Skip to content I Want To Keep It Real Apr 23 · 25 min ...more
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Beth Jones is a Bible teacher and founder of The Basics With Beth, a non-profit Christian teaching ministry dedicated to helping people learn the Bible basics.
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Balancing Love and Truth 0:00 Hi, guys. I'm Beth Jones, and welcome to the Basics with Beth, where learning God's word is a joy. And I just want to say we are so honored to be with you right here on Pray0:12 dot com. In every message, we will do our best to teach you the Bible basics in such a way that it strengthens your faith foundation. In addition,0:24 I want to empower and equip you so that you have confidence to share these Bible basics with others. So lean in and listen with your heart. If you'd like to know more0:36 about our ministry, just go to thebasicswithbeth dot com and get all the scoop. With all of that said, now let's jump into today's message.0:48 That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works. And so today, we're gonna talk about how do we keep it real, how do we balance this whole idea of walking in love and in truth? Because who knows both are0:59 important. You need friends cheering you on, friends who believe in you, who have your back, they're in your corner. You need those kind of friends, but you also need we also need those kinds of friends, those kinds of1:10 people in our lives that will tell us the truth. Even when it might be a little uncomfortable, how do we do it? How do we keep it real with truth and in love? Alright, so let me have you grab your Bibles and1:22 go to John chapter 1. This idea of walking in love and in truth, maybe you've had conversations like I have with different people over the years and you found yourself tilting 1 way or the other. You found yourself1:34 being so loving but then you walked away from that conversation and you were like, oh man, I didn't even really tell them the truth. I set them up for a disappointing end. Or maybe there were other times you were1:46 so truthful, you told them so much truth, and it came across abrasive or it came across harsh or the love that you felt didn't come across and so they left hurt or wounded from the conversation. I know I've had both1:58 kinds of conversations. I remember 1 time talking to a friend from high school years ago, I was a new Christian, super on fire, zealous, I just wanted everybody to know the Lord. Sometimes you have to take note of the2:09 fruit hanging on the tree. Is the fruit ripe? Is it ripe for the picking? Or is it still developing? And I just went in there gangbusters with truth because it's like, you've got to know this. Now my heart2:21 intention was love. But the way that it was communicated, I think it did more harm than good. I think I bruised the fruit by speaking so much truth, which was true, but it wasn't coached and couched2:33 in love and mercy, in grace and compassion. Then there have been other situations where it was so lovey dovey, so mushy, so vanilla, so nothing that I might have talked to2:45 somebody that we were on polar opposite ends of the spectrum on a lot of things and things that would have potentially been devastating to that person eternally for sure, talking about the Lord, about spiritual things2:56 and sometimes you leave a conversation and it's like they think, that you think, and that we all think, and we all believe the same thing. Well, you know, it's the same God. We all you call him Coca Cola, I call him3:06 Pepsi. You call him Jesus, I call him this. But we all believe the same thing. And you kind of walk away and you're like, but no, we don't. And no, it's not what the Bible says and Why didn't I tell you the truth? Why3:16 did I just wimp out? I was trying to be loving, I was trying to be kind, but it didn't benefit them. So that's what we're going to talk about, this balance. How does this work? And all the people said3:28 Amen. Okay. So go over, like I said, in your Bibles to John 1 verse 14. Jesus was the master at doing this. He was the master of balancing love and truth. And here's what it says about him. And the word became flesh3:40 and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, speaking of Jesus, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. So when we talk about grace and3:52 truth, we are talking about love and truth, mercy and truth, compassion and truth. Both of those things go together. With Jesus, it was not either or. I think sometimes for us as4:03 Christians, sometimes we tilt either or. With Jesus, it was both and. Both were necessary to get people to their destination, their destiny, their eternal purpose, their eternal life.4:16 Both and. Alright? So some of you may remember having seen the famous tightrope walker Nick Wallenda. Anybody remember seeing him do his famous walk a number of years ago4:28 across the little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon. This was in 2013. He was 1500 feet above the canyon floor, about a quarter of a mile, trying to keep his balance as the4:40 winds blew against him at 30 miles an hour. This was a 22 minute trip. Some of you remember watching that on TV? He was walking across this canyon with his4:52 balancing bar on the tightrope, 22 minutes, 1500 feet above, and he couldn't tip either way, too much left or right, or he plunged to his death. With you and I walking in5:04 love and in truth, it's a lot like that. We just have to keep that balancing bar and determine in this situation, in this conversation, in this environment, how do I balance my behaviour, my conversation, the things I5:16 say, the things I don't say? How do I balance that? In his case, he had winds blowing against him at 30 miles an hour, so he had to compensate for wind. In our experiences with people, oftentimes, if5:28 you're talking to someone, the winds of hurt, grief, loss, wounds, difficulties are blowing against them, then you want to tilt5:40 towards love. They need love, they need compassion, they need mercy, they need grace. But at the very same time we live in a culture, as you know, we live in a culture where the winds of5:52 political correctness, of polarisation, of anti everything, of relativism, of moral decay, of you filling your own6:04 blank, is blowing against us oftentimes. So in that case you have to tilt towards truth. The way to compensate for the win, so to speak, either direction, is love6:15 and or truth. So that's what we're going to talk about. And I want us to look at Matthew 5 verse 13. Jesus gave us a great metaphor, great example that I think we can all get our heads around. Matthew 5 13,6:28 he said, You are the salt of the earth. You are. You and I, we are. Believers, you are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its6:40 taste, its strength, its quality, how can its saltness be restored? It's not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men. You are, you and I, we are the salt of the6:52 earth, and we know from our experiences, all of us, we know salt is good for flavour, good for seasoning, brings out flavours, it's a good preservative. We know all the different things that salt can do, all the benefits7:03 of salt. And Jesus is saying, you are salt. So I think this is an interesting, more on the chemical side as a chemist, if some of you have a chemistry background, you will appreciate this. I think this is an interesting7:15 metaphor because salt is made up of sodium chloride or sodium and chlorine. Sodium chloride makes up salt. 2 elements make up salt. So I have a little sample thing here, a little test7:27 tube. Somebody sent this to us for Christmas 1 year, and it's all different kinds of salt. So this 1 is alderwood smoked, Seneca salt flakes, Utah red, vintage Merlot,7:39 Sonoma County, we've got Hawaiian citrus, this 1 is jalapeno pepper, all these different flavours but it's all salt. It's all sodium chloride. It just has some flavours, different7:51 flavours to it, and it brings out different flavours in the fish or the chicken or the meat. So you and I, with our personalities, with the way God has wired us with our particular bent and just the way we communicate8:02 with people, we are going to have different flavours in how we communicate love and how we communicate truth. But when it comes to being salt, being the salt that Jesus told us to be, it's got these 2 elements:8:14 sodium and chloride. Both of those, separate from 1 another, are toxic and can kill people. But what's interesting about them both is sodium is never8:25 found in nature alone. It's always found in a compound coupled up with something else. They call it the gregarious element. It's an includer. Like, it always wants to be with8:37 other compounds. It's the nice element. It's the loving, merciful, compassionate element sodium is. It wants to be with other compounds and create something. It's always8:49 reaching out to other compounds, accepting all the other compounds. Sodium is a lot like love. But sodium alone is deadly. When it is combined with9:01 chlorine, we get salt. Now, chlorine, on the other hand, chloride or chlorine, we know that is what makes up that super strong smell of bleach. It's a toxic gas, and9:13 it makes bleach smell like bleach smells. It cleans swimming pools. It takes all the nasty germs out of a swimming pool. Chlorine will bleach your clothes. You know, chlorine has a lot of disinfectant properties. It it9:24 cleans out the dirt, it cleans out the nasty, it cleans things up, it disinfects. And so chlorine or chloride is a lot like truth. You've got the love, you've got the truth, you've got the9:36 sodium, you've got the chlorine. Separate from 1 another, they are actually toxic, which is interesting. Just all by themselves is not the best, but you put them together, and you have salt.9:48 Something that brings great flavour out of your food. And Jesus said, You are the salt. You are the salt of the world, and if the salt loses its saltness, what's going to happen to the world? Well, flavour, preservation,10:00 I mean, a lot of things are going to be missing from the culture. Who thinks the church, and believers, and Christians, who believes we all need to be a lot saltier? What does that mean? It means we need10:12 to be more engaged in speaking and living truth and love, both. And as we go through this today, I want you to be thinking of it in 3 different ways. In your own life, how are you doing? How am I10:23 doing? If I assess my own life, how am I doing? How honest am I being in living in truth and love in my own life? How am I receiving it? If somebody is speaking love or truth to me, how am I10:35 receiving it? Do my defences get up? Do I push it away? How do I receive love and truth? And then how do I speak it to others? How do I give it to others, love and truth? Do I tilt 1 way?10:47 Because I don't want people to not like me or because I don't want to hurt people's feelings, I always tilt towards love and never tell truth? Or am I always just beating people up with truth and I'm just, you know,10:58 battering them with truth and I can't figure out why they don't want to be around me, why they don't want to hear from me, why my witness for Christ is not that effective? Where am I in speaking love and truth? We're11:10 going to look at a story in Acts 17 about the Apostle Paul who became salty. How is it that in the culture in which you and I live, how does this work? How can we in this culture, how can we be11:22 salty? How can we balance love and truth? Well, let's look at Paul's example in Acts 17. Let's start with verse 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for them11:34 in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him, And when he saw that the city was given over to idols We will stop right there, just verse 16. Paul was waiting for Timothy and some others in Athens. He didn't really want11:45 to be in Athens but he happened to be in Athens at the moment. And while he was there, he saw some things, he felt some things, and he did some things. So first Paul went, then he felt, then he saw, then he did. That is11:55 what we are going to talk about. Can we, in love and truth, can we go where Paul went? Can we feel what Paul felt? Can we see what Paul saw? And can we do what Paul did? So he went to Athens. So12:07 back in the day, it was a cultural hub. It was a capital for so many things culturally. For example, the government, the seat of government was there. It was a place where the philosophers met, ideas were exchanged.12:19 It was the place where this particular Athens in this area where we were there, where the gymnasium was, the concert halls, the theatres. This is where people gather to sell their wares. Literally, it was a12:31 marketplace. They sold stuff. But the word marketplace, when it talks about Athens in the Bible, doesn't mean like marketplace like you and I think like the mall. It means literally it was the marketplace for everything,12:40 for ideas, for theatre, for artists, for the heralds. The heralds would come and give the news. They didn't have newspapers. They obviously didn't have the Internet. They didn't have Google. They didn't have Twitter.12:50 They didn't have, you know, Fox or CNN. They had no way of knowing what's going on in the world other than we all go to the city centre and let's find out what's the latest and greatest thought, what's the latest13:00 discovery, the latest invention. What are the newsmakers telling us? What are the heralds saying? This is where they would have debates, and they would talk about thought and philosophies. 2 big13:11 philosophical leaders and ways of thinking were these: the Epicureans and the Stoics. The reason this is important is because it's very similar today. There is nothing new under the sun, Ecclesiastes told us.13:23 It's just a rebranding of it, if you will. So the Epicureans, they were the ones that loved pleasure. They felt their chief purpose in life was pleasure, it was a peaceful13:35 life, free from pain, free from fear, and in particular the fear of death. It was sort of 1 of those mindsets of like, hey, if it feels good, do it. Whatever works for you, if it feels good, do13:47 it. A life of just total pleasure. They believed in God, the gods, but they didn't believe God was connected to man. Then you had the Stoics. Of course, who knows? We have those kinds of13:59 mindsets these days. Hey, whatever feels good, do it. Whatever works for you, relativism. It's all relative. However works for you, it's cool. Then the others were the Stoics. The Stoics were pantheists.14:11 They had a theology that God was in everything. In everything, good or bad, God was in everything. He is in the chair, he is in the ceiling, he is in the dirt, he is in the building, he is in you, he is in the bad guy.14:22 He is in everybody. He is in everything. Their motto might have been something like, it's all good. It's all good. It's all good. God's in everything. He's everywhere. He's in the control of it all. And they wouldn't14:34 say he as in, like, 1 God, the gods are, like, in everything. They did believe in all the gods but there was no personal connection or personal destiny for mankind. It was just14:46 kind of like, hey, it's all good. So they would debate up on the hill, and so then along comes Paul, we'll read a little bit later here, but along comes Paul, and Paul, they called him a babbler. They said, what14:58 about this babbler? He is bringing us news of a foreign god. It's not a babbler like you and I would think. They were actually impressed with Paul. Because Paul comes along and he is preaching this gospel, preaching this15:08 Jesus, preaching this resurrection, preaching this righteousness thing. They are like, okay, who is this guy and what is this? Because with us it is all good and whatever feels good, do it. This guy is coming along15:19 talking about the 1 God, the Jesus who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No 1 goes to the father except through me. He is coming with this Jesus who the Bible says and who Paul preached was the 1 who went to15:31 the cross, he who knew no sin became sin so that you could become the righteousness of God in Christ. And they were like, what kind of a message is this?' So they were impressed enough with Paul that they invited him up15:42 to Mars Hill to debate with the top philosophers. So we are going to sort of pick up the story then. Paul is now in Athens, he has gone there, and he's feeling something. He sees a bunch of stuff,15:54 now he feels something. Let's keep reading. Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him. He felt something. Then we'll see in just a minute he saw something. But he felt something. His spirit was16:06 provoked within him. That doesn't mean provoked like to anger. It means that his spirit was moved within him, it was stirred up within him, like how God is jealous for us because he knows that he always has our best16:17 interest in mind. And then the Lord, the Bible says, is jealous for us if something comes in to distract us from his goodness. It provokes him to jealousy because he loves us, he cares about16:29 us, and he wants truth and love to flourish in our lives. This is what Paul was experiencing. He doesn't want to be in Athens. He is there, he looks around, he goes to Athens, he looks around, he sees what is going on16:40 and then his spirit was provoked within him. He was like, No, God has better for you. God has more for you. Love within him was stirred up, and we'll find out truth was too.16:52 He felt something. He felt compassion. He felt a stirring. And this kind of compassion is the kind of compassion that moves you. It's 1 thing to feel sympathy, just feel bad17:04 for people. But compassion moves you. Paul felt that, he got stirred up. And listen, that is the challenge to you and I. What do you feel? In your world, you have to go into your world and17:16 look. Okay, Lord, I am not in Athens but I am working at this company. I am a stay at home mom. I am volunteering at this school. I am attending classes at 1 of the universities. I am on the road, I am travelling in17:27 airplanes. Okay, this is where I am going. I have to pay attention to the things around me. I have to just pay attention to where I am. And then, Lord, what am I feeling? What do you want me to be feeling, sensing about17:38 this world in which am I stirred up about anything? Or because we live in a culture that is so desensitising us. There is so much stuff we see, so many things come at us. It's information17:50 overload for 1 thing, but then it's also an emotional detachment and desensitisation that's happening. How many of you would agree?18:02 There is so much coming at us all the time, but just be mindful of that. Parents, be mindful of what your kids are watching. They get so desensitised to even video games, and it's like, Oh, it's no big deal just to do18:13 this or that. They're desensitized to it. Don't allow yourself. Don't allow yourself to get desensitized to things. God needs us to still feel compassion and care and love to the point that we're even willing18:25 to share truth with people. Number 3, what did he do? He saw. He saw the idols, he saw their emptiness. A couple of things18:37 he did, he saw between the lines. It looked like these are smart guys, they were. They are academics, they are intellectuals, it's a thriving city, they are a bit arrogant. He sees all of that, it looks like they have it18:48 all together. And yet, because of the Holy Spirit helping Paul, he could see right through it. He could see between the lines, he could see what was underneath. He saw that they were given over to idols. He saw that they18:59 were under the control of idols. Literally, the Bible says, swamped with idols. What does that mean, idols? An idol is anything that people worship. And that day, they worshipped everything.19:11 There were all kinds of idols. But in our time, what does it mean? Because they are still idols. Right? You ever heard of American Idol? They are still idols. People still19:23 worship things. They worship money, they worship their job, they worship sports, they worship fashion, they worship things, they worship their kids. A lot of things people worship.19:35 And so Paul saw between the lines, he saw these people idolising all kinds of things but they are so empty. He also saw this, he also noticed they were created to worship. They are worshippers. And that's it by God's19:47 design. God has made all of us to worship. It's a God given part of our DNA. We are created to we are going to worship something. We are going to worship the19:59 idol. We are going to worship something. And they were worshiping even to the point they were worshiping the unknown God. It's almost comical. We don't know what to worship, so let's just worship the unknown God. Paul20:10 recognized, you guys are worshippers. I can see what is going on here. You have a God shaped vacuum. There is something on the inside of you that wants to worship but you are just misplacing your trust and you're20:22 misplacing that very thing that God designed to give you to bring you great fulfilment. That love and truth balance. Okay, Paul, how are you going to get it to them? How are you going to help them? Number 4, then, what20:33 does he do? He goes, he feels, he sees, but then what does he do? He does something. He goes into the synagogues with the Jews and with the gentile worshippers into the marketplace daily20:45 to be with those who happen to be there. So listen, for us here, you know, there is a certain responsibility we have amongst our fellow believers as Christians. We have a responsibility to go,20:57 to see, and to feel the people around us, like, how are they doing? How are they doing? We are just going to let them go off into some crazy direction and just say, Hey, yay, bro, we cheer21:09 you on, rock on, be you, instead of sharing truth when it's appropriate. So amongst believers, we do have a responsibility. I mean, these days, it's super important. In the church world,21:20 it's really important. It's important to love each other but it's important to share truth and make sure you are helping people stay walking the straight and narrow. The Bible talks about in the last days there is going21:31 to be all kinds of itching ears, all kinds of itching ears and doctrines in the wind, if you will, that people are going to run after. That will get them off their course. The enemy is always21:43 working, just like the Bible says, like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Don't don't be misled to think that's not happening. That's what the enemy does. He's always seeking to mislead and to deceive21:55 and to draw people off from truth into things that are fiction or man made or man invented and that was what Paul was rebuking. He said, hey, you don't need to worship a man invented God. There is the real God. So22:05 amongst believers, we have a responsibility to care for 1 another, to love 1 another and to speak truth. But then Paul also went into the marketplace. He went into that cultural centre where there was everything going22:16 on. And there it says he preached daily. So in your marketplace world, your school, your job, your neighborhood, the things you do in the marketplace,22:28 the things you do outside of church life, who are those people? What do they know about God, about your faith? What do they need to know? Do you have a sense of compassion for them?22:41 Do you see they are struggling in an area of life? Do you see they are troubled, they have a broken heart? Yes, they might look successful and everything is great on the outside just like the Epicureans, just like the22:50 Stoics, but deep down inside they are a broken mess. Deep down inside they are depressed and lonely, and they are bored. And they wonder, Is this all there is? Isn't there more to life? And they are wondering, what23:00 happens after I die? I mean, another day just went by, another sun just set, now what? How many more of these do I have? Those are the people in your world, they are in my world. You have23:12 conversations with people and you are mindful: Lord, I'm going to be salt, help me. Love, love, love, connect, connect, connect, find connecting points, encourage, see good things. Truth, truth. Those winds of the23:23 culture are blowing. Truth. Yeah, but they are hurting, they are wounded, they have been abused, they have been beat up, they have been through stuff. Love, love, love. But then the winds of the culture are saying they23:34 can just stay in depression and defeat. Okay, we need truth, truth, truth. Love, truth, love. Salt, salt, salt, salt. Amen. You say,23:46 give me the magic formula. There is no magic formula. There is a balancing bar. You're on a tight rope. You're in the culture. If the salt loses its saltiness, what effect do we have on23:58 the culture? Jesus said, you are the salt. You are the salt of the earth. And you can do it. I can do it. How does this work? It works by24:10 you and I sharing love and truth to a lost and dying world. Amen?24:21 Hey. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you were encouraged. Be sure to hit the follow button so you can binge on all the Bible basics throughout the week and stay24:33 encouraged in your faith. And don't forget to share these messages with your friends. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can always go to thebasicswithbeth dot com. That's thebasicswithbeth24:46 dot com. It's been great to be with you, and I will look forward to seeing you next time right here on pray dot com.In this video 0:00 Balancing Love and TruthGrip Serving: How To Be A Fisher Of Men Beth Jones
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