Tidings for Tuesday

And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. Acts 25:7

We have all heard the old question about whether, if anyone were to take you to court charged with the ‘crime’ of being a Christian, there would be enough evidence to convict you. It is a very good question, and should cause us to think about the effectiveness of our witness for our Lord. But here is another question for us to ponder: if anyone should take you to court charged with committing any real crime, would there be enough evidence for the judge to order you to stand trial? Other than the possibility of pushing the limits of the highway speed law on a rare occasion, I am pretty sure my conscience is clear. And I am just as confident that yours is too. We are law abiding and peaceful people, as we should be. Our testimony before the world depends on it. The devil would love to destroy that testimony and he will have his followers throw false accusations at us whenever possible. Like Paul, we should make sure that they will never be able to prove those accusations.

Paul had done none of the things that the Jewish leaders had accused him of, and he had witnesses. Most of the accusers were reciting hearsay, and had no first-hand knowledge to back up their claims that Paul had profaned the temple or that he had incited Christians to revolt against Rome. Paul had the truth on his side. He also had his integrity; those who knew him knew he was innocent of the charges and that those charges were entirely contrary to his character. We may never face such a situation as Paul was in. But we should make sure that we are never known to be troublemakers or people who live on the edge of legal in our dealings with people, organizations, and the government. Our ethics and behaviour must always be far above reproach. Otherwise, we could put ourselves in a possible position of bringing reproach on ourselves, our families, our Assembly, and our Lord.

A number of years ago, some of the well-known televangelists came into the spotlight as details emerged of crooked business dealings, immorality, and fakery. The names of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and Oral Roberts are still mocked and dragged out by anti-Christians to ‘prove’ that Christianity is evil. But amid all of that shameful behaviour by men (and women) who pretended to be representing Christ, there is one major organization that was never touched by the taint of any scandal, and there is good reason for that. One of the executives within the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association described the measures that were put in place to avoid any scandal, or any possibility of appearance of scandal. All money handling within the organization was very carefully scrutinized. Procedures were rigidly enforced that would prevent any possibility of sexual misconduct among association workers. The organization is to be commended for its behaviour in these areas. And it is an example of how it is possible for us as Christians to be clear of any accusations of the enemy. -Jim MacIntosh

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