Message | Truth & Love Go Together

Summary

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River Valley Church Podcast

Episode: Message | Truth & Love Go Together
Date: August 24, 2025
Host/Speaker: Pastor Rob Ketterling

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Overview

In this episode, Pastor Rob Ketterling unpacks the key themes of the brief but profound book of 2 John, emphasizing the powerful dynamic between truth and love in Christian living. Amidst today's polarized culture, especially regarding faith and politics, Pastor Rob discusses how believers are called to hold fast to core biblical truths while also living out radical, Christ-like love. He addresses practical challenges Christians face—such as when to speak up for convictions, set boundaries, or extend hospitality—and offers wisdom for navigating relationships with both believers and those outside the faith, without compromising core doctrine.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Context and Relevance

• 2 John’s Relevance (00:00–02:00):

  • Pastor Rob introduces the context: moving from 1 John to 2 John, which is often skipped but highly relevant.
  • Emphasizes that, contrary to some opinions, the book isn’t just about hospitality but is a case study in living out faith amidst cultural clashes.
  • “Second John is way bigger…It’s incredibly relevant for today…and we’re living in one of the most polarizing moments in recent history.” [00:58]

• Polarization in Society (02:00–04:00):

  • Cites Pew Research that shows political identity now divides people more than any other factor—including race and age.
  • Notes how Christians are increasingly insular, having fewer non-Christian friends as they age, reflecting societal polarization.

2. The Tension: Truth and Love

• Real-life Dilemmas (04:00–06:00):

  • Shares stories of university students in the congregation who stood up for their faith despite pressure, illustrating the real-life dilemma Christians face in a hostile or indifferent culture.

• Guardrails for the Church (06:00–09:00):

  • John’s message is not about political affiliation but about maintaining doctrinal purity and living out faith without being either disagreeable or compromising.
  • “We don’t want to be doormats, but we also don’t want to be jerks.” [08:39]

3. Breaking Down 2 John: Exegesis and Application

• Verses 1–3: Address to the Church (09:00–10:30):

  • “The elect lady” refers to the church as a whole, not an individual.
  • John writes as “the elder” for security reasons—names aren’t given in case of interception (similar to encrypted messages today).

• Verses 4–6: Walking in Truth and Love (10:30–13:00):

  • John commends some church members for “walking in the truth,” implying others have drifted.
  • Emphasizes the inseparability of truth and love. “If we just have truth and forget love, we’re in trouble. If we have love and forget truth, we’re in trouble.” [12:15]

• Legalism vs. License (13:00–14:30):

  • Truth without love leads to legalism, isolation, and an “us vs. them” mentality.
  • Love without truth leads to license—what Pastor Rob calls “sloppy agape,” or niceness that ignores biblical standards.

• Memorable Quote:

  • “You can’t abandon love if you have the truth. And you can’t abandon the truth if you have love. Both—truth and love.” [12:46]

4. Church History & Cultural Implications

• Early Church’s Example (14:30–16:30):
  • Early Christians didn’t hide with their beliefs—they lived truth and love in the marketplace and during crises.
  • Four virtues: charity, chastity, humility, and patience—countercultural then, foundational now.

5. Warning Against Deception

• Verses 7–9: Deceivers and the Antichrist (16:30–19:00):

  • John warns about “deceivers” denying Jesus’ incarnation and return.
  • Pastor Rob parallels this with today’s false teachings and cultural drift, emphasizing discipleship and staying grounded in core truths.

• Memorable Anecdote:

  • “I’ll never forget, we had a couple in our church…the wife got saved and the husband did not…He said, ‘It’s Jesus or me.’ And she walked out with him. It broke my heart.” [17:32]

• No “New and Improved” Christianity:

  • “It’s always been Jesus…it is Jesus…there is no go ahead, new and improved, better things, way beyond Jesus.” [19:18–19:19]

6. Hospitality, Endorsement, and Boundaries

• Verses 10–11: The Real Meaning of ‘Do Not Receive’ (19:20–24:40):

  • Context: To “welcome into your house” then meant public endorsement and providing a platform for a traveling teacher’s message, not simply inviting a neighbor for dinner.
  • Application: Christians must not give a platform or endorsement to those undermining core doctrine.

• Modern Parallel: Social Media (24:40–25:10):

  • Questions around whether online “likes” or “follows” are endorsements.
  • Encourages vigilance about what we platform, even digitally.

• Memorable Quote:

  • “Don’t host what heaven won’t host.” [23:38]

7. Practical Instructions for Today

• Navigating Differences (25:10–30:55):

  • Educate yourself on beliefs—yours and others’ [26:12].
  • Watch out for ‘cornering language’—e.g., “We both believe the same thing, don’t we?” [26:20]
  • Know when to speak up—consider the issue’s magnitude, the platform, and audience [27:32].
  • Prepared responses: “Nope.” “Not even close.” “I think our goal is similar, but we want to get there differently.” “Respectfully, I disagree.” [27:43]
  • Ask clarifying questions: “How do you think our beliefs are the same?” “How did you come to believe that?” [29:02]

• Boundaries in Relationships (30:00–31:05):

  • Homes are for relationships, not endorsements; it’s okay to be hospitable while upholding biblical standards—especially with children present.

8. Living the Tension: A Redemption Story

• Memorable Personal Story (31:05–33:00):
  • Pastor Rob shares about hosting relatives living together before marriage. He kindly but firmly upheld his convictions by asking them to sleep in separate rooms.
  • Result: The couple felt loved and respected, began attending church, gave their lives to Christ, and later married after choosing to live separately until their wedding.
  • “Thanks for being the first people to speak to us in truth and love like that.” [32:17]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Second John is really a guardrail…don’t let somebody tear down what Christ has built in you…There are people that are trying to steal your faith.” [06:45]
• “Truth without love can become legalism. Love without truth can become a license. Both are dangerous.” [11:46]
• On social media: “Is a like an endorsement or is a like a nod?…Are you platforming this with your like? Probably.” [24:59]
• “You can show love without sharing in the lies.” [23:52]
• “Our home can be open, and it should be open. Your home is not the endorsement anymore…” [29:32]
• “It was living in this tension of, how will I be hospitable? How will I have truth and love?” [33:00]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:55 — Setting up the context for 2 John
• 03:00–04:15 — The problem of polarization and isolation in today’s church
• 09:00–13:00 — Exegeting the opening verses: Truth & Love inseparable
• 14:30–16:30 — Early church’s countercultural virtues and their application
• 16:30–19:00 — Warning against deceivers, perseverance in faith
• 19:21–24:40 — The lesson about hospitality, platforming, and endorsement
• 25:10–30:55 — Practical guidance for engaging with differing beliefs
• 31:05–33:00 — Redemption story: Truth, love, and family boundaries

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Conclusion

Pastor Rob challenges listeners to embrace and walk in the “tension” of truth and love—never sacrificing either. He urges believers to discern wisely, engage with the world compassionately, set boundaries where necessary, and to pattern their lives after Christ in both conviction and hospitality.

Final prayer and charge:

• For those lacking love, seek God to soften your heart.
• For those hesitant to speak truth, pray for boldness and a backbone.
• “Help us to walk this out—truth and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” [33:51]

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Episode Summary by River Valley Church Podcast Summarizer

Transcript

[A]

Well, we are continuing this series and we've been going through one John and we have now completed that. Now we're in on Second John and next week, Third John. Very short books. And if you don't know this about me, I am a goal setter.

[B]

And every year I start in the month of January. I'm like, I'm gonna read the New Testament right away in the month of.

[A]

January, and I write out each of.

[B]

The books of the Bible in my.

[A]

Journal and it's right there on the.

[B]

COVID And when I read em, I cross em off because I. I get that euphoric joy when I cross something off.

[A]

And two John and three John. If I'm ever like slumping at all.

[B]

I'm like, all right, I got two.

[A]

Books of the Bible right there and if I want a third one, I.

[B]

Can go to Jude.

[A]

They're very short and they get skipped over a lot. I wanna let you know that when I was looking for sermon research on this, even there's not a lot of people that have preached on Second John as I look for sermons on this. So some people have said it's a book about hospitality.

[B]

And I don't agree with that.

[A]

I think that's too narrow. I think they're just looking at verses 10 and 11. And I think that second John is way bigger. It's incredibly relevant for today. And I'm ready to preach this because I think you're gonna say that's right where we live. And we're living in one of the most polarizing moments in recent history, especially in the area of politics and religion. All right, And I'm gonna give a disclaimer right now because even just mentioning that I made some people nervous, like, oh, no, here comes a culture clash. All right, this is 2 John. All right, that's where we're going. But I want you to know that Second John is gonna talk about how do we apply what we had in First John 1 through 5. There's a lot of doctrine there. How are we gonna apply this? This is a real case study of on how we're gonna live out our faith. Who do we vouch for? Who do we defend? Who do we align with? Or who do we even.

[B]

Platform.

[A]

Okay, so it's not a political message, but you might see some things in there and you're like, oh, oh. But this is really about a culture clash that is going on that John is addressing now. According to Pew research, political identity has surpassed any other marker. Race, age, religion, education, income. It's like the Number one marker that has the greatest divide. When I travel around the world, people will be like, what is your big deal about the politics in America? And I'm like, usually I say it's because it's so powerful, it has a way to change culture. There's a lot of money attached to it. And they're like, man, you guys are obsessed with it. But it's really the biggest marker. 50% of Americans seldom or never discuss their faith with those outside their religious belief system. Among millennials, 20 to 44 year olds, the average number of non Christian friends that someone has is four. And if you're older than that, it's less than that. If you're a Christian, we're just isolating. We're getting very polarized. And when you look at rain, religion and politics, it's very polarizing. And people are looking to see who agrees with who. And so what's happening is we're not associating with other people. And so because we get around people that are like us, when we're around them, they talk, we agree with them, but then we get into a situation where we're with somebody that doesn't agree with us, has a different belief, and then maybe you could identify with this. They say something like this, like, well, we both believe the same thing.

[B]

And you go.

[A]

Or they say, you know, we're all in this together, or all that matters is love. I think the Beatles said that or something, I don't know. And you're like, all faiths are similar. We're all getting there. And all these things happen. And so you're looking for an answer, and you might be like, no, or you might be nope. Or you might be no. I mean, I don't know which one you're gonna throw out. And. And neither do you. Because some of you are, like, trying to figure out, do I smile? Do I freeze? Do I fight? What do I do? I mumble through some.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Side note, I do have to share this. I just got two really encouraging stories from people in our church that were both in the university system that their professors were sharing things that were contrary to the word of God. And they both were just like, I'm doing it, I'm speaking up. And they said, nope, nope, I'm gonna disagree. And this so very encouraging. Stor matter of fact, both of them were told by the other students, like.

[B]

Maybe you ought to be teaching this.

[A]

You sound like you know what you're talking about.

[B]

Thank you. I love that you're standing Up. I love that.

[A]

So John knows what it feels like. Like, what are we gonna do? Are you gonna listen? Are you gonna keep the peace? Are you gonna say something? Are you gonna correct? You just walk away. And so John is like, this is going on. I've just given you deep theology. Now I'm writing to you and I'm giving you a real practical thing. But on how you're gonna handle when people say things differently, disagree when they have false doctrine, how are you gonna handle this church? And second, John is really a guardrail and he's instructing the church like, all right, don't let somebody tear down what Christ has built in you. He's telling em, don't welcome what contradicts what you've been taught. Don't embrace what erodes your faith. Like he's letting them know that there are people that are attacking what you believe. And he's trying to help us. He's saying, I want you to live out this love, this faith and obedience, but you've gotta protect it. You've gotta protect it. There are people that are trying to steal your faith, there are people that are trying to change your faith, there's people that are challenging it. And he's saying, you've got to protect it. William Barclay in his commentary said this. It must be made quite clear to the world that the church has no tolerance for, for those whose teaching destroys faith. He's like, there's no. So John is gonna go after it. And here's the tension. We don't wanna be doormats, but we also don't wanna be jerks. Like, I don't wanna be a jerk. I wanna win people over and I wanna defend the faith that I believe. But I also don't wanna just be like, well, I just glad I didn't make anybody mad today. We live in that tension and we've gotta find a way to live with those people that have different beliefs than us, different convictions, without being disloyal to the truth and without being unloving to the people. All right, so I've set that all up. Second John, verses one through three. The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I, but also who know the truth because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father, Son, and in truth and love. Now this is his intro and he said, I'm the elder and we know that this is John, and he's in Ephesus. He's the last connection to Jesus. He's the last apostle alive, and he's really over this region. And he writes it to the Elect Lady. So you're like, who's the Lady? Who's the Lady? Why doesn't he even name the Lady? Okay, there's no name for her. It's believed. And I believe this. He's writing to the Church, and he's calling the church the Elect Lady. Okay? That's what he's saying. He's saying. So I'm writing, I'm the elder. You know who I am, John, but I'm not putting my name in there for security purposes. True, true. To the Elect Lady. We all know that's the Church. And I'm using that security purposes because there were things going on and he didn't have signal or encrypted text. He had to write this out. And so he's actually encrypting this, and he's trying to let him know, hey, I'm the elder. You know who I am. To the Elect lady, the Church, and to her children, the people in the church. Isn't that interesting? So now when you understand, like, okay, he's writing to the church, and he's got something that he wants to do. There's security concerns, and he's writing to them. What is he writing? Verse 4 through 6, he said, I rejoice greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we've had from the beginning, that we love one another, and this is love that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. So in verse four, he's like, I hear that some of you are walking. And he's excited for some. And early translations added the word some to help the grammar work, but it fits. And he's saying, some of you are walking with the faith, that I'm rejoicing, which implies that some have walked away. And he's concerned about it. So he's writing like, hey, guys, I'm giving my life. We're preaching this message. Some of you are staying in, and some of you are walking around. Here's a guardrail. I'm trying to protect you. I don't want you to lose what you have. And so he's saying again, he Says, there's love, there's obedience. And remember, his themes over and over again are faith, love and obedience. And here he's talking about love and obedience. And for the purpose of the message, I'll call it love and truth. And for the ease of the way, I've memorized it. And is truth and love, why do I have it as truth and love? Cause Ephesians 4:15 says instead, speaking the truth in love. So that's how I have a truth and love. So John is writing about truth and love, and he's saying they go hand in hand. He said, church, I want you to remember, I want you to remember that we have truth and we have love, and we have love and we have truth and they go together. If we just have truth and we forget love, we're in trouble. If we have love and we forget truth, we're in trouble. How are we in trouble? Because truth without love can become legalism. We stand for the truth in this church and we hate everybody else. That's terrible. But love without truth can become a license. And maybe you've never heard this term before, sloppy agape, you know? Right, Sloppy agape, you know what is that? Agape love is the perfect love, sacrificial love, self sacrificing, unconditional love. But if it's agape, if it's sloppy agape, it's niceness over biblical truth. You think that just being emotionally comforting to somebody is okay, and you think you love them that way because you've abandoned truth. See, you can't abandon love if you have the truth. And you can't abandon the truth if you have love. Both truth love, truth, love. We're walking on both of them, all right? And so John's like, we've gotta have both of these and we don't wanna. Cause see, let me break this down for a second. Truth without love is legalistic and it produces an us versus them in the Christian's life. If it's just truth and you stop loving people. I thought this was interesting. We had a retreat for many of our missionaries workers. And one of em said that he got to a point where he was preaching the truth. Preaching the truth, preaching the truth. And he said he stopped loving people because they weren't responding.

[B]

And he's getting angry with them.

[A]

And he told his boss, he said, you know, if they don't wanna listen.

[B]

They could just go to hell.

[A]

That's what he said. And his boss said, you need a sabbatical.

[B]

You need a sabbatical.

[A]

You got the truth, but you've lost the love. And he said after six months it broke his heart again.

[B]

And he realized, I have to love these people.

[A]

I have the truth, but I lost faith, the love. If you're in that spot, maybe you can't take a sabbatical, but you come to the altar and you repent. God, I've lost the love. I've held onto truth, but I've lost out. And in this isolation is what happens when you truth, truth, truth, truth. And you stop loving people. You just pull away from em and you avoid persecution cause you're not around anybody, you're not around non Christians anymore. You say, well they have four friends, I have zero friends that are not Christians. And if you have truth without love, you isolate. And I wanna tell you this, the early church did not have explosive growth because they kept the truth and went and hid with it. They went out and into the marketplace and they loved people and they lived out the truth and they were unashamed of it. And they were the first responders in two devastating plagues. They were in the mix. They didn't say, I've got the truth, but now I'm gonna go hide. So you don't want truth without love and you don't want love without truth, because love without truth is liberalism. It's that sloppy agape that anything goes. And it produces like an assimilation, like there's no standards at our church. Anybody can believe whatever they want, we just love everybody. Anything goes, it's a license. It avoids suffering by blending in. So truth without love avoids the suffering because it gets away. Love without truth avoids suffering because. Yeah, that's cool. Good, good you do you. That's not what the Bible says. And the early believers lived out loving and taking care of the sick and be the first responders and taking in widows and orphans and letting Jews and Greeks and every male and female all worship together. And they're like, hey, come on, we're all in this family of God. But then they also stood out with this love with the truth. And they said, we're not gonna be a part of the gladiator games, we're not gonna be part of that. And they're like, oh, you're antisocial. They said we're not gonna be in Caesar's army and advance his cause. We're not gonna be part of abortion and infanticide. We're not gonna be part of that. We're not gonna be part of promiscuous sex and same sex. We're not gonna do that stuff we're gonna live up, we're gonna love you, but we're gonna live in truth. And the early church pressed forward with truth and love, and that's what we have to do. And so John's telling them, like, we're gonna live out this love, and we're gonna live in obedience, and they are going to walk together. We're not gonna separate them. And the early church lived out four virtues that seemed normal to us because our society is built on a foundation of.

[B]

Of Judeo Christian values.

[A]

So it just seems normal to us. But had we not grown up here.

[B]

These values wouldn't be as prominent as.

[A]

They are, but it would be charity, chastity, humility, and patience. Totally countercultural. And here's the church just growing this. And they're even saying, we're not gonna confess. Caesar is Lord Jesus, Lord. They're living the truth in love, living loving people and holding onto the truth, even if it cost them their life. So that's what's going on in this moment when John's writing this and he's saying these truth and love, they walk together. So verses 7 through 9. For 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 the deceiver and the Antichrist. Watch yourself so that you may not lose what we've worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ is. Does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. So he said, there's deceivers that are out there that are trying to take away your faith. Church member, the church is in its infancy. It's not even a hundred years old. And John trying to, like, come on, guys. He's saying, don't let them try to steal what God has put in you. These deceivers are coming in, and these deceivers were saying, jesus did come in the flesh, and Jesus won't come back someday. And John's like, no, Jesus came in the flesh. He did, and Jesus is coming back. So that was their issue there. He's saying, don't let them deceive you. But there's other deceivers. You would have people doing that today. But there are people that are trying to deceive you. Did God really say that? Does God really want you to live that way? I'm not sure. The Bible says that your church is too narrow, you understand? And they're trying to steal away your faith. There are deceivers. That's why you needed to be grounded. That's why we have core groups, small groups, serve teams, soap Global teams, church every week, extra worship, nights, conferences. We're trying to get you grounded in your faith so that you can say, I'm not gonna be led away by deceivers. I know what I believe. And again, just. It gave me great joy as pastor to hear the two stories of the people that are like, no, no, no, that's. I. I don't believe that. And challenging their professor. And one of the kids asked this young lady. She's from the Apple Valley campus. They asked her, like, how do you know all this? And she said, like, I read my Bible.

[B]

I was raised in the church.

[A]

Like, I got this. And I was like, yeah, you go, girl.

[B]

All right.

[A]

So that's discipleship. We don't want you to lose what God has given to you. We don't want deceivers to steal away what God has placed in you. It's so sad to watch people drift away, to walk away. I mean, it breaks my heart. And I've had some of those moments to just rip my guts out. I'll never forget, we had a couple in our church. The wife got saved and the husband did not. And he's like, if you don't walk away with me, like, you can't. It's Jesus or me. It's Jesus or me. You choose me or Jesus. And I'm on the other side of the desk, and I'm going, jesus. And it's Jesus. He's a jerk. It's Jesus. It's Jesus. And she walked out with him. It broke my heart. It breaks my. Like. So we're trying to get you into your foundation, your faith, so you don't get deceived away from what you believe. And that's what John is saying. I don't want you. He's saying, compromise is costly. Verse 8. He says, Watch yourself. So that you may not lose what we've worked for, but we may win a fight. Full reward. All right? He goes on and he says, those people that go ahead of Jesus, like, that's not good either. What do you mean? He was probably using the deceiver's own words. And here's what they're saying. You've got Christianity and you got your belief in Jesus. That's cute and good. But we've gone ahead. We've gone ahead of that. We have new progressive thoughts, and these are better than that. That was just For a season. Now we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna teach you better things, different things. And John's saying, those that go ahead, they're not part of us. Like, it's Jesus. It's always been Jesus. It will be Jesus. It is Jesus. That's what we're preaching, that's what we're teaching. And so he's like, no, we're not gonna go ahead of what Jesus taught. This is good stuff, what Jesus taught. It's the right stuff. It's the only stuff. And John's told us, we gotta abide in Christ. We gotta abide in the light, we gotta abide in the message. We gotta abide in God's love, we gotta abide in the spirit. And so John's like, don't think that these people out there trying to put you into the go ahead class are right. They're wrong. What I've taught you and what you learned about Jesus, that's what matters. That's what's right. And there is no go ahead. New and improved, better things, way beyond Jesus.

[B]

Not gonna happen.

[A]

So now we get into the big.

[B]

Stuff in verses 10 and 11.

[A]

Cause you're like, you're flying through this, Pastor Rob. All right, 10 and 11. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting. For whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. So this is where people say, like, see, this is about hospitality. You just gotta be kind to people, make sure you greet em, make sure you do that. You know, just be careful. It's all about hospitality.

[B]

No.

[A]

All right, so let me explain to this what's going on. Historically, if you have a message that you wanna get out, how are you gonna get it out? You gonna put it on the Internet?

[B]

Doesn't exist.

[A]

You gonna print it in a book? So few books handwritten. Only the richest of the richest of the richest have the books. How are you gonna get the message out? You have to bring the message, you have to talk, and you have to talk to the crowd you're with. And after they've heard the message, what do you gotta do? You gotta walk to the next town, and you've gotta find a place that will hear your message. And you talk about the message, all right? That's what we see all throughout the book of Acts. We see the Apostle Paul, we see Paul and Barnabas. We see alma in Acts 13. We see in Acts 17, Paul and Athens. What do they do? They go into town. They Find the area where everybody's talking. And they say, hey, it's my turn to talk. In Acts 17, he's like, I wanna talk to you about the unknown God. You got all these little shrines around here. I'll tell you what. I know who. The unknown God. See, that's what they would do. They would go into the town. And then what do you do when you're done speaking? You're hungry, you gotta sleep somewhere. You cash in your Marriott points. No, you don't. There's no Marriott.

[B]

All right?

[A]

Now, there were ends, okay? There were ends. But here's the deal. If you stayed at the inn, you were a person that was under suspicion. Why are you staying at the inn? Nobody likes you. You got no friends in this town. And you were treated as a non person if you stayed at the inn. So you'd come into town as a preacher with a message. And you wanna be received by somebody that says, I like that message. Come stay at my house. I got a guest room for you. You come to my house. I'll feed you. I'll. I'll put you up in my house as long as you're staying in town. I identify with your message. I endorse your message. And that's what it meant to welcome them into your home. You were saying, I like this person's message. I agree with this person's message. I endorse this person's message. And if I invite them into my home, I'm giving them the platform to share their message in this town. And. And when they speak, I'm nodding. Amen. I agree with this message. So now you could see where John's saying, don't greet these people. Don't bring them into your house. Don't do this if they have the wrong teaching, if they're standing against the things of God, don't bring them in. And you gotta also remember their house. At this time, the house was where the church met whoever had the biggest house. I already showed you pictures of this before. Some of them sat 300 people. They had big houses. Whoever had the biggest house, you know, like church is at my house. Well, then we'll invite the guest speaker to come and stay at my house as well for church. And so he's saying, when you bring somebody into your house like this, you're giving them a platform. You're endorsing what they say. You're agreeing with it. We even see in the Bible, when Paul gets in trouble, he's staying at Jason's house.

[B]

And.

[A]

And they're looking for Paul. Where's Paul? We're gonna throw Paul. Where's Paul? They can't find him. They say, where's Jason? Where's Jason? They grab Jason and they bring him to the city council. You can see it right there in the Bible. And they bring Jason, you're in trouble. He has to post bond because he hosted Paul and they didn't like Paul's message. Do you understand the connection here? So it's not, can I invite my non Christian neighbor over for dinner? It's not what he's saying. Yes, you can, by the way. You can do that. All right, but what he's saying is don't do the platform, don't do the endorsement. Don't do the. I vouch for this person and I agree with them. Don't go to that level with these people. Don't do it. Don't do it. Because they're tearing down the church. And you can't endorse people that are tearing down the church. Okay? So with this endorsement, he's saying, don't host what heaven won't host. If heaven won't host it, you don't host it. Don't do that. And he's letting us know that hospitality is a beautiful act of love. But he's saying it never should be a backdoor for compromise to get into the church. Don't think I got, well, I gotta welcome the stranger in, you know, I gotta have yawn. It's really not the truth, but I should be nice and I'm gonna be kind. I'm gonna have love without truth. He's like, don't do it. Don't do it. That's a backdoor for. For false doctrine again. He said you could be gracious without giving ground. You can show love without sharing in the lies. You can open up your home to people. You're not gonna open up the pulpit. You're not gonna endorse these people. Church. So it's not telling us to avoid unbelievers because Jesus met with unbelievers, Paul. I mean, they all met with unbelievers. So what was it? It was saying, hey, you're not gonna.

[B]

Endorse what they do.

[A]

You're not gonna platform this. And I think we're living in a moment now where we're trying to figure this out. Even on social media. If I follow somebody, that's mean, I'm.

[B]

Interested in what they said.

[A]

If I like what they said, does.

[B]

That mean I endorse them? And then you're kinda Like, I'm gonna take back that, like, you know, is.

[A]

A, like an endorsement or is a, like a nod?

[B]

Where is it?

[A]

We're trying to. People are trying to figure this out in social media world. Where is it? Is it a follow? Is it a like. And so there's a tension there. How are we gonna do this? Are you platforming this with your, like. Probably. So what are we gonna do? We're gonna invite people in. We're gonna. So how are we gonna live this out in a world that has different beliefs than us? We have to have guardrails. We gotta be on guard against people that have different things. And we're not just gonna nod along.

[B]

Remember that.

[A]

Remember that thing I was saying in the beginning? Like, we all believe the same, right? You know, all we need is love. You know, all roads lead to heaven. You know, what are you gonna do in those moments? Let me give you some practical things. First of all, be aware of your beliefs and different beliefs. Educate yourself again. That's why we have the ministries that we do at the church. So you know, what you believe, why you believe it. You may want to educate yourself about other beliefs. You say, oh, I just found out my neighbor is Jehovah's Witness. You educate yourself about that. Oh, I just found out my neighbor has this belief system. Educate yourself about that.

[B]

Okay, so that's the first thing.

[A]

And then the second thing is you're gonna have to watch out for cornering language. What is that?

[B]

What do I mean by that?

[A]

Where they. In the conversation, they just kinda go, we both believe the same thing, don't we? And they want you to say, yeah, yeah. And they ask it in such a way like, we both believe it, don't we? And it's cornering language because they put the yes on the edge of your mouth and it corners you in. And everybody's looking at you like we do, don't we? And be aware of this cornering language, because people will say things like, jesus would be good with this, wouldn't he? And they want you to say yes. They're looking for a yes, a nod, or even, at best, silence. They're like, okay, if I can't get a yes or a nod.

[B]

Silence.

[A]

Be aware of those moments that are gonna come up. Thirdly, you're gonna have to know when to speak up in truth and love. You're gonna have to ask yourself, how big is the issue? How big is the platform? Who's in the audience? Was it a false statement that denies truly what I believe in? Challenges It. Do I have to stand up for it? Okay, these are real moments that you're gonna have to decide, like, I'm gonna be way more defensive in the company of non believers or young believers, my children. Does that make sense? But I say, I'm not gonna fight.

[B]

You on that one. All right? Not that one, that one.

[A]

I'm looking for that moment, all right? And what I've learned is to have a statement ready. Now here's a simple one.

[B]

All right, you ready? Nope. All right, you got that one ready?

[A]

Nope.

[B]

All right, you could. Here's another one.

[A]

Not even close.

[B]

All right?

[A]

But you say, well, you know, I.

[B]

Need something better than just nope. Okay, here's something that I've said.

[A]

I've said to people, like, you know, I think our goal is similar, but I think the way we want to.

[B]

Get there is different. And they're like, what do you mean by that?

[A]

I said, well, I think you're saying we should be kind to everybody, but I don't wanna be condoning, but I wanna be kind. So I think our goal is similar, but we wanna get there differently. And then even here's one that I've thought of too, because I get challenged. People say, like, well, this is what I believe, and this is my. You know, and I think this is fine, and God's fine with it. And I'll say, like, I think we.

[B]

Have different beliefs on what leads to the abundant life. I really do. I think we have different beliefs on what leads to the abundant life. Like, I believe differently than you, and.

[A]

I'm not just like, you're wrong, but I'm just trying to tell them in a respectful way.

[B]

And lastly, I've said, respectfully, I disagree. These are answers that I have ready. Respectfully, I disagree.

[A]

And what do you mean you disagree?

[B]

I just disagree.

[A]

I can explain it.

[B]

Would you like to have another time? But respectfully, I disagree with that.

[A]

You just have to know when those moments are to speak up in truth of love.

[B]

And.

[A]

And another thing, in this, you can ask clarifying questions like, how do you think our beliefs are the same?

[B]

What made you think that?

[A]

And how did you come to believe that?

[B]

Right there. Usually followed by, oh, okay, well, here's what I believe, just to clarify.

[A]

And it helps people. So you're not gonna be a doormat. I'm gonna speak the truth in love. Now, it's not like defriend you get out of my sight. Not doing that. But I'm gonna be engaged now.

[B]

Another thing I said earlier, but I'll Say it again.

[A]

Your home can be open, and it should be open.

[B]

Your home is not the endorsement anymore, okay?

[A]

Nobody's dragging you to city council.

[B]

Cause you had dinner with somebody that had differing beliefs than you, okay? It's not gonna happen. Your home is not that endorsing thing anymore. It's a place for relationship.

[A]

But I will say this. If you have children present, you should do active parenting. There are moments you may have to.

[B]

Interrupt and just say, hey.

[A]

Oh, hold on just one second.

[B]

Hey, guys, we don't believe that. Hey. We don't believe. Just. We'll talk about that later, all right? We'll talk about that later.

[A]

It's okay.

[B]

Cause your kids are like, we'll talk about that later. You know, so you want to do that. And then. It's okay to set boundaries is the last thing I'd say. It's okay to set boundaries on people that even as you're. They're not gonna plot. You're not platforming in the church, but they're in your community, they're in your neighborhood, they're in your small group or whatever. But it's okay to set boundaries and say, no, we don't. That one. We don't do that. We don't believe that. We don't. No. I've done it in small groups, our church. I said, wait, nope, that's not correct. That's not correct. Actually, what we believe is this and this. And this is how you should handle it. I literally did have somebody in a small group once look at me after I corrected them. They go, I will take that under advisement. I was like, yes, you will.

[A]

All right.

[B]

But I have a beautiful story to end with somebody that disagreed with us and had differing beliefs relative. Becca's niece and her boyfriend already had.

[A]

Kids, not married, said, hey, we're gonna be in town.

[B]

We wanna stay at your house. Wanna come over for dinner? And so they stopped in, had dinner, and I said, hey, I just wanna be honest with you guys. I have deeply held religious beliefs. I really believe that living together before marriage is not God's plan. It's actually sinful. And I know you have kids, but in our house, if you wanna stay here, you have to be in separate rooms. And then I just stopped and I paused, and I just remember Becca's looking at me like, of course it's my relatives, you know, like. But I was like, we just gotta stand up for what we believe in.

[A]

And they said, okay, if that's your.

[B]

Belief, we'll do it. We'll do it huge sigh of relief.

[A]

I mean, they're already living together. They already have kids. And I said, in our house, this is just the way we. You know, we just. This is a strong dinner is great.

[B]

If that's a problem, you know, we won't be mad. But, like, this is our house. And after that night, they went back on vacation, and they got in touch with us, and they said, hey, we're gonna start going to church. And they said, thanks for being the first people to speak to us, like, in truth and love like that. Nobody else has ever even said anything to us. And they said it got us thinking. You know, they went to church, they both gave their life to Jesus Christ.

[A]

Yeah, they got Marri. And before they got married, we had them separate. He moved out. He moved out of the home they were sharing. Cause I said, you wanna show your wife that you're gonna give her a life of purity and that you can abstain and you can live this way.

[B]

And you're gonna honor God in this way.

[A]

They did that.

[B]

And now they said, man.

[A]

And Beck and I were there for the wedding.

[B]

I officiated the wedding. And it was like, the greatest joy.

[A]

But it was living in this tension of, how will I be hospitable? How will I have truth and love? What type of platform you understand?

[B]

And that's what Second John, he's getting at. He's like, church. I want you to hold on to truth. I want you to live out the love. I want you to live in the tension. I don't want you to nod and let things come in the back door because you think you gotta be nice. I want you to know when to put your foot down and when to stand up and live in this tension and live out your faith in the world that you're in. And he's saying love like Jesus. Speak truthfully and discern wisely. That's what he's telling us to do. So, Lord, I just pray that we would do that. What a message from Second John. Again, a book.

[A]

We just zip.

[B]

By now we know that the elect lady is the church. And there's a real challenge here for those of us in the church to live out what we really believe, the truth in love. And so, God, I just pray for anybody that has all sorts of truth but is lacking love. Like Ava shared about that missionary, God, help them to come to a moment of prayer today to really say, I need more love. And God, for those that have love, love, love. And it feels like sloppy agape. And it's just anything goes. I don't even want to stand up for the truth. God, help them to get a backbone. Help them to be able to express and speak up for their beliefs and not just be walked over. Help us to walk this out. Truth and love. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. Thanks for watching river Valley on YouTube. I'm Pastor Rob Ketterling, lead pastor of River Valley Church.

[A]

We want to hear from you, so.

[B]

If you have any comments or questions, please send those to onlinerivervalley.org Matter of fact, we'd love for you to be part of the online community.

[A]

If you could join the Discord server, we'd love it.

[B]

We welcome you to be part of the church. Here's a video we think you're going to enjoy. And by the way, don't forget to subscribe.