Biblical Conduct - Part 4 Even When It Is Difficult To Hear
By Ben Quine
**This article is part of a series written by Ben Quine that takes us through the whole of Scripture to discover what God has to say about how we as believers in Jesus Christ should conduct ourselves both inside the church and outside in our public and private lives. You will discover that the Word of God has much to say about our conduct.
A story is told of a freshman student whose father was a school track star back in his day. To please his father, the boy tried out for the track team. He had no athletic ability, and his first tryout was a two-man race against the current track star. He was badly beaten. Not wanting to disappoint his father, the boy wrote home as follows: “You will be happy to know that I ran against Billy Smith, the best sprinter in school. He came in next to last, while I came in second.”
Have you ever been tempted to refashion bad news so that it will land more gently on the ears of those who need to receive it?
…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (I Corinthians 1:23-24)
As Christians who love God’s message of love and forgiveness, it can be easy to forget that that message is inherently upsetting to the world — it is “a stumbling block” and “folly” to those who do not believe. Not only does the Bible present a message that is difficult for many to hear, but it presents it in a very surprising way — a way that is shocking to modern ears. Read the following passages and note the words the Bible uses to describe those who have not been reconciled to God:
He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. (I Samuel 2:9)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. (Psalm 14:1)
How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. (Psalm 92:5-9)
Claiming to be wise, they became fools… (Romans 1:22)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins… (Ephesians 2:1)
Did you notice them? In these four short passages, God calls the unsaved “wicked, fools, stupid, evildoers, doomed, enemies, and dead.” This is very strong language — hardly the sort of descriptions that enhance diplomacy, or that create “warm, fuzzy feelings” in the audience. So why does a loving God use words like fools, stupid, and wicked over and over again in Scripture?
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (I John 4:16)
To put it simply, God uses this difficult language because it is the truth and because He is love.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)
God speaks the truth because the stakes could not be higher for humanity, and He loves them, not wanting any to perish. If we are to understand Biblical Conduct, we must first recognize that it is not loving to leave sinners to perish in sin, to experience the wrath of God, and then to spend an eternity without Him. The loving thing to do is to reach out to those who don’t know the truth and are living lives of destruction, to help rescue them from their harmful ways. The Gospel is a message of love and forgiveness, but it never shrinks from presenting the truth about sin and its consequences.
[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (I Corinthians 13:6)
Read Ephesians 6:10-20, on the whole armor of God. We are in the midst of an epic spiritual conflict, a war being waged all around us (verse 12). Usually, we can’t see it, but it is very real, and we are commanded to be armed for the battle (verses 13-18), so that we may be bold to proclaim the truth of the Gospel (verses 19-20), for the rescue of sinners. This same foundational truth is offensive to the world, which delights in sin. Resisting the forces of darkness is our holy calling. The Apostle Paul did not ask for prayer that his circumstances would change. Rather, he prayed that he would be bold to share the truth! (Verses 18-20)
Satan (the Devil), the flesh (our sinful nature), and the world (sinful humanity) are all offended by the basic tenets of Scripture. So we should not be surprised when we experience their opposition. And because an understanding of God’s Word leads to life transformation, the world will similarly reject the Bible’s teaching on topics such as economics, justice, salvation, and morality, stirring up opposition to godly conduct, just as Demetrius stirred up the crowds against Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:24-34).
Those who reject the teaching of the Bible will malign believers, falsely calling them “un-loving” for calling out sin and deception. But as Jesus Christ commissioned us, we must never stop making disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Boldly proclaiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27) is a great threat to false religion, to certain businesses, to secular society, and to the status quo today, just as it was in the First Century.
False gods and false ideologies cannot tolerate the Gospel because it exposes them as false. That is why there is such opposition to the Bible today, and why we, as faithful followers of Christ, cannot help but be offensive to the world. Always remember that Jesus, our leader, was crucified. Our call is not to be inoffensive but to be faithful, bold, and obedient. God is pleased with this kind of life, and He will reward you (Matthew 19:27- 30). It is, however, painful to experience the rejection of the world and of those we love.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:18-20)
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
(James 4:4)
The world wants Christians to be silent and inoffensive, but love demands that we intervene and tell the truth to a dying world. The world won’t like it. The world won’t like you, but you’ll have done what is right.
If you think this is too harsh, stay tuned, and in the next articles, we’ll look through the Old and New Testaments to see how the heroes of the faith acted…
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ABOUT BEN
Ben Quine, the second son of David and Shirley Quine, was blessed to grow up with a Charlotte Mason/Dr. Schaeffer/Biblical Worldview education -- a tremendous gift! Through the years, Ben has served as a Cornerstone consultant, assistant, and co-author. He has written several Bible studies for the Answers for Difficult Days series, which equips churches to address the issues our culture is wrestling with today, from the foundation of Scripture. Ben also has recently accepted a full-time position with Christians Engaged as the Director of Curriculum & Strategic Ministry Partnerships.
Trained as a classical pianist and instructor, Ben is committed to inspiring his students with the love of great music and equipping them with the tools to perform at the highest level. This training has resulted in his students' successful performances from local festivals and competitions to Carnegie Hall.
Ben loves Shakespeare, Dickens, photography, listening to recordings of "the great pianists", running, biking, and spending time with his wife Julie and their three sons.