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“WHAT DO MEN DO WHEN THEY DO NOT LIKE OR CANNOT ANSWER THE TRUTH? - Part I”
God's objective Truth exists. Jesus said the Father's Word is Truth (John 17:17). Jesus commanded His apostles to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every person (Mark 16:15). That is another way of saying that the apostles were to preach the Truth, for "the word of Truth" and "the Gospel of salvation" are the same (Eph. 1:13). The church has the same commission today: preach the Gospel or Truth. However, we understand that some reject the Truth and thus never receive the remission of sins. Others accept the Truth about how to be saved, and are baptized into Christ, but later do not receive what the Bible teaches on other themes. It is interesting and important to see how people, both in and out of the church, react when they do not like some Bible teaching, or when they cannot answer the Truth.
In both the Old and New Testaments we see that some physically persecuted the messengers of Jehovah when they did not like what the prophets preached or could not answer them. When Zechariah the son of Jehoiada rebuked the Jews for transgressing the commandments of God, king Joash ordered men to stone Zechariah to death (2 Chron. 24:20-22). Why? Not because Zechariah's message was false, but because Joash and the people did not like what he said! Jeremiah was imprisoned and beaten for the same reason.
What about our Lord Jesus? He always preached the Truth (John 8:45,46), but the Jewish leaders were jealous of Him (Mark 15:10) and turned Him over to Pilate, claiming He was worthy of death.
Stephen was killed, not because he preached falsehood or compromised the Truth, but because the Jews did not like the Truth he preached (Acts 7).
It is written that others mocked the prophets of God who preached the Truth. Jehovah sent His messengers to exhort the Jews to repent and return to Him, "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets..." (2 Chron. 36:15,16). We read of the same thing in the New Testament when Paul preached the Gospel in Athens: "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked..." (Acts 17:32). On a later occasion when Paul preached the Gospel before King Agrippa II and Festus, Festus said to him, "Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad." Paul's response was, "I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness" (Acts 26:24,25). Today, many laugh at us when we preach the Truth, but their mockery does not change anything: the Truth is still the Truth, and only those who obey it will receive eternal salvation (2 Thess. 1:6-9).
"You do not have any love." That is what we often hear when we preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) and refuse to compromise the Truth. It is possible that one may preach the Truth and do so in an unkind manner. We want to say without reservation that we do not approve of speaking unkindly or purposely offending someone when teaching or preaching. It is absolutely necessary to speak with a good attitude or a spirit of love. However, we must be careful that we do not make false conclusions on this matter. Consider this question: Which is more important, to preach the Truth, or to preach with a kind spirit or good attitude? In other words, which is more important, one's message or one's attitude? Both are important! It is false to say that it is acceptable to preach with an unkind spirit as long as one preaches the Truth. It is also false to say that it does not matter if one preaches the Truth or not, as long as he manifests a kind spirit. A third false conclusion would be to say that one who preaches the Truth, and nothing but the Truth, has no love. Jesus preached the Truth. Did everyone accept what He said? No. Does that prove He had no love? Of course not. Paul met opposition everywhere he preached the Gospel. Does that prove he had no love for those to whom he preached? Of course not. We will not knowingly continue to fellowship those who are walking disorderly, for this is the command of the Lord (2 Thess. 3:6,14). Does that mean we have no love? If so, then it means the Lord, who commanded us to withdraw from the disorderly, has no love. But, our God is a God of love and mercy, so those who carry out His will cannot be doing wrong. Paul told the church in Corinth to stop having fellowship with a brother who was a fornicator (1 Cor. 5), but he later told them, "Let all that you do be done with love" (16:14, NKJV). Thus, it is possible to obey the Lord's command to withdraw from the ungodly, and to take such action with a spirit of love for them.
"Let's quit arguing about little things and just work together to preach Christ." This is what some brethren say when we point out the error they are openly teaching or supporting. First of all, in the New Testament "to preach Christ" (Acts 8:5,35) means the same as "to preach the word," "to preach the word of the Lord," and "to preach the Gospel" (Acts 8:4,25). Thus, if one is really "preaching Christ," then he is preaching the Truth, not only about the earthly life of Jesus, but also the teaching that comes from Christ. Second, when a brother in Christ teaches that one can receive the remission of sins before baptism, we do not consider it a small thing, for the Scriptures teach that baptism is for one who is not yet saved (Acts 2:38; 22:16). We could never consider it a small thing for a congregation to have sisters leading prayers and songs in worship services or preaching when men are present, for the Holy Spirit clearly shows that men are to be in the role of leadership in the church (1 Tim. 2:8,11,12). It is not a small thing when one teaches a man can divorce his wife (not for her fornication) and marry another woman, and that God approves of this second so-called marriage. Jesus called this relationship "adultery" (Matt. 19:9), so how could we consider it a small thing? I mention these three specific examples of departure from the Scriptures because these things are currently being propagated in the Ukraine.
