Good Christian, Bad Christian

In any activity, there’s a tension between learning the instructions and gaining practical experience. Both are equally important. Even the best chefs need a basic recipe in mind, but you can’t master cracking an egg just by reading about it. You need both the instructions and the example.

The same principle applies to following Jesus. In his first letter, John gives detailed instructions on walking in the Light and on watching for antichrists who lead others astray (1 John). In his second letter, written to a specific church, he warns about antichrists in their midst and explains how to recognise them (2 John).

John’s third letter went to that same church after the previous one triggered a crisis. Diotrephes, a church leader, seems to have recognised himself in John’s warning. Instead of repenting, he rejected John’s missionaries and tightened his grip on power (3 John 9–10). This third letter, addressed to Gaius, a faithful member of that church, offers guidance on how to respond.

Here we see the importance of examples. John doesn’t tell Gaius to stage a takeover. Instead, he encourages him to contrast Diotrephes’s selfish ambition with the humility, hospitality, and integrity of another believer, Demetrius. The people around us model what it looks like to follow Jesus—or to ignore Him. By comparing those examples with the written Word, we learn what to imitate and what to avoid (3 John 11–12).

So ask yourself: Who in your life demonstrates what it means to walk in the Light? And whose mistakes warn you what not to become? Learning from both will clarify what faithful living truly looks like.

Watch the full sermon here.