I am a big fan of John Piper. Our cat is named after him. A lot of what he says goes over my head, but what I read this morning sure didn't.
Reading from A Godward Life, I came today to the essay "Very Calmly Say, 'Your Outrageous Opinions Are Not Based on Truth'", which is a reflection on Ephesians 5:11:
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
So often believers (who are charged with a proclaiming message), myself included, are too timid to say what we know to be true. Perhaps this is for fear of censure or ridicule. Or perhaps it is cultural conditioning: there is no absolute truth, except this one: tolerance for other people's views--no matter how ridiculous--is a virtue. "Do not force your religion on me."
Enter Piper:
"Our job is to speak God's truth at every level. We may or may not change minds or laws. That is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to speak with boldness and clarity what God would say. Don't be muzzled by the comment that you can't force your religion or morality on others. You are not forcing it; you are commending it for serious consideration. Declaring and persuading are not forcing. [...] Are your biblical convictions no less defensible than [their] incredibly unfounded moral pronouncements?"
Nice. May we all have the boldness and humility to speak the truth in love, for God's glory.
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