Thru the Bible

Steve Swenson: What do you think are the three biggest and best ideas in the Bible? Well, in this study on Through the Bible, we're going to look at the letter of 2 John, and our teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee explains the difference between God's love, grace, and mercy. After we study these three amazing gifts from God, I'm thinking that we're going to put these on our biggest and best list. But before we jump into 2 John, Dr. McGee recorded a special introduction that describes another wonderful gift from God, and that's the good news of Jesus Christ. Let's listen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, as we look back, there are three very important things that we should emphasize to you today. The first is is the gospel. What is the gospel? And the second thing is what about man? Who is man? Is man really a sinner? And we want to see God's estimation of man. And then the third, the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world. That was as new and as great as the coming of Christ, friends, because until the Holy Spirit came, no one could have been saved because you remember the Lord Jesus said, Harry in Jerusalem, tell you will be endued with power from on high.

And friends, the word of God has to go out like that today if it's effective at all. Now, I want us today to look at this picture that's given to us of the gospel in the New Testament. Now, in the four gospels, we had the greatest event of human history recorded, the coming of the second person of the Godhead clothed in human flesh in Bethlehem. He intruded into man's history. He was born of a virgin, lived a spotless and sinless life, born in Bethlehem, reared in Nazareth, and at the age of about 33, he was crucified for the sins of mankind.

And it's John who wrote in his first epistle in 1 John 2 2, he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And that word propitiation means mercy seat. In other words, this is a tremendous statement. There is now a mercy seat for all of mankind, irrespective of race, color, or condition, that he can come to that mercy seat and find forgiveness of sins, can find freedom, freedom from the penalty, freedom from the fact that we have to live in sin. We don't have to.

And the Lord Jesus said, if the son make you free, he'll be free indeed. Now, we read some time ago that the Pope went into the prison where the man who had shot him, and he went in, and when he came out, it said that he forgave the man. Well, may I say to you that it was very nice of him to say that. And that was a very brave statement to make. I grant that, but the man didn't come out with him. The man still in prison, and the Pope didn't take his place. The murderer didn't come out, and the Pope stay in prison.

Now, that's what happened when Jesus died from you and from me. We are delivered, but he bore our penalty of our sin. Now, what are the saving facts that constitute the gospel? Well, they are given to us in the word of God in 1 Corinthians the 15th chapter. Let me look there for just a moment at these tremendous things that constitute the gospel.

Steve Swenson: We'll pick up there in our next study, but now let's get to God's word. Pray with me, won't you? Heavenly Father, thank you for the gospel, the grace that you're showing us in giving us your son, the mercy that you've extended in forgiving our sin, and the spirit who comforts and convicts and leads us. All of these gifts are ours, Lord, simply because you love us. So thank you for your word which communicates all these blessings, and then help us to listen now with our whole hearts in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, open to 2 John as we make our way through the Bible with Dr.

J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, friends, we're back at verse 1 of the second epistle of John, and I'm reading the verse again. It says the elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. Now, twice in this epistle, the word truth is emphasized. And as we've said, that's the key to the epistle. Now, the elder we identify as John, and he could be using it in a twofold way which would mean he certainly was a senior citizen at this time. He was in his 90s, and also he was an officer in the church.

He doesn't even call upon his office as the apostle. And the reason I think is quite obvious, the one he's writing to accepts his authority, and all he is calling himself here is the elder. And it's unto the elect lady. And again, let me repeat, the word is electa. It could be the name of a prominent woman and probably was in the church. Also, it could be the church that he has in mind. When it says and her children, well, the children could be either the physical children of the woman or the spiritual children of the church.

Again, these can be taken both ways. And that's the reason that I have emphasized the fact instead of the individual, the church. And we could say the church at large and the church today, that is, when we say the church, we're not thinking of any local church or any denomination, but the total body of believers that there are today. And this has been relevant for the church down through the centuries. In fact, it's been very productive in the life of the church, what is written here. And that it's so important that we believe that now, since it's been such an emphasis on love, that we need this little epistle to cause us to shape up and to get a correct perspective of what love is.

Now, he says, I love in the truth. And we said that love can only be expressed, Christian love, in the bounds of the family of God. And that means those that have the truth. And the truth here is the word of God and also the one that is revealed in the word, which is the Lord Jesus Christ himself, whom I love in truth is actually it. And he is saying two things here that the object of his love must be another believer in Christ, a genuine believer. And also that key is genuine in asserting this, that this is just not a pious platitude that he is uttering here, but that this is quite genuine and quite real for him.

And that is something that we actually need to keep before us here. He says, whom I love in the truth and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. Now, he embraces the rest of the body of believers then, and they also love the other believers and love either this church or this particular woman in the church because of her outstanding testimony. She was a very generous woman who opened her home to believers. And we will be talking about that when we get to it. Now, he says in verse 2, for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever.

Now, let us pause there because he says for the truth's sake. And the truth's sake means a defense of the truth. We need to recognize that the truth today needs to be defended. We need to stand for the truth of God, for the word of God. This very sophisticated and blasé method today that a great many of our so-called conservative men adopt to attempt to be clever in what you have to say. Don't come out flat-footed and say it just as it is, but toy around with it, build up some alliteration. And I'm for that, as you well know.

But the point is, let's state it clearly for the truth's sake. Let's come out and stand for something. I had an encounter with a man several years ago. I was told by a student of his that he didn't believe a certain thing, and I quoted him on that. And he became very much irritated with me, and he should have if I was wrong. And I told him, I said I'd like for you to just clarify if you would just write me a letter and state to me clearly what you believe. I'll be very happy to read it and to make my apology.

Well, instead of writing that kind of a letter, he wrote a letter highly incensed at me that I would even suggest that he believed a certain thing. And so I wrote again, and I said all you have to do to clear this up is just to state clearly. And I put down at the bottom of the page, I believe this, I do not believe that. And then left a place for an answer, making it very easy for him. And that really irritated him. And I was blasted with a third letter. So I forgot it and found out later that the reason he didn't answer was because he actually believed that, but he attempted to gave the impression that he did not believe a certain thing.

And I would respect him for what he believed, although it would be different from what I believe. I would never consider a man a heretic or an apostate that would believe what he did. But the very fact that his method was and is never to be clear on just exactly what you do believe. Now, John is making it clear here for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. The truth's sake and thank God we'll have it forever in this day when you can't believe politicians, you can't believe college professors, and you can't believe the scientists, and you can't believe today the military.

It's nice to have somebody that you can believe. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ that for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and the spirit of God makes these things real to us and shall be with us forever. And that this thing will not change. It 's unchangeable, and truth is that. Someone is put it like this. What is true is not new, and what is new is not true. Now, that's like a great many generalizations. It has some exceptions to it, of course, but it's very good. Now, will you notice here, he moves on in verse 3 in this introduction, and he adopts something that is a little different from Paul and Peter and James and the other writers, in fact himself.

Grace be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the Father in truth now. Here we go again. By the way, I hadn't marked this word for truth here, and that means that it occurs more times than I'd even suggested. So that here we read, grace be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the Father in truth and love. Now, there are three words that we need to be clear on in our thinking. And they differ without their being really a great difference in them in the sense that they apply to the same thing.

One is love, and the other is mercy, and the other is grace. Now, John introduces the word mercy here. Now, what is the difference between the love and the mercy and the grace of God? Because there is a difference, in fact a very great difference. We have dealt with this before when we were back, for instance, in Ephesians. We dealt with this, and you have it stated in the second chapter, verse 4 here, but it says, but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love where with he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.

By grace you're saved. Now, he says God is rich in mercy. And he says because of his great love for us that he saves us by grace. So now, let's take a look here for this. I think it's very important for us to see. Now, what we have here is love. What is the love of God? Well, God is love. And before anything was created, God was love. Somebody says, well, who did he love? Well, it was the Trinity. And love is that in God which existed actually long before he exercised any mercy or any grace.

That's the nature of God. That is what is called an attribute of God. God is love. But the interesting thing is that the love of God never saved a sinner. The love of God caused God to move in the direction of mercy and grace. And it caused him to exercise mercy and grace. Now, the question arise, what's the difference between mercy and grace? Well, mercy is that in God which duly provided for the need of sinful man. That is the mercy of God. Now, I'm quoting a teacher of mine in this connection because I want to be rather exact, and that's something he was.

And it was Dr. Chafer. Mercy is that in God which provided for the need of sinful man. God today is rich in mercy. Why? Because he loves you. That's what he says here in Ephesians, the second chapter. That makes this such a wonderful scripture because it combines all three here. He's rich in mercy. Now, why is he rich in mercy? Because he's love. And because God is love, he by mercy provided for the need of sinful man. But mercy didn't save man. We're told here, grace is that in him which acts freely to save because all the demands of holiness has been satisfied.

Therefore, God today is free to act in grace. He can come to you as a sinner who can't provide anything for God. You can't provide anything for it. You can't offer him anything. You haven't anything to offer to him. Now, grace means God can come to you and say to you, a lost sinner, I loved you and I'm merciful. I'm rich in it, and I provided a savior for you. Now, if you will trust him, by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. Now, there is a fine distinction here.

Somebody says it it looks like a distinction without a difference. Well, as I said it the first, there is a difference in that which doesn't differ because it all stems from the love of God. But God does not save by mercy. You see, after all, our God is a holy God. And to say God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him, you see, God didn't so love the world that he saved the world. He didn't do that. God so loved the world, he provided a savior by his mercy for the world.

Now, God can save by grace. But you see there's something else here that is important. Salvation is not only the expression of the love of God, but it also expresses the justice and the righteousness of God. And we not only need John 3 16, we need Romans 3 26. And will you listen to it? Paul says, and I wish I could take this whole passage, but I can't, to declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Now, in order to justify you when you trust Christ, God has to be righteous and holy and just.

And he just can't open the back door of heaven and slip in under cover of darkness. You and I are not fit for heaven. We're alienated from it. We have no fellowship with it. There's no communication. Communication broke down in the Garden of Eden. Now, he's the one that renewed it. And he has to be just and righteous. Now, how did he become just and righteous? Why? His mercy provided a savior. And why did his mercy? Because he loves you, you see. And he's righteous and do it. He can be just and the justifier of those that will believe in Jesus.

So now, John can write, grace be with you. That's the way God saves you. Mercy. Mercy provided a savior and peace. Now, when you have all this, then the peace of God that passeth all understanding is going to keep your heart. You will know as he said for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us, it'll be with us forever. These great truths are not something God's going to change. He's not going to change his mind tomorrow and say, well, I'm going to act differently. I see public opinion is going in another direction, so I'll change and go with public opinion.

God doesn't change. He's not a weather vane. It's like the man that had on his barn a weather vane and on it he said God is love. And a preacher drove up, said to this farmer, you mean that God's love is as variable as that weather vane? Man says, no, I don't mean that. He says, I don't care which way the wind's blowing. God is still love. And friends, that's true. He's love. And because he's love, he's provided this for you, and he'll never change. Grace be with you, mercy, peace. You can have peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ because he's the one that died for you.

He's the son of the Father. That's his position in the Trinity. And this is all done in truth and love. And remember, it has to be done in the context of truth. There are those that write me and say you are very dogmatic. Well, I always appreciate those letters because I'm not always sure that I give that impression, and I want to give it. When I'm teaching the word of God, I'm very dogmatic about it. Now, if you want to ask me what I think I'm be doing this afternoon, I want to say to you I don't know because my wife hasn't decided yet.

That can change. I'm not dogmatic about what I'm going to do this afternoon, but right now I 'm talking about 2 John, and I'm very dogmatic about what he says here. Now, this, by the way, gets us through this tremendous introduction, but we're still in this section that love is expressed in the boundary of truth. Now, listen to him. I rejoiced greatly that I found thy children walking in truth. Now, the children, either these are the children that are members of the church, a local church, it could be or this woman, her physical children. And I think it can be both and probably refers to both.

I found of thy children walking in truth. And it's wonderful to have children that are walking in the truth as we have received a commandment from the Father. Now, the commandment is that we walk in the light as he's in the light, verse 5. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning. Now, you will recall from the first epistle of John, the beginning here is the beginning actually of the ministry of Christ, the incarnation. It begins there. Now, in the teaching that the Lord Jesus gave was this, if you love me, keep my commandments.

By this shall the world know that you're my disciples, not because you're fundamentalists, but because you have love one for another. And he says this is something we had from the beginning, something that Christ gave us, that we love one another. Now, here we have it again. Walking in truth, will you notice that? And loving one another. We're talking about brethren. This is the thing today that's needed in the church or any church will become lopsided. You can become over sentimental in the church. And there's a lot of this sentimental Tommyrot that's going around today.

It's as sloppy as it can be. We love each other. We have the agape love and all that sort of thing. But are you walking in the truth? Are you really walking in the knowledge of the word of God? You remember that is something that all these apostles now we've seen, not only Paul where we put a great emphasis, but we saw that James emphasized it, Peter emphasized it. Now, John is emphasizing it. We are to walk in love. And that's important. And my friend, that's very important in these days in which we live. And it's wonderful if you're a fundamentalist.

I hope you are. But I hope you're walking in love because you're not really a fundamentalist unless you are. Until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Swenson: Go deeper in the study yourself by accessing Dr. McGee's free notes and outlines available in our app or at ttb.org. Just look for the digital book Briefing the Bible. Or if you'd rather receive an abbreviated paperback copy of Briefing the Bible by mail, just email us, biblebus@ttb.org or call 1 800 65 Bible. And remember, you can always send your request to box 7100 Pasadena, California 91109 or in Canada box 25325 London, Ontario N6C 6B1. Now, we got more ground to cover in 2 John next time when the Bible Bus swings back around your corner. I'm Steve Swenson.

I'll be here saving a seat just for you.

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