There are a lot Christians must safeguard themselves against. We deal with the temptations of our sinful flesh, the pressures from the world, and everything in between. We strive to ensure that we’re not falling prey to the claims of society, that we can have our own truth, that we should “live and let live,” or that we should never challenge other people’s actions or beliefs. We know that’s hogwash and flies in the face of God’s Word.
And yet many times I think we forget about the other ditch. We’re so careful about not falling into progressivism or liberalism that we become too focused on just knowing biblical doctrine. In other words, we sacrifice biblical love and compassion at the altar of truth.
Truth is important, of course. Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life” and “nobody comes to the Father but through [him]” (Jn. 14:6). So, yes — we must contend for the truth, believe in the truth, affirm the truth. All of those things are true. But sometimes we focus so much on knowing the truth that we don’t allow what is true to have a lasting and permanent impact on our hearts.
The late Francis Schaeffer had something to say about that,
Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.
Ugly. The moment we play the “yeah, but” game is the moment we miss the point. It’s vitally — eternally! — important to have possession of the truth. That doesn’t make us smarter than others or superior to our neighbor; it just means God has revealed the truth to us in his Word. But possessing love and compassion is just as important as possessing truth. We need both. We’ve seen what happens when people have supposed “love” and “compassion” but they are far from the truth.
But, Schaeffer says, it’s the ugliest thing in the world to be biblically orthodox yet not have compassion for other people. I agree. What good is our doctrine if we don’t have love. I believe the Bible mentions something like that.
First Corinthians 13:1-7 reads,
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Maybe you know the intricacies of the atonement; perhaps you know the five solas and affirm the doctrines of grace. Your favorite hobby is to study the deepest theology and all you like to do is read Puritan after Puritan. To be sure, all of those things a great in themselves. (Yes, read the Puritans!) But when you interact with people, all of that knowledge flies out the window. You have a lot of evidence that you’re knowledgeable, but there isn’t much evidence of love in your heart. When people hear you talk, all they hear is a loud, obnoxious noise.
This may feel harsh, but that’s the tone of this passage. And to be sure, there are many “orthodox” Christians like this on the internet. A bunch of clanging cymbals. Everybody just hears a bunch of noise like nails on a chalkboard.
Is that how we want people to think of us? Do we want to be annoying gongs? Have we not remembered that the truth we learn about God in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will use to cause us to naturally be people who are patient, loving, compassionate, and caring? This doesn’t mean it will be like this all the time — for we do fight with our flesh — but that should be the consistent beat of our hearts. Truth and love. Right doctrine and right practice. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
The truth we espouse means nothing if it’s not accompanied by biblical love and compassion. May we be people who are theologically astute and biblically compassionate. May the doctrine we read, learn, and believe translate into possessing kind and compassionate hearts. This is nowhere near saying we compromise what we believe and affirm, but simply living like Jesus lived.
Truly, this is Christianity 101, yet we deal with this ugliness because of the sinfulness of our hearts. But we must remember that it’s not enough to have truth. It’s not enough to affirm the right things and to be orthodox. We must possess the virtues—kindness, love, compassion, etc.—that come from the Holy Spirit.
May we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand. Let our prayer be that we know God’s truth, that we contend for that truth, but that it also penetrates our hearts and causes us to be people full to the brim with compassion.
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