Introduction:
We are a family of six - my mom, her four daughters, and one who is a lesbian. Yes, you have heard it right. I have a lesbian sister. Maybe you have thought that, “Oh, but she is a Pastor. How does she deal with this?” Well yeah, this is one of the most challenging ministries that God have put me in. Me and my sisters had our ups and downs… we usually fight because she wants to be accepted along with all that she does. She would tag me in her Facebook posts with words like, “God is Love.” “Other people accept me for who I am.” and others. But I always tell her that not everything she does is acceptable. Not only for me but also in the eyes of God. Because of this, I could sense the resentment that she has for me… but would this stop me from showing my love to her by telling her the truth?
Friends, telling the truth when needed will keep people away from danger.
Text:
When I read the letter of Paul to the churches in Galatia, one thing that came to my mind was… the Christians there were in danger. I could sense this feeling of urgency with how Paul started his letter. He even skipped the Thanksgiving portion that he usually includes whenever he writes to churches. So, what happened?
Paul found out that there was another gospel being preached within the churches in Galatia. There were Jewish Christians who were trying to mix up Christianity and Judaism and creating a different set of beliefs. They were trying to persuade the people to observe the law of Moses and believe in salvation by works. In short, to borrow the terms used in some commentaries, these Jewish Christians were Judaizing the churches in Galatia. And Paul, being so zealous and certain about the Gospel that He is proclaiming, (because it is not of human origin but a revelation to him by Christ) and him, being an apostle who is full of love for Christ’s church, he couldn’t just let this pass, so he had to write them a letter.
A letter that was full of emotions, expressions of marvel and sorrow for both the Gospel and the people… he expressed in verse 6 how astonished he was to find out that the churches where he preached the liberating Gospel of Christ were being swayed by false teachings. And in verses 8 and 9, he expressed his intense feeling of disgust to anyone who preaches and who will preach another set of teachings aside from that of the Scripture. He was so emotional that he even said a strong word against the false teachers. He said twice in the scope of this passage that to anyone who will teach another gospel, let them be accursed. In Greek, Paul wrote the word “a?a?eµa,” which conveys an intensified feeling of rage towards someone who perverts the Gospel of Christ. It literally means cursing someone to destruction. Like saying, whoever you are that teaches another gospel, it should be the end of you. You are doomed!
These intense emotions in Paul’s introduction show how concerned he was with the Gospel and with the people.
The Gentile Christians were deserting the Gospel of Christ. They were turning away... and they were getting into great danger without them knowing. But Paul knew… so he spoke up and proclaimed the truth in the hope that the Galatian churches would still have a chance to be redeemed.
Today’s Context:
Fellow seminary students, have you ever encountered a similar situation? Well, maybe not exactly as how it happened in Galatia. There may not be Jewish Christians in our local churches who are trying to persuade the aunties and uncles to believe that salvation is through works, there may not people in our churches who deliberately pervert what is written in the Scripture. Distorting the Gospel today or spreading false teachings may not be as open and vulgar like what Judaizers did back in Paul’s time.
But friends, I believe that all of us will agree that there are still modern-day versions of Scriptural perversion. The evil one has not stopped leading people away from the truth. And there may be times that he does it in the subtlest way possible.
But whatever form there is today, like Paul, we are still called to stand up for the truth when needed. There is still a call for us to proclaim the truth of the Scripture because it has the power to keep people away from the dangers of modern-day false teachings. False teachings that can be obviously observed or those which are subtly or indirectly imposed on people. So,with this, allow me to talk about 2 main points why there is a need for us to proclaim the truth in this present age.
1. First, we must proclaim the truth when needed because there is a danger of clear perversion of God’s words in our church and society today.
- one of the openly debated issues of today… the LGBT community and their cry to be accepted not just in the society but also in the churches.
- This LGBT issue may be a phenomenon that must have resulted from postmodern way of thinking. You know, that concept of whatever is right for me, is right. And whatever is right for you, even if it is the opposite of my view, is still right. The sense of absolute truth is already gone. Anyone can create a different set of beliefs according to our own needs and wants. Brothers and sisters, in this postmodern society, can the absolute truth of the Scripture still stand?
- For example, a gay brother who practices homosexual acts, came to you and said. “You and this church have to accept me because this is me... this is how God created me to be… the Bible says, God is love… that means He is not against love and that also means I can love whoever I want to love.”
- How do we address such statements? (pause)
- Sometimes we just opt to keep silent because we want to respect our brothers and sisters. Or sometimes we just don’t want to be labeled as a judgemental person. However, keeping silent about an issue is different from respecting the people involved in the issue. There is a very thin line between tolerance and respect. And we must learn to discern that.
- In this scenario, what could be the danger if we do not proclaim the truth when needed?
- These people might go further away from the Scriptural truth. They might go on interpreting God’s words in whatever way they want to perceive it… and this will be transferred and transferred from generation to generation.
- As John Wesley once said, “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.”
- If we, in our little ways do not proclaim the truth when needed… a generation of Christians might suffer in the end…
2. Secondly, we must proclaim the truth when needed because there is a danger of subtle perversion of God’s words in our church and society today.
- false teachings may be spreading around us in ways that are not too obvious for our eyes to see and for our minds to depict.
- In psychology, they use the word “subliminal” which according to Mr. Google, is an adjective to describe how a stimulus is affecting someone’s mind without that person being aware of it.
- For example, when we listen to a new song, at first, we do not know the lyrics and the tune... but eventually we will find ourselves singing along with it already. Songs may have a subliminal effect to the listeners. Even the Christian songs that we sing in churches today.
- supposing a youth came to you as a youth pastor… and ask if he can sing this certain song for praise and worship. Then as a good and responsible youth pastor, you examined the lyrics and read a line in the song that is a bit off. So, you advised your youth not to sing the song because it is not theologically sound. But then your youth insisted that the tune is good, and he cried almost all-night listening to that song. What would you do? How would you respond?
- Sometimes, because we do not want to hurt the feelings of other people or because we just don’t want to be labeled as a know-it-all person, we just keep silent about the truth.
- But friends, what could be the danger if we do not proclaim the truth when needed?
- One song can lead to another song then another one again… then people will just sing and sing… and little did they know; their perception of the Scriptural truth is already being distorted because of the repetitive listening to those songs that is not based on sound theology.
- And again, if we, in our little ways do not proclaim the truth when needed… a generation of Christians might suffer in the end…
Conclusion:
Friends these are only two of the examples of how the Scripture is being perverted in today’s context. Proclaiming the truth is not always easy. Especially for us Christians who have been taught to love and respect other people. And for us humans to have a natural tendency to please other people. That is why, sometimes, despite us knowing the truth, we just keep silent.
But if we are to follow Paul’s example as he wrote in v. 10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Paul wrote this letter even though some church members might despise him. But for the sake of the Gospel, he still spoke up and proclaimed the truth.
Also, when he wrote this letter, he was actually hurt by the churches in Galatia because they were not recognizing his apostleship. But did this stop Paul from proclaiming the truth? No.
I believe that along with his zeal for the Gospel, it is also his love and concern for the people that led him to speak up. Paul was enlightened with the truth of the Gospel revealed to him by Christ himself, so he proclaimed the truth when needed in order to keep his beloved brothers and sisters away from danger. We might not know what happened to the churches in Galatia after reading Paul’s letter. But I strongly believe that this has stirred up their minds and got them into thinking.
Now, imagine if Paul did not give any concern to the churches in Galatia. What do you think would be different?
My sister is now working in church as the secretary. I believe this is God’s way of speaking to her in other ways. Imagine if the Lord did not put in my heart the desire to tell my sister what the Bible says. What would be the difference?
I heard someone said before, that a “single careless match can cause a forest fire…” So, every single chance of proclaiming the truth matters. A single neglected opportunity may create a ripple effect to generations after generations.
Maybe you have someone in mind whom you think is in danger… someone whom you think is in need of God’s words today. maybe a family member, a church mate, a dear friend, or anyone else… It is not easy to proclaim the truth of the truth… the world hates God’s truth… but every Truth of the Scripture told with love, I believe will make a difference… anyway, it is God’s Word which has the power to save any of us from danger.
Friends, we recognize the challenges imposed on us by the society, by our way of thinking that evolves over the time and even by our own human nature.
But, would all these stop us from proclaiming the truth? I hope and pray they should not. But all the more, may the Lord help us by the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the truth in love whenever needed and let us be instruments of God to keep our brothers and sisters away from the danger of turning away from the truth of His Words. Amen.
