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HOUSMAIL HM077 9
July 2001 LET YOUR SPEECH
BE GRACIOUS TO ALL We are
to STRIVE to live at peace with all men. (Hebrews
12:14) We are
to be gracious, and to speak graciously, to all men. (Colossians 4:6) And that means even when
we differ radically from them! Alas!
-- sad experience testifies that many who hear the true Abrahamic Gospel from
us will NEVER return that favour!!! And, down through the centuries, many of our
brethren have paid the price in blood! Note: Sadly
-- immature believers are not yet always successful in that either! Going the
"second mile" in those cases, means that those who have already grown
a little more, must learn to be patient with others who are "slow growers"
-- admonishing (=warning) them, if necessary. (Matthew 18:15, Colossians 3:16) Always of course, having already removed the "beam"
from their own eye first! There
are some fundamental issues of discipleship, which seem to bring out the worst
in those who find themselves "challenged” but remain determined not to listen
or change. Sometimes it doesn't seem to matter how graciously it is said. Even
Jesus was rejected by the "Mainstream Churches" of His day, and He warned
us to expect no better. (John 15:18-27) The
accuser and his (human) angels, have many tactics to silence "uncomfortable"
preaching!! *
Sometimes it will be the
terribly twisted "Ahab Accusation"! Remember? Ahab accused ELIJAH of
being the problem in Israel!!! "Is it you, you troubler of Israel"? (1 Kings 18:17) *
Sometimes the "Zedekiah
Complex" will surface! -- "Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go from
ME to speak to YOU"? (2 Chronicles 18:23) *
Or the "Sanhedrin
Syndrome" -- "We told you not to preach THAT!" (Acts 5:28) *
And sometimes the charge
of "extreme", or "exclusive", or "sectarian", can
be levelled, to cloud the real issue of COMMITTED OBEDIENCE TO JESUS AS LORD. In the
face of any of those accusations, it is ALWAYS OUR RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that
in all honesty of conscience before God, our motive is "We must obey
God rather than men." (Acts 5:29) and "We love our
neighbour as ourselves". And
then let us count the cost -- faithfully following the example of Peter, until,
praise God, it can be TRUTHFULLY said of US -- "You have filled Jerusalem
with your teaching ....." (Acts 5:28) There
remains one problem. How do we know when it is time to finally escalate the preaching
to the level of concern for the salvation of our hearers, which dares to say --
"You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within
they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness"? (Matthew 23:27) And
how do we ever do THAT while still speaking graciously to all men? I don't
know the answer to that. I confess that I may have been tempted to THINK it sometimes!
But it is a VERY serious thing to actually say it! Until we do know HOW and WHEN,
we should refrain. When
Jesus said that He was committing Himself yet again to another facet of the Cross,
when He left us that inspiring example of what it really means to MAINTAIN GRACE
AND GRACIOUSNESS TOWARDS EVEN THE MOST DETERMINED ENEMIES, IN THE FACE OF THE
WORST THAT THEY CAN DO (OR SAY!) TO US. Allon |