In our days of moral decay, God is looking for people who will dare to speak His word openly and authoritatively, and this, not only to the world but also to the church. In other words, He is looking for ambassadors who will declare His moral standard with absolute conviction as the prophets of old did, for their speech was never dubious, it was rather a cogent proclamation of what God had to say. Yes! They had heard His voice and were thus ready to vociferate the divine mind even at the cost of their lives.
The great decline
Now I think most of us are aware that this sort of proclamation has nearly vanished from our evangelical milieus, at least in the West. In all evidence, the pendulum has swung the other way and we are now told that our speech must be palatable and “light” so as not to upset the hearer. Granted that our verbal approach, in regard to modern moral issues, should be ingrained in love, it should never be brought to silence or intimidated as to give birth to dubitable introductions such as: “maybe”, “in my opinion”, “I think”, “I suggest”, and so on. This sort of dubious preludes will never engender convictions. They are more apt to prompt relativistic palavers than resolve of heart.
The consequences of silence
Jean Paul Sartre, the famous French existentialist, nailed it when he wrote: “Every word has consequences. Every silence, too.” To be silent in regard to moral truths might make our walk easier for a while, but the problem with this sort of promenade is that it takes place on a road leading to an unpleasant destination. The words of Jesus should prompt some reflection when He says:
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
It could be asked: What does it mean to be ashamed of His words? The answer is self-evident: To not proclaim it to the world. As Jordan Peterson puts it: “When you have something to say, silence is a lie.” This is especially true of Jesus’ words. That’s why God is perpetually asking us to proclaim them.
We also have the words of Martin Luther King Jr. which reflect the divine mind relatively well: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Traits and attributes of God’s messengers
Throughout the Scriptures, the characteristics of God’s spokespersons are clearly defined. The following is a concise résumé of them:
But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin” (Micah 3:8).
This scripture, among others, tells us why God’s messengers were never hesitant. Their boldness was based on the fact that they had been divinely prepared and were therefore inclined to speak words of truth with boldness and conviction.
Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, that I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?” (Prov. 22:20,21).
To speak words of truth with certainty, a person needs to know the certainty of the words of truth. That is precisely what is lacking nowadays. A large number of evangelical Christians are in the dark when it comes to the certainty of the words of truth, and those who are not often lack the power, the justice, and the might that come through the Lord’s Spirit. In other words, they are of little help in a time of great moral decay, for their light is faint and their moral compass disorientated.
An evasive silence
What is true about our verbal relationship with the world, in regard to moral truths, is also exhibited in our churches. As I explained in my post entitled, “The Authority of the Scriptures”, moral truths are under attack among us evangelicals and few are willing to interfere with the great evangelical hush, for the tolerant relativists have done a great job in avoiding any verbal confrontation that could establish the absoluteness of moral truths. So we are left with opinions and speculations safeguarded by the shield of muteness.
In this respect, the Jews of Thessalonica were nobler than a large number of evangelicals today, for they accepted to reason from the Scriptures with the apostle Paul. Actually, their acceptance was based on the belief that the Scriptures were authoritative, i.e., that they were understandable and conclusive. Today, in several evangelical milieus, such reasoning is being evaded under the pretext that no moral belief is grounded in the Scriptures but rather in our interpretation of them, and we are told that our interpretation is fallible. In brief, the prophecy of the apostle Paul is being fulfilled in our present days:
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Tim. 4:2-4)
And again, writing to Christians:
Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16)
It is the fear of the truth and of public opinion that has hamstrung many, not to mention the pull of our own desires. One thing is certain: the great evangelical silence amounts to an act of great irresponsibility, if not of shameful betrayal.
George Orwell had rightly understood the situation when he wrote: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Yes! The revolutionaries are few, and sometimes their voice is tinted by hesitation. Lord! “Fill us with power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin” (Micah 3:8).
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