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"They went forth for His name’s sake..."

Text: 3 John 7

A CLEAR STATEMENT

There were believers who were committed to bear witness for the Lord. Some of these would go out of their way to share the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! These were prepared to travel to other regions to share their faith in Christ. We call them “missionaries” today.

“Because they went forth for His name’s sake,
taking nothing from the Gentiles.”
3 John 7

1. “Because they went forth for His name’s sake”

a) These early missionaries felt compelled to proclaim the gospel.

b) The name of the Lord Jesus would be on their lips.

c) They went forth in fulfilment of what the Lord had commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).

2. Reaching out to Gentiles

a) Paul was certainly committed to reach the Gentiles.

b) This was his forte.

c) However, he was not the only one concerned about reaching the Gentiles.

d) This text reveals the fact that there were others who were committed to reaching Gentiles.

3. “Taking nothing from the Gentiles”

a) This was a very strong missionary principle adopted.

b) They would not receive support from non-believing Gentiles.

c) This was a good principle but it was one that led to potential challenges.

4. Potential challenges

a) Who would support these missionaries?

b) How much support would they receive to carry out their missionary work?

5. Answers

a) Good and faithful churches would step in and support.

The Philippian church was an outstanding church that gave the Apostle Paul significant support.

b) Individuals were known to step in to help out significantly.

Gaius was an outstanding example.

c) Tent-making missionaries

i) The Apostle Paul was an example of a tent-making missionary.

ii) Paul made and sold tents to support himself where he needed to do that (Acts 18:3).