TRUTH IN LOVE

I have been honored and privileged to speak on a number of radio programs in the past sixty years. I do not remember how all of these programs were described, but several of them had the title, "The Truth in Love." When V. E. Howard had the desire to start our program in 1934, he chose to call it the International Gospel Hour. I have no problem with that title, but I know brother Howard was devoted to speaking the truth in love. I may sometimes fail, but if I know my own heart, I earnestly desire to speak the truth in love. I never want to be abrasive or ugly-spirited. I know that the vast majority of those individuals and churches that support this program want me to speak the truth in love. I am convinced they would cease supporting this radio ministry if they believed I was not speaking the truth in love.

The idea of "Speaking the Truth in Love" is based on Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul urged the Ephesian Christians not be children, "tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, who is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:14-16). Paul does not use the same language in his farewell address to the elders of the Lord's church at Ephesus, but what he said about preaching is very significant. He told the elders: "You know from the first day that I came into Asia (literally, Asia Minor), after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews; and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shown you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ....And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:18-21, 25-27).

The expression, "speaking the truth," is just one word in the Greek. The verb is a present active participle. The term always involves speaking the truth in love. In his commentary on the Greek text of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1906, a reprint), Bishop B. F. Westcott of the Church of England, says the expression would be better translated "living the truth in love, not simply speaking the truth. The appropriation of the truth is not intellectual only but moral, expressed through our whole being, in character and action" (p. 64).

Most serious students of our culture know how unacceptable for many academics and even for some theologians the very idea of truth is. Many of the leading liberal theologians of our day deny that human beings can know truth, even if it exists. I am aware that many theological liberals think former Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong has gone off the deep end, but Spong has a rather impressive following in the United States. Tragically and inexplicably, thousands of people flock to hear him and to buy his books. How can we explain such devotion to a theologian who denies the virgin birth of Christ, his mighty miracles, his bodily resurrection, his ascension to the Father and his second coming at the end of the age? Spong denies man's ability to be certain about anything, but he is certain that we cannot be certain. He is also certain about the ideas I have listed.

One of the first of John Shelby Spong's books that I purchased has the title, Into the Whirlwind: The Future of the Church (Minneapolis: Seabury Press, 1983). Please listen to Spong's unreasonable and inconsistent ideas. "The one fact that is certain in our world is that no ultimate authority exists that can define truth in any area for all time" (p. 26). Does that include the inspired word of almighty God? For John Shelby Spong, the answer is YES—an unequivocal YES. Spong also affirms: "We are thus entering a brand new world where certainty more and more will be seen as a vice rising out of an emotional need, and uncertainty will be seen as a virtue possessing integrity and a willingness to risk security in the quest for truth" (p. 26). Is Spong certain we are entering a brand new world where certainty will be seen as a vice and uncertainty as a virtue? Over and over in his many books, Spong expresses certainty on many topics. For example, one of his latest books has the title, Why Christianity Must Change or Die (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998). If certainty can be seen as a vice, is it not unethical and unreasonable to affirm that "Christianity must change or die?" Why must Christianity do anything? Why must anything happen?

Spong does not believe Jesus is all that different from the rest of humanity. In his book, Into the Whirlwind, Spong accuses traditional orthodoxy of having erred substantially in teaching that "Jesus was different from other human beings 'in kind.' I think Jesus was different from other human beings in degree, but it was such a degree that men and women assumed it was a difference in kind and developed a mythology of a literalized virgin birth and supernatural manifestations to account for what they perceived in Jesus because their normal earthbound language seemed so inadequate to capture their experience" (pp. 43-44). Spong may be uncertain about these ideas, but there is no indication of it. The truth is: Nobody can live with the kind of uncertainty Spong promotes.

What are the great truths God demands that Christians speak? We are certainly required to speak the truth with our family members and with all others. Is that not what Paul had in mind when he wrote as follows to the Ephesians: "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another" (Eph. 4:25). Was Paul echoing the words of the prophet Zechariah? "These are the things that you shall do; speak every man truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates" (Zech. 8:16). But just telling the truth in our dealings with others is not adequate. We must also tell them the truth about God's supernatural revelation to mankind.

Before we examine some of the great truths of the gospel of Christ, let us take note of the Bible's emphasis on truth. The Greek aletheia appears 110 times in the New Testament and is always translated "truth" in the King James Version. I shall read to you several passages from the gospel according to John. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth....For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:14, 17). The following verse is probably the best known New Testament verse using the word "truth": "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). Jesus assured his immediate disciples and all subsequent generations: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). You cannot overlook our Lord's affirmations. He did not claim to have some truth or even most of the truth. He claimed to be "the truth.'" That means, very simply: If you want to be know about God's will for man, there is one way and only way to know it: through Jesus Christ our Lord. You may rebel against that idea, but it is the truth.

There are theologians who deny the necessity of obeying the truth. But no book of the Bible more strongly emphasizes the duty of all men—both saint and sinner—to obey the truth than the book of Romans. Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). If there is no obedience, there is no faith. Paul writes of the wrath of God and then warns all men that God "will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek honor and immorality," God will give them eternal life: "but unto them who are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness and indignation and wrath," God will give "tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace, to every man who works good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile: for there is no respect of persons with God" (Rom. 2:6-11).

I shall not take the time to analyze this powerful passage, but I do want to point out some of the words the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to use. God will render to every man according to his deeds (literally, his works). If men are patient in well doing (literally, in working good), God will give them eternal life. Those who do not obey the truth will experience the wrath of almighty God. But God will give glory, honor and peace to every man who works good. Is it accidental that Paul uses some form of the word "work" four times in this brief passage? The same apostle commanded the Corinthians: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the lord" (1 Cor. 15:58).

Paul severely criticized the Galatian Christians because some of them had not obeyed the truth. He asked them: "O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you" (Gal. 3:1)? In this same book, Paul also asked: "You did run well; who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth" (Gal. 5:7)? The apostle Peter assured his readers: "Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, that lives and abides forever" (1 Pet. 1:22-23). You can surely conclude from this passage that obeying the truth is the same as obeying the word. God's word is the truth (John 17:17).

What are those great truths we must believe and obey in order to become Christians? If we do not believe we are sinners, why would we want to believe and obey the gospel? The New Testament emphatically teaches the universal sinfulness of mankind. No, we are not born sinners, but we become sinners when we reach the age of accountability. Paul's description of men's condition before they obey the gospel and the fact that we become sinners and are not born sinners could hardly be plainer. "There is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." Paul summarizes his discussion of the sinfulness of men when he writes: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:11-12, 23). The tenses of the verbs in verse 23 are significant. Charles Williams renders the verse: "For everybody has sinned and everybody continues to come short of God's glory."

We know that sin cannot be permitted into the heavenly home. So how do sinful men and women inherit the eternal kingdom of God? Of this we can be absolutely certain: Unless God in his infinite grace had made arrangements for our salvation, we would be eternally lost. Is that not what Paul taught in his great letter to the Ephesians? "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph; 2:8-10). Is Paul teaching salvation by grace alone through faith alone? If you listened to my reading from Romans 2:6-11, you know God requires that we do his will. Paul affirmed: "Glory, honor and peace, to every man who works good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Rom. 2:10). And did not Paul teach: We are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10)? Walking in good works is not merely a suggestion; it is an essential part of God's plan for saving man.

Paul teaches that we must hear the word (Rom. 10:17) since the word is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). But hearing alone does not save anyone. James exhorted his readers: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves....But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (literally, in his doing)" (Jas. 1:22, 25). Will he be blessed if he is not a doer of the work, but a hearer only? If we must do the will of God, we are not saved by grace alone through faith alone.

If men and women have open hearts, when they hear the word, they will believe it. "But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6). As essential as faith is, it is not adequate. "Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone....You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone....For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (Jas. 2:17, 24, 26). Is James teaching that a man can earn his salvation? Absolutely not! But there should be no question that James binds works of obedience on all who would please God.

When people believe the gospel of Christ—like the Jews did not the day of Pentecost—must they do anything more to be saved? The Holy Spirit thought the Jews had to do more than believe. He inspired the apostle Peter to command the believing Jews: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). When a person is baptized into Christ, he is forgiven of his sins (Mk. 16:16); he puts on Christ (Gal. 3:26-27); he becomes a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13); he is on his way to heaven.

I have read to you what the Jews had to do to be forgiven, but did the same commandments apply to the Samaritans and Gentiles? Acts 8 records Philip's visit to Samaria. We do not know the full content of his sermon, but we know he preached Christ (Acts 8:5). We also know what happened when the Samaritans heard the word. "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 8:12). Is Luke implying that preaching Christ must include baptism? You cannot miss the intent of Philip's preaching. The Samaritans had to believe the gospel and be baptized to have their sins remitted.

The first Gentile converts were at the house of Cornelius (Acts 10). But I shall dwell briefly on the conversion of the Gentiles at Corinth. The apostle Paul had been preaching at Thessalonica, at Berea and at Athens (Acts 17). When he left Athens, he visited the city of Corinth, another Greek city. "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ" (Acts 18:4-5). As I said about Philip's preaching in Samaria, we do not know precisely what Paul taught the Jews and Greeks about Christ. But we know what occurred in Corinth. "And Crispus, the chief ruler in the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized" (Acts 18:8).

It would be difficult for anyone not to understand the simple accounts of conversions I have read to you from the book of Acts. The believing Jews on Pentecost had to repent and be baptized to enjoy the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). The Samaritans had to believe and be baptized to be saved (Acts 8:12). The Corinthians believed and were baptized and had their sins washed away (Acts 18:8). Are these patterns that men and women must follow to have their sins forgiven and to be added to the Lord's church?

But initial obedience is not sufficient. We must continue to do the will of God. Will you please listen to John's instructions to the early Christians? "My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). If God had not made arrangements for Christians to be forgiven, we would all be lost. There would be no hope for anyone. "But if we continually walk in the light, as he is in the light, we continue to have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ always cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

Winford Claiborne

The International Gospel Hour

P.O. Box 118

Fayetteville, TN 37334

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