Have you noticed how the information era is helping us to increasingly draw clear lines between Christian and atheistic values ? In our church community there are an increasing number of people who use Facebook and other public media to engage our society on a number of spiritual and moral issues . I believe that this is a healthy development , although I would want to plead with Christians to not become unnecessarily ‘in your face’ when responding to our antagonists .
The biblical pattern of response must at all times be for us to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15) . Christians may find that they may win the skirmish (in terms of silencing their opponents through superior reasoning) , but then they may end up loosing the battle because of bad attitudes or because of a bad tone of voice .
The advice of the apostle Paul is very helpful in this regard : “ Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion , that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29)
This is not to say that our taking on of public issues in the spirit of Christ will leave us unscathed by atheists . On the contrary if Christ , the meekest and humblest of all men was crucified for His words , then you may expect to suffer the same .
Let this rule then guide us : Give no extra offense to the enemies of Christ and His Word which so powerfully speaks to the issues of our day. Let the offense of the Word of God be sufficient!
3 comments:
This is very wise counsel. It is very possible to win an argument and lose a person. In Christianity, we want to win the person--especially, if that person is sincere, though sincerely wrong. We must beware of the I-told-them syndrome, which glories in speaking the truth even if it is thrust down people's throats while they chock to death. That is not Christianity and the further we can get away from it the better. Thanks for the counsel.
Thanks, good advice.
You blog is werw good,advance.
www.vivendoteologia.blogspot.com
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