LOVE AND TRUTH

     For some reason, yesterday was the first time I heard about the “controversial statements” by Andy Stanley regarding homosexuality. It was the middle of last year when he preached a message urging Christian's to not be so dogmatic over such an issue. I will summarize much of what he said: Jesus loved, he told us to love one another, love is the most important facet of Christianity. Christians do not need to harp on doctrine, only show love because our purpose is to show the world something that they can look at and say, “Wow, that is attractive to me.” He also relayed a story of how two homosexual men came to him and asked if they could be more involved in the church activities. Both were not yet “married”, because one of them was waiting to finalize a divorce with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Andy told them that they could not be involved until the man finalized the divorce with his wife. He then heralded the fact that after the divorce both the homosexual ex-husband and the ex-wife attended the same services. This has been a huge blow for some preachers, because they have enjoyed Mr. Stanley's writings and supported him for years.

    I do want to pick apart the character of Andy, indeed I never really heard him speak nor read his books, save one which was Visioneering, and this was more out of a requirement. However, I can easily write that I disagree with the view of Mr. Stanley. Now, don't take my variance as a blatant disregard to what Christ taught about love. No. I realize that a true DISCIPLE is one who doesn't just LABOR WITH HIS HANDS, BUT HAS LOVE IN HIS HEART. Andy and I part ways when he begins to describe how God's love is to be played out into society. You will find that though his view seems to be on the path with what Jesus taught, it stops as nothing short of a dead end.

     Now let us unravel just a small piece of the glorious paradox we so often term Christianity. You see, if I were to ask several claimed Christian's what is one thing that sets us apart from the world, the answer would undoubtedly be from most, if not all, the Love of Christ. Though this is correct, there are actually two primaries that set believer's apart. As already stated, it is God's Love, but it is also God's Truth. Notice that Jesus prayed in John 17, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (vs. 16-19)” God's love may be the shining factor of a Christian, but His truth is the sanctifying factor. To Sanctify is to Consecrate. To be purely set apart unto God. The notion of today regarding God's love is that the way we “put it into practice” is by not only welcoming the world to worship, but also meshing with its ways and interests. It is a subtle idea that if you can be “understanding and acceptable” of one's lifestyle, then somehow love will penetrate their heart and they will change.

     Yet the question that keeps coming to my mind is, why would there ever be a need of inward transformation, when “Christianity” has already conformed to their way of living? Why rock the boat? What first started as the “Love of God” then settles into a mixture of tolerance over sin and and warm feelings of self worth. If not guarded against, the truth of God becomes faded, lost into a sea of polite political correctness. What is truth? In the Old Testament, truth gives the idea of firmness, stability. It is concrete and tangible, it is absolute and even exclusive. It may sound simple, but it is whatever God says. Jesus is revealed as the Truth and also the Word of God. Obviously, the opposite of truth is deceit. Satan is called the father of lies and rightfully so, because the first words ever spoken that conflicted with God's Word were from the devil. David declared, “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. (Psalms 119:142).” We believe that God has revealed His truth through His written Word. The bible is trustworthy. Sadly, far too many have forgotten that God's love does not overshadow God's truth. They do not realize how God's love and God's truth is to go hand in hand. Here are just a few verses magnifying this fact:

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy (lovingkindness) and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

(LOVE MAY COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS, BUT TRUTH AND LOVE PURGE THEM)

Psalms 40:11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Psalms 85:10 Mercy (lovingkindness) and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Psalms 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

2 John 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

     The list goes on. What is very interesting is that in the gospel of John, at the close of his first epistle, he does not say, “May God's love be with you. Love each other. Amen.” This would have been fine, I'm sure, but through the Holy Spirit's guidance he ends out with a warning, dare I say, a command. He writes, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” Why this? Why in the midst of love, love, love, does he fling out a command to abstain from idols? Because as noted in verse 20, the truth is that Jesus is in us, Jesus is the Son of God, indeed Jesus is God and in Him is eternal life. To observe this truth is to leave no room for mingling with idolatry. Truth sanctifies, it sets apart.

    What many do not realize is that 1 John is not just a letter about Love, but about separation and guarding God's Truth.

2 John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

      Some Christians think that above all else we are to be “attractive” to the world. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, for the sake of upholding God's truth, we are going to look “disgusting.” John wrote in chapter 3:13, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” Jesus said, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil (John 7:7)” and again, John 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” Love yes, and by all means seek to live peaceably with all men, but never SELL THE TRUTH in the process (Proverbs 23:23)! Now, as mentioned earlier, Truth and Love are to go hand in hand. You see, Truth without Love produces Pharisaical Doctrine, but Love without Truth produces Heretical Living. Both are extreme evils. One becomes a much lesser form of the Midas touch. In the eyes of a “Pharisee”, as long as truth is taught and upheld, then there is gold to be made. Yet, somehow in his zeal for truth, he starts to produce misguided principles and man made preferences. He seeks to “touch” every person with his “standards of truth” that they might shine forth as gold, yet in reality those who observe such teaching become fool's gold, for indeed they “shine” but they are of no true value to others. Under the microscope of sincerity and compassion, they are revealed as imposters. Sadly, some people's entire lives are spent trying to learn and uphold every principle and preference, so that they might appear to gleam a little more brighter than others, indeed they may even strive to toss their own made up rules into the doctrinal “gumbo stew” for added measure.

     On the other hand, simply upholding love without truth will go very little in furthering the kingdom of God. It is like the architect who lays his foundation and then begins to build using only play-dough. The walls of doctrinal truth are molded by the whimsical views of society. Nothing is clear, except to love. Yes, it is on wholly loving God and loving others as yourself that “the law and the prophets hang”, but don't forget that they are still “hung up.” They have not been taken down. Love and Grace may lay the foundation, but the establishment of the Truth of God's Word and the exercising of the Fruit of His Spirit provide the solid building blocks. Our distinct call as followers of Christ is to go and make disciples, not comfortable sinners.

      You may change the name of it, you may uphold it as natural and wholesome, you may declare it to be something inherited, but the truth about homosexuality has not changed. It is sin. Many for morality's sake will blame genetics, and once they have opened this door, then for love's sake, they reduce it back down to a lifestyle “choice” that is worthy to be applauded. For morals they claim they can't help it, for marriage they claim they chose this life. What are we to do? Are we to open our arms, let go of scriptural teaching, and embrace this lifestyle in love? Notice these what John wrote, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth...If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:6,8).” This can go another way. For me to rejoice in such a lifestyle means that I make God's Word of no importance, more than this, I make myself an author of lies. To say to someone “you have no sin”, simply because I think that I am exalting God's grace in their eyes is wrong, for truthfully it only incurs God's chastisement in my heart. I can condone till I'm blue in the face, but it will not change the consequence of sin, death and after this, God's judgment. Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be decieved (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9 AMP).” My how so many have been deceived all in the name of promoting “God's love.” Also, in Romans 1, Paul again condemns such a lifestyle.  I have heard from some to ignorantly place a number on this sin, claiming that God's condemnation over homosexuality was when it became the majority of a nation. How they could ever come to this conclusion by honestly interpreting the Word of God is beyond me.  

     

       Now, I will be the first to say that the “conservative” church of today knows little of God's love and adds too much to what they consider is God's truth. Yet, there is such a thing as absolute truth and no matter how sympathetic one makes it sound, how subtle it appears to be, how noble its causes, homosexuality is fornication. So, now the question on your mind may be how I would react, if I were in Andy's shoes. First, let me say that If I were in his shoes, I probably would fall over in pain, for I wear 14 wides! Second, we must understand that we are called to be “led” by the Spirit of God who lives and actively works in us. This is imperative, because I have kicked myself many times upon realizing that in certain situations, though I upheld God's truth, the way I went about it was against the leading of the Holy Spirit. All I can say is that if my case was just like Mr. Stanley's, I would reiterate the fact that the one man who is to be stepping out from a divorce will ultimately step into a life of fornication. --- I find it amazing that once people embrace homosexuality, it seems that anything goes. For many of them, even those who claim some form of “Christianity”, they have hundreds of “partners” without the slightest remorse that they are committing fornication. Perhaps, though it's nauseating to think of, this is because when homosexuality is embraced, nobody really has a determining factor as to when “fornication” actually happens.---- I would also remind them that God desires to use each man mightily for His kingdom, but they must repent of any homosexual activities and ambitions. I would offer to help and challenge the one wanting a divorce from his wife to seek reconciliation, for God is against divorce. I would offer counseling to help them break free from homosexuality and reiterate that “...the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. (Titus 2:11-12)”

     To truly impart love to someone is to also uphold truth. 2 John 1:1 states, “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2 For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” Love and Truth, Love and Truth, my what a wonderful and mystifying combination, but this is what we are called to. I think of it like a man on a ledge that is hanging onto a rope tied to a large rock. With one hand he is holding onto the rope that is secure and with the other hand he is seeking to save people that are hanging on for dear life on the side of a mountain. With one hand we must hold onto the Truth of God and with the other hand we must reach out in Love to save those who could plummet to certain doom.

Jude 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.