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LIFE MEETS THEOLOGY: Speaking the Truth in Love
by Greg Williamson (c) 2009
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS
LIFE: Right-wing. Hypocritical. Intolerant. Hateful. Bigoted. Homophobic. Un-American. Lying. And now: Racist. What do these pejorative terms have in common? They describe anyone with a firm and unwavering belief in limited government, personal responsibility, and individual freedom. At least, that is increasingly how those on the liberal end of the political, religious, and social spectrum are describing anyone opposed to their elitist, socialistic agenda being forced on an unwitting public by a centrist government.
But, you may say, all the name-calling makes it impossible to have an open, honest dialogue on the issues. Bingo! Feigned protests to the contrary notwithstanding, that is the precise intent -- to stifle reasonable, intelligent discussion. It is the same tactic that has been used for years, to great effect, by gay activists.
Getting past the visceral adjectives and taking a look at the issues can -- and hopefully will -- lead to more of the same type of thing that has happened with President Obama's efforts at healthcare "reform" --- a.k.a. ObamaCare. As you may recall, the President mounted a massive push for legislation to be passed prior to Congress's August recess -- before anyone had a chance to read the massive 1,000+ pages. Now that the average Joe and Jane have had a chance to discover what at the very least would amount to a massive government takeover of the nation's healthcare, the debate -- and outrage -- are in full swing. Along with the name-calling.
Refusing to honestly admit that most of what is wrong with healthcare in America stems from burdensome government rules and regulations, President Obama and his supporters in Congress are telling us they can be trusted to come up with a fair, balanced, and appropriate solution based on even more government rules and regulations. Most people realize you cannot put out a fire by dousing it with gasoline -- and yet that is precisely what government bureaucrats do time and time and time again as they try to fix a problem they created in the first place. Congress needs to start over and provide us with true, free-market based, healthcare reform. Rather than facing that fact, however, President Obama is now pulling out all the stops in an unprecedented media blitz to sell his idea of "reform" to the American people, apparently oblivious to the fact that ever increasing numbers of Americans adamantly oppose both it and the general direction in which he is leading our country.
For further reference, please see the following insightful articles:
THEOLOGY: Chapter four of Paul's epistle to the Christians in Ephesus lists three sins to be avoided: disunity (vv. 1-13), immaturity (vv. 14-16), and impurity (vv. 17-32). [REF] The section on immaturity reads:
"Paul was looking at the church on two levels in [Ephesians 4:12-16]. He saw the body of Christ, made up of all true believers, growing gradually until it reaches spiritual maturity, 'the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.' But he also saw the local body of believers ministering to each other, growing together, and thereby experiencing spiritual unity." [REF]
Rather than being immature, unstable, and gullible (v. 14), Christians are to live lives characterized by truth and love (= truth bonded to love) (v. 15). Jesus is both the goal and the source of our growth, and every believer has an indispensable part to play (vv. 15-16). [REF] [REF]
The apostle Paul is pleading for maturity among Christians. Stated negatively, his counsel means believers are not to believe "lies so clever they sound like the truth," not lie ourselves, and not be isolated from other believers. Put positively, it means we are to label heresy as such, "speak the truth in love," and bond with fellow believers.
Christians should never be content to remain cloistered in the Church but, rather, must always be seeking to engage the lost world with the hope of the Gospel. Along those lines, these verses offer a number of practical principles, including:
"This section closes with a metaphorical model of unity. Like the human body, held together by design, the church grows through the coordinated and cooperative work of its many members, who out of love for the whole contribute their individual efforts toward the good of the whole. But the plan and the energy are drawn from the head who watches over and provides for his body. Indeed he lives his own life out through it (v. 16)." [REF] As renowned Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe has put it: "[S]piritual unity is not something we manufacture. It is something we already have in Christ, and we must protect and maintain it." [REF]
Sources (Click on the title for more information.) Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments The Bible Exposition Commentary The Bible Knowledge Commentary Evangelical Commentary on the Bible Holy Bible, New Living Translation (2nd ed)
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