Full Reward! (2 John 8)

Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

THE STUDY:

          John says to “Watch yourselves” which in the NT expresses a strong caution. It can be paraphrased as (look out for yourselves). The warning was intended to prevent the loss of what they have worked for. The loss was possible, but could be averted. The elder’s language here does not seem to refer to the potential loss of salvation, but of reward.

          Some scholars believe that John is referring to salvation. The ‘work’ of the readers would be their faith in Christ, and what they have worked for is eternal life. In John 6:27 Jesus says: ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.’ A verse or two later, when asked what is involved in doing the work of God, Jesus replies: ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’^[1] Whichever the case may be, we need to watch out against the evil one so we don’t lose our reward.

          What is the reward (misthos)? In the LXX, misthos refers to the “portion” assigned to the Levites (Num 18:31) and priests (Mic 3:11) or to a worker’s pay (Exod 2:9; Deut 15:18). In the Gospels (Matt 20:8; Luke 10:7; John 10:12) misthos is the wages of a day laborer. The word can mean repayment (Matt 5:12; 1 Cor 3:8). The most likely parallel to 2 John 8 is John 4:36. There “wages” (misthos) refers figuratively to the “harvest” reward of successful mission.

          Does full reward imply the possibility of a partial reward? Probably not. The elder simply urges full obedience in hyperbole.^[2]

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that as believers in Christ we are not excluded from the snares and lies of Satan and his demons. We need to be on alert so that we may not lose what we have worked for: God’s blessings/rewards!

CONCLUSION:

           When John Calvin was banished from ungrateful Geneva, he said, “Most assuredly if I had merely served man, this would have been a poor recompense; but it is my happiness that I have served Him who never fails to reward His servants to the full extent of His promise.”

          Today, I pray we realize that the rewards of the father far outweigh the lies of Satan. Be alert so that we may not lose what we have been promised by God: Salvation, blessings, and rewards.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John. The Pillar New Testament commentary (211). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

^[2] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (192). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.