Grace before Truth. Ministry must be kind.

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his disciples, that if we live in his light, we too will be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, not because of our own goodness, but if we allow Jesus to live in us and work through us.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? …
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Mt 5:13–14 NIV

Jesus appoints and empowers his followers to minister his goodness, but we must do this in the right spirit.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14 NIV

Grace comes before truth. If we judge, accuse and attack people with truth, we are not ministering grace. We are not living in the love of God. Our ministry is worse than useless.

Warm salt water is an effective antiseptic and medicine, but if a doctor rubs salt into your wounds, it is harmful and cruel.

If you approach a drug addicted prostitute aggressively by preaching judgement, you only add to the torments of a suffering human being.

As a young man in my twenties, I saw a psychiatrist to help with my depression and anxiety. Then I became a converted Christian believer. I joined a church where nearly every sermon was an aggressive lecture pressuring me to repent, obey and submit, over and over again.

I experienced the love of God when I prayed and worshipped but the preaching progressively increased my suffering and anxiety, until I spoke out angrily and I was excommunicated, leading to a severe mental illness.

If a doctor performs major surgery on his patients over and over again, he will kill them. Surgery is sometimes necessary, but if it is a routine medical treatment, it is life destroying

In the same way, an evangelist who confronts people with their sinfulness can save lives but a pastor who preaches this way every week is dangerous monster.

Jesus confronted self righteous religious leaders with the judgement of God for their sins, but He did not minister to other people like this. Jesus was known as the friend of sinners.

Jesus is still calling us to come to Him to receive mercy.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NASB95

No one Knows it all.

 Are you the kind of person who is always right?
What does the Bible say about this?

Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.
But whoever loves God is known by God. 1 Cor 8:2–3 NIV

The apostle John said of Jesus that he was full of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14 NIV

Truth is so important. Bible knowledge is essential because the Bible is God's Word.

But if Bible knowledge is your first priority, if you think your assignment from God is to always rebuke Christians who think differently, where is your humility? Where is your love for your neighbour?

John didn't say Jesus was filled with truth and grace. He said Jesus was filled with grace and truth.

Grace and truth, not truth and grace.

What did Paul say about Christians with different opinions?

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters.
One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Rom 14:1–5 NIV

Perhaps you are a trained Bible teacher with excellent spiritual gifts. You have a calling as a pastor or church leader.

But be careful! Being opinionated is not a virtue. Know-it-all attitude does not come from God!

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Cor 13:2 NIV

Do you always know better?

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 1 Cor 13:9 NIV

Here Paul includes himself, confessing that he did not know it all.

But maybe you're not a trained church leader, but your pastor or an elder behaves like an infallible pope. You are not obliged to always give in.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1 NIV

If the leaders in your church or denomination are dictatorial, if they demand unconditional submission, if they always put you down when you express your own thoughts, then just leave ...

But Paul himself could also be very harsh and dogmatic. He was particularly tough on legalism and lawlessness. Some thorny issues are important and others are not so important. We need the wisdom that only comes from God.

But if you experience bullying in a church, just leave ...

Paul himself admonished Christians not to give in to spiritual dictatorship.

In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 2 Cor 11:20 NIV