Herman sent me a screenshot of a message he had received from a friend of his. He wanted to know if it was true. This is the message:
Attended a public lecture yesterday hosted by University of X’s faculty of theology entitled “Homosexuality in the Old Testament”. The speaker was Prof. Thomas Römer from France.
According to him:
- The Bible is not the Word of God.
- God is an invention.
- Human rights are more authoritative than the Bible.
- Interpretation is subjective.
- And much more.
He was applauded by the lecturers and students of the faculty of theology.
Afterwards I handed him a pamphlet explaining the Gospel.
One doesn’t know all that was said in the talk, but the interpretation thereof by Herman’s friend makes your hair stand on end. I replied:
That’s not what I believe, Herman. The Bible warns us that in the end times people will stand up and proclaim untruths as the truth. Certainly, God lives. God is real, because if it wasn’t for Him, we wouldn’t have been here either. I believe his Word is true.
The next morning, as I was doing my devotional in my study, the next verse was my verse for the day: 9-11Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness, he cuts himself off.
Although this is about the hot topics in Paul’s time, namely the Jews and the law of Moses, we also learn how we, Herman, and his friend should act today. Most of the time we should not take them on. (I say “most of the time”, because sometimes the Holy Spirit does lead us to say something!)
They are clever, they will easily convince you. They are so sure about what they believe that they have no space for someone else’s words. The best you can do is to show them what you believe.
I take my hat off to Herman’s friend who didn’t keep quiet and gave the important professor a pamphlet on the Gospel. Now he can only pray that a seed will take root and that the Holy Spirit will make it grow.
Scripture
Titus 3:8-11
Reflection
Do you sometimes struggle not to take a person on?
Do you know when to say something and when to rather not?
How can you witness more through the way you live?
Prayer
Father, I feel so sorry for people that have lost their way. I want to intercede for each of them and ask You to reveal Yourself to them. Please also help me to be a living witness of Your truth. In Jesus’ Name, amen.