Check the Baggage

Check the Baggage
Words of Faith 6-24-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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2 John 1
[10] If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. [11] Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.

John warned that there are many deceivers who do not acknowledge the fundamental truth of the Gospel, that Christ came in the flesh to live and sinless life and die a matchless death to save us. Such people are not of Christ; they are antichrist. So we must beware so that we do not lose the reward that we have worked for, not our salvation which we cannot earn, but the reward that is there for us in heaven.
We are also warned not to want to run ahead of the Lord and abandon sound teaching. We must continue in Him by persisting in the teaching of Christ. Continuing in the truth about Jesus Christ also means making a firm response against those who have become purveyors of false doctrine. If anyone comes to you and does not "bring this teaching", do not take him into your house or welcome him.
This image was a familiar one, that of a traveling philosopher or religious teacher. Christian preachers also traveled and relied on local believers for support and hospitality. But John urged these readers to be discerning and discriminating. If someone came to them in the role of a traveling teacher without also bringing sound doctrine, he should be refused help or even a greeting.
The language implies the image of baggage. If someone comes preaching or teaching and the truth is not part of his "baggage," he should receive no hospitality from those who are loyal to that truth. A deceiver was not even to be given a greeting of welcome, since to do so would be construed as an endorsement. So, check their baggage first of all for truth.
To some modern minds, these instructions seem unduly rigid and harsh. In our modern setting, we may be highly tolerant of religious differences in places where we are trying to win others to Christ. But when it comes to the teaching that we bring among us, we must face the fact that the New Testament writers did not promote a spirit of toleration. Their commitment was to the truth. They were extremely aware of the dangers of error concerning the truth of the Gospel. False teachers were to be sternly denounced.
John was specifically thinking about false teachers actively engaged in disseminating error, not people who had questions, disagreements or differing opinions. If they were disseminating error they were not to be helped at all. Even a word of greeting might imply approval that could be misconstrued. These readers were to make plain from their aloofness that they in no way condoned the activities of these men.
The same must be true today. While John did not directly address the question of how efforts should be made to win such people to the truth, he was very clear that such efforts must be conducted so that they are not confused with any form of approval.
So when a purveyor of the latest thought or trend comes along… check their baggage. Be sure to see if they are carrying truth. We reach out to those in error, but we do not endorse that error.

Father God, it seems that our need for careful discernment is needed more today than at any time. Give me that discernment. Keep my eyes open. Help me to check baggage of those who claim to teach. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.