And God Himself gave some to be teachers...
...for the equipping of the saints...
...that we should no longer be as children
tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine...
...but, speaking truth in love,
may grow up in all things into Christ.
EPHESIANS 4:11-15
I have the privilege of teaching a group of 24 men at the Haven of Rest mission in Anderson SC every Monday evening. These men who have lost all of their worldly possessions are my heroes in the faith.
This week we studied Ephesians 4:15 regarding speaking the truth in love. The Greek word translated speaking more literally means holding on to. The context of this verse is that young Christians who are not yet holding on to truth can be tossed to and fro by worldly teachings.
A man at the mission recently fell for the temptation to sin resulting in significant consequences. This was an opportunity to speak the truth in love to this older man yet young Christian.
TRUTH WITHOUT LOVE
There are worldly teachers who teach truth without love. These teachers sometimes even use (or misuse) Scriptures to prove they are right.
However, God does not want us to focus on doing the most right thing (hang with me here)...but to focus on doing the most loving thing! The most right thing tears others down, but the most loving thing lifts others up.
God has made us ministers of the new covenant,
not of the letter of the Law (of doing the right thing)
but of the Spirit (doing the most loving thing in Christ),
for the letter of the Law kills,
but the Spirit of Christ gives life.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:6
LOVE WITHOUT TRUTH
Speaking truth in love in this verse does not mean just being nice and loving. It does not mean to keep unity by tolerating different viewpoints of "truth." It also does not mean to love someone without holding them accountable to the truth.
To try being loving and kind apart from being truthful actually results in being unloving and unkind!
Ephesians 4:15 clearly prioritizes truth, i.e., to speak truth. Martyn Lloyd Jones well notes, "If we put anything in place of the priority of truth, we go back to verse 14 to live as a child who is tossed to and fro by every new shiny looking truth."
Many Christians at one time or another seek truth and life through the next best Christian book, the next best Christian movie, the next best Christian conference, the next best Christian church, etc. This is a futile search. We can be lured into loving the next best Christian thing instead of holding on to the truth.
CLOSING
So, what is the truth that we are to hold on to so that we are not tossed to and fro? To hold on to truth, we must know what truth is. And to know what truth is, truth must be definable. And for truth to be definable, it must have an objective standard.
The truth is God's authoritative Word through the Bible. The truth is manifested in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can hold on to Him only because through our union with Him He is eternally holding on to us!
And then with Christ's humility and wisdom, we can be sympathetic to the vulnerability of young Christians and be moved with compassion to speak truth of God's Word to them in love.
Holding on to the Truth 
