2 John 9-11 in light of the controversy over Dr. White’s outreach to Muslims

 

Dr. White’s 2 part dialogue with a Muslim cleric, Dr. Yasir Qadhi, in January of 2017, was a good balance of both sound doctrine/standing on principle, AND real evangelistic outreach.  Balance is key. (especially if anyone really knows Dr. White and his debates and his book on the Qur’an, and that he even did 2 more debates with Muslims AFTER the dialogue; and that there was clear presentation of the gospel both at the dialogue with Yasir Qadhi and at the other 2 debates with Muslims:

1.  Was Jesus Crucified – vs. Bashir Varnia (March 14, 2017)
2. and vs. Abdullah Al Andalousi – “Peace and War” (March 31, 2017)

I call that kind of balance, “The Balance of Apologetics and Agape”.   Apologetics from απολογια in 1 Peter 3:15 and Agape / αγαπη as in “love”, as in Ephesians 4:15, “speaking the truth in love”.  Sam Shamoun ignores the “yet with gentleness and respect” part of 1 Peter 3:15 and he ignores the “in love” part of Ephesians 4:15 in his online dealing with Muslims and with anyone who questions him.

Outreach to unbelievers is different than apostates who were formerly in the church & taught false doctrine.   2 John 10-11 talking about latter group, who were in the church and “went too far” –  see 2 John 9, and started teaching false doctrine and “did not abide in the doctrine of Christ”. 1 John 2:19 demonstrates this also.  The little letters of 2 and 3 John should be interpreted in light of letter of 1 John.

Brannon Howse and his “Worldview Weekend” and others have been quoting 2 John, verses 10-11 in regard to the dialogue that Dr. White had with Yasir Qadhi:

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; ¹¹ for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. 2 John 10-11

You cannot interpret verses 10-11 without verse 9 and without the whole book of 1 John, and especially 1 John 2:19.

⁹ Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 9)

These are people who claimed to be believers in Jesus Christ, and were in the church, and yet “went too far” and did not continue in the doctrine of Christ, and started teaching heresies, against the incarnation of Christ, and against the foundation of the doctrine of the Trinity (“of the Father and the Son” – 2 persons of the 3 persons of the Trinity) – see 1 John 2:18-28; and 1 John 4:1-3.

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”  1 John 2:19

2 John 10-11 must be understood in context,  with the book of 1 John, 1 John 2:19 and 2 John 9 and in balance with Matthew 5:46-47.

 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  Matthew 5:46-47

 

Unbelievers are different than apostates who were formerly in the church. I am amazed at how woodenly some Christians are taking these verses in 2 John 10-11 and applying it to Dr. White’s dialogue with Yasir Qadhi.

We are not violating 2 John 10-11 by having Muslims, Mormons, homosexuals or Jehovah’s Witnesses s over for a meal & praying for opening for gospel witness.  Evangelicals need to read Rosaria Butterfield’s book, “Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert” on a good balance of love, hospitality, outreach, and sound doctrine, apologetics, evangelism.

Also, 1 John 2:19, along with 2 John verse 9, is crucial in interpreting 2 John verses 10-11. We should still be hospitable & reach out to unbelievers, including people from other religions and cults.

2 John 10-11 must be interpreted in light of verse 9-they “went too far” & “did not abide” in doctrine of Christ, meaning they are apostates, who were in the church, started teaching false doctrine, or tried to; and left, as seen in 1 John 2:19.

2 John 10-11 does not mean “don’t do hospitality to unbelievers”, nor does it mean “don’t greet unbelievers like Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. It was about False teachers who were in the church, either taught false doctrine or tried to teach false doctrine and then left the church.

 

If you have not seen the 2 part dialogue yet, please watch all of both of them first, before making any judgments.  Also, Dr. White has devoted 3 whole programs of the Dividing Line to answer the slanderous charges that Brannon House and his Worldview Weekend” folks, and Sam Shamoun, are making.  They are slandering a good brother in Christ and an excellent apologist.

See the 2 part dialogue:

Part 1, Dr. White and Yasir Qadhi.

Part 2, Dr. White and Yasir Qadhi.

Sam Shamoun had a meltdown:

Dr. White’s Response to the sinful anger and meltdown of Sam Shamoun’s response to his dialogue

Shamoun recently wrote on his Facebook page that Dr. White had a meltdown.  No, it is Sam Shamoun that has been having a 6-8 month (since sometime in November of 2016) meltdown of sinful anger at Dr. White for no good reason.

See Dr. White’s 3  Dividing Line Podcast shows, answering the slanderous charges by Brannon House and Sam Shamoun, the angry, foul-mouthed, bombastic, overly aggressive guy who is a bad witness to Muslims.  Some of Sam Shamoun’s content is still useful, but recently, his character is so bad that he has destroyed his own credibility, unfortunately.

1.  My earlier article and comments on the Dividing Line on June 8, 2017 – what do Bernie Sanders and Brannon Howse have in common?
2. Dividing Line on June 13, 2017 – “Screenshot Insanity”
3. Dividing Line program on June 16, 2017 – “John 11, Surah 3, and Consistency”

Also,

Phil Johnson has some good balance and thoughts.