2 John. Second John is one of the shortest letters in the Bible, the equivalent of sending a friend a short note on a card (or a single papyrus sheet!). The opening is a bit cryptic, “The elder to the elect lady and her children.” The elder is a reference to an office in the church hierarchy, here presumed to be the Apostle John who is recognized as a designated leader by those he is writing to. His audience, the elect lady and her children, would have been a church (elect meaning they were Christians chosen by God) and the children would have been members of the congregation. We do not know why the church is not identified by name, but perhaps it was to both protect the audience and to make the letter more relevant for other churches that might read it.

John opens with thanksgiving, as he often opened his letters. “I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father” (2 John 4). It’s always a joyful thing to reconnect with people and find that they are doing well and still walking in the ways of the Lord. Yet the phrase “some of your children” is disturbing. No mother rejoices if only two of her three kids are doing well! Every parent wants all the children to be doing well. John is equally disturbed here – he can celebrate those who are doing well, but he is quite concerned about the ones who are not.

One of the reasons that church members (children) are straying from the faith is because of false teachings and deception. In his first letter John noted three tests of genuine Christianity – obedience, love for God and others, and belief. John reaffirms what he mentioned earlier, noting that this was “the commandment we have had from the beginning – that we love one another. And this is love that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 5-6). For purposes of identifying false teachers, he highlights the obedience and love tests first, then moves on to the topic of beliefs.

“Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is a deceiver…” (2 John 7). John reminds the church to hold firm to what they were taught in the beginning regarding the identity of Jesus, and particularly that Jesus had a physical human body. Denying this was one aspect of false teaching that occurred frequently in that day.

John has a stern warning – “Watch yourselves!” and “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house.” (2 John 8,10) The norm in that era was to welcome travelling preachers into your home, since there was rarely anywhere else to stay that would have been appropriate. (Not many hotels in those days, mostly brothels, and you cannot send the preacher there!) In a rare breach of hospitality etiquette, John commands that churches refuse hospitality to those whose beliefs and lifestyle are marked by false teaching.

Any time people walk away from the church due to false teaching, we should be disturbed. What types of false and deceptive teachings exist in our culture today? Are we alert to them – using John’s standard to evaluate what they believe, how they obey, and how they love God and people?