The title is a stretch of a paraphrase connected to a familiar passage, 1 Corinthians 8:1, which reads, “…This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.” In context, Paul was talking about the knowledge Christians at Corinth had regarding meat offered to idols. Some of the Corinthians’ “knowledge,” that the idol was essentially of no concern, caused them to operate with pride toward brothers and sisters who were unsettled about eating meat that was once offered to idols. To this notion, Paul informed the unconcerned Corinthians that their knowledge “puffed them up” (incited pride), but love was edifying. This principle is still true today, and a past encounter reminded me of this truth.
Recently, I ran into members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints (LDS, commonly referred to as “Mormons”). I was leaving the store after work, and they were talking with random people in the parking lot and soon approached me. The encounter was relatively brief (5 mins or so), yet I was convicted about it and realized it wasn’t the best exchange because of me. Regrettably, the root issue was pride—pride in knowing they had a false gospel, a false book, a different Jesus, a racist history with black people, and they were better off talking with someone who didn’t know about their religion and history. All of this made for a less-than-ideal witnessing encounter from my end. No, I wasn’t taken by what they said, but I was so aware of what they believed and so bent on dismantling those beliefs that I was self-reliant, not prayerful in my mind at the moment, and not conducting myself in the wisdom required by Scripture (Col. 4:5-6).
Ultimately, the encounter caused me to repent sincerely but also reflect. I thought back to my early days of witnessing and my encounters with LDS members when I barely knew anything about their religion or my own. My witness did not have all the answers (not by a long shot). I was likely clumsy and nervous, but I had what I knew: Jesus Christ and Him crucified! Fast forward to the present, I still don’t have all the answers, but I have more of them now. I also have a healthy knowledge of Scripture. So what went wrong? Isn’t having apologetic arguments, a knowledge of the original biblical languages, and a solid amount of Scripture what everyone needs to be an effective witness? Not at all.
Today, I’m more convinced than ever that we don’t need knowledge nearly as much as we need a heart to see other people saved. If you just want to win an argument, knowledge and an emphasis on the intellect will do the trick. However, if you want to win the soul, it’ll require a heart that wants people to find the truth. It’ll require a grace-filled, love-saturated, gospel-rich desire to testify of the good news of Jesus Christ. The mindset cannot be “dismantle Mormonism” or any other world belief system. The mindset cannot be “leave them wishing they talked to someone else.” It must be heartfelt, true, and biblically-motivated. It’s a humble heart that says, “I was lost once. I was blind, too, and my blinders may not have been Mormonism, but something was blinding my eyes from the light of the cross.”
In the end, this is just a note to encourage Christians and use my sinful error as an example of what not to do. We’re naturally attracted to knowledge and often seek it, but love, biblical love that’s able to have difficult conversations, is the order of the day. May we all look to Jesus, not self, to testify of Him.