Over the years, I have heard comments from inside and outside of the church that pit being committed to truth against loving people. I typically heard these comments after preaching on a difficult passage or controversial topic like 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, where the apostle Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Some people would come to me and say things like, “I’m so glad you preached on that topic. It doesn’t matter if it sounds hard or isn’t politically correct. Biblical truth doesn’t care about feelings.” Then, after that conversation, I would be approached by someone who would question why I would bring up such a difficult topic in “polite company.” They would tell me that preaching on passages like 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 will make people leave or not feel welcomed at the church. They would tell me to avoid controversial topics out of “love” for people who might disagree or be made to feel uncomfortable.
I think both conversations contain kernels of truth, but miss the bigger picture of the relationship between truth and love in Scripture. In terms of truth, the first conversation is right to emphasize the need for convictional preaching that does not “check the wind” of the culture before deciding on a message to preach. The truthfulness of a biblical passage is not contingent upon how others feel about it. Aspects of this first conversation echo Jesus’ sentiment from Matthew 10:34, which says, “Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” To this end, the first conversation is partially right. As for the second conversation, the impulse for compassion toward others is also right. A desire for love to be expressed toward others is a good thing. It reflects Jesus’ attitude from Matthew 12:20, which states, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.”
Unfortunately, what these two conversations miss is the relationship between convictional commitment to truth and compassionate love for others, which was perfectly reflected in Jesus’ life and ministry and commanded of Timothy by Paul in 1 Timothy 4.
In 1 Timothy 4, Paul instructs Timothy to give great attention to the truth of the gospel, correcting false teachers and warning believers to not fall prey to the deceitful schemes of the enemy who desires to lead them astray. Some of Paul’s words would have been hard for Timothy and they are certainly hard for ministers in our day. However, if we are ministers of Christ, we do not possess the authority to change our job descriptions to fit the expectations of our culture. At times, we will, in fact, we must say hard things that will be deemed controversial by our culture. We must be convictional regarding the truth. But this is not to the neglect of being loving toward others. As Paul states in 1 Timothy 4:15-16, the aim of Timothy’s commitment to the truth is not only his salvation but the “salvation of his hearers.”
In other words, Timothy’s convictional commitment to truth was inextricably tied to his compassionate love for others. If sinners would be saved, they must be loved enough to be pursued with the truth of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ.
Thus, there is no decision to make between choosing to be committed to truth or being committed to love. As Paul would tell us in 1 Corinthians 13:6, love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Elsewhere, Paul would remind us in Ephesians 4:15, that we are called to “speak the truth to one another in love.” We must end the needless bifurcation of truth and love. They belong together. For the glory of God and the good of all.
CBH
