Preserving the truth

Blogotional's John Schroeder reminds us of the church's role as preserver of the truth:

Preservation means that we are not only keepers of the message, but we are defenders of the truth. Defending the truth means that we protect the documents, the doctrines, and the lifestyle of the Christian message. Our teaching and Christian education ministries are a part of this--we have to preserve the truth of the gospel first by education of our children and grandchildren before we can "speak the truth" to the world.

We must speak "the truth in love," as the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:15. Speaking the truth in Jove is a tough balancing act. It means that we are in danger of being called intolerant. I think that many times Christians are ashamed to speak of the truth of the gospel, because if they do, society projects upon them that they are inflexible, or disagreeable.

I think one point of balance is in being called to be agreeable, without agreeing with everything. Preserving the truth means that we have a foundation of the truths about who God is, our relationship to him, and the facts of the gospel which leads us to lead a lifestyle of love.

Sounds good to me.