Gracious Uncompromisers

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused... (Daniel 1:8-9 NIV)

...Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer... (Daniel 2:14-15 NIV)

Daniel was uncompromising and gracious. God honored his position. Daniel was graciously uncompromising as a teenager, and he was still that way in his eighties. In fact he was that way as an old man because he was that way as a young man. If we start out compromising, it is very difficult to change.

We all know people who are uncompromising of truth, but who seem to be belligerent and ungracious. In fact, we probably know enough so that it is hard to think of being uncompromising without thinking of a bad attitude.

The converse is also true. We all know gracious, loving people, whom if we inspect closely, we find are compromisers of truth. Not to compromise is to ask for a confrontation, and confrontation might mean conflict. It may be that the former love conflict more than they love the truth. This is why the attitude shows more than the truth shows. The latter hate conflict more than they love the truth. Again the attitude shows more than the truth shows.

We seem to have two kinds of Christians: gracious compromisers and ungracious uncompromisers. We do not have many Daniels--people who are very gracious and do not compromise. These days the vote seems to be going for graciousness rather than ungraciousness. This is good if graciousness is not afraid of, or divorced from, truth.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18 NIV)

If it is God’s grace, there will not be a fear of confrontation or conflict. If it is God’s grace, it will not be divorced from truth.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NIV)

We should not make a choice between grace and truth.

(An excerpt from On Being a Christian by Jim Wilson)

Comments

Ripe for Harvest: Prepared to Give an Answer

As you read through the book of Acts, look at every conversion, and see what happened right before it: what was said, who said it. The situations are the same today. A long time ago, my duty in the Officer’s Christian Fellowship was the east coast of the United States. I went to an officer’s office at Fort Lee, VA, and stayed overnight, then I went on to Norfolk and Fort Bragg. Forty years later, I was no longer on the staff of OCF, but I had to go to Denver. While I was in Denver, I checked in at the OCF offices. There was the same Air Force officer I had met in Fort Lee, retired now, a colonel. I had stayed in his house when he was a first lieutenant. He asked me, “Do you know what happened when you stayed overnight?” I said, “No, I just remember staying in your home.” He said, “You led the next-door neighbor to Christ.” I had no memory of it. Ten years after that, I was speaking at a banquet at the Hotel Salisbury, and who was th...

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a...

Marriage Counseling, Part 2

Dear Friend, This letter is long overdue. It has been in my head for months. First, I think you know that I both love you and like you and respect you. If you do not know that, please take my word for it. You know that I am willing to be confronted without dissimulation. In the many years we have known each other, I have assumed you were a Christian. I do not have to know absolutely (God knows those who are His). You have had an interest and an education in Christianity. Even if you were not, or are not, a Christian, this does not affect my love, like, or respect for you. The last few times we have been together, you have assured me that any adultery was in the past and that you were ready to get right with the church and with your family and that you had repented toward God. You assured me that you loved your wife and your children and you were committed to them. I recognize that Christians can (and sometimes do) sin repeatedly. I also understand that it is possible for Chri...

Roots by the River

Search This Blog