YOU MEAN I CAN'T SAY "HELLO?"

II John 1:10-11 are warnings against a traveling teacher who does not bring the doctrine John has reiterated in I and II John. The believer is not to give any encouragement to the traveler. In the culture in which the first century Christians lived, there were those teachers and philosophers who made their living by traveling around and recruiting students who would then support him financially. The church had its traveling teachers as well, mostly evangelists. (Such teachers needed to be supported, as John will say in III John.)

John warns the readers not to support, help, or encourage any purported teacher who does not proclaim the truth about Christ. Since “you” and “your” are plural in the Greek, John is addressing the congregation. At the very least, “your house” refers to not giving a false teacher a meal or a place to stay. Even to invite them in gives the appearance of hospitality which violates the spirit of the text.

Verses 10-11 sound rude. Can’t we even say, “Hello”? How could “Hello” be a participation in his evil deeds? We find the answer in the Greek word for “greeting” that John used.

The standard greeting in the Greek John is using is the same as our saying, “Good luck,” or “Have a nice day.” The word John uses for "greeting" was standard in his day and literally meant, “Rejoice.” It was a perfunctory expression. Here is a reminder to the believer not to be superficial and insincere with our words, even words of greeting. There should be nothing hypocritical, fake, or insincere about the Christian, even in how we greet people.

If a false teacher had a “good day,” that would be a day that was bad for the truth. To wish the false teacher good luck or a nice day would be to participate in his destructive deeds.

Some biblical scholars are so offended by John’s remarks in this text that they say he didn’t write it. It’s true that this verse runs counter to the atmosphere of our day of multiculturalism because it is so judgmental. This text is pictured as a lack of love.

We live in a day when everyone’s ideas should be held as “true,” except the beliefs of the Bible-believing Christian. The question for the believer is just how much he’s been affected by the world-system. Do we offer a measure of respect and toleration for those we know to be false teachers? Check out your church libraries. Is false teaching tolerated there and a “welcome” given to authors who are false teachers?

This text reminds us to watch our casual remarks, even a greeting which can carry a measure of acceptance to a false teacher. If our remarks do that, then we become enablers of a false teacher’s desire to be liked and accepted. Please note, John is talking about the false teachers, not our relationship to those who have been deceived by them. Those deceived need rescuing (Jude 23).