SUNDAY MORNING No. 25.
Love And Doctrine.
Different sorts of love. - The "love" spoken of by John. - Its foundation.
- Love bounded by the truth. - The love that belongs to the household of faith.
- Its alleged narrowness a libel. - The true breadth and true wisdom of
scripturally restricted love. - Danger of love outside the truth. - Walking in
the truth. Professors and sons. - The latter unknown, but not dreaming. - Love
and obedience scripturally synonymous. - Possibility of losing what has been
gained. - To "have not God," a strange saying explained. - God to be had only in
Christ and that the true Christ, not an invented one. - The possibility of
believing in Jesus of Nazareth and yet holding "another Jesus." - The common
origin of heresy about Christ. - Dfferent doctrines and speculations. -
Immaculateness. - The true doctrine of God manifest in seed of David. - The
command to receive not those who teach error. - A barrier to fellowship. - A
painful situation, but a prospect of blessing.
2 JOHN. - This epistle brings out a few things about "love," which it is
important to recognize. "Love" in the world is one thing; "love" according to
the ideal of the sects another; and the "love" of apostolic discourse yet
another. The two former we may dismiss. The world's "love" is an ephemeral
affair, having its foundation in the instincts, dying with use and age, and
passing away in death. Orthodox "love" is a sickly distortion, lacking the
elements that give strength and comeliness to the "love" of the Scriptures. It
works spiritual mischief now, and is destined hereafter to vanish like smoke.
The "love" of John's epistles has foundations, without which it cannot exist.
This partly comes out in the very first sentence of this second epistle: "The
elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love IN THE TRUTH." Outside
the truth, a brother's love is not operative. He loves not the world, neither
the things that are in the world, remembering that if any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). His friendships are bounded
by the truth, as regards both men and things. In Christ, he is a "new creature"
(2 Cor. 5:17). After the flesh he knows no man. The friendship of the world is
enmity with God (Jas. 4:4). Therefore he cultivates no friendship with those who
know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. His love is
bounded by the truth.
Does he, therefore, shut up his bowels of compassion against those who are
without God? By no means. He recognizes the obligation put upon him by the same
law, to salute not his brethren only, but to do good unto all men, as he has
opportunity, even to his enemies. But there is a difference between doing good
to unbelievers and cultivating friendship with them; and the saint is careful to
observe this difference, lest he come under the rebuke that greeted the ears of
Jehoshaphat, on his return from friendly co-operation with Ahab: "Shouldest thou
help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? Therefore is wrath upon thee
from before the Lord" (2 Chron. 19:2). We can have our conversation towards the
world in all courtesy and benevolence, without going on to their ground, and
joining affinity in schemes of pleasure, profit or friendship.
The "love" that belongs to the household of faith is "for the truth's sake, that
dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever." This is John's definition of its
source and scope. Everyone that is truly of the household, responds
instinctively to it. To the carnal mind it appears very "narrow," but this is an
illusion of ignorance. It is the true breadth, for it relates to that which
shall be for ever, while the world, which would have us unequally yoked, passeth
away. The truth connects us with "the shoreless ocean of eternity," while the
friendship of the world is confined to "a narrow neck of land" -- the brief
existence of this animal probation. The at present "narrow" operation of
apostolic "love" is also founded in wisdom; for unrestricted friendship with the
world is full of danger: it draws away from the fear of God, the hope of the
calling, and the holiness of the Master's house, "whose house are we, if we hold
fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." It is therefore a
snare; pleasant and advantageous meantime, but having the suction of the
maelstrom with it, drawing us to death; for when the Lord of Light stands on
earth, to set in order destiny, according to the Father's purpose, the world
will have, from his presence, "fled away."
John rejoiced concerning those to whom he wrote that he had found them "walking
in the truth." Saints walk not otherwise. Their actions, plans of life,
friendships, aims, enterprises, hopes -- everything connected with them, in some
way or other comes from, originates in, and is conformed to the truth. The truth
is their inspiration -- the controlling energy. "If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature" -- not that all answer to this. There are professors who serve
not the Lord Jesus, but themselves; but such are abortions and bastards. None
but sons will be gathered in the day of the 144,000. They are few now, as they
have always been, and the world "knoweth" them not in many senses; but they know
what they are about. They are not dreaming; they are not fanatics. They are the
children of wisdom; and wisdom is justified of them all, though they may be hard
to read sometimes. They understand the world too well to be entrapped into its
fellowship. They are known of God, and will be publicly revealed in due time, in
glory, honour and immortality. Meanwhile they "walk in the truth." On this
ground they are to be met and understood. Approached on any other ground, they
will seem not what they are. They are not to be comprehended "after the flesh."
"This is love," says John, "that we walk after his commandments." No man loves
after the Spirit's fashion who disobeys. Apostolic "love" is that state of
enlightenment and appreciation in relation to the things of God that impels a
man to be "a doer of the word." John gives this an application that was special
to his day; and yet is at all times appropriate wherever the same need and the
same danger manifest themselves. "This is the commandment," he says, " that AS
ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it." We are wondering what
he means when presently the light dawns; "for many deceivers are entered into
the world, who confess not that Jesus is come in the flesh." He means that they
should hold fast to the doctrine of Christ as originally delivered; because many
were drawing the disciples away there from. The obedience of this commandment is
the evidence of New Testament "love," and it is also necessary for our
acceptable standing before the presence of the Lord's glory at his coming. This
is John's view, as evident from the words immediately following: "Look to
yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we
receive a full reward." There would have been no need for these words if the
things that had been "wrought" were not imperilled by the doctrine of the
deceivers of which he is speaking.
He indicates, in strong language, the consequences to the individual ensnared by
the deceivers: "Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ hath not God." This may seem a strange saying in view of the fact that
the "deceivers" referred to believed in one God, the Creator of heaven and
earth; and also in Christ, after their own fashion. But the apparent strangeness
disappears when we look closely at the matter John is writing about. To "have"
God in the sense of John's words, is to stand in His favour, both now and
hereafter. All things are in His goodness. As David says, "Thy goodness is over
all thy works": but the goodness of God in common benefits that come upon all
alike, is a different thing from that personal "favour" which guides, attends,
and prospers (even if by chastisement), with a view to a perpetual sonship in
the spirit-nature. The enjoyment of this favour is a thing of conditions. One of
those conditions is a recognition of the channel in which He offers it. Out of
Christ, sinners cannot come near. They have the goodness of God as creatures,
like the sparrows, not one of which can fall to the earth without the Father's
knowledge; but they are not in the privilege of children. They have not the
Father's favour and purpose concerning the ages to come. This is only to be
enjoyed in Christ; but even here, it must be the Christ of God's appointing. Any
other than this is presumption, and a mockery of His wisdom: and they who teach
otherwise than the truth concerning Christ, preach another Christ, though it be
intended to refer to the Christ of Nazareth. This is evident from the case of
those to whom John is referring. They believed that the person known as Jesus of
Nazareth was the Christ; but in their reasonings upon him, they reasoned away
the truth about him, and consequently believed and preached another Jesus than
the Son of the Father. There were different sorts of the class, but all their
heresies had a common origin in an attempt to bring the mystery of godliness
within the rules of human reason, instead of accepting the testimony with humble
and childlike simplicity. One set argued that such a character as Jesus was a
moral impossibiliiy in flesh and blood, and that, therefore, his whole life was
a mere accommodation on the part of a spiritual being to the senses of mortals.
Another, believing him to be flesh and blood, philosophized in a contrary
direction, concluding that as such, he must, from the nature of things, have
been a "mere man," and that the idea of his being God in flesh-manifestation,
was preposterous. The Papacy blended the two and taught that though flesh, his
flesh was not the corrupt and mortal flesh of men, but a superior, clean,
"immaculate" sort. In our own day, as recent painful experience has made us
aware, a class of believers are treading the same dangerous ground, in teaching
that the flesh of Jesus was destitute of that which, in the flesh of his
brethren, constitutes the cause or source of mortality.
In relation to all of them, John's declaration reveals the mind of the Spirit:
"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son." The doctrine of Christ is that he is God made and manifested in the mortal
flesh of Abraham's race for the deliverance thereof, on His own principles, from
"that having the power of death." Those who hold fast to this have both the
Father and the Son; for in Jesus, they have the Son, and the Father manifest in
him.
As to those who "bring not this doctrine," John's commandment is "Receive him
not into your house, neither bid him God speed!" This command we can no more
evade than any other commandment delivered unto us. The obedience of it may cost
us something. It is crucifying to the flesh to refuse friends -- some of them
excellent people as human nature goes -- who in one way or other have been
seduced from their allegiance to the doctrine of Christ; but there is no
alternative. Friends are but for a moment; the truth is for ever; and if we
sacrifice our duty to the latter from regard to the former, the latter will
sacrifice us in the day of its glory, and hand us over to the destiny of the
flesh, which, as the grass, will pass away.
"He that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." This applies to
all without distinction, and erects a barrier to fellowship with even some who
hold the truth; for though they may hold the doctrine of Christ themselves, yet,
if they keep up a "God-speed" connection with those who do not, by John's rule
they make themselves partakers with them, and, therefore, cut themselves off
from those who stand for the doctrine of Christ.
The epistle, as a whole, is singularly applicable to the situation in which we
find ourselves this morning. We have been obliged to stand aside for the
doctrine of Christ from some we love. The Epistle of John justifies us in our
course, both as regards those who have departed from the doctrine of Christ, and
those who, while holding on to it themselves, see not their way to break
connection with those who have departed. It is a painful situation, but we must
not falter, nor need we fear or be discouraged. God is with us in the course of
obedience, and we shall see His blessing in the increase, in our midst, of zeal
and holiness, and love and preparedness for the great day of the Lord, which is
at hand.