July 2, 2020

In this chapter, we see Jeremiah boldly stand for truth in the midst of error. We see that the people were living in evil and God was sending Jeremiah to them to proclaim the truth and not hold back (v.3)… This was not in hatred… this was in grace. We know it was in grace because of the purpose in (v.3) – “that I may relent of the disaster I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds..” 

Just like we studied about in Jeremiah 21… God is holy. He cannot let evil fester uncontrollably forever. At some point, He has to put a stop to it or He would not be holy. But in His grace, He always desires restoration. This is what we are seeing here.

So, Jeremiah goes to them and proclaims the truth of God and they want to kill him. This should not surprise us. This happens all over the world even today. Truth is offensive. This is why we live in an anti-truth world. But truth must be proclaimed in a righteous, loving, gentle, and gracious way. Jeremiah didn’t fight them… He kindly reminded them that God is the one who sent him to them and that he was doing it for their good (v.13)… Ultimately we see God save him (v.16-24).

We look at stories like this in awe, cheering Jeremiah on for proclaiming truth because it is someone else and it is in the past. We often forget (or choose not to remember) that we have the same job in the present as followers of Jesus. We have to proclaim the truth of Jesus to a broken world. It may sound offensive but it brings ultimate restoration to souls, relationships, societies, and countries. It is what our world needs.

Though we need to be kind, loving, gentle, and gracious… we cannot sacrifice truth on the altar of tolerance.  Jesus has called us to be loving & gentle in our actions but not soft in our stand for truth.

This is hard in our world right now. It is hard to stand for what is right. It is hard to have our thoughts shaped by the truth of God’s word and the gospel. It is hard to speak truth into tough situations with love, grace, and gentleness. But we must. We must stand strong for what God stands strong for. A lot is at stake.

Ultimately, we have an amazing opportunity to show people HOW GOOD Jesus is. How wholesome He is. How restorative He is. Ultimately, we get to show them that they have a creator and Father in heaven who loves them, desires them, and died for them. I can’t think of a better truth to stand for.

Pray today for Christians all over the world who are standing for the truth of Jesus and being persecuted for it. They are being beaten, jailed, and killed. Pray that God would give them (and us) the strength to stand.

By: Nick Parsons — Pastoral Ministry Associate – College