Standing for Truth in a World That Hates It ft. Martin & Millicent Sedra

About this clip

This is part of the curated Thought-Provoking Content and People collection on Face of Faith, voices, interviews and teachings that helped shape one person's journey into Christianity. If something here lands with you, explore more from Martin and Millicent Sedra - Echo Church or dive into bite-sized faith snippets, real testimonies and why Christianity.

Reflection

Martin and Millicent Sedra's title speaks plainly to a tension many Christians feel: how to hold to conviction when the surrounding culture regards that conviction as harmful or old-fashioned. Scripture does not promise that truth will be popular. Jesus told his followers, 'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first' (John 15:18). That is a sobering word, but also a steadying one; it locates the believer's identity not in approval but in belonging to Christ. Standing for truth is not the same as standing against people, and the harder discipline is often speaking honestly while remaining gentle, as Paul urges when he speaks of truth spoken in love (Ephesians 4:15). Married couples who minister together bring a particular witness, showing that conviction need not curdle into harshness within a home or a church. Whatever specifics this conversation covers, the underlying question, how to be faithful without becoming brittle, is one every generation of Christians has had to work out afresh.

Questions to sit with

• What helps you stay convictional without becoming defensive or harsh?
• Where have you felt the cost of holding an unpopular belief?
• How do you distinguish love for people from agreement with everything they believe?