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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and so does the true message that he teaches. I also speak well of him, and you know what I say is true.
3 John 1:12 CEV
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
When we become a Christian, we become a new creation through our committed belief in Jesus and new means new. It means we are dedicated to not be the person we once were, a pagan person who had no regard for living in ways that were pleasing to God.
Indeed, identifying as a Jesus disciple carries with it a certain expectation and inherent reputation. For believers are to behave as Jesus did and any sinful actions outside of this not only tarnish them but the church as a whole.
We see this working in both ways within the church where John’s good friend and ministry partner Gaius was a part of.
Gauis himself was a commended by John for living in faithfulness to the Gospel truth by remaining steadfast in his association with Christ. This association produced fruits in the work he did within the church, having established a track record of showing hospitality to missionaries who passed through in carrying out the Great Commission of Jesus.
And then, we come to our scripture verse for today, verse 12 of 3 John, chapter 1. There, we find John giving kudos to another church member named Demetrius. Look again at his words here:
Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and so does the true message that he teaches. I also speak well of him, and you know what I say is true.
Note here how it wasn’t just John who had a high opinion of Demetrius. For the scriptures tell us that everyone else spoke well of him too and a large part of that positive standing within the church came from the fact that he taught truth, never negatively impacting the legitimacy of the message Jesus commanded him to deliver to others.
Indeed, through Gaius and Demetrius in this letter, we see the power that comes with having a good godly reputation.
And then there was the other side of this. For while we find John acclaiming Gaius and Demetrius, we also find him admonishing another church member and self seeking leader, a man named Diotrephes.
In an earlier message titled, “Don’t Be Like That Guy!”, we saw how Diotrephes had chosen to behave sinfully, selfish and abusive in his leadership while drunk on authority in the church. In hospitable and not hesitating to spread “malicious nonsense” while slandering John and his fellow Gospel ministry companions, John made an example of him to warn others to refrain from following his lead.
Today’s message challenges us to self examine the way we conduct ourselves as Christians. For when others observe the way we behave, do our actions enhance or subtract from what others expect Jesus followers to be? Do we continue to grow our good godly reputation by living as Jesus did or are we giving others the impression that we are only a Christian by title with no proof of having a real relationship with Him?
These are questions that can not only be answered by us but by those who have witnessed us through our actions. As Jesus believers, let’s all commit every day to make sure that we, and they, can know we’re representing the Gospel truth and our Savior, the One who is that Truth, properly in all we do.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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