Read John 8:21-24
Speak The Truth In Love.
Jesus said, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” The Jews were trying to figure out what he was talking about. Some thought he was going to “kill himself” because he said, “Where I go, you cannot come.” Which is ironic because Jesus did come to Earth to give up his life for us: driven by love and his desire to follow the will of his Father, God.
Jesus continued explaining himself saying:
1. “You are from below and I’m from above.” Paraphrase: “You are driven by the things of the devil and I’m driven by the things from my Father above.”
2. “You are of this world; and I am not of this world.” Paraphrase: “You are captivated by the evil in this world and driven by it, while I am captivated with righteousness and the will of my Father in heaven.”
Both things Jesus said could be offensive for people to hear. Then why say it?
1. Because it’s true. We can’t let people live a life of deception, apart from God, because they’ll spend eternity in hell.
2. We have to break through the deception with truth in hopes of them gaining an awareness of who Jesus really is so they can give their lives to him.
3. We want to see them find what’s really satisfying for their heart, body, and soul: Jesus!
They have to hear the truth and the Scriptures says in John 8:31-32 that if we “hold to the teachings of Christ [vs the teachings of the world] then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.”
But Ephesians 4:15 gives the approach that it must be presented: we are “to speak the truth in love.” Don’t speak it with an attitude or arrogance or in the spirit of condemnation. Whatever we say will be offensive. Our best hope is to present the truth in love. Otherwise they will want nothing to do with what we say. Speak the truth in love!
