“To give up our brethren as incurable were cruelty, as long as there are further means to be used. We must not hate them, but plainly rebuke them…”
Last night I was reading Richard Baxter, one of the great Puritan writers. This is a quote from his book The Reformed Pastor, where he talks about confronting others who are wrong. He thinks through two options:
We can either stop rebuking people because they might be offended.
Or.
We can rebuke them so they will stop sinning.
Baxter’s conclusion is that it would be cruel to keep silent if there is something to say. Of course, he wants to say it in tender love but the truth still needs to be spoken.
All of us know people we need to talk to. We know a Christian who is in sin or someone who is not a Christian and needs the gospel. The other night at small groups we had a powerful moment when I asked, “Who knows someone they should go talk to about this right away?” Every hand around the circle went up.
I think about this a lot when it comes to evangelism. To be evangelical means to believe the gospel. We have the good news. We have the truth of God’s love that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. So why do so many Christians today think it is not polite to talk to people about it? Here’s what Jesus said in the context of sending his disciples out to evangelize:
Matthew 10:28 - Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Yes. Some people may think we are cruel if we tell them about Jesus. But what if he considers us cruel for not sharing with them the good news of his love? Who will we fear offending? Will we fear men or our Lord who commissioned us to go and make disciples?
I can’t speak for you, but I know what I am going to do. I am going to agree with Richard Baxter. I’m going to agree with Peter and John who were saying the same thing long ago…
Acts 4:19-20 - But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
I am going to speak the gospel.
Don’t be a cruel Christian. Join the chorus of people who are “not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… (Romans 1:16)” Let’s pray that God will give us words to say so that others will be saved.
I can’t think of something more loving than that.
Don’t be cruel to the one you love! Who do you love??? Who DID Jesus love? Thanks Pastor Bobby for pointing out what Jesus calls love and cruelty!
Excellent encouragement and well-timed, Pastor Bobby. Sometimes it’s easy to shut down after getting mocked, insulted, or whatever after many attempts. Sometimes we get frustrated and give up on people, too. But the Gospel reminds us how we are to continue with our pursuit of love. THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER!
Great blog! This was such good timing!too. I really needed to hear it =] The verses are really encouraging. I’m going to try to find that book
This is so true. A friend of mine saw this blog and I told him about Matthew 10:28 before I even knew it was mentioned here
. This is the truth of how we need to be. We may lose friendships for trying to save the people we love, but in the end it is better because it shows that we truely care. If you don’t talk to someone because you don’t want to lose the friendship, you are keeping them from eternity in paradise.
Thanks for spurring me on Pastor Bobby!
Amen to that. A few weeks ago before evangelism I told you about a conversation I had with someone back in January about preaching the Gospel, and about how she viewed it as “impersonal” to approach random people on the street and tell them about Christ, even going so far as to say that it was everything she stood against. And this coming from someone who claimed to be a Christian.
Well, she can view evangelism as impersonality, but the lack of it is sheer cruelty.
Thats the truth. Thanks for spurring me on!!
Well excuse me…I have a few people I know I need to talk to—I don’t want to be cruel… :^)
Truth that stirs the heart to change rather than outward change only is needed. The Holy Spirit will do His Work in our hearts if we submit to it. Most of us do not know how to rebuke nor reprove in love, neither do we accept it and make the changes neccessary to what the Lord would have us do. May we listen( hear), obey and do.
Change my heart O God…..make it ever Thine!
This is an awesome blog! The verses are very inspiring for me to think that I am being cruel for not preaching the Gospel. Its just like the saying “If you had the cure for cancer, why wouldnt you be spreading it around?” Very powerful stuff
This is such an awesome blog and so encouraging for me! This is just the push I needed and I definitely know people I need to/continue to talk to!
A lot of times Christians will refer to the lack of sharing the gospel as “missed oppurtunities”. Perhaps we would be a little more motivated to share if we view “missed oppurtunities” as inhumane treatment! Great Blog! Very Convicting, a list of people have come to mind.
I have never been ashamed of the Gospel and exposing everyone and anyone to the powerful message of the Gospel. I can never understand why there would be reluctance to share and expound such a hopeful and inspirational message. Is it because of the previous frustrations that we have experienced in our sharing and the resulting feeling of failure that “we somehow fell short in providing a powerful, understandable and convincing message? Does that silence us? It can – but it should not! Say a short prayer asking for guidance prior to sharing the Word and the words of the Gospel – it is amazing the words that will spill so freely from your lips. But also remember what the 14th verse of Matthew Chapter 10 states, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town”. At some point, unfortunately, one has to realize that the person is listening to the message but is not hearing it. It is the most difficult realization that I have found in preaching the Word – have I done enough or what can I do differently. But also keep this in mind, it may only be our single purpose to light a small flicker of flame in one’s soul that will eventually burst into a raging firestorm at some point down the road in the future. Keep a large supply of matches! Thanks Pastor Bobby for your Biblical inspiration!