3Jn 1:5-7 “Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.”
There is no greater testimony for the servant of Jesus Christ than to have it said that we are faithful in everything we do. This kind of faithfulness does not come from our carnal nature; our carnality is unstable in all its ways. Faithfulness comes from and through our Lord and Savior. We are moved to be faithful by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Being faithful is evidence that we are trusting God and not man.
Our faithfulness is not meant only for those that we worship with on a regular basis. We are to be faithful in charity and encouragement to strangers as well. Our walk before them should be no less diligent than our walk before our brethren. We should never take the attitude that the stranger that may come among us is somehow less worthy of our faithfulness in Christ than those who have a deeper understanding of that faithfulness.
We should be diligent to bring both the brethren and strangers forward (that is to escort them) on their journey. Our faith should be such that we would never place a stumbling block in the way of either. We should be careful to bring them both on their journey in a godly manner. It is not good to try and support the stranger in any ungodliness. This is not charity and it is not faithful. We are to walk before and treat the stranger with the same love of Christ that we treat our brothers and sisters.
Our responsibility is to recognize that God brings people to us, whether brethren or strangers, for a reason. They have come forth for His name’s sake; it is to abound unto His glory. The evidence of this is that they do not come bringing the way of the Gentiles (pagan idolatries, the work of men’s hands, etc.). Rather, they either come to us walking in the way of Jesus Christ (brethren) or convicted that there is a better way that they are searching for with all diligence (strangers).
Those that are still enamored by the way of the Gentiles do not seek a better way. They are satisfied with the way they have and therefore are not strangers. That is not to say that we are to treat them unkindly, but we have no instruction to bring them forward on their journey. We should never encourage a walk that is outside the Way.
May we faithfully bring forward both our brethren and the strangers that come to us for His name’s sake, giving the glory to God!
