"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-15
I heard a great quote by Warren Wiersbe the other day. “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” Warren Wiersbe, pastor and writer, is perhaps best known for his series of 50 books in the "BE" series: Be Real, Be Obedient, Be Mature .... Speaking truth to others without love as the motivation is essentially criticism. Condemnation. Loving without speaking truth is hypocrisy. It is enabling what is not truth and calling it truth. I was taught years ago that is there is a standard - which is a standard for a good purpose - and you see a violation of that standard and do or say nothing - you create a new standard or truth, if you will.
We have plenty of examples from the culture we live in. Moral decadence is rampant. The Bible speaks plainly about what the standard is. As Christians we must not be silent about the Truth but speak that Truth in love with the motivation of encouraging repentance and salvation of the lost - confession and repentance for the saved.
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." - 1 Corinthians 2:14
Speaking spiritual truth to a lost world has its challenges. Telling them what the Bible says - a book they don't understand or believe has any practical value - will fall on "deaf" ears unless the Spirit of God is at work in their hearts. We don't convict people of their sin - the Holy Spirit does that. But we are ambassadors for Christ, and it is our responsibility to share the Gospel and be doers of the Word and not hearers only. (James 1:22) Some call it walking your talk. Oh, there are so many rabbit trails I could go down, but I will resist the urge :)
The Word of God set us apart from the rest of the world. Jesus prayed ....
"They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." - John 17:16-18
We are in the world to be living testimonies of the Word of God. Before we can share the Truth we must, ourselves, be living in that Truth. Lest we offer the world a false Gospel.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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