2 John 1:10 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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2 John 1:10

Comments

John is not talking about errorists who come to your house on business. The is about fellowship in Christ, receiving them as if they are Christians as you are. You have a mission to them and must help them to see you are worlds apart. So it is not talking about an unbelieving man or woman or friend who you seek to influence. It is about exercising discernment towards all the travelling preachers in those days who were given hospitality by this lady. If an individual person should not do this, how much less should a church receive false teachers?‘Neither bid him God speed.’ The Greek does not actually say God speed, that is just an expression representing the Greek. The Greek says, do not bid him happiness, do not bid him cheer. And our translators have chosen God speed as an equivalent, which is not an expression we use today, What it means is, do not encourage him, do not support him, do not help him. Never say anything that gives the impression you accept them as true teachers. If you do maintain a relationship with them, you do it in order to win them.The Exclusive Brethren took it too far. They said, if anyone seeks to set foot in your house who is not a believer, do not let them in. Whoever teaches anything that is not taught in your particular church, do not open your door to them. In mind throughout here are teachers, influencers. Maybe he is not a teacher but is somebody who wants to influence everyone. In those circumstances if he is not teaching this doctrine, do not receive him, do not give him hospitality, do not recognise him as a Christian or a teacher.

Application

I know a man who whose friend died, a friend he had been witnessing to and had hopes that they had true faith. Somehow a neighbour got involved who was a Catholic and arranged for the funeral to be in their church carried out by the priest. He decided to go to the service out of loyalty to the friend, but he was completely out of sympathy with all that took place there. At one point the priests asked everyone in the congregation to shake hands with the person next to them. That was going too far and the man would not do it. When the priest came to his row and tried to shake hands saying, ‘Peace be with you’, the man replied, ‘There is no peace between us’ and would not shake hands. The priests was deeply offended and spoke to him afterwards. The man told him that the dead woman was certainly no Catholic.

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2 John 1:10 Commentary and Bible Study