Doesn’t it just amaze you to pray to Jesus…and know He hears us? It’s incredible, and a privilege we always remember in gratitude.
As Isaiah cried in his wonder and grief, “I am a man of unclean lips!” (Isaiah 6:5). In my case, a woman of unclean lips. Why should I be able to use these lips to pray to Jesus when I am the chief of sinners, wretched woman that I am? What is man that God should be mindful of us? (Psalm 8:4). Why should He hear us?
But He does.
Though ‘El Shama’ is not an official name of God, it refers to the fact that God hears…He listens. God told Hagar to name her soon to be born son Ishmael. Ishmael is is a combination of el and shama, “God hears” or “God listens”. The name would be a reminder to Hagar and all who knew them that He heard Hagar’s cry in the wilderness. (Genesis 16:11). He listens.
Psalm 17:6 says
I have called on you, for you will hear me, O God: incline your ear to me, and hear my speech.
Gill’s Expositions says of the Psalmist’s plea in verse 6,
“for thou wilt hear me, O God; God is a God hearing prayer; he is used to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be assured that whatsoever they ask according to his will, and in the name of Christ, he will hear; and such an assurance is a reason engaging the saints to a constant calling upon God, Psalm 116:2; and such confidence of being always heard Christ had, John 11:41;”
1 John 5:14 says,
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
Did Peter forever relive his anguish in his remaining life, when he heard the rooster crow the day awake and remembered his own perfidy? Owww, Peter, I understand your grief, the pain of betraying Jesus in word or in deed from our own sinful actions. Yet…Jesus prayed for Peter. Luke 22:32. He did not pray for Judas. Both men betrayed Jesus, but Jesus prayed for Peter.
If you’re a Christian, Jesus prays for you, too. It’s staggering to consider that the God of the Universe prays for us. He hears us, and He prays for us. We have a superlative God, One who is true and kind and loving and compassionate. Sister, no matter what you are going through, Jesus hears your prayer and He takes your cares to the Father in prayer. Be encouraged.
This essay explores Christian disagreement, urging discernment in speech, balancing boldness with love, and promoting patient, Scripture-centered, civil discourse that fosters growth while faithfully representing Christ.
Biblical speech must be gracious and gentle when contending for the faith; yet disagreement persists due to sin, ignorance, or conflicting worldviews, not merely poor communication.
SYNOPSIS: Christians must contend for the faith with truth and love, rejecting shallow “drive-by” comments, pursuing humble dialogue, and standing firm despite opposition in today’s public, digital arena.
Introduction
The practicalities of how to contend for the faith is a big subject. We’re told to contend, of course, many times and in many ways. For example, Jude wanted to write a nice, little encouraging letter, but found that because of false brothers teaching false doctrine, he had to do his duty first and clear up some misconceptions and errors.
Beloved, although I made every effort to write you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. (Jude 1:2)
Paul was sure that in his absence the Philippians will be “contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,” (Philippians 1:27).
Paul urged Timothy to “fight the good fight“. (1 Timothy 6:12).
Stand firm, do not turn, speak truth, and so on.
It’s important to consider, especially in this day and age of social media platforms with widespread audiences watching us, reading our words, and listening to our debates. Even in Solomon’s Portico or at the Areopagus or on the hillside at the Sermon on the Mount, with tens of thousands in attendance, today’s audiences who either lurk or engage with us online are an order of magnitude larger than those audiences.
But how? How do we contend appropriately? Sometimes we’re called to be gentle, other times to be direct. Righteous anger is allowed, but not unrighteous anger, and don’t let the sun set on any anger. Paul used holy sarcasm, but are we allowed to? Maybe? Maybe not.
I’ll do my best to answer the above but first, there is one part of online life in civil discourse I’d like to address as I fold it into the larger issue of appropriate theological discourse. I call these the “Drive By Debaters”.
Drive-By Commenters
It’s when someone takes the time to read the post. They take the time to comment on the post. Or they haven’t even read it (more common). But when they reply, they then state their position and end it by saying “I don’t want to debate.”
This kind of comment is opposed to true theological discourse, and even undermines it. It shuts down the point of any biblical discussion, which is to work together to arrive at a common understanding, mutual edification, and brotherly love with Christ as a center point. That kind of comment says ‘I’m right, you’re wrong, and I don’t care if you accept it or not, I just wanted to use your platform to say so. Buh-bye.’
The purpose of discussing biblical principles, interpretations, or concepts in person or online is to arrive at a common understanding. It’s to teach and be taught. The drive-by debate-denier displays they have an unteachable spirit.
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5).
What I do if someone says “I don’t want to debate” on one of my platforms (Facebook, Twitter, blog, or email) is to engage once more by gently asking a question about what they’d said. Sometimes they’ll come back and we can begin discussion. If they don’t, I delete their original comment. I figure, if they don’t want to discuss, then we won’t discuss. At all.
I won’t allow my platforms to be used by drive by commenters, because from the outset they display that they are not interested in the rules of honest civil engagement. We should all seek wisdom, then understanding. This should be true from the top-most sage teacher to the newest babe.
Wisdom is to be highly prized. Proverbs 4:7-9 says,
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. 8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. 9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
How Should We Contend?
As for my main point, how to contend. I share theological truths with friendly people and unfriendly people. Some of the most unfriendly people I deal with are those who claim they are Christians but are not. When addressing their stance, they explode in myriad ways. When pointing out their favorite teacher is false, they go off like a rocket. If you really want to poke a bear, either discuss a sin with a false professing Christian, or identify their favorite teacher as false. Both discussions go to the same root: sin. Satan is protective of his peoples’ sin and it does not like to be exposed to the light of day. (John 3:19). That’s why the person explodes on you.
Some Bible verses call for gentleness on the part of the deliverer of the message, other Bible verses call for firmness, harshness even. In today’s ‘tolerant’ and ‘don’t judge’ atmosphere, when discussing biblical things, if the other person blows up it’s often seen as a failure of communication on our part. But in many cases it’s not, and don’t be afraid if it happens to you.
The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.(Ezekiel 2:4-7).
Not that we are Prophets like Ezekiel was, but in New Testament times we are God’s witnesses, His ambassadors, people with a sent message. We are one of the ways Jesus uses to either draw people to Himself through the Gospel message, or we are one of the ways He will condemn them on the last day, if they refuse the message. In our case we say ‘Thus says the LORD’ via His written word.
In addition to sharing the Gospel, we are called to warn, encourage, rebuke, teach and exhort and so on. We are constantly called upon to employ a humble attitude and to contend in myriad ways. Though our proclamations sometimes will not be received well either, we still speak them. The LORD assured Ezekiel and He gives us the same assurance in Luke 12:4 and Revelation 2:10.
In the part 2 of this series I’ll sift through the various verses that discuss our speaking up in warnings and rebukes and exhortations, and being a witness through appropriate theological discourse in difficult times. There’s a lot to it, but mainly it boils down to two ingredients; speaking the truth, in love. I’ll share my perspective on this tomorrow.
SYNOPSIS: A lawyer tested Jesus about the greatest commandment, unknowingly standing before the only One who perfectly kept the Law. Christ’s humble answer reveals His majesty and calls us to deeper love.
Let’s think about this verse today:
And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” (Matthew 22:34-36).
This lawyer was an expert in religious law. By that time of Jesus’ incarnation, there had been added to the original ten, another 603 laws. The Jews were laboring under a heavy yoke of an expectation to keep 613 laws.
Here is a website with which I’m not familiar, but lists a simple version of all 613 laws with their scripture-
A quirky Victorian fad—women collecting seaweed because botany was considered too risqué—reveals how dramatically cultural norms can swing. Such shifts remind Christians that culture cannot define biblical roles. God’s design for men and women transcends trends, offering a stable standard amid constantly changing social expectations.
Do you ever feel like such a terrible sinner that the very words of repentance and sorrow pouring from your lips in prayer to heaven is a blot on the name of Jesus?
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)
I can relate to Isaiah (the lips part, not actually seeing the LORD!)
Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of armies.”” (Isaiah 6:5).
But then in His Day He will purify our lips and when we praise Him we will be clean! Imagine praising Him from pure lips!
“For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, So that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.” (Zephaniah 3:9)
I was in a secular setting with some 7-year-olds. They were drawing a picture to go along with the story about pizza they had just read. When one boy finished his drawing he still had room on the page. He asked if he could draw a cross. I said sure.
Of course then the others wanted to draw a cross too. Most or all of them have been exposed to Jesus. As they drew their crosses they began to talk about Jesus. The original boy said, ‘Jesus died on the cross’. Another said, ‘Isn’t He living now’? I chimed in and said His is living now, that He walked around on earth for 40 days after His death and resurrection and talked with His friends.
The Bible uses three main words to refer to a miracle: sign, wonder, and power. From a human perspective, a miracle of God is an extraordinary or unnatural event (a wonder) that reveals or confirms a specific message (a sign) through a mighty work (power). From the God of miracle’s vantage point, a miracle is nothing extraordinary or unnatural. It is simply a divine display of His might (power) that attracts the attention of humans (a wonder) to His Word or His purposes (a sign).
Miracle-mongers are the people who clamor to see or experience a miracle but do not know the first thing about the other attributes of God. Like the ‘crowds’ in the Bible. These are the people who come to church only in hopes to see a sign. The pray for glory dust to fall down so they can say Jesus showed up. They pray for healed legs so they can run toward sin. People like that existed in Jesus’ day and in our day too. (John 6:2, John 12:18).
Be warned, miracle-mongers, “most of the miraculous events in the Old Testament killed people,” explained John MacArthur. They simply, flatly, killed people, as a demonstration of God’s justice and holiness.
His justice is demonstrated at the cross. It is God who said the soul that sends it must die. It is God who says the wages of sin is death, and death there will be. Death there must be. And justice prevails at the cross. God is so just, so just, that He will even take the life of His own beloved Son. If the sins of the world are to be laid on His Son, then His Son must take the death that they deserve. You will never see a greater illustration of the justice of God. You can look in the past. You can look in the Old Testament. You can see most of the miracles in the Old Testament killed people. If you’re looking for miracles in the Old Testament, most of the miraculous events in the Old Testament killed people, drowned entire armies, drowned the entire world, burned up people, holes opened in the ground and swallowed them up. People were literally killed by angelic beings. Most of the Old Testament miracles were miracles of divine judgment.
“So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” (John 4:48).
You know, we have a tendency to read the Bible as if miracles were occurring behind every bush and every other day by everybody in history. But actually, if you look at the appearance of miracles in the Bible, they’re clustered. There’s all these miracles that attend Moses in his mediatorial office, and then very little miraculous activity takes place for centuries until when? Elijah. That’s the next redemptive historical period that has a cluster of miracles. Isn’t that interesting? That God verifies the law, and then the prophets, through the giving of miraculous powers. And then you don’t hear about miracles from Jonah or Habakkuk that they performed, or Ezekiel, or the other prophets of the Old Testament until again, the world becomes a blaze of miracles with the appearance of Jesus. Notice that there is a special focal point for the clustering of miracles in biblical history—all surrounding the issue of the word of God.
Do you love Jesus for who He is? Or for what He can do for you? A warning to those who seek and cling to and desire miracle after miracle, be careful what you wish for–
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. (Matthew 24:24).
Christianity teaches Jesus Christ as the sole way to heaven: exclusive in rejecting unrepentant sin and alternative paths, yet inclusive by offering salvation to all people who repent, believe in the Son, and obey Him, restoring humanity to fellowship with God through Christ alone eternally.
the-end-time.org 