Christians can expect persecution from every imaginable corner these days. Defending Biblical Orthodoxy will definitely put you in the line of fire. While persecution is to be expected and a promised part of every believer’s life, it is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States. Our nation, in general, has operated on a Judeo-Christian value system. So while there was always persecution on a personal level in specific situations, we did not experience persecution on a group level, with one exception, if you were a Catholic believer. I must confess that as I look at the persecution of the faithful today, maybe part of our problem is a communication one. Learning how to Speak The Truth In Love would solve a lot of our problems.
Let us start the conversation with a biblical definition of what love is. 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 states that “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Love is the mark of a Christian. It always has been and it always will be. Christian doctrine and Christian behavior are not determined by the culture at large. If you are not communicating in such a way that displays love to your fellow man, then how will they ever know Jesus? You can defend the faith with kind words. You can listen more than you talk. You can pray for wisdom and by all means if you are unable to say a civil word keep quiet. Our lives are the visible representation of who Christ is.
Communication is…
7% words
38% tone of voice
55% body language
– Expedition Marriage
With that in mind, how does a Christian, speak the truth in love?
Let’s check out Ephesians 4:14-16. “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, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
We see that the goal of speaking the truth in love is firstly personal growth and maturity in Christ. Secondly, that the body of Christ is unified, growth can occur, and that fellow believers and pre-Christians may experience the love of Christ in their lives!
Speak The Truth In Love
Know
Study the Word of God to know what the Bible has to say about hot topics of the day. While God cares deeply about your personal opinions, others do not necessarily need to hear about them. Our ultimate goal is to build relationships so that we edify our brothers and sisters in Christ and draw unbelievers to Christ.
Listen
Let people speak, ask good questions in order to discern (with God’s help) why and how others have come to hold their personal convictions. The art of listening goes two ways. Listen to people and listen to what God has to say. We desperately need both.
Love
Love is patient and kind.
Love does not envy or boast.
Love is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way.
Love is not irritable or resentful.
Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing.
Love rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things.
Love believes all things.
Love hopes all things.
Love endures all things.
We are called to defend Biblical Orthodoxy and we are called to love others while we are doing it. It only damages the gospel when we don’t.
YOUR TURN…
I would love to hear your point of view on the sometimes difficult practice of speaking the truth in love.
Blessings,
