If I’m an Extremist, This Is Why

The kindest thing I can do for my fellow man is to speak up and tell him the truth.

“Wow, Phil, you sure are …”

Then they pause and look into the corner ceiling of the room as if they might find the right word hanging by a thread. Finally, they come right out with it: “Passionate. You sure are passionate.”

My suspicion is that they’re trying to tell me that I’m a little too passionate. I don’t know for sure, but maybe they actually wanted to use words like bombastic, radical, or extremist. 

I try to be kind. I really do. But I would argue that the kindest thing I can do for my fellow man is to tell him the truth about sin and then point him to Jesus. 

In all my preaching, I’m not suggesting that I’m any different from the next fellow. I’m not stronger, nor am I smarter. And since I have a nasty history of rejecting God’s wisdom and following my own evil desire, I’m certainly not saying that I’m morally superior to anyone else. If Christ had not died and been raised to save me from my filthy sins, I would still be wallowing in them to this day. 

No, the one thing that drives my passion and compels me to speak with boldness cannot be found inside of me. At least it can’t be found inside my human, fleshly mind. No, if anything sets me apart from the average man it is this — I have decided to be a follower of Jesus. Plain and simple, that’s it. I am passionate only because of the one I believe in. And at the end of the day, the only good thing I’ve ever done is trust him.

READY FOR SOME GOOD NEWS?

Not long after I saw the handwriting on the wall — that Phil Robertson had been taken captive by the Evil One and deserved to die for his sin — I was ready for some good news. It came in the form of my little sister dragging a preacher into my bar to tell me about Jesus. I jumped at the opportunity to have my sins eradicated. I was more than ready for a new life.

When I put myself under the authority of the King of kings, I wanted nothing more than to obey him. If God had told me to jump, I would have asked, “How high?” I was totally committed to obedience for one simple reason — I was grateful. I still am. God was under no compulsion to save me, but he did.

To this day, I plead with God to guide my steps. I beg him to tell me what to say and who to say it to.  And basically, what he’s commanded me to do is to proclaim the Good News wherever I go. I know what it is to fear the Lord, so I try to persuade everyone I meet to go to the cross of Christ in order to live in a way that will matter for eternity.

And I don’t worry about what people who don’t know Jesus think. If I’m tempted to allow their hatred for my message get the better of me, I recall what Solomon said over 3,000 years ago:

Those who follow the right path fear the Lord;
             those who take the wrong path despise him. (Proverbs 14:2)

Since people on the wrong path are, by nature, haters of those on who love God, I take it as a badge of honor when people call me names. It just goes with the territory when you speak truth into darkness. 

NO TIME TO WASTE!

The reason the labels don’t bother me is that I’m out there in the world trying to persuade people to turn around and avoid the destruction that is waiting on them down the wide road they’re traveling on. This is serious business, folks. No time to waste. 

God told the prophet Ezekiel:

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so, hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (chapter 3)

Admittedly, I am not the prophet Ezekiel. Furthermore, God has not specifically told me that I am Israel’s watchman. But he did tell me that he has made me an ambassador — a minister of reconciliation as though God is making his appeal through me. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

By the way, if you’re a follower of Jesus, he’s appointed you to be his ambassador too. 

TOO MUCH AT STAKE!

But when I read what he said to Ezekiel, I realize that too much is at stake for me to keep my mouth shut. For one thing, just by speaking truth into someone’s delusional view of life, I might be the catalyst that rescues them from sure destruction.

Furthermore, when I see someone headed down the wrong road and I refuse to speak up about it, their blood is on my hands. I could have said something but refused to do so. How coldhearted is that?

So, I speak.

The apostle Paul said it best when he quoted from the Psalms: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken.” (2 Corinthians 4:13). Believing is speaking. At least believing the gospel is. They go hand in hand because a man like me — a man whose entire life is under the authority and control of the God he not only worships but trusts with everything in him — can’t help it. I’m “compelled” to tell others about Jesus. I want them to experience the same freedom I have. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Everywhere we look, the world is falling apart. War in the Ukraine! Social unrest at home! Violent crime erupting in cities all across America! Inflation out of control! I’m not going to argue that it isn’t bad out there. But what I will say is that the kingdom of God isn’t in peril. There’s no danger that it will implode. Nor is the sovereignty and majesty of God in trouble either. It’s as durable as it gets.

If I’m an extremist, this is why. I’m radical about Jesus because he is the God of changed lives. He restores order to chaos! Hope when all seems hopeless! Mourning is turned into joy!

So, I’m going to continue to proclaim him. Radically! Passionately! If enough of us commit to being ambassadors for Christ, who knows? We might see revival break out!