This is a post with a purpose. I want to say that up front because the point I am about to make is meant to cause you irritation and annoyance if you are a Christian -- and hopefully cause you to represent Christ more clearly in your future. Read on.
I've been giving a lot of thought lately to my behavior in Utah among the Mormons, and how my wife's family (all Christians) reacted to my being blunt, loud, and forthright regarding Mormon's eternal destiny and their false (and damning) belief system. (all of this written in my last post --
Explosive Situations) I have come to see this whole event in an entirely different light and it's caused me to ponder how all Christians act around heresy and cultism.
If someone were to call...
We talk a lot about how Christ is our "Friend", our "Lord", our "Master" -- have you ever given thought to Christ as your "Husband", and what it means for you to be His "Bride"? I know that some of you out there are not, and never have been, married. For those like you, just consider. But for the most of you, follow my line of reasoning here, cause it's most important on how you L-I-V-E your lives from this point on.
...my wife a whore, a harlot, a tramp, a slut....
What does it mean that Christ is my "Bride-groom"? Paul refers to this in Ephesians 5:25-28, 32 and John refers to it in the book of Revelation 19:5-9. Christ has betrothed himself to us, promised us that he would one day marry us to himself. This isn't a sexual thing, as marriage seems to be so much about today; this is a matter of special privilege, special honor. Christ gave himself up specifically so that we might be his own. Purchased by his blood, bought with a price as slaves sold to a master.
....would I show that I love her....
So we belong to Christ, he is our Master, our Savior, our Lord, our King, our protector, our keeper, our provider -- and our husband-to-be. We are called to be His; have you ever given thought to just what all this means in respect to your daily life? How you should act, react, respond and reply to others when they mock, slander and heretically teach lies in His name? I've noted that most American Christians will remain silence in order to "keep the peace" -- but is that the right course of action?
...if I remained silent?
Let me pull all this together now. If someone slanders my wife -- calls her a slut -- it is my duty, my responsibility, my obligation to defend and protect the honor of my wife. If I remain silent in such a situation, I don't show that I love my wife, on the contrary, I show that I don't love her and do not care about her honor. I have in fact turned my back on my wife -- and show myself to be no friend of hers. My silence is an acknowledgment of her accuser's statements.
Do you love Christ?
Do you remain silent when people slander Him, preach lies in His name?
Do you really love Christ?
Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in Heaven. (Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8)
Do you defend Christ's "Honor" against mockers, scorners, heretics or cults? Or do you remain silent and give them reason to believe they are right in their mocking, false teaching and their damning course of life? If Christ truly is our Master, and we hear our Master being spoken badly against; it is our duty as His servants to speak back against their lies. To set the matter straight and to tell the mockers the truth.
Do you speak the "Truth"?
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36)
Christ didn't call himself "a way to truth", an avenue, a path among many paths. Christ called himself the very embodiment
of Truth and the
only way to know God (John 14:6). That means all other pathways presented are false if they reject, deny, or somehow twist/re-fashion Christ into something other than who He is (. All other pathways are roads to damnation. In my last post I listed out some of the heretical teachings of Mormonism and how they've twisted the Scriptures in order to re-fashion Christ in their own deluded manner. And yet Mormons want to call themselves "Christian" and be accepted in Christian circles.
Did you know that for years the Mormons have been trying to Get Dr. John MacArthur to speak at Brigham Young University? They are doing so because they realize to have him speak there gives them credibility in the eyes of other Christians, making them seem right and proper and as if they are one of the rest of "Christianity". MacArthur has bluntly stated to them time and again that he will only do so if he is allowed to speak directly against their heretical teaching -- something they don't want him to do, they just want him to talk about the Bible.
If I find myself in and among Mormons -- or Jehovah's Witnesses or Scientologists or name-your-cult-here -- I do them no favor by being silent and leaving them in their damning heresy. I also do my master, my lord, my savior no favor by watching His honor being tarnished by the lies and heresies these folks preach. Were I to remain silent, I would in effect be agreeing with them; I am in effect disowning Christ, whom I say I serve and love.
But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15 -- Joshua made this a very public statement and a direct affront to the idolatry of Israel; are you willing to be just as public and just as bold as him?)
So there it is: silence is
not golden. It is damning, it is demeaning, and it places you in the seat of the mockers and scorners if you do indeed say nothing.
But dedicate your lives to Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence in God when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers. (Psalm 1:1)
Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:6)
'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Correct your neighbor boldly when he does something wrong. Then you will not share his guilt. (Leviticus 19:17)
Have you ever been in a position to defend Christ's honor among those who would twist His teachings? How did you take advantage of that situation? What could you have done better? What would you do if you were among people whose teachings are heretical? Would you defend Christ's teachings or would you be silent?
True 
Comments (13)
Please note that the original title to this post is (and should remain) "Defending my wife's honor". I think that really puts things into perspective. If I would fight like mad if someone were to defame my wife.... therefore, why should I remain silent when someone defames our Lord? That's the point I was making and exactly why I titled it the way I did. I mean no disrespect to the editors of ReveLife --- but I do prefer my original title for these reasons. I'm just saying.
This post also is a carry-forward from the post before it, which you can find linked in the first paragraph of the post, or here. In that post I did in fact get very vocal in a public setting among Mormons -- regarding their false teachings about Christ. You can read about it there.
THanks.
I had written a rather lengthy comment, but xanga lost it for me...:(
But dedicate your lives to Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence in God when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
The gist of it was an elaboration on the above verse and how it has seemed to me more profitable for the unbeliever or cult member that I use gentleness and respect - not in respecting their beliefs as true, but respecting them as people for whom Christ died and myself as a weak and sinful believer who needed and still needs His forgiveness because He alone is God and He alone can save.
[I have been on the front page before and they "in their wisdom" changed my title also (which obscured some of the meaning). Sorry.]
Self-righteousness just drips from your post. You have set yourself up as the light, and not Christ. But you are right about one thing – I must defend my Bride. It is obvious to me that while you know “about” Christ, you don’t “know” Him. Of all the gall of you or anyone to judge my relationship with Christ! I knew Jesus was my Savior and Redeemer long before I ever heard of Mormons. He made Himself known to me through the Bible. He spoke to me through its words and taught me how to recognize the witness and promptings of the Holy Spirit. When I finished reading the Bible for the first time, I knew with all my soul that He was and is the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, and that His blood has paid for my sins.
I would have been happy to continue my life with just that knowledge and witness and love, but He made it very clear to me that we are to live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Jesus is without end and His words are without end. The Holy Ghost spoke to me through the pages of the Book of Mormon, just as He had in the Bible, and Jesus bore witness to me that it is His word. I don’t say this for your benefit, but for the benefit of the honest in heart who may read your post. I know you will disregard what I have said, but I hope that someday you will become humble enough that you can receive the witness Jesus is waiting to give you of these things. I say this in defense of the truth that Jesus Himself, the only true and living God, will bear witness of to you when we stand before Him.
@generalconference@xanga - And yet the "Jesus" the mormons teach is completely the opposite of that one found in the Bible so how can the two be reconciled?
They teach that Jesus is Satan's brother --- where is that in the Bible?
They teach that Jesus and Satan came up with conflicting plans for the salvation of man --- and God chose Jesus plan over Satan thus making Satan Jealous --- where is that in the Bible?
They teach that Jesus is not uniquely God in the sense of being God's "ONLY" Begotten son --- All of us can become 'gods' in the afterlife. ---- where is that in the bible.... I'll tell you, it's the initial lie of Satan which tempted Eve and led to mankinds fall to sin. Does that sound "True"? Well here's a newsflash for you --- Mormons say that Satan TOLD EVE THE TRUTH. Wow, not only do they buy into the original lie --- They exalt it to a supreme place of their teaching.
And this is the church you want me to buy into?
It's as false as a $3 bill. It's damnable lies and heresy that will only condemn a man to hell in the end because they have rejected the true Christ in favor of making an Idol named "Christ" and worshiping the idol. Here's two posts for you to chew on "god words VS GOD'S WORD - Going to Hell in Jesus Name" and likewise "Is Your Jesus Real"
I add these posts because I am concerned about your spiritual well being and destiny. God has stated that the only salvation mankind can know is to be found in THE ONE TRUE JESUS --- not in the myriad attempts to refashion him (and likewise God) after our own image.... just as the Mormon Cult has done. You claim spiritual enlightenment... I tell you the truth, stated bluntly by Paul ---
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other
than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to
you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally
condemned! (Galatians 1:8-9)
And just how did the Mormon cult start???? An angel brought a new gospel....
Time to check your own pride and humble your own self before the word of God, of which Jesus said would endure forever. He likewise stated that there would be curses laid upon any that added to it --- which is exactly what The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price and all the other Mormon books are.... demonic additions to deceive men AWAY FROM the only saving truth: Jesus alone saves men from their sins.
@quest4god - And just as equally important a verse is 2 John :9-11 which tells us to be careful how we approach cultists lest we give them some (even minor) indication that we approve of their teachings. Here's the verse... the "even minor" bit is just saying "hello"!
Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ
does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father
and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.
Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.
How's that for a warning on how to deal with cultists? Yes, we are to share the love of Christ with them... but as Jude :23 reminds us
snatch others from
the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating
even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
You seem to switch metaphors, mid-post...from Christ being our bride-groom to Christ being our bride. Maybe its a minor point, but if Christ is my husband and I (along with the rest of His church) is His bride, then maybe He is the one that can defend Himself...and I as His bride can respect and serve Him...and even trust that He knows what He's doing to win all to His love.
It seems that our knowledge of Jesus as Lord comes from God...not ourselves or our own logic Matt 16:13-20
I totally sense this a mystery, what is our part and what is God's part in the salvation of the world...appreciate your thoughts here...sounds a challenging environment. This topic isn't a no brainer.
@JulieMillerFan@xanga - Do you remember that all of our works are as filthy rags? How do you suppose that God receives sinners if He does not draw them to Himself. How do you propose to witness to the member of a cult - or any sinner, for that matter?
Can you honestly say that you are proud of the manner in which you "witnessed" at the park in that incident you blogged about? I agree that the truth of our sin is not a pretty thing, and is necessary for us to know to repent and turn to Christ. I also acknowledge that it would be better for us to suffer humiliation as a sinner and come to a saving knowledge of Christ than to go into hell lost forever, but in being a loud-mouth and spouting off your superior knowledge you may alienate people artificially beyond the enmity between them and God interposing yourself as a self-appointed barrier. I am pointing this out to you in love. How do you like it?
@quest4god - Which brings us right back to the entire point of the post, doesn't it? To defend the honor of our beloved --- would you remain silent when people attack her character? Malign her? Mock her? Defame her?
I am supposing by your last response that your answer would be a silent yes.
I have had the opportunity to speak out boldly on behalf of someone I love --- to defend her honor --- when some rude, crass and demeaning teens were calling her a boy (she wore short hair and jeans) and calling us "homosexuals" for holding hands in public. I tore into them in the same manner I would were the name of my Lord being maligned by those preaching him falsely.
David, in anger over the honor of God, prayed "Lord, dash their
babies on rocks" --- pretty crude, rash and harsh --- but it shows just
how far David was willing to go to the Honor of God's glory. That's
merely one of many passages in the Psalms wherein David defended God and
called for God to act upon His enemies. If God Called David "A Man after my own Heart" and praised the man's life ---- if John the Baptist was beheaded because he spoke publicly over a politicians sin and refused to back down.... and Jesus called him the greatest man born of woman --- then what makes you think God will praise our silence?
One other story --- one of the apostles was martyred because he spoke out vocally against a parade to a pagan God... and refused to back down. You can google that one, I don't remember which one it was, but I read the story in Foxes Book of Martyrs.
Silence, in these instances, is rarely golden.
@god_stories@xanga - Good thoughts, though I know you're coming from the opposite extreme (if memory serves me correctly, you're agnostic... I base this on reading your blog in the past... if memory really serves me correctly). Thanks for pointing this out, and I will indeed give it some reflection, just as I gave Quest4God a few days reflection on his challenging last statement.
There's a wonderful statement by Martin Luther which I think plays into all this ---
If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.
So... while we may proclaim ourselves as "professing" Christ with our lips -- if we don't speak up at that point wherein the cults and the world is attacking us --- we are not actually "confessing" Christ in the manner he would have us.
@JulieMillerFan@xanga - This won't work to edify either of us. There is a vast difference between gaining an audience for the purpose of shouting them down (which usually is met with like response) and gaining the ear of another for the purpose of the gospel - to warn, to invite, to explain.
I have seen people "lose it" in those hostile exchanges. Once we give ourselves permission to let it all out, we can be very ugly and embarrass our family and friends. A gracious person will not seek to justify such an outburst and will admit his excesses without excuse. There is a right and a wrong way to do things.
If you really believe that Christ died for the ungodly, this will be something you'll consider next time. After all, according to your account, you were the instigator, initiator of the conflict. I hope your pride won't interfere in accepting this.
@quest4god - Actually, In the last few days I have been reflecting on two related passages that speak to what you say. First is the part of the gospels wherein the two brothers sought to call down fire upon those who would not hear the message (Luke 9:54) and the second passage is James 1:20 "The anger of man does not bring about the righteous life that God requires"
That said, there seems to be a balance because Jesus did in fact endorse John the Baptist as the greatest man living --- and John refused to back down from calling sin "SIN" to a King. Doubtful that John the Baptist and King Herod had any sort of personal relationship that would allow him to speak to this matter intimately --- in other words it's obvious that John publically spoke, openly and plainly, regarding the matter of King Herod being a sinner.
Likewise, the apostles also showed instances of being very blunt and / or bold in their proclamations of Christ --- otherwise why would Nero, himself, get involved with their deaths? (Nero had 2 of them killed, if memory serves.) It would seem that they were unabashedly blunt about the message of the cross which comes to sinners --- who repent. Our message isn't "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" our message is "you are an enemy of God, sinful before him, and when you are willing to accept that you are a sinner and repent before him --- Jesus died to cover your sins." One only need to read Romans to see how Paul spells that out plainly. (Chapters 1-6 deal with sin --- Chapter 7 speaks towards repentance and Chapter 8 towards salvation and adoption in Grace along with sanctification.)
So somewhere in the midst of all this there must be balance --- and you're right, I'm starting to wonder (myself) if my explosive attitude towards the cult I once belonged to (Yes, I used to be Mormon) wasn't counter-productive. Thank @god_stories@xanga - for giving me something to chew on these last few days, cause that led me to ponder the two passages I have been.
By the way, @Quest4God --- there are plenty of stories of missionaries and ministers who likewise got very blunt about sin and occultism --- and led many to Christ out of it because of their uncompromising stand..... even to the point of their death. David was both --- at times he was very blunt and seemingly arrogant in his approach to the ungodly... he decapitated Goliath, that's pretty blunt. And yet at other times he said things like "create in me a clean heart... then I will be able to teach sinners the way of truth..." (Psalm 51:10-13)
It would seem, then, that God uses both the quiet and the bold in his saving the lost. The real question is --- are we really doing anything either way. I leave on this verse:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not upon your own understanding.
Acknowledge Him in ALL THAT YOU DO, and He will set your paths straight.
@JulieMillerFan@xanga - Hmm. You took one of my favorite verses :)
I'd say that sometimes being "blunt" is the only way to describe sin; and we both know that pointing out another's sin still won't convict them - it only will if they have "ears to hear."
In any interchange, once we let our voices be raised in a shouting match we've already lost our audience - and they, theirs....and balance can be a good concept as long as we don't resort to watering down the gospel or confusing it with naturalistic reform. As you say, both can be useful methods of getting the message across. It's best always to allow the Lord to lead.
I appreciate your rethinking the aforementioned incident and taking the time to reply to my comment.
@JulieMillerFan@xanga - Thanks for the encouragement. We are all of us merely (or gloriously) pilgrims on the journey.
Praise the living God!