Last Tuesday, I received a message from a very close friend and brother in the Lord- “I was chucked out of the evangelism team that I helped establish because of doctrinal issues especially the grace message. We couldn’t agree because they had adopted the hard core calvanism doctrine from one of the partner friends”.
I really felt for my friend because I know how it feels to deal with people who make false accusations. It takes much discipline not to respond in the flesh.
I reminded my friend that even Paul himself faced so much resistance and criticism as he preached the grace message. It is no surprise that he warned us that those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
As believers, we live in a world today that is filled with scoffers who are becoming increasingly aggressive in their stance against those who preach the Gospel. More and more, we find our message and ourselves at conflict with the world around us when we espouse the principles of the Bible. In fact, if we take a stand that’s biblically right but not politically correct, we almost certainly will find ourselves on the receiving end of a vitriolic attack. Because this hostility is becoming ever more blatant, it is imperative that we as believers know how to respond when we are lambasted by attacks from the enemy.
Paul addressed this very issue in First Corinthians 4:13, saying, “Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” When he wrote these words, Paul was speaking from his own personal experience.
Throughout his missionary travels, Paul had to contend with principalities and powers that constantly tried to thwart his ministry at every turn. Commonly, these attacks took the form of vicious smear campaigns that sought to destroy his name through false accusations. These malignant character attacks were a regular occurrence in the lives of Paul and his apostolic team. Therefore, we should pay close attention to Paul’s words in First Corinthians 4:13, for he told us not only how he responded to these attacks, but how we as Christians should respond as well.
Paul began by saying, “Being defamed, we intreat….” This word “defamed” is crucial to our understanding of Paul’s message because he carefully chose it to let us know what he had endured from his critics. It is the Greek word dusphemeo, which means to slander, to slur, to smear, or to vilify. It literally means to maliciously malign someone’s good name. In today’s language, we would say the Greek word dusphemeo depicts someone who deliberately does a hatchet job on someone’s integrity, character, or name. This attack is done with the purposeful intention of damaging someone’s reputation in the eyes of others.
By using the particular Greek word dusphemeo (“defamed”), Paul confirmed that he and his traveling companions had been victims of malicious and nasty character attacks on numerous occasions. But how did he respond when this occurred? Did he become bitter and wounded? Did he become angry and react aggressively against his attackers? Did he respond by waging a counter attack?
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We find insight into how Paul carried himself in these situations in what he wrote next in First Corinthians 4:13: “Being defamed, we intreat….” The word “entreat” is from the Greek word parakaleo, a compound of the Greek words para and kaleo.
The word para means alongside, as in one who comes up close alongside of another person. The word kaleo means to call, to beckon, or to beseech. But when these two words are joined to form the word parakaleo, it presents the picture of one who has something so important to say that he pulls right up alongside his listener, getting as close to him as possible, and then begins to plead with him to take some course of action.
This person urgently calls out, pleading with his listener to hear what he has to say and to do what he is suggesting. Because the word “entreat” — the Greek word parakaleo — is plural in this particular verse, we know that when these kinds of attacks occurred against Paul’s ministry, he and his team pulled together to “entreat” each other.
That means they looked each other in the eyes and spoke words of strength and encouragement to each other. The word parakaleo in this context can even mean they consoled one another.
Carefully consider this fact: The caliber of people who surround you is especially important when you are under attack. The people you confide in during these moments will have great impact on how you respond. They will affect your emotions, your thinking, and your resolve.
If you are surrounded by people who are angry and retaliatory, their words and reactions may incite you to react in anger or with other negative and non-productive emotions. Stomping, screaming, and making threats won’t help you. In fact, that kind of behavior always just makes situations worse!
On the other hand, if you are surrounded by people who encourage you, saying, “Let it go! God will vindicate you. Forgive these people who are being used by the devil to assault you” — this will help you trust God and forgive the wrongdoing of your attackers.
Thus, the character of those you have around you is very important when you are under attack. That’s why you must take care to surround yourself with patient, steadfast, forgiving men and women of God.
There was another military usage of the Greek word parakaleo (“entreat”), which conveys a powerful message in the context of Paul’s message.
*Read full article on www.thestandard.co.zw
In the ancient Greek world, before military leaders sent their soldiers into battle, they called the troops together in order to address them. Rather than hide from the painful reality of war, the leaders would speak straightforwardly with the soldiers about the potential dangers of the battlefield and the glories of winning a major victory.
They came right alongside their troops and urged, exhorted, beseeched, and pleaded with them to stand tall; throw back their shoulders; look the enemy straight on, eyeball to eyeball; and face their battles with courage. This is the essence of the word parakaleo.
Because Paul used the word parakaleo (“entreat”), we know that when he and his team were assaulted with false accusations and vicious slander, they quickly began to encourage one another to be strong in the middle of the fight. Like fellow soldiers, they looked into each other’s eyes and exhorted and encouraged one another to remain faithful, regardless of the war raging around them. They knew that discipline and a steadfast, committed warfare mentality was required for them to come through the battle they were facing victoriously.
I can almost hear Paul and his team proclaim to each other, “This is warfare! We must be good soldiers and be faithful to the end regardless of what people say or do to us! Let’s not get bogged down with hurt feelings. We have to trust God, forgive these people, and let it go!”
“When people assault our integrity, our character, or our name, we begin to exhort and encourage one another….”
It’s never comfortable to know that people are saying untrue or unfair things about you. If you are currently in this situation or have been in this situation before, you know how badly the flesh wants to rise up in defensiveness and fight back. But it’s your responsibility to respond according to God’s ways and His love. You must keep your heart free from anger so the devil cannot bog you down in an emotional battle.
If you are being attacked by what people are saying or doing to you, allow your friends or team members to exhort and encourage you to be faithful. When you are defamed, it is time for you and those around you to remind one another, “This is warfare! We must be good soldiers and be faithful to the end regardless of what people say or do to us! Let’s not get bogged down with hurt feelings.
We have to trust God, forgive these people, and let it go!”
