PONDERING... Demetrius: A Testimony of a Worthy Life (3 John 11-12)

Demetrius: A Testimony of a Worthy Life 

GIST: A worthy life is a life lived for Jesus. Period. 

SCRIPTURE: 3 John 11-12

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 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.

We come to our last lesson on 3 John. Let me just say, this has been an incredibly insightful study for me. I hate to admit I wasn't expecting to get so much out of this tiny little letter, but God knew what He was doing when He inspired it!

This last testimony is very brief. Yet, it is set in contrast with the negative example of Diotrophes. We are told in this letter to support ministers of God and to imitate good. Demetrius is set before us as an example of both. We don't see everything about him. In fact, we see basically nothing. Yet, what John chooses to tell us is vital. We are not to imitate his exact actions--that would verge on idol worship--so we do not need to see them. What was important is who he was in Christ.

I'll be brief on this one (at least, that is my intention), but I think there is a lot we can glean from these fairly simple truths. 

We see "Demetrius has received a good testimony from..."

1. Everyone

Hold on a second. Is receiving a good testimony from the world a good thing? What about what Jesus said in John 15?

John 15:19  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

The question to answer here is: why? Why does the world give good testimony? Though the immediate context might imply "everyone in the Church", it does not need to be limited to this. There are other references in Scripture which call for having this kind of reputation. Spurgeon's treasury of Scripture lists these companion verses which, I feel, cast light on this topic.

Acts 10:22 ESV - "22 And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say."" 
Acts 22:12 ESV - "12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there," 

1 Thessalonians 4:12 ESV - "12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." 

1 Timothy 3:2, 7 ESV - "2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach... 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil."

We are not to live like the world and, so, be loved by them for our kindred actions, or beliefs. Rather, we are to live in such a way that though the world may hate us for our convictions and despise our commitment to Christ Jesus, they will have to respect our conduct. Moreover, this character will be honored among fellow believers because it is imitating Jesus...the only real good.

2. And The Truth (Because of the Truth?)

But, why was Demetrius' conduct regarded as good by everyone? I think the second statement here is key. He had a good testimony "from the truth itself." This is a theme John brings up again and again in his writing; we are to walk in Truth. Our lives should be defined by our commitment to living like Jesus--The Truth. I know this might sound like vague rhetoric. But, let's try to make it practical here. Whoever Demetrius was, whatever his profession and personality, one thing we know: he loved Jesus and strove to live like Him. Which means, however it may have manifested itself, he loved God and loved people and lived to share this compassion by pointing others to the Truth of Jesus found in God's Word. Are you? Now, hold on to that thought, we'll come back to it in just a second.

3. And John

The last testimony John lists...is himself. Now this could strike you as super arrogant. Especially following the first two testimonies. Everybody speaks well of Demetrius. The Truth speaks well of Demetrius. I speak well of Demetrius. We were definitely building up until this point, so is John implying his testimony is some how of greater weight than the other two. Nope. He does this in his Gospel account as well (see John 19:35), and I think he is making two points:

1. This is not hearsay. (And, yes, that is how you spell that word. And, yes, it does look weird. :P) By saying that he and his associates (like those who serve with him in the local congregation/church) add their testimony, he is letting Gaius know that he has personally experienced Demetrius' character and considers him to be a man of God.
2. He can be trusted. Again, you could take this as arrogance to say "and you know that our testimony is true", but you shouldn't. Though John speaks highly of Demetrius, we know that he too possessed a character that imitated good. He is not a righteous man because of his own prowess, but a man who, at this point, had dedicated the past fifty some odd years exclusively to Jesus. Gaius was his friend. He knew this. So, John is basically saying: You can trust me. I wouldn't lie to you.

Take away?

We could take a lot away from these verses. Let's chew on a few.

1. What's your reputation?
   • Of course, I don't care how popular you are. Neither should you. Yet, how are you perceived in the areas that matter? Do you have integrity? Do you work hard at everything you do? Do you show compassion/do people believe you when you say you care? Are you a good friend? Are you a faithful spouse/parent? Are you a gossip, a luster, a dirty-joke teller, a filthy show watcher, a bully, a liar, a cheater...? What would those who interact with you every day say about your character? I know you need to stop and ask yourself this question because you are a sinner... just like me. I know my heart (though not nearly as well as I should), and I know that those who see me everyday don't always see Jesus. 
     • Lord, so fill my heart with You that my overflow would be nothing less. (Ponder Luke 6:45)
2. What's your purpose? Are you living for the Truth, for Jesus?
   • I can tell you this, unless your life has been transformed by Jesus Christ, no matter how hard you work to be "good", your heart will still be corrupt, and it will show. Why can I say this? Jesus did. 
     • 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.- Matthew 23:27-28
     • 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.- Matthew 5:20
3. Can you be trusted?
   • I love that John ends this testimony, like his Gospel, by saying: You can trust me. I love this not because it shows us how awesome John was, but rather how incredibly Jesus changed him. John was a "son of thunder". He was young, impudent, and impulsive...but Jesus loved him. That love so changed him that he became known as "the apostle of love". He could be trusted not because of his great character, but his great Savior, to whom he had given due control over his life. Can I say that? Can you?