If there’s one thing the American church overemphasizes, it’s this: love. Don’t get me wrong; love is an important thing for Christians to have and to practice in their daily lives. We are called to love God, love our neighbors, and love our enemies (Matthew 22:37-39, Luke 6:35). Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and it’s greater than faith or hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Those who do not love don’t know God. How do we know this? Because God is love (1 John 4:8).
Love is important for the Christian. But many people today, including many in the church, are redefining what love is. To them, love is an acceptance and an affirmation of a person and their lifestyle. To them, love means that you cannot judge someone, regardless of the choices they are making in their lives. To them, love equals avoiding controversial or uncomfortable conversations for the sake of “keeping the peace.”
This love is not a biblical form of love. These practices are not what the Bible calls us to. Instead, God’s Word calls us to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). But what exactly does this mean?
In the fourth chapter of his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul is calling the believers in Ephesus to walk in a manner worthy of their calling (v. 1). This worthy manner of walking includes practicing humility, gentleness, patience, love, and unity within the Church (vv. 2-3). Unity is a key theme in Ephesians, but how are Christians united with each other? Well, they all make up the body of Christ, and they all have received the Holy Spirit (v. 4a). They all follow the same calling, share the same faith, worship the same God, serve the same Lord, and participate in the same baptism (vv. 4b-6).
In order to work towards unity and build up the Church, God has graciously given every Christian gifts they can use to serve and equip other believers in the body of Christ (vv. 7-12). But Church unity isn’t the only reason why God gave us these spiritual gifts. These gifts are also meant to bring our brothers and sisters in Christ to maturity in their faith, so that they may not be tossed to and fro by false doctrines and worldly ideologies (vv. 13-14). We achieve true maturity, we achieve true unity by speaking the truth in love. Paul writes,
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ,” Ephesians 4:15, ESV
We are called to build up the Church through our gifts by speaking the truth in love. This is the only way believers will grow and mature and become like Christ, and this is the only way the Church can work and love properly. Gloria Furman wrote in her book, Alive in Him–
“Solid doctrine is our building material, love is our disposition, and maturity in Christ is our aim.”[1]
We must speak the truth, and we must do so in love, so that we may bring our fellow believers to a more mature faith. Both truth and love are necessary for this task. You can’t have one without the other. If you show someone love while avoiding the truth, you’ll lead a brother or sister astray. You’ll share a false gospel. If you preach the truth in an unloving manner, you’ll share a different kind of false gospel. Instead of leading someone astray, you’ll push them away. As theologian Warren Wiersbe once said,
“Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.”[2]
We are called to truth and love, truth in love. We must teach the Word with gentleness (1 Timothy 2:24-25). We must speak to others with grace (Colossians 4:6). We must defend the gospel with respect (1 Peter 3:15). We must have love, for without it we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-2). But we must also speak what is true, for that is the only way we can truly love (1 John 3:18), for love rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6).
In Ephesians, Paul goes on to highlight both the importance of speaking the truth (Ephesians 4:25) and walking in love (Ephesians 5:2). And why are these two things so important? Yes, they foster unity within the Church and spiritual maturity among believers. But they also lead us into becoming more and more like Christ. Throughout His ministry, Jesus clearly loved both the least and the great, the poor and the rich. Yet, He never backed down from sharing the truth, even when the people thought His message was dangerous, even when He was faced with excruciating death. Jesus preached the truth because of the great love with which He loved us (Ephesians 2:4-5). And we are called to be like Jesus, we are called to preach as He preached, we are called to speak the truth in love. And by doing this, we are matured, unified, and sanctified-
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
[1] Gloria Furman, Alive in Him: How Being Embraced By the Love of Christ Changes Everything (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), 117.
[2] I found this Warren Wiersbe quote on an Instagram picture that was posted by @daily.reformation on April 20, 2021.
