The Use of Questions I am sure you are all aware, but there is legislation in congress right now that would classify many of the things that are preached as "hate speech" - anything that condemns, anything that says something else is wrong, or anything that makes anyone feel bad in anyway. Even though this country was founded on freedom of speech, there will be a little exception soon, and that is "as long as it doesn't hurt anyone's feelings". Of course, with all of the radical Islamic violence going on right now, the worldwide cry for "tolerance and acceptance", and the rejection of anything so closed-minded as saying there is only one way to God will even be more embraced by the civilized world. And so, as it was in Canada with some brothers who open air preach, you can be assured that people will attempt to trap you, or draw you out, getting you to say things that will get you thrown in jail under the guise of this anti-hate sentiment. Why do I say this? Because the Jews did the exact same thing to Jesus. The asked him specific, pointed questions that were designed to get him in trouble with the Roman authorities. It is important to look at how he responded. First of all, I would like to say that I am usually pretty outspoken. I find myself usually being verbally bold and opposing anything that is against God, even if it causes some damage. And, I haven't had to care - we have freedom of speech. But as this goes away, we have to use wisdom, which is what Jesus used. When people tried to trick Jesus, instead of answering the question that his enemies believed he would answer (such as paying taxes to Caesar), he answered back with another question, allowing Him to escape the trap set for Him, as well as express the true heart of God. Of course, this takes wisdom from God, and being full of the Spirit, but it is important to notice that Jesus did not just sign His own death warrant in order to "blurt out" the truth in youthful, foolish zeal. He knew it was not His father's timing, so he did not purposefully step into the trap set for Him. This is important to realize, because when this type of thing comes in the US, many of us will probably think that the "faithful" thing to do is simply "go for the throat". Such actions will not only get us thrown in jail, but end our ministry. I am not saying lie, or deny the truth, or back down in anyway, but I am saying use wisdom, as our Lord did. Right now we still have our freedom, so it would be wise to begin to practise using wisdom from the Lord at each moment. I don't know if I am fully making sense here, so I will give you a scenario which we will more than likely see here in the US soon.
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Scenario: A man is open air preaching, and has a crowd, or maybe even witnessing to a small group of people. Someone yells out "is homosexuality a sin", or "will God send homosexuals to hell". A safe response, instead of just saying "you betcha", would be "Let me ask you a question. If all of the world were homosexual, how many people would be left on earth in 60 years?" You could them ask a question about evolution, such as "evolution says that the ones who who are least likely to survive will eradicate themselves, with their own individual traits which make them less likely to survive, thus eliminating those differences from the world, correct?" . Then, ask them to explain how that makes any sense whatsoever. The answer is, it doesn't. They will be left without an answer, and you will have not publicly said anything to get you thrown in jail.
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This is just one example, and a rather rough and unenlightened one, of possible millions that Christian witnesses will experience here in the US soon. But I see Jesus doing this kind of thing in scripture, and it not only sets Him free from the trap set for Him, but also puts His accuser in the foolish seat, and "no one dared ask Him anymore questions". So, pray for wisdom, and believe for it. Jesus did promise us that the Father would speak through us that very hour, and so have faith in His Word, and just make sure that you are full of the Spirit, and seeking Him every day. |