Speak the Truth in Love

Many people today seem to feel attacked or think of it as unloving to tell someone that they are wrong.  When Martin Luthur nailed his 95 Theses to the door at All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, he was not intending to upend and disrupt the Church.  He was not seeking a Reformation or Revolution.  He was stating what practices he saw in the Church that he believed to be sinful and contrary to Scripture.  When someone approaches you with what they believe to be sin in your life, it is not necessarily an attack on you.  Welcome such corrections as a concern for your soul, and search the Scripture, asking the Lord to instruct your heart, correct your errors, and forgive your sins.

I think I have heard “Judge not lest you be judged,” quoted at me more times than I could count.  This has to be one of the most well known verses of Scripture by those who are not Christians!  However, while the statement may be known, the context of that verse is rarely considered.  In Matthew 7, Jesus is speaking in what is commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount.  In verses 1-5 Jesus tells people that they will be judged by the same standard to which they hold others.  He is not saying that we should not point out sin when we see it; however, he is saying that we should do so knowing that our own sin is probably far greater.  We need to examine our own lives and confess our own sin before pointing out the sin of others.  However, we can still say that something contrary to God’s Word is sin. If we truly love others and believe the gospel, then the most loving thing we can do is point people to their need for Christ.  Pointing out sin and a need for a Savior is not hateful, but loving.

Paul exhorts the Ephesians to speak the truth in love, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 4:19-21).  Not only do we need to speak to those who do not know Christ of their need for a Savior, but we must also speak to fellow Christians for their own good and sanctification.  We are told in Galatians 6:1-4, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.  Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.”  When you point out sin to another Christian, you are to lovingly point them to Chrsit so that they may see their sin and repent, always remembering that you are a sinner in need of change as well.

Not only should we be willing to point out sin and help others come to repentance, but we should also be open to hear the correction from others.  There are times when we are too close to a situation to see the sin in which we are entangled.  There are other times when what we think is correct is contrary to Scripture.  At those times, others must lovingly confront us and point us back to Christ.  The Church body was given to one another for both encouragement and correction.  We help one another so we all grow and become mature in Christ.  Disagreement and loving correction can be the best thing to help us grow in our relationship with Christ.  

If no one ever disagrees with or corrects you, you may want to seek out those who are willing to speak the truth in love.  Many people think it is loving not to point things out or draw attention to sin.  However, all Christians need people who are willing to help them seek the truth.  Do not rejoice over catching someone in sin.  Mourn with them and help to restore them.  Do not take correction as an affront, but rather receive it with love, knowing that someone cared enough about your soul to point out an area in need of correction.  “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only  but also for the sins of the whole world.  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.”  (1 John 2:1-3)