by The two things Christians need more than anything these days are truth and love.
Arguing about Bible prophecy or other controversial doctrines isn’t love. We do need to talk about these issues, but we need to blanket the conversations in love.
If you just have truth and no love, you aren’t attractive, no one will listen to you. 1 Corinthians 13:1
If you have all love and no truth…what good is that? Tolerating sin in the name of love, isn’t love at all.
We need to proclaim the truth, and be a people known for our love and grace. With the Lord, we can balance these two things, we can be a people used by the Him to change hearts…Just as Jesus, who came in love, proclaimed grace and truth to a lost world. John 1:17
Don’t let your love grow cold…your love for the Lord and truth, and your love for the lost. Matthew 24:12
1 John 2:5, “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
3 Jn. 1:3-4 “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Ephesians 4:15, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
Interesting you should bring this up. Our Sunday School is going through a study called “Lord, Change My Attitude.” I don’t agree with everything the teacher says on the video, and I tweaked this statement a little as he was saying a very similar thing.
I think we need to be careful putting truth and love as opposite ends of the same spectrum. In my opinion, truth is the truth, and we need to always be telling the truth– the opposite of this would be lying.
That being said, we need to speak the truth in love. Love should be how we tell the truth.
It is precisely when we stop telling the truth in order to get men to listen that compromise begins and we end up somewhere that we didn’t want to be.
What do you think?
I agree! It’s just that they *do* seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum so often depending on personality types and approaches. Yes, truth is the only policy…and it’s so much more welcome and effective as far as changing lives when wrapped in love.