New Testament Postcards

The New Testament includes four short but powerful books that act like divine postcards. In this six-part series, Pastor Chuck Swindoll explores Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. These brief letters address monumental issues: the beauty of forgiveness, the necessity of discernment, the dangers of false teaching, and the call to guard the “faith once for all delivered to the saints.”

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1. A Postcard to Philemon (Philemon)

• Overview: A personal letter from Paul to a wealthy friend regarding a runaway slave, Onesimus. It illustrates the transformative power of grace that turns a “useless” slave into a “useful” brother.
• Key Fact: This letter provides a radical biblical model for conflict resolution and restitution, showing that grace does not ignore the law but fulfills it through love.
• Scripture: Philemon 1:17–18 – Paul’s offer of substitution: “If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you in any way… charge that to my account.”

2. A Postcard to a Lady and Her Kids (2 John)

• Overview: Addressed to “the chosen lady,” this letter emphasizes the delicate balance between walking in truth and walking in love.
• Key Fact: John warns that hospitality should not be extended to those who deliberately bring false doctrine, as doing so makes one a participant in their evil deeds.
• Scripture: 2 John 1:6 – “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”

3. A Postcard of Candid Truth (3 John)

• Overview: Contrasts the character of three men: Gaius (the hospitable servant), Diotrephes (the prideful leader), and Demetrius (the man of good testimony).
• Key Fact: The letter exposes “Diotrephes-style” leadership—loving to be first and rejecting apostolic authority—as a toxic influence in the church.
• Scripture: 3 John 1:4 – “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”

4. The Acts of the Apostates (Jude 1–16)

• Overview: Jude intended to write about “our common salvation” but was compelled to shift his focus to warn against “apostates”—those who have crept in to turn grace into licentiousness.
• Key Fact: Jude uses vivid imagery from nature (clouds without water, waves of the sea) and history (Sodom and Gomorrah) to describe the character and certain judgment of false teachers.
• Scripture: Jude 1:3 – The call to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

5. Why Bother to Battle? (Jude 17–23)

• Overview: Answers the question of how to maintain a positive, grace-filled faith while living in a culture of skepticism and false teaching.
• Key Fact: Believers are called to “keep themselves in the love of God” while showing mercy to those who are doubting or being led astray.
• Scripture: Jude 1:21 – “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”

6. Get Your Act Together! (Jude 24–25)

• Overview: The series concludes with the famous doxology of Jude, shifting the focus from the battle against apostasy to the absolute security and glory of God.
• Key Fact: No matter how dark the times or how prevalent the lies, God is “able to keep you from stumbling” and present you blameless before His presence.
• Scripture: Jude 1:24 – “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.”