Don't Let the World Define Christianity - Tim Conway

Now, let's think about that: "in love."

We speak the truth in love.

Certainly, Paul is not merely talking

about being just nice,

likable or friendly.

I suspect that the Apostle Paul

would by lots of people

not be considered a nice guy.

Oh, he loved, but he said hard things.

Our Lord Jesus Christ
said very hard things.

And I'm not saying that
there's anything wrong

with being nice or likable or friendly.

But that's too often the
picture put forward

by this world around us.

You notice how the world tries

to define what Christianity is.

People will tell us:

Well, Christianity is like this.

This is what it's like.

Oh really?

Why do you think that?

Well, they've invented what they think

Christianity is supposed to be like.

(incomplete thought)

The world basically has this idea:

Christians are harmless.

There is an aspect to that.

But Christians as long as they're nice

and loving and show a friendly spirit,

never condemn or judge,

as long as they're never
insistent about anything,

as long as they're agreeable
and smile at everything,

the world will basically leave us alone

in our pathetic-ness, right?

In our weakness.

Now there's a good way to be weak.

And there is a bad way to be weak.

(incomplete thought)

As long as the church is inoffensive,

and they're not uncompromising,

they don't insist on the truth,

then as long as we don't criticize

or denounce or condemn anything...

But why? Because if the world hears that

then they count us to be devoid of love.

So the world says.

But we would do well to remember

what's being said here.

We are to speak the truth in love.

That's important.

Truth.

That means we're unbending in our love.

And there's a reason.

I mean, is there not
reason to be unbending?

People go to hell through deception.

Being blown about by
every wind of doctrine.

There's human cunning.

There's craftiness and deceitful schemes.

What is being schemed?

It's the destruction of men's souls.

There's a devil who seeks to deceive,

to destroy, to damn.

We're not playing a lightweight game here.

And I'll tell you this,

truth sets men free.

Truth saves men's souls.

Truth.

Thy Word is truth.

Jesus Christ is truth.

We are to preach the truth in love.

Truth.

We're not told to cultivate

some sort of vagueness
or obscure kindness.

Well, we're just going to be kind

no matter what anybody says,

what anybody does,

what anybody believes,

we're just going to smile at everybody

and we're going to be the nice guys

and we're going to be known

as the church or as the religion

that just tolerates everything

and we pat everybody on the back

and we smile and we say

well, it's all going to work out.

That's not the idea.

This is not some kind of ambiguous

or obscure or unclear loving spirit.

Brethren, we must be uncompromising

when it comes to truth.

We cannot hesitate to be narrow.

We must not put niceness
before truth ever

because error destroys.

Error damns.

And you know what?

You've got people - they
come across looking nice,

but really they don't want any conflict,

and they're not willing to love
people enough to tell the truth.

I was thinking as Bobby
was going through that,

you think about Peter.

Peter was preaching to the people

and he said to them,

"You killed your Messiah."

Or you think of the Apostle Paul.

"You foolish Galatians!"

You think, Peter loved those people.

Paul loved those people.