3 John 1:11

Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.

Evil not to be imitated

Evil is soon imitated, especially in great persons; they are a countenance to it; their actions seem to be laws. Such a great man swears profanely. Why may not I swear too? No; follow not that which is evil in any--no, not in good men.

1. Evil is agreeable to our nature; it is soon followed; a little persuading will serve the turn; therefore we had need to beware of it.

2. There be many instigators to that which is evil, the devil and his instruments to thrust us forward.

3. Evil is common, a weed that grows everywhere; goodness is a flower that grows in few gardens (Matthew 7:13).

4. Evil, since the fall, is of greatest antiquity. There was a Cain before an Abel; therefore we had need to watch over ourselves, else we shall follow evil ere we be aware.

5. Whither doth evil lead us? Even to hell, follow her not; let her go alone for all us; yet she hath too many followers, even in the light of the gospel. (W. Jones, D. D.)

He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

Godliness

Follow the faith of Abraham, the zeal of Phinehas, the sincerity of Nathaniel, the liberality of Zaccheus and Cornelius; listen to the admonition of St. Paul (Philippians 4:8). But let us come to St. John’s reason.

1. For goodness. “He that doeth good is of God,” not by propagation, but by imitation; he is full of goodness; be you so, too, in some measure.

2. He doeth that which is acceptable to God; he is of His family; he serves and obeys Him, therefore God will reward him for it. On the other side, “he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” Why? Then none hath seen Him, for all do evil. The meaning is, that doth accustom himself to do evil. The godly man doeth evil, but it is upon weakness; the wicked do it upon wilfulness; the one accidentally, the other properly and naturally. He that walketh in the dark cannot see; wicked men walk in the darkness of sin and ignorance, therefore they cannot see God. Therefore let us abhor that which is evil; it will blind our eyes, and keep us from seeing of God. (W. Jones, D. D.)

Sin injurious to spiritual sight

1. He that doeth evil--willingly doeth it--cannot have seen God in the sense of having seen and felt the claims and the force of His commandments. Diotrephes could not have seen God in the commandments, or he would not have forced his way to the “pre-eminence,” withheld kindly hospitalities, or spoken untrustful things of the apostle.

2. He that doeth evil--willingly doeth evil--cannot have “seen God” in the example of His Son.

3. He that doeth evil--willingly doeth evil--cannot have “seen God” in the illuminations of the Divine will through the Holy Ghost. All evil resists His in-workings. Or, to use the figure of our text, all evil blinds us to His presence, and leaves us to grope our way in the darkness of our self-seeking. (The Weekly Pulpit.)