After telling his disciples that they should love one another, Jesus began preparing them in John 15:18-16:11 to be hated by the world. Even so, he sent them out to be witnesses for him, but not on their own. He also promised to send the Holy Spirit to be the witness who would convince the world about the truth of the gospel.
Christians need to learn to speak with joy, listen with discernment, and grow in grace.
To those who try to impose their own rules on all Christians we should just say “No!”
In Revelation 2:1-7, we read the letter to the church in Ephesus, a cosmopolitan port city where intellectual and religious currents were always trying...