Thursday, August 14, 2014
Truth and Love
Mark Roberts on Ephesians 4:11-16:
The biggest part of that is, I believe, a failure to build relationships. Roberts goes on to say, "As he writes this, Paul envisions people who are close enough to each other that they can communicate orally. Face-to-face relationship continues to be a primary context for our truth speaking." How often do we talk "At" homosexuals instead of with them? Where are the ministries that seek to be among them as Christ was among the tax-collectors and publicans?
In times pasts places where homosexuals gathered were such highly sexualized environments generally that a Christian felt wrong simply entering it. However, in this age where the homosexual claims to want to be "just like a heterosexual couple" maybe the time has come to reach out a bit.
At least if we have learned how to love.
homosexual ministry love truth
Today, I'll begin with the question "What does it mean to speak the truth?" If you were to look at the original Greek of this verse, you might be surprised to find that the Greek verbs meaning "to speak" do not show up here. Instead, we find the verb aletheuo, which is related to the word aletheia, meaning "truth." An overly literal translation might read, "truthing in love." This has led some commentators to suggest that Paul has in mind both speaking and living the truth when he uses the verb aletheuo. Though there can be no doubt about the need for active living of the truth (as captured by the phrase "in love"), it's likely that aletheuo means "speaking the truth." Unlike those in verse 14 who deceive people with the falsities they utter, we are to speak the truth.And yet, how often do we hear the truth spoken clearly in a loveless manner? No place is that more evident to day than in the discussion of same-sex relationships. The truth is homosexual activity is a sin, but we are still called to love the homosexual. Indeed the world has come to believe that love and acceptance of the actions of the object of the love are the same thing, but has Christians we should be able to make the differentiation. The fact that the world cannot see our love in our declarations of the truth tells me that there is something very wrong with our demonstrations of that love.
The biggest part of that is, I believe, a failure to build relationships. Roberts goes on to say, "As he writes this, Paul envisions people who are close enough to each other that they can communicate orally. Face-to-face relationship continues to be a primary context for our truth speaking." How often do we talk "At" homosexuals instead of with them? Where are the ministries that seek to be among them as Christ was among the tax-collectors and publicans?
In times pasts places where homosexuals gathered were such highly sexualized environments generally that a Christian felt wrong simply entering it. However, in this age where the homosexual claims to want to be "just like a heterosexual couple" maybe the time has come to reach out a bit.
At least if we have learned how to love.
homosexual ministry love truth
