The ThreeAttitudes: 2 John
Dealing with Truth Decay
2 John
Being like Jesus starts with truth, love and obedience
Drama: Teacher espouses: "Class, thre are no absolutes in life. 3 students speak of creation, sin and the Bible. The teacher states again: "Well class, we must conclude that there are no absolutes in life" and then a young girl in the back of the class says: "Except that ONE right teacher?"
V4 What does walking in truth look like?
• Knowledge of Scripture and theology
• Confident in God’s sovereignty
• Making wise decisions
• Living a life of obedience to God’s will
V5 What does loving one another look like?
• Grace is dispensed despite differences
• Judgmentalim is not present
• Freedom to be authentic- who you are
V6 What does walking in obedience to His commands look like?
• Lots of temptation
• A series of negations
• Loving Christ more than me
• Intentional focus because of love
• Confession and repentance
* What does truth contrasted with relativism look like?
• Truth is steady (Objective), relativism shifts (Subjective)
• 2 + 2=4, water is wet, Jesus died for me and still lives for me
• Relativism is: cold, hot, fun, boring, beauty, smell, taste, great book
Refer to drama
Illustration: (Seinfeld re-run)Jerry was asking George if he told his female friend the truth when he (George) was describing himself (George) to the girl. George responded: "Yes, I did" and Jerry replied "As you see it" ... Later in the diner Jerry was leaving to tell his female friend some truisms that had not been told before. As Jerry was leaving the diner George pointed a finger at him and said: "remember, its not a lie if you believe it."
* What does speaking the truth in love look like?
• Using gentle, non-antagonistic words
• Accepting, kind demeanor
V7 What is it that is unique about Jesus?
• Co-eternal with the Father and Holy Spirit
• Born of a virgin
• Lived in the flesh
• Lived a perfect life
• Died on the cross as a substitute for you/me
• Rose from the dead
• Lives with the Father
• He will come back for His children
Illustration: Recently there have been some tragedies regarding falling trees. Just this week I was reading The Intelligencer (8.18.2005)and there ws a long article about trees and their health. One Arborist declares: "A tree can look perfectly healthy but be structurally unsound (Compare to Christians) About 75% of tree failures are due to root problems"
