Tag: kind

When Sincerity Isn’t Enough

Carl Pollard

I was recently watching a documentary on the life of Billy Graham, and I found myself genuinely impressed. His morality seemed consistent, his integrity stood out, and his commitment to Christ was obvious. He preached to massive crowds, spoke clearly about sin, and called people to respond to God. The more I watched, the more I felt both admiration and uneasiness.

Admiration because of his devotion. Uneasiness because it raised a hard question. Can a man be that sincere, that disciplined, and that committed to Christ, and still be wrong about something as important as how a person receives the forgiveness of sins?

Billy Graham influenced millions. He preached Christ, the cross, the resurrection, sin, repentance, and faith. That shouldn’t be denied. But Scripture doesn’t measure a teacher by how many true things he says. It measures whether he teaches the truth fully.

The Bible never holds up sincerity as the standard. A man can be earnest, persuasive, and influential, and still be wrong where it matters most. That’s a hard truth, but it’s a biblical one.

Paul warned in Galatians 1:6–9 that even a changed gospel must be rejected. Not just a completely false message, but a distorted one. That makes this serious. Because a message can sound close to the truth and still fall short at a critical point.

Modern preaching often uses language like “accept Jesus into your heart” or “pray this prayer.” But when people in the New Testament asked what to do, the apostles answered differently. They preached Christ. They called for faith and repentance. And they also taught baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Peter said, “Repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38). Ananias told Saul, “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). Paul wrote that we are baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3–4) and put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27). Peter said plainly, “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21). That language is clear. It’s part of how people were told to respond to the gospel.

So what happens when a preacher speaks powerfully about Jesus, but doesn’t teach people to respond the way the apostles did? He may say many true things. He may move people emotionally. He may even believe deeply in what he’s saying. But if he gives less than the full message, he isn’t teaching the whole truth.

Scripture shows this clearly. Apollos in Acts 18 was eloquent and fervent, yet he still needed correction. Saul of Tarsus was sincere and zealous, yet he was wrong. Romans 10 says zeal isn’t enough without knowledge.

A man doesn’t have to be evil to mislead people. He can be kind, moral, and sincere, and still be wrong. That’s what makes this so sobering.

In the end, this isn’t just about Billy Graham. It’s about us. Do we measure truth by Scripture or by results? Do we care more about influence or accuracy?

At judgment, no one will be saved by admiring a sincere preacher. The question is simple. Did we hear the gospel as God gave it, and did we obey it as the apostles preached it?

Good Stuff To Do

Gary Pollard

These are some of the positive actions God wants to see, taken from Colossians chapter three:

Show mercy to others — This was originally two words: σπλαγκνα οικτιρμου (sp-longk-na oik-tear-moo). The first describes that powerful gut feeling of compassion when you see someone’s awful situation. The second means something like pity or mercy. So this is an emotional response to someone’s plight, followed by actually doing something about it.

Be kind — This word is very closely connected with the concept of helping others. It’s a catch-all that means, “Be someone who benefits other people.” 

Be humble — This is someone who doesn’t think more highly of themselves than they should. It can be taken too far (as in Col 2.18, 23) in the form of “pious self-denial” or asceticism. God wants his people to have a balanced view of self. We are the heirs of his kingdom, but we are no more important than any other Christian. 

Be gentle — This is closely tied to humility, and it means “not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance.” A humble, gentle person recognizes their own position as someone who serves God and must therefore serve other people, and view them as being more important. 

Be patient — This word is also closely tied to humble and gentle in this context. While we serve other people with a balanced view of self, we have to be willing to put up with their shenanigans. People can be really hard to love, but patience puts up with their weakness while we try to show them God’s love.  

Don’t be angry with each other — This would be better translated “put up with each other.” In other contexts, it’s used to mean putting up with something draining or difficult without giving in. This word is a participle in the original text, so it tells us to what extent we’re supposed to live out the qualities of kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. That extent is limitless. God expects us to be good to our Christian family, even when that’s the last thing we want to do. We might even say, “Fake it til you make it.” Be good when you don’t want to until God’s love perfects your mindset. 

Forgive each other — Greek doesn’t have the word normally translated “forgive”. Instead, it seems to be similar to the kind of language Jesus used when he said, “If someone slaps you on the cheek, give them your other cheek to slap.” When our Christian family wrongs us, our reaction should be to go out of our way to do something good for them. Forgiveness is an element of that mentality, but this word really seems to stress having a positive reaction in the face of mistreatment from our Christian family, rather than a passive forgiveness. Paul even says here, “Be good to them because Jesus was good to you first.” Yes, Jesus forgave and forgives us! But more than that, he was good to us when we didn’t deserve it at all. 

Love each other — This is the most important element of all of the ones listed here (“επι πασιν δε τουτοις την αγαπην”). Paul says, “This is the most important thing,” and, “Love holds everything together the way it should be.” It’s safe to say that all of the other positive things we’re supposed to adopt from this list are practical ways to express this godly love.