A time for courage, a time for love
by Ed VitaGliano, AFA Journal staff writer

  Many Christians struggle with the very nature of the culture wars, wondering how they can simultaneously love people and confront them with the truth of the Gospel – especially if that Gospel calls them to repentance.
  After all, calling someone to repentance necessitates a discussion of the “s-word” – that is, sin. For some Christians talking about sin doesn’t feel very loving.
  Nevertheless, the New Testament makes it clear that the church must take this task seriously. In Peter’s first sermon, for example, preached on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), the apostle bluntly proclaims to his listeners: “[Y]ou nailed [Jesus the Nazarene] to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death,” (vs. 23). Peter concludes by declaring that Jesus is both “Lord and Christ,” and then again refers to “this Jesus whom you crucified,” (vs. 36).
  The reaction is startling: “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’”
  The phrase “pierced to the heart” means “smitten in conscience,” meaning that the Holy Spirit had made clear to the hearers of this sermon the truth of what they had done. This conviction, in turn, created a sense of spiritual desperation that prompted a cry for help.
  Biblically speaking, a personal sense of guilt is absolutely essential if an individual is to properly sense his or her need for a Savior. In fact, it is only when the people are pleading with Peter for an answer to their terrible plight before a holy God that the apostle points the way out. A sinner only senses the need to “[b]e saved from this perverse generation” (vs. 40) when he understands that the generation is perverse – and that he is personally perverse as well.
  This requires great courage on the part of the ones doing the preaching, because such forthrightness does not always produce brokenness in the hearers, as Stephen discovered in Acts 7. Rather than provoke repentance, Stephen’s sermon results in anger – and martyrdom.
  There is another side to the Christian message, of course, and that’s love. In 1 Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul states that without love, even things like spiritual gifts, knowledge, faith that moves mountains, radically sacrificial good deeds and powerful words are meaningless. Without love, Paul says, “I am nothing.”
  Love is to drive all that we do as Christians, and when it comes to preaching we are to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). But how do we do that? How do we boldly proclaim the truth of Christ and maintain love for the recipients of that message?
  Humility is the only answer. A humble heart will remember its own days when darkness reigned, as well as recognize that we continue to struggle against a sinful nature that never seems to die.
  Surely it is this humility to which Jesus refers when He tells His followers, “Do not judge lest you be judged” (Matt. 7:1). If a Christian becomes aware of the log in his own eye, he will not be improperly harsh when it comes time to point out the speck in the eye of a brother – or, presumably, a sinner. The goal, when we preach, is to “see clearly” (vs. 5).
  So we must preach the truth but must do so humbly and with a loving concern for the hearer. We cannot be cowards when faced with an opportunity for proclaiming the Gospel, but neither can we be self-righteous Pharisees.
  We must reject both of these in order to maintain a proper and Biblical posture as we preach the Gospel.

  In addition to writing for the AFA Journal, Ed Vitagliano pastors a church in Pontotoc, Mississippi.