Do Not Imitate Evil but Imitate Good

“I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.” (3rd John 1:9-12 ESV)

In the previous writing, “Encouraging One Another,” I spoke on the subject of how we need to be encouragers, but how there are two types of encouragement. One is the kind of stuff that makes us feel good and that encourages us in the work that we are doing for the Lord. The other kind is a holy urging or an exhortation and it can sometimes be a rebuke, but it is usually an encouragement away from a particular behavior toward walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living and no longer in sin.

And this second half of 3rd John does both. But in this case, John was letting the believers in Christ know of his intentions to correct a situation going on within the church which was out of order and which needed to be dealt with. And that should have served both as a warning to those who were doing evil and as an encouragement to those who were being unsettled by what was going on. For by letting the latter know his intentions, they could perhaps have courage to do what was necessary to correct the situation themselves.

But when we, as followers of Christ, see so much evil and so many lies and liars and deceptions within the gatherings of the church and in the teachings being taught there, and when we witness that no one is doing anything about all the evil that is going on in the name of Christianity, it can be very disheartening. So having a word of encouragement, letting us know that someone who has the power fully intends to resolve that situation, should serve to encourage us that not all is lost, but that there is hope for change.

Sadly, though, I don’t see many “John’s” in our day who are passionate about righting the wrongs and doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. I am not saying that they don’t exist, but that I personally am not seeing them in those I have observed in many different church gatherings, many of which I attended personally, and some of which I observed online or read about in books or heard about from other followers of Christ. It appears that so much of today’s “churches” (mostly businesses) are on sinking sand.

So, the one who is going to come to the rescue is Jesus Christ himself, but sadly that rescue is going to involve severe discipline of the church at large who has fallen prey to the enemy and who has diluted and altered the character of God/Christ, and of his church, and of his gospel message, and who has turned the church gatherings into a marketplace, which God forbids. For so much of what are called “churches” today are just businesses being marketed to the world just like any other businesses.

[Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 18:1-25]

So, in our world today, it isn’t just about one man or a few rotten men who are leading God’s people in the wrong direction. But we have multitudes of men and women who are teaching lies and who are leading people to follow after false christs and a false gospel and a false hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And many of them are directing the paths of their church congregations toward blending in with the world in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings.

And so God is presently speaking similar words about these situations as John did in his remarks about just this one man. And the Lord is warning his people against these charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” and those who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness but who work for the devil, instead. And he is telling his people that we need to come out from among these who portend faith in Jesus Christ but who are really ferocious wolves inside. And we need to follow after our Lord, instead.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

For the Lord’s instructions to us are to tell us that we are not to imitate what is evil (not of God) but we are to imitate, i.e. we are to pattern our lives after what is good (what is of God and is holy and righteous and obedient to God). So, when this says that whoever does (is doing) good is from God, this is not speaking of “good” in the eyes of human beings, but what God calls good, which is all that is righteous, just, holy, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands.

And then he let us know that whoever does (is doing) evil has not even seen God, and he is speaking of the practice of evil. And so this can include many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but for whom sin is still their practice. So they are also those who are not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, in practice, and they are not honoring Jesus as Lord of their lives, and they have not forsaken their sinful practices, and they are not living holy lives which are pleasing to God, for they still live to please self.

So this is yet another support for the teaching that lets us know that we are not to be partners with nor to be in fellowship with the ungodly. And the ungodly are all who are living in sin and not in walks of obedience to the Lord. Therefore they are not all who profess to be Christians and to be believers in Jesus Christ. For many give lip service to the Lord but their hearts and their behaviors are far from the Lord. And the Scriptures teach that they are not of God, but they are of the devil (1 John 3:4-10).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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