In this episode, we delve into the teachings from the New Testament book of 2 John, guided by the insightful wisdom of Dr. J. Vernon McGee. Join host Steve Schwetz as we embark on the Bible bus and explore the dynamic relationship between love and truth, two principles that are at the heart of Christian faith. Through a range of listener testimonials spanning the globe, we hear personal stories of transformation, highlighting the profound impact of embracing divine truth amidst life’s challenges. Find yourself enriched by the narratives from Cambodia to California, each reflecting a journey of faith and
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
When love and truth seem to be in conflict, which ones should prevail? Well, that’s the question our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, helps us explore as we journey together on Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwetz, your host, and it’s so great to have you aboard the Bible bus for this first study in the New Testament book of 2 John. So as you find your place in God’s word, let’s hear from fellow passengers on the Bible bus. Listeners from all around the world whose lives are being changed by the power of God’s word. And we’re going to start off in Cambodia where Soka writes this. I’m a student who never knew God before. A few months ago, I came across a video on Facebook and it caught my attention. This program taught me about repentance and the gift of salvation. I realized Jesus loves me. and I decided to open my heart and receive him. And then Mirella is in Italy, but listens in the Albanian language, and she shares this encouraging update. I found you about five years ago. I was a new believer, and your programs helped me a lot. Now I attend a local church in the city where I live and continue to listen on YouTube. It’s a wonder how relevant your teaching is to my life. God bless all of you who work so hard for the cause of Christ. And then from Uganda, Patrick writes this. I’ve learned that the Bible is a journey you can’t complete in a month or even a year. I’ve read the whole Bible, but when I listen to your teaching, I gain new insights. This is truly the journey of a lifetime. Thank you for your wisdom. Next, we’ve got Ajit in Punjab, India, who shares a deeply personal testimony. I was once close to God, but I turned away due to bad company and got involved in wrong deeds like adultery, fights, and drugs. My family was deeply upset with me. One day I happened to see your program, Satchibani, on TV, and I started watching it. I then called your counseling center for prayer. The counselors helped me return to God. I realized I needed to repent and surrender completely. I prayed a prayer of confession, and God touched my heart. Now I’ve drawn closer to Him. I watch your program every day and enjoy it very much. Well, praise God for His restoring grace, not only in Ajit’s life, but in the lives of so many people who have been brought back by His mercy. Is that you? Finally, we hear from Cecile in California, and she writes, Top of the day to you all. I came across your program in late 2022. I’d listened to other Bible-inspired sermons, but the voice of Dr. McGee caught my attention. He delivers God’s word in a straightforward way, and sometimes his storytelling makes me laugh. I was surprised to learn he passed away years ago and amazed that his messages still speak so powerfully to our world. His teaching has helped strengthen my faith and keep my eyes on our Father God, even through storms. Thank you to everyone at Through the Bible. I’m enclosing my love and support to help transform lives. I’m a recent widow, as of November 2024. and I have three grown sons and six beautiful grandchildren. Would you kindly pray for them? They’re good sons, but they haven’t made time for God’s Word. I’ve invited them to church, but they aren’t consistent. Our granddaughter has come with me, and she’s enjoying it. It’s my heartfelt prayer that one day, in God’s perfect timing, my sons will also serve our Lord Jesus. Well, isn’t that the cry of so many hearts? Whether it’s our children, our spouses, our friends, our grandchildren, we long to see our loved ones walk closely with the Lord, don’t we? Well, as we begin our study in 2 John, let’s take a moment to pray for Cecile’s family, as she asked, and for every listener whose heart is yearning for someone that they love to follow Jesus. Heavenly Father, thank you for your unchanging truth and unfailing love. And as we open your word, Lord, in 2 John, would you teach us to walk in both, to speak the truth in love, and then to love in a way that reflects your truth. Lord, we lift up every family member and friend that we’re waiting on in faith. Would you draw them closer to you, Lord, in your perfect time, and bless each of us as we study. Guide our thoughts, Lord, soften our hearts, and let your spirit continue to do the good work that you’ve begun. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now here’s Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of 2 John on Through the Bible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now I’m sure that you found your place back in the New Testament at 2 John. We have now returned back to the New Testament, and we are going to consider 2 John and 3 John together. And then we’ll go back to the Old Testament and pick up three more of the so-called minor prophets. And then we’ll come forward again into the New Testament for the little book of Jude, a very important book. And then we go back for the final time to the Old Testament and take up the post-captivity prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Then we will come forward for the final study, which will then be in the book of Revelation. Now, I want to have a word to say about 2 John as well as 3 John when we get to it. But I would like to share with you today an introductory matter that’s very important and very important, especially in this hour in which we’re living. Now, we have come here to the second epistle of John, and we’ve already considered the first epistle, and there’s yet to come a third epistle of John. A brother of mine in the South, I knew him years ago, he had the best way To divide these three epistles of John that I’ve ever heard, and they are three that you will never forget, I can assure you. And they are to me the most striking and satisfactory of all. He called first John, one-eyed John, then two-eyed John, and three-eyed John. Now, friends, you won’t forget the three epistles of John if you remember them like that. And I’m grateful to this brother for the way that he divided them. He was, by the way, one of the three conservative ministers in the community in which I served in Nashville, Tennessee. And he actually was a real brother in Christ. And that was way back, friends, way back in the days before you heard anything about this. I have always had the feeling that any Christian… regardless of what’s on the outside, if he’s right on the inside, that he’s my brother. He’s been born again. He’s my brother. And that is the great truth, by the way, that we’ve had in 1 John, and it’ll be continued in 2 and 3 John with a different emphasis. We’re considering here then 2i John now. And the first impression, I’m sure, is the brevity of these two last epistles. It’s something that’s almost startling. You wonder, why insert just 13 verses in the second epistle and in the third epistle you have 14 verses? So that regardless, both of them are very brief indeed. Now, someone is going to say, well, doesn’t the brevity discount their message? It obviously means he didn’t have too much to say. Well, not at all. It would not in any way take away from the importance of the epistle. In fact, it actually enhances it. It reveals that though it’s very brief, it’s very important and it’s essential in getting a perspective of the first epistle and not a perverted viewpoint. Let me illustrate it like this. My doctor has given me two kinds of medicine. that I’m to take if I have an attack of diverticulosis. One’s a little pill that I have trouble locating in the bottle. It’s so small. The other is a capsule that looks like it’s too big to swallow. You almost need a gallon of water to get it down. You have to float it first. But I’ve discovered in using both of these pills, that the small one, the little one, the teeny weeny one, it’s the most potent of the two. In fact, I found out it’s the most important one of the two. If the big one doesn’t work, then you use the second one. Now, what is two-eyed John all about that makes it so important? Well, John in his epistles confines this message to the family of God. The little children are to love each other in the family of God. And this is the mark of a child of God. Love Christ and love the brethren. And the brethren are to be distinguished by their attitude and relationship to Christ. In other words, to deny the deity of Christ is the very spirit of Antichrist. And this is the way that you recognize the other little children is because of their relationship to Christ. and also their love for the other children in the family of God. And that is also one of the two distinguishing marks of a child of God. I think we ought to go back and pick it up again. In 1 John 3.10, I’m reading. Now, listen to this again. In this, the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil. Whosoever… doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. Now, that is cast in the negative purposely. So there’d be no way in the world for any individual who claims to be a Christian and does not measure up to sort of wiggle out of this. Well, you can’t wiggle out of this one because if you do not righteousness… You’re not a God. Now, to be a Christian means that you practice in your life righteousness. These are the outward badges of a child of God. You are to know the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Now, the proof of it is to others is that you practice righteousness in your life. And if you don’t love your brother, now, this is a Christian brother. This is not the universal brotherhood of man. Bible doesn’t teach that. But if you do not love your Christian brother, then you are not a child of God. I didn’t say that. John said that. And if you want to take it up with him, then you take it up with him. But don’t take it up with me because I didn’t say that. John said that’s the mark. That’s the way you tell. Now, How about the lost sinner who’s not in the family of God? Are we to love him? Well, we’re told that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now, will you listen to me carefully? We’re to love them to the extent of taking the gospel to them. We’re not to love them as sinners. We’re not to love their sin. And I don’t see that we’re asked to love them personally because they’re very unattractive for the most part. But the interesting thing, we are to love them to the extent of taking the gospel to them. And as we saw in the book of Jonah, Jonah did not love Ninevites, but God sent him there because God loved them. And God said, since I’ve loved them and they’ve turned to me, Jonah, I want you to love them. Then Jonah loved them. So that that is the relationship the child of God has to the lost world. Love the world to take the gospel to them. But you can’t love the sinner and his sin. We’re not asked to do that. We’re asked to love them enough to take the gospel to them. That’s the important thing. We’re to love them in that sense. Because God loves them. When they turn to Christ, we’ll love them also. Now, the question arises, how about false teachers? Those who deny the deity of Christ. And John’s going to make it very clear in this second epistle here that that is something we need to beware of. He says in verse 7 of this little epistle, For many deceivers are enter into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Now, what about false teachers? What should be our relationship to them? All right? Now, will you follow me very carefully? Because this is going to be the nub of this epistle. And if you and I don’t get this, we’re going to go haywire in our interpretation and come up with a pseudo-liberal viewpoint. Because all of this love, love, love stuff today, actually, it’s not exactly biblical at all. Because they say we’re to love everybody. Well, there’s some that we’re told not to love and be very careful of. We’re told love not the world, the things that are in the world. And the things that are in the world are identified with these people in the world that have made it as it is. Our love is to take the gospel to them, to give them the word of God. Now, let me say this, and I’m turning over in my mind. How am I going to approach this to make this clear today? Because this is going to go contrary to the thinking of a great many people today. And I’m not concerned about what you think about me in this connection. I am concerned that you see what the Word of God has to say. Now, the key word in this second epistle is truth. Now, the key word in the first epistle is love. And it’s love that is confined to the family of God. How the little children are to love each other. That is the entire sum and substance of it. Now, what about the second epistle when the key word is truth? Because he begins in verse 1, and I’m not going to exegete it today. It says, the elder under the elect lady with her children, whom I love in the truth. And not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. Now, what about love and the truth? Because the first epistle emphasizes love. The second epistle emphasizes truth. Now, when these two are in contrast and conflict, which one should prevail? And if we get the answer to that, then that will determine our relationship to the false teacher, to the one who denies the deity of Christ. Which one should prevail, truth or love? Now, the so-called apostle of love is going to shock you and me out of our sentimental complacency and our sloppy notion of love. Will you listen to him in this epistle? And I’m not going to get to it today, but will next time. Which comes first, truth or love? And I may shock you now, truth comes first. Christ said, I’m the way, the truth, and the life. He didn’t say, I’m love there, but I’m the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. You have to come to the Father through Jesus Christ. No other way. Why? Because he’s not only the way, but he is the truth. Now, John wrote actually later on that God is love. But after the Lord Jesus was here and said he was the truth, John said God is love. But that came later. Now, will you listen carefully? Love can only be expressed in the bounds and context of truth. Love can only be expressed in the limitations and boundary that scripture sets. Therefore, what about the false teacher? Well, May I say to you, you’re not to love the false teacher. He’s going to make that abundantly clear. In fact, he’s going to say here something that’s going to be quite amazing. He says that you are not even to entertain him in your home. You are not in any way to receive him or to have any fellowship with him at all. Now, that is just about as strong as it possibly can be. There is another word of caution which we should look at in connection with what we have said now in order to get a proper perspective of what John in this second epistle, as well as the third epistle, will be talking about. We have already seen that love and truth are inseparable. In fact, truth and light are the same. In the first epistle, he said, you remember to walk in the light if we walk in the light as he is in the light. And we saw that the light and the truth is the word of God. So love and truth are inseparable. And Christ is the epitome of both. He is the incarnation of both. He is the truth and he is love. God is love and he is God. So that now there’s another word that is featured in this very brief brochure that we call the second epistle of John, and it is the word walk. If you will notice in verse 4 it says, And I greatly rejoice that I found of thy children walking in truth. And verse 6, And this is love that we walk after his commandment. And then at the end of the verse it says, Ye should walk in it. And then there are several suggestions here that indicate where he’s talking about walking. For instance, in verse 10, If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine. Well, in order to come to them, there must be the wall. So we now go to the opposite end of the spectrum of the Christian life. Not only is there truth out there in right field, but also there’s a danger getting into left field in another area besides doctrine. But the walk is important. And that takes us back now to the third chapter, verse 10 of 1 John, where he says, In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. Now, that righteousness we’ve seen is Christ. And to deny the deity of Christ is certainly not to do righteousness, neither he that loveth, not his brother. Now, we have here this second thing that is very important. The walk is important. So we go to the opposite end of the spectrum of the Christian life. Not only truth is essential, but the walk is essential. And We are told now to love the brethren. Now, the believer walks today in a very dangerous pathway through the world. We walk through a pathway that on the left side is the jungle of liberalism and apostasy. It’s beautiful but dangerous jungle because in it are beautiful and dangerous animals that are ready to devour us. And then on the opposite side of the pathway, there’s the swamp and the desert, and it’s filled with rattlesnakes. And I want to say that this happens to be the swamp of extreme fundamentalism, where they’re totally devoid of love. Just so you have the right doctrine, that’s the only thing they think is important. We must be careful. A brother may pat you on the back today and the next day, because you do not cross your T’s or dot your I’s as he does, he’ll attempt to crucify you, to destroy you, to circulate a report to try and nullify your influence. Because of an overweening ambition, he’ll trample you underfoot. Your reputation is not safe in his hand. and you’ll exhibit hatred and bitterness, not love. Now, I’ve been in active Christian service since 1930, and I’ve met some of the great men of this century, giants of the faith, who preached the truth, and they were great men. And I never met one of these men who tried to separate brethren or attempted to dull the effectiveness of the ministry by some slurring gossip. But may I say to you that these men were great men, not only in doctrine, but in their lives. And I want to talk about them next time. But I’m going to have to leave right off there today. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 01 :
What a powerful reminder from Dr. McGee that these godly men not only stood firm in truth, but lived it out in love and integrity. Next time, we’re going to hear more about these giants of the faith and the legacy they left behind. Until then, stay connected with us. You can do that by dropping us a note through our app, emailing us at biblebus at ttb.org, or writing to Box 7100. Pasadena, California, 91109. If you’re in Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C6B1 is the address to write. You can also call and leave a message on our toll-free number, 1-800-65-BIBLE. And when you’re in touch, be sure to sign up to receive our monthly newsletter. Each issue is filled with updates from the ministry, teaching from Dr. McGee, and helpful prompts to deepen your time in God’s Word. When it shows up at my house, I always take that monthly newsletter and put it on the inside leaf of my Bible and use it as part of my devotional time. We’d also love to send you a free pack of our Bible bus passes. I use those too. These small cards feature a QR code that links directly to Dr. McGee’s teaching, makes it really easy to invite others to discover God’s Word with you. And as we break for the weekend, it’s a great time to continue your study with our Bible companions of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. They include summaries of Dr. McGee’s teaching and thoughtful questions for personal reflection or, better yet, group study. Download them for free on our app or purchase a printed copy over at ttb.org. For more information on the newsletter, Bible bus passes, and the Bible companions, call 1-800-65-BIBLE or just head over to ttb.org. Now, as a reminder, we really do appreciate it when you tell us how and where you listen to Through the Bible. Is it by radio? Tell us the station. Is it on the app? Great. Alexa? Maybe some other way. That information is so important as we make wise ministry decisions, so please let us know. Our journey through 2 John continues. I’m Steve Schwetz, and as always, I’m going to save a seat right here on the Bible bus for you on our next stop. See you then.
SPEAKER 02 :
All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 01 :
Today’s study is always available, free to stream or download, thanks to the generous and faithful investments from your fellow BibleBus travelers. Just go to ttb.org or download our app to listen again anytime. As always, we’d love to know what’s God teaching you.
