1.12.25 Willisburg Bulletin
HAS FEAR TAKEN HOLD OF US?
Today’s society has made it to where we are afraid we might hurt someone’s feelings or that we might offend someone so we back off from speaking up and saying what needs to be said. I believe it comes from the idea that by saying the truth, we are excluding, which is not allowed in the world today. They want to focus on being all inclusive and anything that hinders that is wrong. Yet, Christians have fallen prey to this idea. In general, we have become too lax in our conversations with others regarding spiritual matters. When we defer speaking the FULL truth because we fear hurting someone’s feelings, we have a few issues that need to be addressed. The simple reason being we are commanded to share the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20).
PROBLEM 1: FEAR
Fear is a true problem for Christians. It holds us back in many ways, but one major way is by allowing it to restrain us from speaking the truth, especially regarding spiritual matters. It’s a feeling of apprehension for what’s ahead. Yet, there are over 300 Bible verses telling us, “do not fear,” “do not be afraid,” “fear not.” Instead, we are told to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). Fear is a sign we are not strong enough. The root causes of fear stems from lack of faith and trust in God, which allows Satan to create strongholds of fear in our minds. This is evident when doubting occurs. When we are not steadfast in our conviction of the Word, we start thinking about the “what ifs,” (another issue). BUT, the good news is that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Our humanness has only a limited perspective, which prevents us from seeing the full picture, but we must believe that God is working all things for good even when hurt feelings are had from conversations regarding sin (Romans 8:28). Fear is something we can control and God has given us all the tools to combat it. When we are not studying, reading, meditating, “thinking on these things” (Philippians 4:8) we will fear.
PROBLEM 2: “MIGHT”
We cannot be concerned about the “what ifs” because they are out of our hands. The situations, conversations, or whatever it make be are going to be how they are going to be, we just need to be confident in the Scriptures and share God’s plan exactly as He has laid it out for us. Majority of the time, the “what-if” scenarios don’t even happen. However, even if the gospel did upset someone, we spoke the truth. It is what we are called to do and we’ve been told it’s going to happen. So what usually happens because of the might happen situations, we don’t say exactly what we mean in hopes it won’t hurt their feelings. We beat around the bush hoping they get the point through our cues. However, beating around the bush does not cut it. A lot of people will not get it if you don’t just tell them what you mean. They get distracted at the other things you are saying instead of the real reason. Therefore, we need to be more forthcoming with exactly what God would have us to say.
PROBLEM 3: AVOIDING HURT FEELINGS
Hurt feelings are not bad. In fact, it’s the pricking of the heart that leads people to Christ. It would make sense why the devil would aim to capture us in this mindset of avoiding to offend others because that way we are not strongly telling people their lost condition with the Lord. It removes our zeal to reach lost souls. Honestly, if we don’t hurt some people’s feelings, we probably aren’t convicting them of sin and their need for a Savior. We’re probably only using bits and pieces of the truth instead of the FULL truth. The truth hurts sometimes and it ought to really hurt those in a lost state.
LET’S TAKE A STAND FOR THE TRUTH FIRMLY!
We must be BOLD! We must be straightforward. Satan has done his job well and the world’s inclusive idea has tainted us. Sometimes it seems as if we are being influenced by the world a little more than us influencing the world. Standing firm doesn’t mean we have to be hateful or mean about talking about spiritual matters, but it does mean we must stand the ground for the truth and stand firmly! God HATES sin (1 Peter 3:12) so much so that the punishment is eternal burning in Hell. If He can be straightforward to tell us that, we ought to be straightforward enough to tell that to everyone. The sad truth is that Hell is going to get MOST people. Only a few will make it Heaven (Matt 7:14). More than not, people will be going to Hell believing they were doing right (Matt 7:21-23); therefore, there is an urgent call for us to be sharing the gospel! Hell doesn’t have to be theirs or your destiny. God doesn’t want that for us. In fact, He is offering FREE eternal redemption if we just obey Him. We can make our calling and election sure through obedience to His word.