Did He Do Right?

A preacher went into a town where there was no New Testament church. He took
advantage of a situation provided to him, and began to preach in a house of
worship and then later in another local meeting place. Soon, the religious
leaders of that city heard him and invited him to address them. They thought
if his religious claims seemed meritorious to them, they would fellowship
him. But to their dismay and confusion, he preached that they were wrong and
that he was right; that their worship did not please the God of Heaven. He
preached that the church he belonged to was the only true church of the
living God. Such a preacher! Don't you know he hurt their feelings.

Evidently they were sincere. Surely it would have been better for him to have
given a nice talk. Maybe he could have focused on the things they had in
common, instead of trying to bring discord. Surely he could have seen that
they extended to him a courtesy by allowing him to speak, and he returned
that courtesy by publicly condemning them. Soon he was asked to leave. What
good did he really do by all this?

There are two schools of thought here. Some would consider this preacher not
worth his salt. He could have gained the attention of this audience by first
speaking kindly to them. Maybe later after he had gained their confidence he
could have gently introduced them to the New Testament church. What's that
old saying, "You gain more flys by honey than vinegar"? The other thought is
that you might as well take the one chance you have and do the best. Confront
the error that you see and convince people of their need to change as soon as
possible. Don't worry if you hurt their feelings, just speak what needs to be
spoken. However, this seems very out of place today.

I wonder how this man would do today? What if he were given a chance to speak
before some "Ministerial Alliance"? Should he chastise them for their lack of
understanding of God's word? Or, should he start by applauding them for their
desire to please God and then, with kind words, move to some more important
matters. I wonder how Paul's handling of the Jewish leaders and the Athenian
philosophers would go over today? (Read Acts 17:16-34)  [JW]
(Adapted from The Stand, February 1997, page 4)

"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish."  (Luke 13:3)
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