Telling the Truth In Love
Ever heard the phrase, "telling the truth in love"? Ever wondered what it means?
R. Albert Mohler Jr. says this:
"Compassionate truth-telling means, not only the accurate presentation of biblical truth, but the prayerful and urgent hope that the individuals to whom we speak will be transformed by that truth and respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ." (Excerpt from Sex and the Supremacy of Christ)
You see, there are two things about telling the truth in love, the first is the truth and the second is in love.
We must of course present the truth as it is, and not water down the message of sin and grace and condemnation for all who do not believe just because we do not want to disturb civil peace and want to practice "tolerance". Some might even say that when we speak the truth as it is, it is not in love!
How absurd. If we really love our neighbours we have to tell them the truth about where they are heading as a consequence of their sins, that's real love.
Now, the second part I may not have practised and never knew what it mean, that is the pre-telling part, that is to pray sincerely and hoping sincerely for the persons' souls to be converted! We should have right motivations for sharing the truths of God and not hope for some reward or for them to feel condemned but present a balanced message of sin and the grace and mercy of God.
R. Albert Mohler Jr. says this:
"Compassionate truth-telling means, not only the accurate presentation of biblical truth, but the prayerful and urgent hope that the individuals to whom we speak will be transformed by that truth and respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ." (Excerpt from Sex and the Supremacy of Christ)
You see, there are two things about telling the truth in love, the first is the truth and the second is in love.
We must of course present the truth as it is, and not water down the message of sin and grace and condemnation for all who do not believe just because we do not want to disturb civil peace and want to practice "tolerance". Some might even say that when we speak the truth as it is, it is not in love!
How absurd. If we really love our neighbours we have to tell them the truth about where they are heading as a consequence of their sins, that's real love.
Now, the second part I may not have practised and never knew what it mean, that is the pre-telling part, that is to pray sincerely and hoping sincerely for the persons' souls to be converted! We should have right motivations for sharing the truths of God and not hope for some reward or for them to feel condemned but present a balanced message of sin and the grace and mercy of God.
posted by Jeremiah Ng at 16:01
3 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hey Liang I guess in regard to Ephesians 4:15 are the two extremes; the first is to abandon the truth for the sake of love, while the second is to speak the truth without love. I wrote down some thoughts on the same topic quite some time back.
Here's part of it:
-
Criticisms of Christians are often true. If truth is not undergired by love, it makes the possessor of that truth obnoxious and truth repulsive. Jesus said to "Love one another as ourselves". I figured that there is two sides to this. Its one thing to love another person but its another thing for the other person to feel loved. What people usually percieve as fulfilment of the commandment is that when the two sides harmonise. So what happenes if its being achieved partially? An omission of either side of the coin is highly possible. 1- If you love the another person but the other person doesn't feel loved, you are not being sensitive enough. 2- If you feel loved by the other party but he or she did nothing to make you feel loved, you being over sensitive. In other words you are dreaming.
So what if its being achieved partially? Is it still being considered as "loving one another" then?
-
More on http://theupperroomdiaries.blogspot.com/2005/08/loving-one-another.html
Let me hear your thoughts :)
A thought hits me when you ask that question.
If we don't feel loved by God, are we still loved perfectly and wonderfully?
I do believe so. If we are "loved-partially" it could be our fault that we simply do not see the intention of the person or that person is not truly loving.
Post a Comment
<< Home