Dear Precious Friends
As we walk into a new week with our mission that we are to love God and love others as God loves us ( despite our differences which includes politics) We are disciples making disciples...sharing Gods truth by how we live it... shining His light in the darkness...it has never been more apparent that we must know Gods word, His absolute truth and share it!Gods word is living and active, sharper than a 2 edge sword....
As Christians, we must listen to, know and follow the truth (Jesus Christ), not opinions (man). We must discern the difference between the two. Likewise, we must speak the truth to others, especially God’s people, not our opinions. We also must be able to tell the difference between a proper and an improper application of a commandment of Christ. And we must discern the difference between an opinion and an application of a command of Christ (opinions do not have a commandment of Christ associated with it). We must not make or teach an application where there is no commandment. We must not make our own opinion a commandment, since there is no commandment of Christ on that subject. And certainly we must not apply our opinions in various ways, since opinions are not
commandments. Yet we must properly and fittingly apply the
commandments of Christ in order to prove that we have heard and
Follow the truth, Jesus Christ. We must carry out the words of Christ.
So before you speak about “the truth” to others, especially the other Christians, make sure that it indeed is the truth that you are saying, and not simply your own opinion, which came from your own mind, not God’s.
For example, when speaking about God or His holy word, which is the truth (indeed, Jesus Christ is the truth Jn 14:6), instead of saying, “My opinion is,” or, “I have a different opinion,” or, “I think,” or, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion,” we Christians ought to say, “This is the truth,” “It is written,” “Here is the commandment of Christ,” “Here is how to apply that commandment”. Answer with Scripture. Answer with the truth of God’s word, and apply it with wisdom.
Now when you are challenged over speaking the truth to someone about the gospel of Jesus Christ, like Paul was, say what he said in response to the opposition: “I utter words of sober truth” (Ac 26:25). Help people see the difference between the truth and an opinion. Help people see the difference between an opinion and a application of a commandment of Christ. If the response you receive is this: “That’s just your opinion,” then tell them this: “It is not my opinion; it is the truth!” Then show them why it is the truth from the specific and directly related word and commandment of Christ. But do not twist the Scriptures and read a sentence of it and say, “Here, let’s make up a commandment off of this.” It has to be something Christ told us to do, directed us to do, warned us not to do, etc. Just reading the word of God and making up commandments is not the way to read or teach the word of God.
Yet if you are simply sharing your own opinion with someone, and not God’s truth, then before you speak, say, “I am speculating,” or “I am guessing,” or “there is no commandment from the Lord on this, but...”. Finally, as I pointed out to you in the beginning, Jesus came to tell the truth so that those who can actually hear it will learn it and follow it. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Lk 11:28). As Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came,... yet it did not fall” (Mt 7:24, 25).
We can avoid the wrath of God by listening to and following the truth of God. We can stand on the truth of Christ’s words, not opinions.
Amen! Now let’s live this!!!
