were attending, and we doubted his honesty. After this pastor had preached on a Sunday evening, I greeted him in Twi, his native tribal language. Most Ghanians would have been thrilled; this preacher was not at all happy. This man stayed in one big city in America for several months. Subsequently, when we reached Ghana, we learned that he had defrauded several people to get the money to come to America. There were also other evidences of major fraud; however, when we attempted to warn the church that had been hosting him of our concerns, they refused to listen, claiming we were merely jealous.
How can you tell a false teacher from a real one? 1. Does their teaching line up with the Word of God, the Bible? 2. What do they teach about Jesus? If they teach anything less than Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Man, or if they refuse to believe the necessity of a blood sacrifice for sin, don’t listen to them. 3. If they are pushing some kind of special knowledge, leave them alone! Twenty – two years ago, we had Ghanaian acquaintances who were in a special prayer group, so special that only “advanced Christians” should be part of that group. The teachings studied by the group included chanting various slogans such as “Money coming! Money coming!” Supposedly, if you changed such slogans long enough, then you would become rich. Eventually, the group developed into a bizarre cult. 4. What are the results of the teaching? God has promised that if we ask Him, He will give us wisdom. (James 1:5 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”)
John was right! Don’t be misled by slogans or by smooth words! Don’t alloy yourselves to be manipulated. When in doubt, go to God and ask Him for guidance. Pandering to strange philosophies is like trying to clean up after your dog has defecated in your neighbor’s yard. No matter how hard you try, the stuff will stick and smell and getting rid of it will be difficult!
PRAYER: Father God, help us to study your Word, to love your Word, and to soak in your Word so that it becomes part of us. Help us to learn how to discern false teachings and keep our hearts far away from them. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment