Around this time of year, I typically review the events of the previous year to remind us of God’s faithfulness. The year 2022 was no exception in the record of God’s faithfulness to Graceway. Let’s pause for a few minutes to consider his grace over the past year.

January began with guest speakers Matt Laidlaw and Jim MacDonald. They ministered in the place of Pastor Scott as he recovered from COVID. As the month progressed, we continued to have both an 8:30 and 10:00am services to accommodate COVID restrictions. At the end of January, we received a report from Colleen Isaak on her trip to Nicaragua, sharing what God was doing in that country for the advancement of the gospel.

In February, we held our Annual General Meeting where we moved to incorporate Graceway Baptist Church under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. This will give added legal protection for the church, its leadership, and members in the case of legal action brought against the church in the course of ministry. 

Throughout that month, a few church members participated in the online version of the Biblical Counseling Training Conference. 

On February 25, our brother Nerio Tagadtad passed away after a struggle with cancer. His funeral was on March 5.

On February 27, we held our last 8:30am service and on March 13, we partook of our first Lord’s Table as a full church in 2 years. What a blessing to commune together at last! The celebrations continued into April as we held a Good Friday service and hosted our first potluck following the service since October 2019.

In May, we held a workday to clean up our basement storage area and on May 29, we gathered for our spring PIE Night. In our Sunday evening Bible Studies, we began a series on evangelism training and the art of neighbouring.

June brought the return of SummerFest (formerly known as the Downtown Milton Street Festival)! We participated by setting up a booth, doing face-painting and balloon animals (Thank you, Perry family!) and handing out flyers for the upcoming Vacation Bible School.

At the end of June, our third round of GriefShare ended with much thanksgiving for the spiritual growth and comfort which God has granted through that ministry. On June 26, we held our first baptismal service in a couple of years, a wonderful time of celebrating God’s transforming grace!

Each year, we try to bring in a missionary speaker to challenge us in the area of World Missions and although we don’t normally schedule this in July, missionary Herb Hunter was able to be at Graceway to share his work in South Africa. We enjoyed a weekend conference, complete with an evening potluck and Sunday lunch.

Vacation Bible School returned to Graceway in August with 40-50 kids in our building each day, playing games, doing crafts, enjoying skits, songs and most importantly, sitting under the teaching of the Word. We enjoyed having many of our teens involved in this ministry as well.

With September, our ministry schedule ramped up again with another session of GriefShare. Our Kids 4 Truth ministry had been dormant through COVID, but we were able to restart that along with our Leadership Development program (for men, women, and teens!).

Because 2022 marked the 40th anniversary of Graceway (founded in 1982), we held special celebration services on October 15-16. Dr. Mark Ward was our speaker as he equipped us in having a Biblical Worldview. Praise God for His faithfulness to Graceway over 40 years.

On October 30 we had our Fall PIE Night and a Truth and Treat Night on the 31st. November was uneventful, but we did some canvassing, distributing packets of information re: the ministries of Graceway in the area around the church. This is part of a long-term project to blanket the town of Milton with literature and invitations to learn more about the gospel.

In December, we celebrated the first coming of Christ with a Youth Christmas Party, a children’s party, a Christmas Eve service (on the 23rd) and a Christmas Day service, Christmas falling on a Sunday this year.

We are thankful for the return to unrestricted ministry, for the rising number of attenders, and for what God is doing in the hearts of individuals. May God use us in 2023 to accomplish much for His Kingdom!

This review is a couple of weeks late, but since 2021 was such a momentous year in the history of Graceway, it needs to be documented so that God's faithfulness can be remembered. After all, Graceway is simply one outpost, representing God's mission to redeem humanity. This is His story.

January began in lockdown as we continued to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. We live-streamed our morning worship services and held our Annual General Meeting via Zoom on January 24th.

On January 30th, our beloved Thiru Shanmugam passed away. On February 4th, Thiru’s funeral was held amidst the lockdown. 10 people attended his funeral in-person with many others joining around the world via Zoom. Despite Pastor Walter Isaak's declining health, he was able to attend the funeral, read the scriptures and give tribute to his friend, Thiru. Pastor Isaak preached his final sermon at Graceway the following Sunday, February 7th.

The Biblical Counseling Training Conference was held online the week of February 7th with 6 church members participating. They received a week's worth of training on how to point people to Christ amidst the problems of life. On February 21, we were able to return to 30% capacity in our Morning Worship services. We did so with identical services at 10:00am and 6:00pm.

On March 9th, we convened a special Tuesday prayer meeting, asking God to give grace to Pastor Isaak in his struggle with cancer. God did give grace in the weeks to follow, but ultimately by taking Pastor Isaak to himself the second week of April.

On March 11th, we held another installment of our Doctrinal workshop series and on March 18th, we moved our Thursday prayer meeting to a hybrid format, with some people meeting for prayer at 103 Martin St, and others joining via Zoom. This format has continued to the present day.

Easter weekend fell in early April with a Good Friday Service on April 2nd. Capacity restrictions tightened up again just before Easter so to accommodate the people who desired to worship together on Resurrection Sunday, we held three Easter services (8:30; 10:00; 11:30).

Pastor Isaak passed into the arms of Jesus on April 12th and we held his funeral on April 15th. Due to the restrictions, only his family was able to attend in-person, but the service was live-streamed on our YouTube channel and a large number of people viewed the service in that format. We give God thanks for Pastor Isaak, his testimony and his many years of faithfulness, pastoring the church he founded in 1982.

On April 27, we received our long-awaited permit for our renovation project and on May 31st, the initial prep work for the renovations began with the removal of the balcony ceiling.

On May 30th, Pastor Scott completed his series on the book of Romans and that evening, we gathered via Zoom for a Vision Night, reviewing our goals and opportunities for the future.

In the early days of June, Harold Andres passed away and his burial took place on June 7. On June 13th, we were forced back to 15% capacity and we began having 3 morning worship services to accommodate people in our small building. A discipleship training group began on June 16th and on the 20th, Pastor Scott began a sermon series from Genesis on the life of Abraham. Our friend, Dick Strating also passed away in July and his funeral was held on July 13th.

July 3rd and 10th were church work Days and on July 16th, the contractors arrived and the renovations began in earnest. The building was quite messy for a few weeks, but the timing was providential as most of our ministries were online through the summer and we were able to continue our morning worship services through the mess. More church work days took place on August 21st and 28th as we prepared the floors for new carpet.

On September 7th, Graceway held its first GriefShare meeting. Using solid video-based teaching, the group met each week until December, growing in their grief journey and finding healing in Christ and His Word. On September 26th, our Sunday School program returned to the newly renovated classrooms after 18 months of online classes. It was a joy to see all of our students return to their classes and to see our upgraded rooms being put to good use.

Women to Women ministry returned on October 2nd; Our final building inspection was completed on October 28th. On October 30, we held a memorial service for Harold Andres. Many of his family and friends attended from across Ontario. On October 31st, our Junior Church program was restarted under the leadership of Christina Banks.

November brought the return of our Saturday morning men's ministry and on October 14th, we held a prayer of dedication for our building, giving thanks to God for His wisdom and provision.

On December 5, Pastor Scott finished his series on the life of Abraham and began a series from the book of Matthew. A Christmas Eve was led by various men in our church and we enjoyed the pulpit ministry of Matt Laidlaw on Boxing Day.

Once again, we are facing some ministry disruptions due to capacity restrictions, but we are thankful for God's faithfulness to Graceway even during a difficult year. He is not done with His church and we look forward to seeing God work in and through us in 2022.

January

2020 began with a new platform. Our men joined together over the last couple of days of 2019 to tear out the old, small platform and build a platform which raised our pianos and made better use of our platform space. 

After the Christmas lull, ministry activities such as Kids 4 Truth, Youth Night, Women to Women Ministry, Men’s Breakfast, and Leadership Development were in full swing.

February

Our Annual General Meeting was held on February 2nd, where we planned our ministry and budget for the year ahead. We did not realize what was around the corner and how our ministry plans would be altered.

Later in February, six church members attended the Biblical Counseling Training Conference in Lafayette, Indiana. They enjoyed being equipped to better minister the Word of God to one another.

On February 29th, we hosted a movie night for the church family and community, where we showed Overcomer.

March

March was the month when most everything on the continent shut down. We were forced to move our services online and we cancelled/postponed many of our regular ministries. The Coronavirus pandemic continued its sweep across the globe and we all did our best to respond by growing in our understanding of technology. We learned to live-stream services and implemented more digital options for giving. We learned to use Zoom for Bible studies. Sunday School teachers ventured into new territory as they learned how to teach their lessons via Zoom.

April

While we were unable to gather for a Good Friday service, we did host a live-stream service, and celebrated the most unusual Easter Sunday in our lifetime by once again producing a live-stream for people watching from home.

During the month of April, two of our church members suffered falls which resulted in broken bones. The ladies of Graceway responded by delivering meals and supporting them by running errands and praying.

In April, we also completed the first phase of our Leadership Development Process, which had moved online when the pandemic hit.

May

In May, we held a condensed, virtual missions conference. We heard a sermon from Honoré Afolabi, missionary to Togo. After the livestream service, Br. Honoré and his family joined us on Zoom for a presentation and discussion about his ministry.

In May, we restarted our Doctrinal Workshops online and continued working through our Statement of Faith, clarifying and strengthening it for future ministry.

On May 31, we held a P.I.E. Night (via Zoom) where we discussed the renovation project and the related quotes.

June

While the Downtown Milton Street Festival was cancelled this year, June was still a momentous month as we were able to return to in-person worship services for the first time since March. We were able to operate at 30% capacity while still live-streaming. We began taking turns attending weekly services in order to safely accommodate all who desired to return to in-person services.

July

July is normally dominated by preparations for Vacation Bible School, but of course, this was not an option this year. It was a difficult month for our church family. Also, a masking by-law was introduced in Halton Region which changed our service format and limited our ability to sing in our services.

August

August was rather uneventful as we continued to minister to one another via Zoom and livestreamed services with limited attendance.

September

In September, we celebrated our church’s 38th anniversary. Rather than a potluck dinner with a guest speaker, we hosted an outdoor picnic. Though we were forced to divide into smaller groups at the last minute, we enjoyed some time of fellowship with people we hadn’t seen in quite some time. 

On Anniversary Sunday, we also added an identical 6:00pm service in order to facilitate the number of people who were desiring to return to in-person worship. This service continued through the fall, while we have continued to live-stream the 10:00am service.

At the end of September, we held our second P.I.E. Night congregational meeting. At this meeting, we voted to receive 4 new members (!) and we also approved the renovation project.

October

There were four major highlights in the month of October. The first was the return of the monthly Women to Women Ministry on Saturday mornings. 

The second was the wedding of James and Angela Duncan. 

The third highlight was our return to the Lord’s Table after seven months. We instituted safety protocols, but we enjoyed the opportunity to once again picture Christ’s sacrifice.

At the end of the month, we heard from CMI Speaker, Jim Hughes, who spoke to us on the issue of the age of the earth and the importance of taking a literal interpretation of Genesis. That evening, Pastor Scott conducted a workshop entitled, A Biblical Response to Transgenderism.

November

In November, the deacons led a work day at the church, where we moved office furniture and prepared a new office space for Pastor Isaak as preliminary work for the coming renovations. 

This was another difficult month with the second funeral of the year for those related to our church family. Others struggled with physical difficulties.

Greg & Kait Isaak presented their upcoming ministry to Nicaragua and asked us to support them in prayer. Seeing God’s hand in their lives was encouraging to many.

Pastor Cecil Cogswell spoke to us at the end of this month and urged us to be faithful in our functioning as a church.

December

Christmas is usually a busy time of year, but things were a bit quieter than usual at Graceway this year. We did have a congregational meeting where we voted to take on Greg & Kait Isaak for monthly missionary support beginning in January 2021. 

On Christmas Eve, we had our final gathering of the year (also live-streamed) as we celebrated the coming of Christ, the Light of the World. 

On Boxing Day, Ontario entered lockdown once again as the second wave of COVID caused cases to soar across the province, so our year ended with a live-stream service.

Looking Ahead

We may not think of 2020 as our most successful year of ministry (by the numbers). But nothing that happened this year took God by surprise. We trust that His purposes are always right, for His ways are higher than our ways. He grew in us a dependence upon His Word, and He forced us to clarify our priorities as individuals and as a church. 

As Pastor Isaak has reminded us, 2020 has been a stress test for Christians. And yet, God has remained faithful.

We cannot see around the corner into 2021, but we can cling to God’s faithfulness and strive “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord . . . bearing fruit in ever good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col. 1:10)

An acquaintance of mine who is well-versed in church history and culture recently made a statement on social media that 20 years from now, there will Ph.D. dissertations written on this moment. We are experiencing a watershed when it comes to the question of how churches should relate to government. 

It's not the first time that Christians have had to grapple with that question to be sure. And believers have experienced the consequences of their choices to stand against government or to go along with the cultural flow. This is, however, a unique challenge because we're not being asked to deny the faith or dispose of our relationship with Jesus. We're being asked to comply with limitations in an attempt to protect the public health. Some will willingly set aside all public expressions of faith in order to comply with the regulations or to avoid catching the virus. Others will claim that religious liberty trumps all government mandates related to church practice. 

The Bible teaches principles to help us navigate these issues. We are to "be subject to the governing authorities" for they "have been instituted by God" (Rom. 13:1). As exiles in this world, a place that is not our final home, we are to "seek the welfare of the city" where we find ourselves. That would include public health. We are, after all, pro-life. This subjection, however, must be balanced by our obedience to God. When there is a conflict between the commands of government and the commands of God, "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

Christians will disagree on how best to apply these principles to the ever-changing guidelines and regulations imposed by governments in different jurisdictions. The result could very well be a split in the evangelical church that is less doctrinal in nature and more political, following after different Christian leaders ("'I follow Paul' or 'I follow Apollos'", I Cor. 1:12). I hope I'm wrong about that. 

You and I may feel powerless to prevent such a split and perhaps we are. However, we do have a personal responsibility within our own circle of influence, our family and our local church. Ephesians 4:1-3 calls us to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." We're having to walk a little differently these days, but we've been called to do so in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus. We're called to walk "with all humility and gentleness, with patience" (lots and lots of patience!). When it comes to relationships with our family and church family, we are to "[bear] with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." This includes bearing with those who are thinking differently about our response to the virus and government restrictions.  

Unity in the midst of disagreement can only be achieved through humility. We may not be able to prevent Twitter wars waged by other people elsewhere, but we can do our part to protect Graceway and our own circles of influence by humbly "maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:3)

In times of unprecedented change, it is crucial that we maintain our footing on things that do not change. As we grapple with the daily news, the influx of opinions on social media, the unknowns about the future and our proper response, I think it's important for us as believers to review our responsibilities. Our worship services have been put on hold, our weekly rhythms have been interrupted, and our planned church calendar is gathering dust. But our responsibilities remain the same, in principle, as they did before the pandemic.

The Church's Responsibilities

In writing about the "church," I am speaking of those who are involved in decision-making for the body we call Graceway Baptist Church. On a day-by-day, administrative basis, that is me as the pastor. However, I make many of those decisions in collaboration with Pastor Isaak and the deacons. Ultimately, decisions that affect the course of the church are made by the membership. Therefore, we all have a share in the responsibilities of the church. Our church motto is a helpful guide in reminding us of our responsibilities: Loving Truth, Loving Others.

Loving Truth

As we encounter the conflicting waves of information, worldviews, and conspiracies, this pandemic is an opportunity for us to value truth like never before. We don't value truth above God. (Deut. 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.) However, we recognize that God is the source of all truth.  (John 14:6  I am the way, and the truth, and the life.)  Our responsibility is to point each other (and outsiders) to the God of

truth. We do so by leading each other in worship. While we cannot do so in person at this time, we are attempting to be faithful by providing streaming services on Sunday morning, and we encourage you to participate in worship in your own home and then live a life of worship throughout your week.

As we point others to the God of truth, we must also facilitate growth in the truth. We are currently doing this not only by preaching, but also by hosting our Second Hour Bible Study on Sundays, our Bible Study on Thursday evenings, and our Doctrinal Workshops. A small group of members are also working on digitizing the Foundations discipleship course, which will be a useful tool in helping people grow in their Christian walk. It is during times of pressure that we grow most in our faith and it is important that we help one another in that growth.  

Prov. 23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

Loving Others

Love is an attribute of God (I John 4:8). Therefore, the body of Christ ought to be known as those who extend God's love to those around them. As a church, we ought to be willing to facilitate care for others. During this pandemic, that means caring for others' financial needs. It involves caring for both the physical and and spiritual aspects of man. Even as we contemplate what it means to reopen our doors (we're not there yet), we are prioritizing the health and safety of our attendees. We're also considering how to care for people in the midst of the anxiety and fear that will inevitably be present. We need to love one another even in the midst of differing opinions/approaches on COVID-19. To gather or not, to wear a mask or not, how best to serve one another, etc. 

These are the responsibilities of the church as the body of Christ. In most ways, they have not changed. But we are being asked to think about them in a different context. Let's consider how we might work together in carrying out the responsibilities of the body. Next week, I hope to address the Christian's responsibilities on a more personal level.

January

On January 26th, we hosted a Family Fun Night, where we entertained and encouraged one another with musical selections, speeches and activities. Fun was had by all!

Our Annual General Meeting was held on January 27th, where we planned our ministry and budget for the year ahead.

February

In February, five church members attended the Biblical Counseling Training Conference in Lafayette, Indiana. They enjoyed being equipped to better minister the Word of God to one another.

On February 23rd, the married couples of Graceway enjoyed a Couples' Banquet.

March

At the end of March, Kevin Brosnan of Baptist World Mission brought some challenging messages at our annual Missions Conference.

April

In April, an opportunity to purchase property reminded us of our dependence on the Lord. We began meeting on Sundays at 9:00am for a Morning Prayer Time to seek the Lord's face and ask for His wisdom and provision. Although God led us away from that opportunity, we continue to meet each Sunday morning to pray together in preparation for our services.  

On Good Friday, we gathered to worship and remember the cross of Christ and His great sacrifice for us. On Resurrection Sunday, the choir led us in praise as we celebrated the life we have in Christ because He rose from the dead.

May

In May, we celebrated some personal milestones as the Andres' celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. We also held a baby shower as we welcomed a new life, Brinley Dreise. 

June

June was a busy month beginning with the Downtown Milton Street Festival, where we distributed hundreds of flyers, promoted the upcoming Vacation Bible School, and talked to those who stopped by the Graceway tent.  

We also celebrated the marriage of Michelle Gill and James England with a wedding shower.

Our men's ministry was restarted in June with a Men's Breakfast. Many men also contributed to our summer Church Work Days (one in June, July and August) where we cleaned, painted, upgraded trim and replaced ceiling tiles.  

Recognizing the need for growth in leaders at Graceway, a group of men committed to a Leadership Development Process and began meeting on Sunday afternoons every 2-3 weeks. This is vital for our future and these sessions continue.

July

July was dominated by preparations for The Incredible Race Vacation Bible School. Once again, 30 volunteers had the opportunity to use the facilities of The Dance Shoppe at 725 Main St to minister the gospel to over 100 kids using drama, games, songs, snacks, lessons and crafts.

August

Our annual Church Picnic was a follow-up event to Vacation Bible School and we were blessed to have a good number of VBS families join us for burgers and hot dogs.  It was a beautiful day and some enjoyed water games, while others chatted and got to know people from the community.

September

Thanks to Leonie Raynor and others, our Jr Church program was given an overhaul in September. This was helpful in making our program more effective in ministering the gospel to our children and better utilizing our volunteers.

Pastor Mark Logan joined us for our 37th Church Anniversary where he brought us much needed reminders of the work of God in other places around the world where our Christian brothers and sisters do not enjoy the freedoms we have here.

October

October was perhaps the most momentous month at Graceway since its beginning. After serving as the founder and senior pastor for 37 years, Pastor Walt Isaak handed over the reins to Pastor Scott Ashby at his Ordination Service on October 27th. After defending his statement of faith and call to ministry before a council of visiting pastors, Pastor Scott was recommended to the congregation and was confirmed unanimously to be the Lead Pastor of Graceway.

Truth & Treat Night was held on October 31st as an alternative to Halloween activities. Kids enjoyed an evening of games, pizza, candy and a movie.

November

November was a quiet month after the busyness of the ordination, but the weekly ministries of Sunday School, Junior Church, Kids 4 Truth, Thursday Bible Study and Youth Nights continued. We are grateful for the ongoing, consistent ministries of our teachers and leaders.

December

Christmas is a busy time of year, but the Graceway Choir found time to prepare a few songs to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We then took these songs to Seasons Retirement Home where we enjoyed singing some of the songs of the season with the residents. 

On Christmas Eve, gathered to sing carols, hear preaching, and give thanks for the coming of Christ.  

On December 27 and 28, 16 men contributed to reconstruction of the platform in order to be better stewards of our space. This was a preparation project for the larger renovation phase coming in a few weeks where we will remove the office and build two new classrooms in the balcony.

Other Ongoing Ministries

While it's impossible to mention every aspect of the ministry of Graceway, we are grateful for those involved in the Women to Women Ministry (formerly Ladies' Breakfast), the monthly Doctrinal Workshops (where we are working to improve our Statement of Faith), and Teacher Training sessions (where we are equipping both new and experienced teachers to be more effective in the classrooms). We regularly pray for and support our missionaries around the world.  We continue to work, behind the scenes, through the IgniteUS process, seeking to stay focused on our mission to make disciples. Some are involved in the one-on-one ministries of counseling and the Foundations discipleship course.

May God be praised for His faithfulness in 2019! We look forward to His faithfulness in 2020.

If we are going to be healthy and growing in our spiritual lives, we are called to make full use of what some in church history have called the "ordinary means of grace." The ordinary means of grace include the Word of God, prayer and the fellowship of God's people. 

They're called ordinary in that they are not spectacular shock-and-awe signs and wonders. People today normally do not grow in their Christlikeness through some kind of Damascus Road experience of a light shining from Heaven and knocking them to the ground. Rather, we have been given fairly ordinary disciplines of reading and meditating on the Bible, communicating with God in personal prayer, and breaking bread together in regular fellowship with other believers. 

At Graceway, we value and encourage those ordinary means of grace, including that of fellowship in a local body. According to our vision statement (and God's Word), growing in the gospel requires us to be engaged with the gospel and in community with other followers of Christ. 

When we meet together regularly, we worship together corporately, celebrating what Christ has done and will do. We open ourselves up to the ministry of the Word by the leaders God has appointed over us and by the fellow believers in our local body. The Word in community feeds our soul, corrects our viewpoints, and strengthens our faith. 

In turn, our presence and participation in the corporate worship of God's people and the encouragement of God's Word contributes to the spiritual growth of our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ. It also speaks to unbelievers in our midst, of the joy and forgiveness available in Christ.

This weekend, do you plan to part of the community of God's people? Let's engage one another with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

One of our theme verses at Graceway is John 13:35: A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

This new “commandment” is stated as an imperative, a direct order. But in reality, it’s simply a logical response to the love of Christ for us. Christ’s summary of the law in the two greatest commands (“Love God. Love your neighbour.”) also reflects the connection between the love of God and the love of people. I John 3-4 unpacks this principle more extensively.

Over the next few weeks, I’d like us to consider the implications of the phrase that we’re considering our Passion Statement: Loving Truth. Loving Others. Four simple words. A lifetime of powerful and convicting application. Application that is only possible by God’s grace and the heart-molding work of the Holy Spirit.

The phrase, loving truth, emphasizes that we value doctrine and biblical accuracy. Truth about God is the most important category of truth in the universe. If we get it wrong, we get life wrong. We are stewards of the Truth that God has given us in inspired scripture. If we don’t love truth and the God who revealed it, we will not defend it. We will not study or proclaim it. And we will lose our way, floundering through life along with the rest of lost humanity. So, by the grace of God, we desire to cherish truth, understanding that a love for truth will always be rewarded in the end. Ecc. 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Loving others is a condensation of the commands to love our neighbour (Matt. 22:39) and love the brethren (I John 3:14, 16). This is very easy to say, yet so difficult to comprehend and obey. Especially, when we consider that Christ considered these characteristics to be heart motivations, not merely obedient actions out of fear of retribution. One of the greatest aids to our comprehension of these commands is to look to Christ and the model that he provided (Phil. 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.) In other words, look to Calvary for an understanding of love.

Together, the sentences indicate that love involves speaking the truth graciously to one another, even if it hurts. Note the absence of self. We speak truth out of love for others, never for our own gratification. Love requires humility.

The phrase order is important. If our love for others is not founded upon truth, we will simply be the “blind leading the blind” (Matt. 15:14). If our love for truth is not expressed out of love for others, we will be ineffective and misrepresent God’s grace. As Warren Wiersbe has put it: “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” (Eph. 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.).