3 John 11–12
11 11Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 12Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
Section Overview
In contrast to wicked Diotrephes, John commends the example of Demetrius. John stresses the importance of finding good examples to emulate.
Response
The temptation to respond to evil with evil is terribly common, and, far too often, seductively compelling. It is easy to convince ourselves that we must resort to evil in order to combat evil, but this line of reasoning fails to trust that God will eventually judge all evil. The Bible regularly commands us to leave such judgment to God and to carry on with doing what is right. As people who are “from God,” we must be faithful in doing good, despite what is done to us—lest we become evildoers ourselves.
This text also touches on the importance of good models for imitation. We do not learn merely in the abstract; as a matter of course, humans cannot help but imitate that which is around them. We must offer good models to ourselves, our children, and our church. We do so, of course, by engaging in life with godly saints. We can also do so by reading biographies and writings of faithful men and women who have gone before us.