Courage in Culture: Love Your Enemies

by David Chadwick To finish this week’s principles on how to have courage in culture, here is another truth: Love your enemies. We know we must decide beforehand what we believe, we must know the truth, we must speak the truth in love, and we must expect resistance. But we also must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us when this resistance occurs (Matthew 5:44). Jesus modeled agape love – unconditional love – because he knew how needed that would be in a culture that knows nothing about true love. A culture that only knows performance based acceptance. To continue to stand with a heart of flesh and not a heart of stone, we must understand how to love unconditionally, expecting nothing in return. A culture that does not believe in absolute truth and God’s immutable grace will resist the message of Jesus. And when you speak the truth to this kind of culture, even in love, a godless culture will often be at enmity with you. They will try to cancel you, intimidate you, and silence your voice. Jesus knew all of this would happen, which is why he said to love your enemies. To pray for those who would hurt us. To not respond to evil with evil, but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). I would like to think that Jesus’s command to love our enemies is especially true when living in a Babylonian culture as a follower of Jesus. I truly believe unconditional love is still the strongest force in the universe. It still has the power to make an enemy a friend – even while living in Babylon. Daniel did just that. He pursued those who wanted to kill him with love. And this love allowed him to rise in influence. Look at his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar throughout the book of Daniel. It is a beautiful testimony to how God can use one young boy’s decision to stand courageous throughout his life to influence an entire nation! If God did it once, he can do it again! If God did it for Daniel, he can do it for you.

Courage in Culture: Expect Resistance

by David Chadwick George Washington used to say, “The best way to prevent a war is to prepare for it.” In an increasingly godless culture, we must prepare ourselves to stand and have courage. We must decide beforehand what we believe to be true. We must know that truth inside and out. We must speak the truth that we know in love. How else can we stand with courage in culture? Expect resistance. This is a tough one. No one likes to experience hard times. People who don’t like us as Christians don’t like our message about Jesus. But it’s important to remember that because we live in a broken world, Jesus said that we will have trouble (John 16:33). When you speak the truth in love, you should expect resistance from people. Satan is called “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Often, his followers are referred to as “children of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6). There are a good number of people in this world who love darkness. They are being used by the ruler of this world to do his evil bidding. These are people who, like those who lived in the Babylonian culture, believe that anything goes, that there is no truth, and that there is no authority outside of themselves. They want to live life on their own terms and be their own god. When you shine a light into the darkness and into unspiritual eyes, people often wince and strike back in anger. Truth is an offense and calls people into accountability for their godless behaviors. This is exactly what happened to Daniel. When he refused to stop praying to God and pray to the Babylonian god called Bel, it offended the godless Babylonians. They wanted Daniel dead. But Daniel did not care. He would not stop praying to God. He loved him too much, with all his heart. Jesus warned his followers to beware when all people speak well of you (Luke 6:26). It probably means you are not standing for anything. And always remember this immutable truth: the only way to never be criticized is to never stand for anything!

Courage in Culture: Speak the Truth in Love

by David Chadwick We are taking two weeks to look at how to have courage in culture. We must decide beforehand what our answer will be before we ever have to stand for truth. We must also know the truth, standing as people of conviction whose lives back up what we say we believe. What else must we do to be people of courage in a godless culture? We must speak the truth in love. It is not enough to know the truth, even though that is very important, as we learned yesterday. We must find non-hostile and loving ways to share our deepest convictions with a broken, hurting, and often offended world. The answer is not to cower in the face of opposition. It is to stand – full of confidence and compassion. Full of conviction and kindness. Determined to remain truthful and loving. When Paul adjured the Christians in Ephesus to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), he knew that love must be a driving force in releasing the message of Jesus. He goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that if we have all of the gifts, but don’t have love, we are just a “noisy gong or clanging cymbal.” Someone once said that how you say something may be more important than what you say. If you angrily speak the truth, many will close their ears and refuse to listen. It will turn them off and they, in turn, will turn you off. But when you speak the truth respectfully to someone, listening to their views, not condemning them, practicing reflective listening, and really loving them as a fellow image bearer of God, you will be more likely to have an audience who is willing to hear of God’s truth living inside of you. My dear friend, as we live in these days full of cowardice, be a person of courage. Walk confidently knowing that your life may be the reflection of Jesus that someone longs to see. Know God’s truth in his Word. And speak the truth in love. See if it doesn’t begin to change hearts toward Jesus. It is another way to have courage in culture.