Now, I don't know if many of you else have this privilege, but I get to ride on the Central Line Tube every single day.
Now, I'm not on it for very long, but when I get off at Shepherd's Bush, there's one of these tube adverts, advertising a book.
I'm a big fan of books.
But this particular book is called You Were Not Born to Suffer.
It's a big white poster, a picture of an attractive author on the front.
He's got brilliant white teeth.
You can't miss it.
The shrap line for this book reads this.
Overcome fear, insecurity, and depression, and love yourself back to happiness, confidence, and peace.
It tells us that we have a problem.
Fear, insecurity, and depression.
But also, we have the power to change so that we're happy and confident.
And the answer, according to this book, is very simple.
Love yourself.
But tonight's passage is very different.
It tells us the very opposite of this.
It tells us that if we want to be changed, if we want to live a full life, a life that God intended for us,
the answer isn't to love ourselves.
It's that we need to understand the gospel.
And when this happens, the result will be that we'll no longer love ourselves,
but we'll look outwardly and love others.
Now, in this little book, John introduces us to four people who have heard the gospel.
Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius, and himself.
Three of them were changed by the gospel, but one of them was not.
And as we open 3 John this evening, and observe the contrast between their lives,
I hope that we'll see that it's only a true understanding of the gospel that changes us.
And these particular changes are shown in three ways.
Firstly, we all care about the spiritual condition of others.
Secondly, it will cause us to love one another sacrificially.
And finally, it will change our character.
Firstly, people who truly understand the gospel care about the spiritual condition of others.
Now, look down with me. The first person we are introduced to in this book is Gaius.
And John knew him very well.
And 3 John is a letter written to him.
Three dimes in this letter, John calls him beloved.
And it's in particular in John's personal writing to Gaius that we see
that John had seen him changed by the gospel.
Verse 4 hints that actually John may have brought this man to faith.
He calls him one of his spiritual children.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Now, I don't know about you, but more times than we're not,
we're not very good at finding out how people are.
My good phrase, I'm sure you know it, I'm sure you've used it even today,
how are you?
It's probably the most used sentence in the English language.
And we've all learned the acceptable responses.
Yeah, good.
Or my personal favourite, I'm fine.
And we're all very satisfied with these responses,
even though it doesn't really tell us very much.
John's greeting, on the other hand, to Gaius is completely different to this.
I pray that you may be in good health,
as it goes well with your soul.
John is interested in how Gaius is doing physically,
but his emphasis is upon how well Gaius' soul is.
And John saw firsthand that it was our souls
that need the greatest care and attention
because this is the part of us that matters to Jesus.
This is the part of us that will last for eternity,
either with God or without God.
Now, John's emphasis towards Gaius
is not something that we think about often today, is it?
I would say that the majority of us might even get offended
if we are asked about our spiritual condition.
I'm sure it often implies that we've done something wrong
or we've missed church for a few weeks.
It is a myth to say that we have to know one another well
in order to ask these questions of each other.
John's focus at the very beginning of this letter
should remind us that we need to be concerned
about one another's spiritual condition.
And this isn't the only place in the Bible where this happens.
In the book of Hebrews,
the writer instructs Christians
to exhort one another every day,
as long as it is called today,
that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
You and I need one another
to be encouraged and challenged
so that we can grow in our faith
and live out the gospel.
And as we understand more of the gospel,
we want to care for one another.
Care for one another's spiritual condition
like John cared for Gaius.
Right from his conversion,
John saw how the gospel had impacted Gaius' life.
And this brings him great joy
and so he wrote this letter to commend him for this.
John saw that Gaius had understood the extent of his sin
and how it had changed his life,
particularly in the way that he loved others.
Which brings me to my second point.
That as we understand God's love,
it causes us to love one another sacrificially.
John tells us about this love
in verses 5 to 6.
I don't know if you want to look down with me.
It says,
It is a faithful thing you do
in all your efforts for these brothers,
strangers as they are,
who testified to your love before the church.
You will do well to send them on their journey
in a manner worthy of God.
Now, Gaius probably wasn't very extraordinary.
And in fact,
we don't really learn a whole lot about him
other than that he loved others.
But he loved these brothers sacrificially.
In fact,
he didn't even know who they were.
These brothers were,
verse 5,
strangers to Gaius.
And what they were doing,
verse 7 tells us
that they were
gone out for the sake of the name.
Maybe they had been on an evangelistic mission
or maybe they were going to encourage other Christians.
But this did not stop Gaius
from opening up his home,
inviting them into his house.
He opened up his heart
and shared his life with them.
He was faithful in all his efforts.
He gave 100% to strangers.
Imagine the love that he gave to his friends.
He gave up his time,
his energy,
his home,
and his resources
in order to serve others.
And Gaius cared for their needs
before they set off from their journey.
And he prepared them for their journey.
Because he loved the gospel.
He was changed by the love
that Jesus had for him.
And this is what it means
to love others sacrificially.
And sacrificial love
is not just hospitality,
the perfect Sunday lunch
with a house full of people,
or just being nice.
It's loving all Christians
at any cost
as the opportunity arises.
This could be
serving in church,
spending time with
other Christians,
or doing something
that scares us,
like the book table
in Greenford
on a Saturday morning.
Jesus told his disciples,
people will know
that you are my disciples
if you love one another.
Now in saying this,
Jesus reveals that
not all men
are his disciples.
Only those who have been
changed by the gospel
so that they live out
a sacrificial love
for one another.
And in the same way,
at the end of this letter,
we will see that
not all people
who have heard the gospel
are truly Jesus' disciples.
John tells guys
about two men,
two men called
Diotrephes and Dermetrius.
And John very cleverly
contrasts them
alongside one another,
particularly to show
their different characters.
And this brings me
finally that a true
understanding of the gospel
changes our character.
Look down at verses
9 to 11.
Now this tells us
a little bit more
about Diotrephes.
In particular,
he likes to put himself first.
He was selfish.
And he doesn't acknowledge
church authority.
He was also talking
wicked nonsense
against John and others.
Diotrephes was a bit
of a gossip.
And he didn't recognize
John's authority
as an apostle,
which is incredible
since John had spent
three years with Jesus.
And in wanting
to cement his position
further in his church,
Diotrephes attempted
to poison the minds
of his congregation
in order to
distrust John
and other Christians.
He refused to love
other Christians
and he prevented
those who tried
to live out
the gospel.
Diotrephes
may have heard
the gospel,
but he didn't
understand it.
And we all struggle
with sin of gossiping
and selfishness
at times.
Sometimes it's a little
bit juicy,
isn't it?
But as Christians,
we want to fight
against sin
because of what Jesus
has achieved for us.
Now,
John Stock once said
to remind yourselves
of this every day.
Christ is my brother,
my sin died with him,
and I now reign
with him.
As Christians,
we reign with Jesus
and we have the power
to fight against
our struggles with sin.
This is a wonderful
truth of the gospel.
In Romans chapter 5,
it says that
as we endure
in living the Christian
life,
it produces character
and character
produces hope.
And even though
Diotrephes had heard
the gospel,
it hadn't shown
this change in character.
So although he may
have claimed to have
known God,
John tells us that
by his evil works,
we know that he
had not seen God.
And John here is
unmasking the true
nature of his character
in order to protect
the church.
He wants to ensure
that the church
isn't led into evil
because he recognises
the danger of a
false Christian
who claims to know
the truth.
Now,
Demetrius,
on the other hand,
demonstrates to us
by his character
that he was transformed
by the gospel.
Verse 12.
Demetrius has received
a good testimony
from everyone
and from the truth
itself.
We also add
our testimony
and you know
that our testimony
is true.
Now,
there are three things
that we should take
note about Demetrius.
Firstly,
he has received
a good testimony
from everyone.
Demetrius was living
a life transformed
by the gospel
and everyone
could see it.
Perhaps you know
a Christian like her.
In a previous church
there was this
elderly lady.
She was a lovely,
sweet lady
who was genuinely
happy to give up
things for her
forsaken,
to love others.
And one time
she came up to me
on a Sunday morning
and told me
how much she didn't
like her television
and that she wanted
to give up
her TV watching
and give up
paying for her
TV license.
So that she could
support me financially.
And even now,
nearly six years later,
I'm still impacted
by how she lived
out her faith
and loved me
sacrificially.
Secondly,
about Demetrius,
the truth gives him
a good testimony.
He was living
in accord
with scriptures.
He lived
as God
intended him.
And thirdly,
the Apostle John
affirmed his faith.
This is a threefold
testimony about
the faith of this man.
The church sees it,
the scriptures
give evidence for it,
and the Apostle John
confirms it.
Demetrius was from God.
He had been born again
and was one of his children.
His life was transformed
by the truth
of the gospel
inside and out.
Just like Gaius.
And in the same way,
we too,
we need to be from God.
To be born again.
We need God
to reveal himself
to us
in order for us
to understand
the gospel
and live it out.
And this is what
changed the lives
of John,
Gaius,
and Demetrius.
So let's not settle
for what an advertisement
board tells us,
what culture tells us.
that we have the power
to change ourselves.
That we can only,
that can only be learned
through self-help book
with a couple of top tips.
Let's not listen to this.
And even as Christians,
it's so easy
to step back
into thinking
that somehow
we can change
our own hearts.
By looking inwards
to try to think
more positively
about something.
To replace sin
with something else.
But this is futile.
Jesus died for us
because we cannot
save ourselves.
So we need to put
our hope in Jesus.
And as we trust in him
and depend upon him,
we will be changed.
And we will begin
to care for each other's
spiritual needs.
And love others
sacrificially.
And our characters
will be changed
to become more
like Jesus.
Let me pray.