Speak the truth in love. . . .

 

Piper clarifies and challenges me at the same time. Today his devotional says: “Our job as Christians is not to control government and education. Our job is to speak God’s truth at every level. We may or may not change minds or laws. That is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to speak with boldness and clarity what God would say.”

He is not advocating preaching on street corners or making judgments that rile those who  advocate ungodly ideas. Instead, he is telling me to speak truth whenever opportunities arise. A few weeks ago I was in a group who were discussing political issues. One of them said something about electing leaders who had got past that ‘old fashioned idea that (a certain sin)  was bad.’ That was one opportunity, but I missed it, partly because it her statement shocked me.

Another reason might have been that I didn’t want to rock the boat or publicly challenge her. And I was thinking in terms of challenging, not what Piper advises. Instead, he is saying I should declare my convictions without trying to control what others think. Just say what is true and I could be surprised that someone, even those person who say the opposite of what God says, is just waiting for someone to speak truth. The Bible says:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:11–14)

I’ve often wondered what “expose them” means, and also “to not speak of what is done in darkness.” These two directions seem opposite. However, the word ‘expose’ means to sternly admonish anyone who advocates shameful and sinful activities. Speaking truth to counter such activities has the effect of making darkness visible. That is, if someone talks about sinful deeds as if they are okay, and I say truth (from God) about those deeds, I am exposing them for what they are, rather than letting my silence give anyone the idea that I also approve of those deeds.
In other words, I could have said, “The Word of God forbids (that sin she mentioned) and also tells his people to not condone such behavior but call it what it is — sinful and not at all what He intends for our lives.”

To be blunt, talking like that takes guts. It means that truth must be fare more important to me than ‘making and keeping friends’ or being considered odd or old-fashioned.

To sum up this idea of defending truth, Piper quotes another verse and it should be one that governs how I respond to those who speak from a secular and ungodly perspective:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15–17)

PRAY: Jesus, I certainly do not want to be careless or unwise or foolish. Nor do I want to waste time by neglecting to understand AND DO Your will. Forgive and remove my fears and enable me to be bold with truth when I hear someone speaking contrary to it and to You, not because I’m defending my ideas or trying to convince them, but when truth is spoken You can use it to shed light on the evil that so easily grips human hearts and minds.