As far as the number of words, this is the shortest book in the Bible. You look at 3 John, you say, well, maybe it's a short, well, you go home and count. And if I'm wrong, come back and tell me. And it really doesn't matter. Because even though they are both short books, they have weighty messages, a lot of truth.

As you know, John wrote several books of the Bible as he was guided by the Holy Spirit. He wrote the Gospel of John, relating in a doctrinal, not a chronological, but really a doctrinal manner, the life of Christ. And then he wrote these three epistles, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and then he was used by the Lord to write the book of Revelation, which we've studied before.

And if you want to look at the whole context of these three books, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, I've always looked at them kind of like this way. The book of 1st John, which is the longest epistle that he wrote to the church, establishes what I call the benchmarks of true fellowship, the basis upon which we can have true fellowship. It goes something like this, light, which is truth, righteousness, which is what we are in Christ, and love, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. So fellowship is, he starts off, our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. And he establishes that throughout the five chapters that it's divided into.

And then we come to 2 John, the second letter, the second epistle. 2 John is mainly focused on who we are not to have fellowship with. And you can see that in mainly verses 9 through 11, which is the main text today. I'm going to go through the whole book just reading, but 9 through 11 is the main text. And then third John, that short epistle, is mainly concerned with who we are to have fellowship with, which is God's people, true believers. So that's kind of like an outlay of what's going on here.

So in first John had the benchmarks, the grounds of true fellowship. Do we have fellowship? You know, when I was in school up in Kentucky, They had a place they called Christian, and depending upon what form of Greek you know or don't know, it was called Koineia House or Kenonia House. But what is Koineia or Kenonia? It means fellowship. And so it was supposed to be a place where all denominations could meet and have fellowship. even those who believed opposite things. I never did go there, but I mean, but that's what it was. And the Bible teaches us that there are benchmarks, grounds, measures, even barriers, you might say this, to true fellowship. Do we have true fellowship in the faith? And I say the faith, because that's what we believe. And of course, most people today have the idea that, well, we're all Christian, we just believe different things. Some people even take it this far, they'll say, well, we all believe the same God, we're just going different roads. And my question is, does the Bible teach that? Is that biblical? And it's not.

So fellowship, what's it all about? Well, in this second epistle, John starts out, now the title of the message is Abiding in Christ, okay? Because that's where our fellowship is. If you're abiding in Christ, and I'm abiding in Christ, we're in fellowship. But now, if you're not abiding in Christ, in other words, you go elsewhere for whatever, in salvation, blessing or whatever, that's when you leave that fellowship. And I'll show you what I'm talking about in just a minute. But let's start off in verse one. The elder, that's John, he's the apostle, he's the human writer, the Holy Spirit wrote this, God wrote this, this is God breathed, that John was the human writer, unto the elect lady and her children. Now who is this? You know, A lot of people argue about things like this. I don't really do that, but I do have an opinion on this. And I agree with most gospel writers say that John is writing to a local church, just like Eager Avenue Grace Church. And of course, local churches are called the Bride of Christ. Christ is the husband. His church is his bride. Christ is the husband. His church is his wife.

And so they say that this is not written to just one particular lady. Now some people believe it is, but it's a message for the whole church. It's a message for every believer. But it's certainly a message for the church, the true churches of God, where the gospel is preached in this day, in these last days, the last age. So he wrote the elect lady and her children, which I believe is likely a local church body, and the church is always referred to in the feminine, because Christ is the masculine, Christ is the husband. Read things like Ephesians chapter five, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, that kind of thing, all right? So likely a local church.

But it's written, the message is to the church at large. It's to every true believer individually and every church body where the gospel is preached, true church, all right? And his message is for all believers in this world from which we have much opposition from the world. So he says, whom I love in the truth. And our truth is the gospel. The good news of salvation by the grace of God, all conditioned on Christ, who by himself as our representative, our surety, our substitute, our redeemer, fulfilled all those conditions to secure the salvation and final glory of every sinner for whom he died. All the elect of God, the whole church, he redeemed the church with his own blood. Paul told the Ephesian elders. He didn't die for everybody without exception. The Bible doesn't teach that. So it's the gospel and its particulars, it's the gospel and its implications, and the related doctrines and truth that pertain to the gospel. It's not non-essential truth now.

If you're here this morning and you believe the world is flat, And that's great. I don't believe the world is flat. But our fellowship is not based upon whether the world is round or flat, okay? It's based on the gospel. You see what I'm saying? And I'm using that as an extreme example. But there are non-essential truths that even true believers can disagree. But not the gospel. Not how God saves sinners. Not the blood of Christ. Not the righteousness of Christ imputed. These are essential doctrines. Not the person of Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? God manifest in the flesh. So John says, I'm writing to this lady, this church, whom I love in the truth. And then he says, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. See, there's the fellowship established. Those who know the truth, okay?

Verse two, he says, for the truth's sake. See how truth is coming out here now. Our fellowship is not based on a lie. It's not based on false doctrine. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us. Now that's the truth written on our heart. It's written on our minds, our affections, and our wills by the Holy Spirit. Indelibly, which means we cannot leave it. We cannot get away from it. Remember, John spoke of those who left it in 1 John 2. They claimed to believe it, but then they left it. Well, that truth didn't dwell in them. And they revealed that they never were saved to begin with. They never were born again. They never did really believe it. If you can leave it, the Holy Spirit hasn't written it on your heart. on your mind, your affections, your will, your conscience. But if he's written it on your heart, you cannot get away from it completely. You may divert for a little while, maybe leave it for a time, but you will not totally apostatize. Remember that word. You will not totally fall away from it unto perdition. Perdition meaning damnation. Paul said that in Hebrews chapter 10. We are not of them that fall away unto perdition. Why are we not of them who fall away unto perdition? Because that truth dwells in us, in our hearts. We've been born again by the Spirit. That's why he says, he that is born of the Spirit cannot sin. That is, cannot fall away unto perdition.

And it says, look at it, verse two. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever. Aren't you glad of that? Well, it'll be in me forever. If it's in me at all, it'll be there forever. By the grace of God. And then he says, this is a common salutation. Grace, verse three, grace be with you, mercy and peace. Grace that brings mercy through Christ. Gained, be with you, you've gained it. you gain but that you have mercy at the mercy seat and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Prince of Peace, the Son of the Father in truth and love.

So here you have the first point, fellowship in truth, but then he makes a transition here in truth and love. And here's the second point, love, now we all like to talk about love. Even in religion now. Especially in religion. But here's what his point is now from verses four to verse six. Love is rooted in truth. Godly love now. Self love can be rooted in a lie. I mean, I can tell myself anything I want to tell myself if it's a lie, but it's self love. Love is rooted in truth and evidenced in the obedience of faith. Look at it, verse four. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And what is the commandment? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and love the brethren, and the obedience of faith. And now I beseech thee, verse five, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

Now remember John dealt with that in first John. In truth and love, truth and love, truth and love. He says that so many times. And we ought not ever let it leave our minds. If I believe the truth, I'm to love those who also believe the truth. I'm to love Christ and his people. And sometimes that love will show itself in great ways, sometimes in lesser ways, sometimes not at all, and I ought to be ashamed. And that's just the case of it. We're human beings. We still as believers, as justified people, which means our sin, think about that now, means our sins are forgiven on the ground of the blood of Christ. We're righteous in God's sight on the ground of his righteousness imputed. We have the spirit of life and faith and truth within us, but we still have a problem. with our own selfishness, self-love, pride. And that's why we're in a battlefield. I'm a walking battlefield. And if you're a believer, you are too. You may not have as much of a problem with it as I do. I think you do, but you just won't admit it. But it's true. We're walking battlefields.

And he says in verse six, and this is love, that we walk after his commandments. Love and the walk of faith, the obedience of faith. He's not talking about keeping the Ten Commandments. He's not talking about keeping the law. He's talking about obeying God's word. And God's word contains the precepts of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not steal, all of those. Don't be a thief, don't be a murderer, don't be an adulterer, don't be a fornicator, don't be this, that. Stay away from those things. Keep the Sabbath, but realize who your Sabbath is. The Sabbath is Christ, not a day.

You say, well, why am I coming to church on Sunday? If it's to keep a Sabbath, you're doing it for the wrong reason. I want you here. But this is the Lord's day which we're met on the first day of the week to worship him. That's how we start the week. It's indicative of his resurrection from the dead. But it's not our Sabbath. Sunday's not our Sabbath. Christ is our Sabbath. See? And that's what it is, walking after his commandments. Walking after love. This is the commandment that you've heard from the beginning. You should walk in it. Strive. to obey God and honor Him.

So now the next two verses shows us, here's the problem that John's addressing. Look at verse seven. For many deceivers are entered into the world. Now think about that. Deceivers. Now if someone is deceived, they don't know they're deceived. Do you get that? If you're deceived, Remember Satan deceived Eve. False preachers in Corinth deceived people. False teachers, they were traveling between churches, local bodies spreading false doctrine that denied specifically what he's mentioned here.

Look here, verse seven. For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, They deny the humanity of Christ. And this is a deceiver and an antichrist. To deny the person of Christ as God manifests in the flesh, or to deny the success and victory of his finished work, is to deny Christ. This is a deceiver.

Now the reason these guys were denying that Christ come in the flesh, is because they didn't understand sin. They looked at sin as being something inherent in this human body. But it's not. Christ had a human body, but he was without sin. They didn't understand how Christ could have a human body and be without sin, but he was. He was born of a virgin. His humanity was created for him in the womb of the virgin, and he was born a sinless human being. Just like Adam was created a sinless human being and he fell. Christ couldn't fall because he's both God and man.

So they denied his humanity. Well, to deny his humanity is to deny him. He's both God and man in one person. His name shall be called Emmanuel, God with us. The word made flesh dwelling among us. All of that. He says, this is a deceiver and an antichrist.

And so he says in verse eight, now, there's the problem. In verse eight, he says, look to yourselves. In other words, be wary, be watchful, be on your guard. He's not talking about paranoia, he's not talking about doctrinal pharisaism, watch out. Don't let these deceivers creep into your church, your family. but protect it and be ready to stand against it. Look to yourselves that we lose not the things which we have wrought. And that word wrought means gained. He's not talking about, we think of the word wrought as being work. Well, we gained it and we've gained it, but we don't work for salvation. But in salvation, we do work. And so we gain these things, and what have we gained? Think about it. And he says, look here, he says, but that we receive a full reward. The reward here is the reward of grace. It's not what we earn or win by our efforts. It's the reward that Christ has given us.

What have we wrought? Well, we've embraced the gospel. We made a profession of it. We have faith in Christ. We walk in it. We show a zeal, contend for it. We express our love both by words and actions to the ministers and to the people of it, suffering much reproach on the account of it, all which would be lost and in vain if we would apostatize. That's what he's saying. Don't deny what you've claimed.

And so in verses nine through 11, we come to the crux of it. Now look what he says. He says, whosoever transgresseth, Now that word transgresses literally means goes too far. And what he's talking about goes beyond the gospel, adding to it. It's kind of like somebody says this, they say, we're saved by grace, but you got to, in order to stay saved. You know, there are whole denominations that do that. They claim to be Christian, claim to believe grace, but they'll say this, they say, but you've got to do your part in order to stay saved. That's a transgression. That's why Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.

But they go too far. Or they add things to the gospel. I actually heard, listen, I kid about the flat earth thing. But I actually heard a message from a man out in San Diego, California, who said, if you didn't believe the earth was flat, you don't believe the gospel. I mean, he actually said that. I thought, what a fool. That's transgressing, going too far.

Now, you know, most people, when they say they go too far, they add things like baptism, Oh, but you gotta be baptized to be saved. No, you don't. That water baptism, that's a confession, and we're commanded to do that in order to honor our Lord and confess Him publicly. And that's what he's talking about, for example, when he says that we should walk in his commandments. He commanded us to be baptized, dipped in water, indicating our unity with his death, burial, and resurrection, but not to be saved. The waters of baptism do not wash away my sins. That's the blood of Christ. Nothing added. And if you add anything, you're transgressing. See? The Jews wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised to be saved. Paul said if you be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. In other words, to add circumcision to the scheme of salvation is to deny Christ. You're transgressing.

Some people go other ways. But whosoever transgresses and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ. Now, I titled the message, Abiding in Christ, because abiding in the doctrine of Christ is the same as abiding in Christ. Because it is the doctrine of Christ by which the Holy Spirit reveals to us who Christ is, what Christ did, why he did it, where he is now, and what he's going to do. And without that doctrine, you cannot know Christ, not personally.

What are these doctrines? Abide not in the, and listen to what he says. Whosoever transgresses and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. Now is that plain? What do you mean you have not God? You're without God. You're not reconciled to God. As to your state in this world, you have not God as your father, but you're of your father the devil. And this holds true with everybody before the new birth.

Let me show you that, turn to Ephesians chapter one, or chapter two. Ephesians chapter two. And he starts off in verse one, he says, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins? Our natural state is to be dead in trespasses and sins, and that's why Christ told us we must be born again. Well, we can't see or hear or understand the kingdom of God.

Wherein in time past, verse two, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, that's the depraved mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others.

What he's telling us is that if we're born again, if we're saved by the grace of God and born again by the Spirit, before we were born again, we were no different than the children of disobedience, the non-elect, the reprobate, but He's given us His Spirit and His truth.

And if you transgress, go back to 2 John now, whosoever transgresses and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, the truth of the gospel, which declares the glorious person and the finished work of Christ, the ground of salvation, the blood and righteousness imputed of Christ, that shows us our sinfulness and depravity, that without Christ we're nothing, less than nothing, and deserve nothing, and have earned nothing but hell and death, that we're totally, totally subject to the mercy of God, like that old publican, God have mercy on me, the sinner.

And I've said it so many times, but I think it's worth saying it over and over again. that if God were to judge me right now, based upon my best efforts to obey Him, I'd be damned forever. But He doesn't judge me on that basis. The Bible tells us, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather He's risen again and seated at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for us.

I'm telling you that if you believe and if you're abiding in the doctrine of Christ, abiding in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, God does not hold your sins against you. He imputed them to Christ and Christ as your surety took them to the cross and drank damnation dry. And he arose from the dead having brought forth a righteousness that God has charged to your account. and you stand before God justified.

While on this earth, even as a born again person, you're still a sinner, saved by the grace of God, and you will be until you leave this world. And you know what that does? It gives me perfect peace when my mind is stayed on Christ.

Now you get it on to everybody else, and start comparing yourself to everybody else, especially the ones you don't like, or the ones you think are great sinners, and that's gonna foster self-righteousness. You get it on yourself and jump headfirst into the slew of despondency, that's gonna cause unbelief. Either way, you're doomed.

Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. That's abiding in the doctrine of Christ. Who is he, what has he done, why did he do it, where is he now? All of those things. But look at what he says in verse nine again, the second part. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he who abideth in Christ, in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

And that's, somebody says, how do you know you're in fellowship with the Father and the Son? Well, I'm having a pretty good day today and I haven't really sinned. That's a lie. I may have had a pretty good day today, but I've sinned because that's what I am. The old flesh is still here. And when I say flesh, I'm not talking about the human body. All you can see of sin in my human body is the effects, my gray hair, my wrinkles, my cane, stuff like that. Sin is a heart problem. That's why we need a new heart.

to bring us to look to Christ. But if I'm looking to Christ and him alone and his blood alone, his righteousness alone, think about that. Isn't the gospel the revelation of the righteousness of God, which is the merits of the obedience of Christ as my surety, my substitute, my redeemer? Doesn't it give me the promise that he'll save me, he'll keep me, he'll bring me to glory? That's the gospel.

This gospel that's being preached all around the world about, well, you've got to do your part. My friend, that's the deceivers. That's the antichrist. Well let me give you these, verse 10. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, this teaching, this gospel, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed.

Now let me say, when he says receive him not in your house, it's not saying that you can't have unbelievers in your houses where you live. Because it's almost, you can't go through life without having some unbelievers. You got family members, You're not to forbid them from coming into your house. You might have friends, family, all that. What he's talking about, your house here, is the church.

Now that doesn't mean you can't have unbelievers walk through the door of the church. It means this, and this is what it strictly means. Now listen to me. It means you cannot have religious fellowship with them. as brother and sister in Christ. You see what I'm saying? You cannot speak peace to them because their minds aren't stayed on Christ, it's elsewhere. He shall have perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.

And sad to say, there are false Christs today, many. And Jesus himself said that. False Jesuses. Paul said it. How do you know the difference between a counterfeit Christ and the true Christ? The doctrine of Christ. That's how you know the difference. So you're not to receive him in the fellowship of your church.

I've got in the bulletin where Brother Brett Smith and his wife Nancy, where they express their desire to unite with our church here. They don't have a church to go to where they're from, they're up in Noonan, and they've watched my live stream. And I was glad when they said that because I know Brother Brett and Nancy, that they're a brother and sister in Christ because of, he's told me what he believes, what they believe. And it's what we believe. So we're a family.

But now if he didn't believe what we believe, I'd say, well, Brett, I'm sorry. I'll preach to you. I'll help you any way I can, but I can't speak peace to you. You remember what Satan's first message was to Eve? Thou shalt not surely die. That's the equivalent of what Jeremiah said of the false prophets of his day. They cry peace when there is no peace. He is in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

And listen to this, this is how serious this is now, look at verse 11. For he that biddeth him Godspeed, those who deny the doctrine of Christ, who abideth not, he that biddeth him Godspeed is a partaker. That word is fellowship too. is a fellowshipper of his evil deeds.

You've heard of aiding and abetting a criminal? Somebody runs into your house with a gun and they just murdered somebody outside, and they say, hide me, hide me. You say, come on in here, brother, I'll hide you. You wouldn't do that, of course, if they had a gun on you, I'm not dumb. But you know that if you were really with them, you'd be prosecuted too, arrested and prosecuted too. Because you're a fellowshiper there.

Well, it's the same way with those who abide not in Christ. If we speak peace and say, well, God bless you. And what I say to them is that I pray God saves you.

And then the last two verses, verse 12. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. And we'll close right there.