Sometimes good and godly people try too hard to do the right thing—to a fault, one might say. While little harm occurs when one unnecessarily restricts himself, harm occurs when one’s personal opinion, which he binds upon himself, he also binds religiously on others (Romans 14:1-2). Consider a remarkable example from antiquity whereupon honest efforts to do the right thing were exaggerated to the point of being ridiculous. “If pure water in a pure vessel is poured into an [ceremonially] impure vessel, the water in the impure vessel certainly becomes impure; but does the impurity travel up the poured stream of water so that the remaining water in the pure vessel also becomes impure (along with the formerly pure vessel)?” (Magen).
Yes, 2 John 9-11 restricts normal social interaction with false teachers. ”Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (NKJV). The relationship is under consideration in the text, not necessarily the location or the occasion for being in a public location.
Can a faithful Christian attend a funeral at which in attendance are also erring brethren, non-Christians, sinners in general and even false teachers? If the place and the occasion require Christians to abstain from participation in an event (e.g., a funeral), what are the ramifications of such a position? Can the child of God eat in the same restaurant in which, for instance, a false teacher is eating? Can the Christian and the false teacher buy groceries in the same market at the same time? Who’s drawing the jurisdictional lines? Can the faithful child of God and a false teacher reside in the same community? Just how big or how small is the circle regarding the safe distance from a false teacher—if the place and the occasion determine the application of Scripture such as 2 John 9-11?
It is neither the place nor the occasion but the relationship between individuals that Scripture regulates with respect to false teachers. Similar instruction pertains to interaction with erring brethren (1 Thessalonians 3:14-15). “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person” (1 Corinthians 5:11).
Works Cited
Yitzhak Magen, “Ancient Israel’s Stone Age: Purity in Second Temple Times,” Biblical Archaeology Review, Washington, D.C., Vol. 24, No. 5, September-October 1998, p. 46-52.
