Saturday May 15, 2004
"If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."
(2John:10-11)
Okay, there are false teachers, how are we to deal with them?
There are two possible applications for this passage, or, perhaps, both:
1.On the Church level, that is, bringing these teachers into the Church services.
2.On the personal level, that is, extending the hand of fellowship, even to the point of welcoming them into your home.
The one-chapter epistle of 2John, was addressed to "the elect lady and her children" by John, who also extended greetings from "The children of your elect sister" (vv. 1,13) These unusual phrases, together with the general tone of the epistle, it would seem to suggest that John is not speaking of two individual Christian women, but two churches, symbolically personified as two noble ladies with the "children" being the new converts in the churches.
This would support the first view (1.), about the dangers of allowing a false teacher to come into the church, as a pastor, a teacher, or even as a visiting speaker.
Comparing different versions, looking at the Interlinear Greek/English New Testament, and considering the context of verse 9, verse 10 could be rendered:
"If anyone comes to you and does not teach, nor live by, the teachings that Christ taught, do not receive him into your house or home"
This would more support the second (2.) view, that is, to have nothing to do with such people. Today, it seems, that the false teachers that go door-to-door the most are the Jehovah's Witnesses.
(Perhaps the most miss-named people on the planet, because they certainly are not His witnesses!)
So, when they come knocking are we to be so inhospitable that we do not welcome them in? This would seem at first to conflict with the many Biblical exhortations to show hospitality.
I feel there are two points to ponder in order solve this problem:
First, John did write to "children" No, it makes no difference if the new believer, the "babe in Christ" is physically 9 or 90, if one is new to the faith, these should not take on a "J.W" (Or any false teacher for that matter). These false teachers are very well trained on how to promote their views and can wreck the faith of the babe in Christ. One should be in the faith for a while and rooted and grounded in God's Word before taking on a J.W.
Second, it would seem that John is giving advise, not a commandment from The Lord. From Strong's Definitions I learned that the word in or text for "greet" can also be rendered "rejoice". This speaks of regarding them as friends and treating them as one of your buddies; folks, they are not.
So, if you do open that door and invite them in, always be wary of who you are dealing with.