I’ve toured the country and much of the world in the last decade. I’ve met thousands of people of all stripes in many different countries. For decades, these are people who have mostly heard truth without love. “These are the rules. You’ve broken the rules. You need to start keeping the rules.”
In the last few years, I’ve noticed another tragedy. The pendulum has swung too far the other way. Too many believers are trying to be all love with no truth.
If we stress love so much that we’re scared to tell them they need Jesus, we have failed the gospel again. And so a certain Christian celebrity does an interview on national television and effectively says, “I don’t want to be the judge of whether Jesus is the only way. I just want to love everybody.”
What in the world does that mean? Calling Jesus a liar just to let people know Jesus loves them? Calling himself a pastor of the gospel that clearly points to God’s exclusive plan to save people’s souls through the death of his Son Jesus and not being willing to say that Jesus himself says he’s the only way? That’s what happens when we become all love and no truth.
The world doesn’t want to hear about rules. Deep down, most people know they’re bad and can’t stop themselves from doing what they don’t want to do. Yet it’s equally dangerous to say, “Everybody is going to be OK. Love wins. It’s all going to be fine, and everybody gets into heaven.” Then why do I need to change anything in my life? The bar is so low that I don’t recognize I have an eternal need.
The gospel requires change. The gospel is the good news of a God who makes all things new — which means there are things that need to be made new.
Love earns the right to speak the truth. When you love others, they know you’re sharing with them because you love them. Your willingness to share the truth of Scripture proves you really love, and if you’re not telling them the truth, you really don’t love them. You just love your friendship. Some of us love our friendships more than we love our friends. They’re not worth the awkward moment because we don’t want to ruin a friendship.
I watched a video featuring Penn Jillette, an illusionist in the talented duo called Penn and Teller. He talked about a businessman who waited patiently to meet him after a show. The businessman was a stranger from the audience, yet the encounter made a powerful impact on Jillette.
It was really wonderful. I believe he knew that I was an atheist. But he was not defensive, and he looked me right in the eyes. And he was truly complimentary. It didn’t seem like empty flattery. He was really kind and nice and sane and looked me in the eyes and talked to me and then gave me this Bible. And I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there is a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward — how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
I mean, if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it, but that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that . . .
This guy was a really good guy. He was polite and honest and sane, and he cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible.
In the span of maybe five minutes, this man loved on Jillette with the truth. And it made an indelible impression on an avowed atheist. The only reason we know this story is because Penn Jillette chose to talk about it in a video journal. This proves my final point: When you share your faith with others so they realize you delivered the truth in love and you had no selfish agenda, it lasts.
When we give truth in love, we are ambassadors for Christ. It’s not a reflection on us personally. It doesn’t matter if the other person rolls her eyes or yells at us or says, “That’s cool, but that’s not really for me.” She still realizes you did it in love, and in quiet moments to come, she will remember it. She’s going to lie in bed and look up at the ceiling fan and think about your truth spoken in love.
If someone sends you an anonymous letter, you may read it out of curiosity. But if a friend sends you a letter, even if he’s dog cussing you, you’re going to read every word of it and then reread it. That’s your friend. You want to know what your friend says.
A real friend loves his friends despite their sin. A real friend loves them where they are. If you love your friends, sooner or later, you have to tell them the truth. Just do it in love like Jesus did. Because, yes, Jesus was a friend of sinners.
And he still is.
Point to Remember
We fail the gospel when we give love without the truth.