Love and Truth (Pt 3)

The church I am currently serving has said that they desire to be a welcoming, passionate body that shows compassion and a non-judgmental spirit in the context of truth. To do that we need to hold uncompromisingly to the truth, yet show compassion and acceptance to those who are broken. We never want to be a church that says, “We would love to have you come, but you need to clean up first.” The gospel is: Come and be made clean. It is not: Clean up and God will accept you. Several years ago I had just preached a sermon about this. I had challenged the church with the idea that too often we claim to want unbelievers to come to church and find Christ, but we want them to clean up and look like us first. An elderly lady approached me and said, “Oh, I know what you mean. I just wish my son would come to church, but if he did I would be so embarrassed. He has long, greasy hair and tattoos.” Why would she be embarrassed? Shouldn’t she be rejoicing?

That being said, we never want to compromise truth. Neither must we settle for just getting people to come to church. Jesus did not leave the woman at the well in her sin in John 4. Rather, she was commended for speaking the truth about her sin. The woman caught in adultery was not sent back to a life of sin. She was told, “Go, and from now on sin no more” (Jn 8:11). The sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet was told, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Lk 7:50). Jesus said to the scribes and pharisees, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

There is a delicate balance here. As a church of Jesus Christ we must be welcoming and accepting. We never want to be considered judgmental. We must never look down on others or give the impression that we are superior to them. But for the grace of God we would be just as broken and in bondage as they are. Yet we must never compromise truth either. Truth without love undermines our very message. Love without truth leaves people in their sin.

As a church we must be both compassionate and passionate. What do we mean by passionate? Hebrews 10:24 instructs us to stir up one another to love and good works. According to the Google dictionary, to be passionate means to show or have your actions caused by strong feelings or a strong belief. The word translated “stir up” in Hebrews 10 is a word found in the Bible only twice. It means to provoke or irritate to the point of action or reaction. It is used in Acts 15:39 in reference to the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over Mark. We are to be passionate about our faith. That does not mean that we necessarily need to be jumping and shouting. It does mean that our faith will be changing how we live. It means that we take our faith so seriously that we are actually provoking one another to love others and do good works. To be passionate in our faith means that we are not satisfied to leave people to live however they please.

1 Corinthians 14:12 says that spiritual gifts are given for the purpose of building up the church. 2 Corinthians 10:8 and 13:10 say that Paul’s authority was given to him to build up believers. Ephesians 4:12 says that the church is to be equipped to build up the Body of Christ. Ephesians 4:29 tells us to use language that builds up rather than tearing down. That verse connects love, truth, and passionate faith. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths [we should live and speak truth], but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion [we should be loving], that it may give grace to those who hear” [truth and love result in passionate faith that grows out of grace] (Eph 4:29).

If we are truly passionate about our faith, people will see it. They will sense that we truly love God and people from the heart. They will sense that our worship is from the heart. Loud may mean passionate, but not necessarily. Loud might simply mean loud. Excited may mean passionate, but not necessarily. Excited might simply mean emotion without passion. Passion can be loud or it can be quiet, but it is always from the heart. Passionate faith is not a faith that works us up for a moment. Passionate faith is a faith that changes us permanently. It changes how we live. It changes how we speak and act. It changes how we love. Passionate faith changes what we are willing to die for. It is sometimes expressed in great emotion, and sometimes is quiet, unmoving faith, but it never leaves us unchanged. We are called to passionate faith. To borrow a question from Del Tackett in The Truth Project, "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?"