by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Abusive. Heartless. Brutal. Slanderous. Reckless (read II Timothy 3:1-5). These are our times. These are times in which people will brutally kill a child in the womb, then slander and curse those who would oppose it. These are times in which people will be reckless in behavior, crude toward those who differ, and ruthless in how they oppose them. There is little grace to be seen or heard. We must be tolerant, after all. Ban God. Ban the Bible. Ban anyone who stands for them. By all means, we must be tolerant, even if it means the use of barbaric tactics and language to shame and humiliate.<\/p>\n
True discussions and reasonable arguments are few and far between, but brutal language, insulting rants, and shame-shouting is the way of our culture. Grab at power, take the megaphone, and shout out, with plenty of expletives, how disgusting your opposition is. That is the mark of true intelligence and reason.<\/p>\n
Christians, do not be surprised. All of this is powerful evidence that the gospel is needed. Instead of responding with insult for insult or curse for curse, show love by pointing to Jesus. People who act and talk so brutally are not happy people. Our culture heaps its own misery upon itself and perpetuates the sadness, anger, and hatred that no one, deep down, can really desire. But people do not know how to purge that, so they vent in anger and frustration at any target that they feel is easy to attack.<\/p>\n
Respond in compassion by showing that there is a better path. There is real love. There are real grace and mercy. Jesus has been standing here with open arms the whole time. Many will reject Him. Some will believe. Ours is to get the gospel out so that people will come face to face with the offense of the cross and make their decision: will I try to save myself or will I submit to the only One who can save me?<\/p>\n
The god of this world has blinded minds and hearts (II Corinthians 4:4). But it doesn’t have to be that way. The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ can shine through. And that will make all the difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer Abusive. Heartless. Brutal. Slanderous. Reckless (read II Timothy 3:1-5). These are our times. These are times in which people will brutally kill a child in the womb, then slander and curse those who would oppose it. These are times in which people will be reckless in behavior, crude toward those who differ,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[183,65,179],"class_list":["post-4357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-evil","tag-love","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94681,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-a-liberal\/","url_meta":{"origin":4357,"position":0},"title":"Are You a Liberal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richard Guill Since the church of Christ today is being rent asunder by what is labeled as \"liberalism,\" it is not uncommon to hear a brother or sister referred to as \"a liberal.\" It is often used to describe preachers, but is not limited to them. What is meant\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54798,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-rationale-of-the-tolerant\/","url_meta":{"origin":4357,"position":1},"title":"The Rationale of the Tolerant","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Warren Berkley via Truth Magazine - May 16, 1974 The idea of sinking all our differences into a sea of \"love\" and sweet tolerance and uniting in division seems to be rapidly reaching every part of the religious world. Denominational bodies who have formerly harbored revenge are now skillfully\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15700,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/biblical-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":4357,"position":2},"title":"Biblical Fellowship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I John 1:5-2:6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fellowship has often been the center of controversy \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Part because the word has been misused by both denominationalists and Christians. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But it also has been area of trouble because we don\u2019t always know where to draw the line. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is fellowship \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Definitions \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sun\u0113theia - A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18773,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-cannot-say-there-are-only-two-sexes\/","url_meta":{"origin":4357,"position":3},"title":"You Cannot Say There Are Only Two Sexes","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: Alex Griswold, \"Denver Post Columnist Fired After Arguing There Are Two Sexes,\" The Washington Free Beacon, 20 January 2020. 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Here is a church that is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34019,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-roles-are-not-shameful\/","url_meta":{"origin":4357,"position":5},"title":"Our Roles Are Not Shameful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jarrod M. Jacobs God created man and woman (Genesis 2:7, 18-25; Matthew 19:4). He also made them to fulfill specific roles on this earth. In Genesis 2:18-25, God states that man and woman have certain roles and responsibilities. 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