by Robert F. Turner<\/p>\n
Paul had done some straight talking to the Galatian churches. He had said, “I am afraid of<\/em> (for) you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain<\/em>” (Galatians 4:11). Then, in Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?<\/em>” Paul knew how people often react when they are told something they do not want to hear. He had shared the guilt with Jewish brethren who made Stephen an enemy because he told them the truth.<\/p>\n Can there be any justification for such an attitude? Does it change the facts? Will it answer the argument? Has it strengthened the position of the angry one? Is it not, in fact, a childish response, made sinful by the accountability of those we assume to be adults? Is not the sin compounded when it is the action of one claiming to be a Christian?<\/p>\n “It is not true, it is not true,” he shouts. Then why is he upset? Does he so react to every untruth he hears? If this is righteous indignation at error, will he sit down for a calm consideration of the matter? That is one’s best opportunity to teach the truth.<\/p>\n But who are we fooling? Not even ourselves – for experience has taught us that people are cut to the heart when their conscience agrees with the thing taught. It is the conflict within ourselves that stirs our anger (a defense mechanism), and he who tells us the truth becomes our enemy because he has invaded our little fort. If we did not recognize it as the truth we would not feel insecure in our error.<\/p>\n And if this analysis is valid, the number of people who knowingly accept and practice error must be great. Do these people love God’s truth? Can they claim to be searching for truth?<\/p>\n I do not mean to imply that my conclusions are the equivalent of God’s truth. I only plead for a truth lover, truth seeker attitude, as we study God’s word together.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Robert F. Turner Paul had done some straight talking to the Galatian churches. He had said, “I am afraid of (for) you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain” (Galatians 4:11). Then, in Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Paul knew how people often…<\/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_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1090,441],"class_list":["post-64278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-conviction","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91062,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/because-i-tell-you-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":64278,"position":0},"title":"Because I Tell You the Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Paul had no desire to be the enemy of anyone. He had every right to expect that people should and must appreciate truth, even if it hurts at first. The truth teller is telling the truth because that is what love demands. Love demands that people\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":92246,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/becoming-your-enemy\/","url_meta":{"origin":64278,"position":1},"title":"Becoming Your Enemy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Micky Galloway Paul wrote the Galatian letter to those who had been influenced by Judaizing teachers who had bound, as necessary to salvation, certain aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul indicted some of them, \"Ye are severed from Christ, ye would be justified by the Law; ye are\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":89679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-place-of-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":64278,"position":2},"title":"The Place of Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Why some won't listen Have you ever heard someone say, \"Don't preach to me!\" Preaching is not always appreciated. The rebellious inner self, the Bible says, must be put aside. In its place, there must be childlike humility. We must be willing to yield control of our\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":21840,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-handle-an-out-of-control-nephew\/","url_meta":{"origin":64278,"position":3},"title":"How do I handle an out-of-control nephew?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a family problem I would like advice on. Several years ago, my nephew forged my mother's name as a co-signer on some student loan documents. Throughout the years he paid very sporadically. Meanwhile, he married and had a family. He had trouble staying employed. Throughout the years\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53473,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pride-and-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":64278,"position":4},"title":"Pride and Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce Reeves There has been some discussion lately about preachers and jealousy. Brother Tommy Peeler has pointed out that preachers are not the only ones who struggle with jealousy. I knew a man one time that told a gospel preacher that he did not think that it was fair\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":56165,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/faithful-wounds\/","url_meta":{"origin":64278,"position":5},"title":"Faithful Wounds","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"Faithful are the wounds of a friend ...\" (Proverbs 27:6). I enjoy being in the company of insightful people with a lighthearted sense of humor. Who doesn't like a jovial conversation just for the sake of having a few laughs? I also like serious discussions about current\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}