The Condemnation of Diotrephes (Part 1 of 2)
Truth For Life Daily Program
Alistair Begg
4.8 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 6 December 2023
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“One bad apple spoils the bunch.” This saying highlights the detrimental effects a corrupt individual can have on an entire group. Listen to Truth For Life as Alistair Begg examines the apostle John’s condemnation of one such “bad apple” within the church.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The You're familiar with the old saying, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. |
| 0:29.0 | That highlights the detrimental effect that one corrupt person can have on an entire group. |
| 0:36.7 | When the Apostle John wrote his letters encouraging the early church to walk in the truth, |
| 0:41.8 | he warned them about bad apples. |
| 0:44.0 | And today on Truth for Life, Alistairbegg examines John's condemnation of one such character. |
| 0:57.0 | Father, we thank you for the hope that is ours in Christ. |
| 1:01.0 | We thank you that through the encouragement and endurance of the scriptures, we might |
| 1:06.1 | have hope. And as we turn now to the Bible, we remind ourselves that what you have to say to |
| 1:12.1 | us is far more significant than anything |
| 1:15.4 | that we have to say to you and so we pray that you will come and speak to us. |
| 1:20.1 | Some of us are on the fringes of faith, some of us are actually opposed to what |
| 1:26.4 | faith really means in Jesus, others of us are faltering and wondering, but wherever |
| 1:32.2 | we are, meet us Lord, today we pray. Beyond the voice of a mere man, |
| 1:36.7 | may we hear from you the living God, for we pray in Jesus' name, and for his sake, amen. And I invite you to turn to 3, John, verse 9 is where |
| 1:48.8 | we start to read. I wrote to the church, but diotrophists who loves to be first will have nothing to do with us. |
| 1:58.5 | So if I come I will call attention to what he's doing gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to |
| 2:06.4 | welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. |
| 2:13.0 | Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. |
| 2:17.0 | Anyone who does what is good is from God. |
| 2:20.0 | Anyone who does what is evil hasn't seen God. |
| 2:24.4 | Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone and even by the truth itself. |
| 2:30.4 | We also speak well of Him and you know that our testimony is true. |
... |
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