Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. John 8:1-11 ESV / 22 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs with one another (Ephesians 4:18-21), put our arm around a brother or sister and reassure them they are loved by God. If I didn’t love them, I wouldn’t tell them how wrong they are.” They see themselves as obeying the “truth in love” principle because they are motivated by love, even if the way they deliver their truth is anything but patient and kind. But, love and gentleness aren’t mutually exclusive from being firm and direct. We live in a post-modern, post-truth, relativistic culture. For the Christian to operate in this vacuum of objectivity and critical thinking, of common sense and consideration, or to insist that truth is objective and universal and independent of your liking it – this is more than enough to invite scorn, no matter how gentle and respectful you are. It isn’t enough for Christians to simply speak the truth of Jesus’ reign. In the first weeks of my first ministry in an old New England congregation, a woman came to see me. True gentleness is more than a mere personal disposition. Any dimestore prophet standing on a streetcorner in an urban jungle can speak truth. Speak the Truth in LoveRead Ephesians 4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ. And your words are only “in love” if they are “good for building up” and “give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. May we not be those who speak about others, but may we speak the truth in love. Here are the best 15 Bible verses about speaking the truth in love. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. It springs from love. Ephesians 4:15 : ver 2, 16; Eph 1:4. We speak the truth in love when we do things like: There are times when someone’s behavior is “not in step with the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14) and they need to be corrected by “speaking the truth in love.” But your words are only “the truth” if Jesus is at the heart of them. “Speaking the Truth in Love”is never hiding anything evil or self-serving when you speak to others. Seek to equip and build up, always point to God. Picture provided by: Tim Abbott. From His gift we are to be people of humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, speaking truth in love, and building each other up in love. Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law; this is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. “Speaking the Truth in Love”is speaking unselfish, charitable, affectionate and benevolent love. It is this truth, the truth about God’s grace and our hope in Jesus Christ, that Paul is encouraging the church to be “speaking” (Ephesians 4:15). What does it mean to speak the truth in love? It’s one thing to speak truth. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. 15. He paints a picture of Christ’s intentions for us, both individually and corporately. As His followers who are being conformed to His image … And how do we go about judging the... With Gentleness and Respect. And, again, how do we know we have succeeded or failed in doing it? by Phil Johnson. John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. This makes it hard to insist that your words mean what you say they mean and nothing else. There are some attitudes that we must take on whenever we seek to grow in Christ. Is the same thing revealed then as when we try to remove the speck from our brother’s eye before removing the log from our own? Paul shares with the church how he prays constantly for their spiritual understanding and comprehension: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Of course not. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Because we love one another, we must speak the truth. Something the Apostle Peter writes, which has been on my mind a lot lately, comes to mind in this circumstance as well. Read full chapter. Gentleness According To The Bible . And like he writes in verses 2-3, we must carry out this calling “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of … Ephesians 4:15 New International Version (NIV) 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. He is telling the church to always have the message of Jesus on their lips. And how do we know when we or others have succeeded or failed in this? When we become angry, even at injustice and evil, we must pause. 1 John 3:18 ESV / 4,682 helpful votes. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. Sometimes the best way to love your neighbor is to challenge a false belief that is holding him in confusion, discouragement, or some worse state of spiritual bondage. Another form of speaking the truth in love is giving sound and Biblical counsel to each other. One student should play a peer struggling with sin and the other should share God’s truth with gentleness. When We have Conflict in a Relationship Conflict is inevitable and necessary in establishing deep … This is God’s design for the church in Christ. Extra-biblical phrases come to mind as reinforcing this principle: “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”, “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”. Words that BLESS and are full of kindness and genuine concern for the well-being of another, enhance that person’s ability to learn from them. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. When we encourage one another to “speak the truth in love,” we tend to make the assumption that there is a natural tension between truth and love. Ephesians 4:15 : S Eph 1:22. Something the Apostle Peter writes, which has been on my mind a … Being gentle does not mean that you back away from speaking the truth. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. Speaking the Truth in Love. 4. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. We, as Christians, often talk about the need to “speak the truth in love,” a command found in Ephesians 4:15. Faith produces action, not just hasty words. Sure, we must speak the truth in love. 1 Timothy 2:4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. If we have been transformed by the truth we speak, we must, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). People tend to listen to others that communicate with logic, gentleness, and love. I would note that this comes right after the teaching about removing the log from our own eye so we can see clearly to remove a speck from our brother’s. We must speak this truth while living with, “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3). Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ… —Ephesians 4:15 ESV. We get the phrases “speaking the truth in love”, and “I’m saying this in love” from something the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus. According to Jesus, our word choices reveal our character. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Gentleness means that you speak the truth while showing incredible respect and understanding to the person to which you are speaking. “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (ESV) As the body of Christ, we must speak the truth in love to each other — with kindness, gentleness, respect, and prayer. And verse 15 says, we do this as we speak the truth in love. Titus 3:2 “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. The apostle Paul pointed out in Ephesians 4 that … Yet we have the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to know and define truth and love. They hardly ever offer any sort of correction, because it feels like doing so would not be “in love.” Many Christians are riddled with guilt and anxiety, because they feel they should be correcting others, but don’t know how to do so in a loving way. Opponents must be gently … Everything is supposedly subjective now. If you speak directly with your kids from early childhood you won’t have to tailor every word with politically correct euphemisms during their teen years. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. Love without truth isn’t really loving. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Trump versus Biden: What The Debate Is Actually About, Podcast: Book Review – ‘And This Is Why We Homeschool’, Why Trust is Essential to Maintaining Your Data Security and Online Privacy, LBJ, The Great Society, Good Intentions & Unintended Consequences, Empowering JD Hall Hurts Good People and Worthy Causes, In Layman's Terms: The Bible Says To Watch Your Mouth. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”. And this I think is a challenge for many of us in the body of Christ to love one another enough to … How can we know we are succeeding in speaking the truth in love, then? Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. And a gentle answer does turn away wrath. If we have been transformed by the truth we speak, we must, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). The Apostle Paul touches on this in his letter to Ephesian believers. Jesus “came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Those two go together. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. It also means people are not trained or accustomed to understanding what is being said as having an inherent meaning. And in truth, to receive bad counsel doesn't help anything at all. Moreover, we Christians are called to bridle our tongues, and be quick to listen. But do this with gentleness and respect. Speak the truth in love I Peter 3: 15b Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But there’s more. Please try again. My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. What Jesus says is true about our words revealing our character; it certainly must be since Jesus is the truth. If we don’t understand the context, chances are we are not really speaking the truth in love when we use this phrase. It is frustrating, encountering hostility when trying to bless others with the truth we Christians were commanded to share with the world. 10:5). To be gentle means that you show love and care for others in the way you act and speak. In order to have healthy relationships and advance God’s kingdom as best we can, we need to do the hard thing. What does speaking the truth in love mean? St. Paul begins the chapter with these words … It is when you willingly choose not to be harsh, angry, rash, or rough towards others. On the other hand, there are those who resolve the perceived tension between truth and love by favoring love over truth. Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. But we do have to stop making “truth” synonymous with “rebuke.” Speaking the truth to one another is not primarily about correcting one another. We assume the truth is a “hard truth,” a word of correction or rebuke, and is juxtaposed with a posture of love. What does speaking the truth in love mean? But truth spoken in genuine love can heal and strengthen. The Bible tells us that there is safety in wise and good counsel. I believe in God's grace, hard work, love, patience, contemplation, and courage. Feeling so out of place is frustrating. The Pathway Back: Humility, Gentleness, and Patience. And how do we go about judging the character of those who claim to do this, ourselves especially? Perhaps our biggest problem is not that we are being too “truthful” or too “loving.” The problem is the assumption we have made that there is supposed to be a tension between truth and love at all. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the Lord. In Luke’s gospel account, we find Jesus at one point not only telling us to judge character, but also telling us how to go about it. These verses are key for ‘Speaking the Truth in Love’. What does does the Apostle Peter mean when he says to “make a defense to anyone… with gentleness and respect”? How we approach something determines, to a great degree, how well people can receive it. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. We cannot depend on the emotions of those who love darkness and hate light. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes. When I'm not asking you questions out loud, I'm endlessly asking myself silent questions in my head. Yet I have discovered that each time I have chose to speak my truth in my life in relationships, they are enriched or I discover that person is not a fit in my life. Ephesians 4:15 - But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: 1 John 3:18 - My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. Because we know the truth, we must be people characterized by love (John 13:34–35; 15:1–17). Christian, husband to a darling wife, and father to seven children - I enjoy pipe-smoking, playing strategy games on my computer, listening to audio books, and writing. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? We can’t let our pro-life passion drive us into becoming obnoxious, hardened people. Consider 2 Timothy 2:23-26. Paul’s point is that if we will continue to speak the truth about Christ and live out the love of Christ, then we will “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. In chapter 4, Paul begins to pivot to practical instruction. Does this mean we don’t correct, admonish, and even rebuke one another? All rights reserved worldwide. On the contrary, people are accustomed to supposing things mean whatever they want them to mean. So what is revealed about our character when we choose harsh words where we could have offered a soft answer? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Your subscription could not be saved. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Speaking The Truth In Love, With Gentleness And Respect Out Of The Abundance Of The Heart. What does it mean to speak the truth in love? James Vila Blake, 1894. “LORD God, thank You for uniting us together as one in You and help us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which You have called us in Christ. He explains that the truth of the Gospel, the truth he has been explaining for the last three chapters, the truth taught by “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11), is the truth that will equip and mature the church. The idea that it’s unloving to defend truth or confront lies is one of the arrogant opinions of this postmodern age that needs to be torn down (2 Cor. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. 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