Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? Galatians 4:16
Two kings were discussing whether to go to war against a common enemy. They were inclined to do so, but there was enough uncertainty that they decided to ask the advice of prophets. Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, had some prophets who he liked, and brought them out to deliver a message that they knew would tickle Ahab’s ears. But the other king, wise Jehoshaphat of Judah, had his doubts about those prophets, and asked Ahab if there was a prophet of God who could be consulted. Here is Ahab’s answer: ‘And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil’ (1 Kings 22:8). Given that Ahab was an evil man, what else was he to expect from the faithful prophet Micaiah? Ahab was certainly not alone among Bible characters in despising someone for telling the truth. John Baptist, for example, was beheaded for being forthright with Herod. Moses was permanently dismissed from Pharaoh’s presence because he delivered the truth. The Jewish leaders were so concerned about the truth of the resurrection of Jesus getting out that they bribed the Roman soldiers to lie (Matthew 28:11-15). Rejecting those who tell the truth makes no sense, but too many are guilty of it.
Why is it so hard to get people to come to a Gospel meeting? You will hear all sorts of excuses and rejections, but underneath them all is the reality that people simply don’t want to hear the truth that they are sinners and that there is judgment for sin. If the messages contained nothing but love and welcome, the meetings would be packed every night, but faithful preachers must tell the truth. The fact that a particular preacher is drawing big crowds is no proof that the preacher is preaching the truth; the reality may be just the opposite. But a watered down message that leads nobody to repentance produces no reality in conversion. Hell never loses any of its prospective victims to preaching that sinners enjoy.
What is true of Gospel preaching is also true of ministry and of advice and admonition from godly Christians including Assembly elders and ‘Mothers in Israel’. Sometimes, we get led away into error in our ways or our attitudes, or even in our doctrine. And at those times, there can be a tendency to reject the preaching or the advice that would set us straight. Sadly, there are some Christians who regard as their enemies those who seek to set their feet back on the right path for God. In our text, Paul is speaking to Christians who have departed from the truth that he once taught them. And he is urging them not to consider him their enemy for trying to help them.
You and I have enough enemies to worry about in our Christian experience without making enemies of those who seek the best for us. – Jim MacIntosh