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

The apostle John is relentless about tying love to correct teaching about who Jesus Christ is. False teachers and preachers are like wolves coming in among the sheep. John cuts no quarter. The one who championed the love that Jesus taught and who referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” does not dance around his condemnation of them, to lighten the harshness of it. John says flat out, don’t treat false teachers with kid-gloves. Do not show any hospitality to them; don’t have them into your homes.

Keep in mind that John is speaking about the teaching of love in contrast to religious practices and works. Many teach contrary to the love of Christ as the apostles taught it. But listen to how the apostle Paul writes of his motivation:

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. (2 Cor. 5:14–15)

The NIV reads “compels us,” and the KJV translates it as “constrains us.” Any other motivation that controls, compels, or constrains our Christian behavior is an inferior motivation, and therefore false. To be sure, many live religious lives being motivated by rule-keeping, merit-earning, fear-controlling methods. The love of God is the only controlling factor that lives up to apostolic teaching or the teaching of Jesus. No others should be tolerated in the local church.

The apostle Paul put out a similar sober warning when he spoke with the Ephesian elders,

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock . . . I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28–30)

We must be vigilant, all of us, not just the elders. In the first century, teachers and prophets traveled, ministering to the people of God in local churches. Christians would commonly provide room and board as a ministry of hospitality to these men. But no such kindness should be shown for false teachers, for that would make the host complicit in supporting their teaching.

Lord, help me stand firm for the gospel of love and not tolerate false teaching.