1
00:00:00,239 --> 00:00:03,204
Now, let's think about that: "in love."

2
00:00:03,204 --> 00:00:07,054
We speak the truth in love.

3
00:00:07,054 --> 00:00:08,955
Certainly, Paul is not merely talking

4
00:00:08,955 --> 00:00:13,013
about being just nice,

5
00:00:13,013 --> 00:00:22,309
likable or friendly.

6
00:00:22,309 --> 00:00:28,254
I suspect that the Apostle Paul

7
00:00:28,254 --> 00:00:31,074
would by lots of people

8
00:00:31,074 --> 00:00:34,185
not be considered a nice guy.

9
00:00:34,185 --> 00:00:38,273
Oh, he loved, but he said hard things.

10
00:00:38,273 --> 00:00:43,193
Our Lord Jesus Christ 
said very hard things.

11
00:00:43,193 --> 00:00:45,584
And I'm not saying that 
there's anything wrong

12
00:00:45,584 --> 00:00:48,225
with being nice or likable or friendly.

13
00:00:48,225 --> 00:00:50,444
But that's too often the 
picture put forward

14
00:00:50,444 --> 00:00:52,423
by this world around us.

15
00:00:52,423 --> 00:00:54,385
You notice how the world tries

16
00:00:54,385 --> 00:00:56,504
to define what Christianity is.

17
00:00:56,504 --> 00:00:57,735
People will tell us:

18
00:00:57,735 --> 00:00:59,635
Well, Christianity is like this.

19
00:00:59,635 --> 00:01:00,814
This is what it's like.

20
00:01:00,814 --> 00:01:02,624
Oh really?

21
00:01:02,624 --> 00:01:03,887
Why do you think that?

22
00:01:03,887 --> 00:01:06,234
Well, they've invented what they think

23
00:01:06,234 --> 00:01:08,638
Christianity is supposed to be like.

24
00:01:08,638 --> 00:01:10,334
(incomplete thought)

25
00:01:10,334 --> 00:01:12,634
The world basically has this idea:

26
00:01:12,634 --> 00:01:14,394
Christians are harmless.

27
00:01:14,394 --> 00:01:16,725
There is an aspect to that.

28
00:01:16,725 --> 00:01:18,646
But Christians as long as they're nice

29
00:01:18,646 --> 00:01:20,483
and loving and show a friendly spirit,

30
00:01:20,483 --> 00:01:22,534
never condemn or judge,

31
00:01:22,534 --> 00:01:25,414
as long as they're never 
insistent about anything,

32
00:01:25,414 --> 00:01:28,293
as long as they're agreeable 
and smile at everything,

33
00:01:28,293 --> 00:01:30,475
the world will basically leave us alone

34
00:01:30,475 --> 00:01:32,994
in our pathetic-ness, right?

35
00:01:32,994 --> 00:01:34,639
In our weakness.

36
00:01:34,639 --> 00:01:37,564
Now there's a good way to be weak.

37
00:01:37,564 --> 00:01:40,294
And there is a bad way to be weak.

38
00:01:40,294 --> 00:01:42,174
(incomplete thought)

39
00:01:42,174 --> 00:01:46,972
As long as the church is inoffensive,

40
00:01:46,972 --> 00:01:52,325
and they're not uncompromising,

41
00:01:52,325 --> 00:01:55,535
they don't insist on the truth,

42
00:01:55,535 --> 00:01:58,145
then as long as we don't criticize

43
00:01:58,145 --> 00:02:00,771
or denounce or condemn anything...

44
00:02:00,771 --> 00:02:03,193
But why? Because if the world hears that

45
00:02:03,193 --> 00:02:06,682
then they count us to be devoid of love.

46
00:02:06,682 --> 00:02:08,813
So the world says.

47
00:02:08,813 --> 00:02:10,773
But we would do well to remember

48
00:02:10,773 --> 00:02:13,354
what's being said here.

49
00:02:13,354 --> 00:02:23,565
We are to speak the truth in love.

50
00:02:23,565 --> 00:02:26,353
That's important.

51
00:02:26,353 --> 00:02:28,283
Truth.

52
00:02:28,283 --> 00:02:32,854
That means we're unbending in our love.

53
00:02:32,854 --> 00:02:34,705
And there's a reason.

54
00:02:34,705 --> 00:02:37,804
I mean, is there not 
reason to be unbending?

55
00:02:37,804 --> 00:02:41,382
People go to hell through deception.

56
00:02:41,382 --> 00:02:43,732
Being blown about by 
every wind of doctrine.

57
00:02:43,732 --> 00:02:45,523
There's human cunning.

58
00:02:45,523 --> 00:02:47,562
There's craftiness and deceitful schemes.

59
00:02:47,562 --> 00:02:50,189
What is being schemed?

60
00:02:50,189 --> 00:02:53,123
It's the destruction of men's souls.

61
00:02:53,123 --> 00:02:55,673
There's a devil who seeks to deceive,

62
00:02:55,673 --> 00:02:58,023
to destroy, to damn.

63
00:02:58,023 --> 00:03:02,274
We're not playing a lightweight game here.

64
00:03:02,274 --> 00:03:04,013
And I'll tell you this,

65
00:03:04,013 --> 00:03:06,794
truth sets men free.

66
00:03:06,794 --> 00:03:10,322
Truth saves men's souls.

67
00:03:10,322 --> 00:03:12,018
Truth.

68
00:03:12,018 --> 00:03:15,037
Thy Word is truth.

69
00:03:15,037 --> 00:03:18,624
Jesus Christ is truth.

70
00:03:18,624 --> 00:03:23,652
We are to preach the truth in love.

71
00:03:23,652 --> 00:03:25,384
Truth.

72
00:03:25,384 --> 00:03:27,234
We're not told to cultivate

73
00:03:27,234 --> 00:03:32,028
some sort of vagueness 
or obscure kindness.

74
00:03:32,028 --> 00:03:33,885
Well, we're just going to be kind

75
00:03:33,885 --> 00:03:35,604
no matter what anybody says,

76
00:03:35,604 --> 00:03:37,064
what anybody does,

77
00:03:37,064 --> 00:03:38,155
what anybody believes,

78
00:03:38,155 --> 00:03:40,104
we're just going to smile at everybody

79
00:03:40,104 --> 00:03:41,843
and we're going to be the nice guys

80
00:03:41,843 --> 00:03:43,192
and we're going to be known

81
00:03:43,192 --> 00:03:44,743
as the church or as the religion

82
00:03:44,743 --> 00:03:46,193
that just tolerates everything

83
00:03:46,193 --> 00:03:47,879
and we pat everybody on the back

84
00:03:47,879 --> 00:03:49,047
and we smile and we say

85
00:03:49,047 --> 00:03:50,633
well, it's all going to work out.

86
00:03:50,633 --> 00:03:52,904
That's not the idea.

87
00:03:52,904 --> 00:03:55,192
This is not some kind of ambiguous

88
00:03:55,192 --> 00:03:58,743
or obscure or unclear loving spirit.

89
00:03:58,743 --> 00:04:04,263
Brethren, we must be uncompromising

90
00:04:04,263 --> 00:04:06,424
when it comes to truth.

91
00:04:06,424 --> 00:04:10,942
We cannot hesitate to be narrow.

92
00:04:10,942 --> 00:04:16,613
We must not put niceness 
before truth ever

93
00:04:16,613 --> 00:04:19,294
because error destroys.

94
00:04:19,294 --> 00:04:21,284
Error damns.

95
00:04:21,284 --> 00:04:22,314
And you know what?

96
00:04:22,314 --> 00:04:25,924
You've got people - they 
come across looking nice,

97
00:04:25,924 --> 00:04:28,733
but really they don't want any conflict,

98
00:04:28,733 --> 00:04:31,793
and they're not willing to love 
people enough to tell the truth.

99
00:04:31,793 --> 00:04:35,554
I was thinking as Bobby 
was going through that,

100
00:04:35,554 --> 00:04:38,013
you think about Peter.

101
00:04:38,013 --> 00:04:40,270
Peter was preaching to the people

102
00:04:40,270 --> 00:04:41,732
and he said to them,

103
00:04:41,732 --> 00:04:46,074
"You killed your Messiah."

104
00:04:46,074 --> 00:04:47,939
Or you think of the Apostle Paul.

105
00:04:47,939 --> 00:04:54,354
"You foolish Galatians!"

106
00:04:54,354 --> 00:04:57,293
You think, Peter loved those people.

107
00:04:57,293 --> 00:04:59,519
Paul loved those people.