In Your Face is Lacking Grace

If I look at the examples of the Apostles, Prophets, and Jesus Himself, the In Your Face approach either never worked, or it was never (or rarely) used. The only times Jesus got "in your face" about anything was when people were prohibiting the worship of God with their buying and selling, or by their traditions, which trumped scripture. Jesus was never rebellious; in fact He died for Rebellion. He wasn't a social activist ( though He did do great things for women, Samaritans, and Gentiles), and I would argue that, even as He was pronouncing woes and driving sellers and money changers out of the Temple, it was all in love. His purpose wasn't the temporary, which many of the causes we lose friends over are all about. Jesus' cause was the Kingdom. Jesus was focused on Eternity. He told Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:36-37

If Jesus didn't fight for this world, why do we fight tooth and nail for every little scrap of it? He was more concerned about your relationship to God, your destination, and how you treated others going to that same place, than about the social issues of the day. He confronted social issues by commenting on how we should render to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God's what is minted in His image (hint, it's you!). So why fight over it? Why lose friends for something that isn't the Gospel? Why champion anything OTHER than the Gospel? Look to the word, and if Jesus DIDN'T fight for it, if the apostles DIDN'T Fight for it, why should we? Model yourself after Jesus, not the world. Show Grace, show Love, show Mercy, and let God be the judge. Romans 14:1-4 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.