“Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with The Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right.” (Acts 13:9-10)
What Elymas was doing was in direct assault on the holiness of God. What he was doing was in direct opposite of God’s best for him and others. So, Paul, being led by the power of God’s Spirit spoke to Elymas the truth of God in love. Paul realized what was happening was subtle and often used as a friend of the enemy’s lies. He also realized that a soft approach to such deception could let it remain unexposed and fertile. So, Paul confronted the sorcerer who was turning people from following God in true faith, and he confronted Elymas in love, but harshly. The truth is, Elymas was a false prophet who presumed to speak for God. Paul called him out as a liar and dead-wrong in his behavior. The Apostle didn’t approach the problem as if he were blowing out a match; he attacked it as if it were a wildfire.
That approach doesn’t go over well in our “tolerance-at-any-cost” (but only if you agree with them) culture today. The truth is, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a citizen of His Kingdom here on earth and His messenger of righteousness – you are not of this world. Because of this, sometimes (and perhaps more often) we simply will not fit in. There’s no need to try to fit in. The finesse for us as followers of Jesus is to confront error without being personally offensive. We walk a fine line between attacking falsehood and attacking the personalities that embrace it.
Unfortunately, we live in a culture of relativity. To a society at large, almost anything is acceptable. Truth and error are considered matters of opinion and being “rigid” about God’s holiness and righteousness is a major faux pas. The only “sin” our culture rejects is intolerance. The world doesn’t look kindly on self-appointed judges. Our contention is that we’re not self-appointed. We’ve been given a mission by a High Authority. Jesus Himself confronted false teachers bluntly and directly, and we are His followers. When lies are told about Him, His virtues, His standards of holiness, It’s Alright To Be Blunt. Not offensive, but in love, be blunt. If we represent The LORD of truth, if we live in obedience to His Holy Word, we are to become Truth’s most ardent defenders in this crooked and perverse world.
Have a lovely weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who are being led by His Holy Spirit and live passionately to please Him, and lovingly warn those who are trying to fit in a world that opposes everything holy.
All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.
Vic Alvarado 