Category: Agape

Written By John Girton

Agape Men’s Fellowship
“Men Who Stand: Defenders of Truth, Justice & Righteousness”
Central thought:
When justice and righteousness appear to be separated, Christian men are called
neither to remain silent nor to become instruments of vengeance. We are called to stand firmly in truth, walk righteously, speak courageously, and trust GOD with the outcome.

My foundational Scripture tonight is Micah 6:8,

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy GOD?”

I particularly like this because it speaks directly to “O man.” It gives men three
responsibilities:

DO JUSTLY.
LOVE MERCY.
WALK HUMBLY.

This will be the framework for our conversation. I have six points I’d like to cover with Scriptural references with each point.

“Tonight I don’t want us to discuss which country has the greatest problems with justice, or which political system is right or wrong. We come from different nations, but we serve the same GOD. So, the question before us is:

What is the responsibility of a Christian man when he sees truth being distorted, justice being denied, or righteousness being separated from power?”

I want to establish one ground rule:

“We are not here to defend our countries, our politics, or our personal opinions.
WE ARE HERE TO ALLOW SCRIPTURE TO EXAMINE US.

POINT 1 — A Man of GOD Must Recognize Truth

John 8:31-32
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Truth isn’t determined by popularity, political party, nationality, social media, or even by what benefits us.

Questions:

 Why is truth sometimes difficult to recognize?
 What happens to society when people begin calling evil good and good evil?
 How can a Christian man make sure that his own emotions aren’t disguising
themselves as truth?
 What responsibility do we have to seek truth before repeating what we’ve heard?

Key thought:
A defender of truth must first be submitted to the Truth.
We cannot defend truth publicly while compromising truth privately.

POINT 2 — We Are Called to Stand for Justice

Scripture: Isaiah 1:17
“Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

And Proverbs 31:8-9 is powerful:
“Open thy mouth for the dumb… Judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

This moves the discussion from “What do I believe?” to “What am I willing to do?”

Questions
 When we see someone being treated unjustly, what does Christian courage
require of us?
 Is staying silent always neutrality?
 When does silence become participation?
 How can we speak against injustice without becoming unjust ourselves?
 What does it mean to defend someone who cannot defend himself?

Here’s a Strong statement:

“Christian courage is not the absence of fear. It is the decision that obedience to
GOD is more important than our fear of people.”

POINT 3 — Justice Without Righteousness Can Become Revenge

Scriptures:
1 Samuel 24:6
David had an opportunity to eliminate Saul but refused to take vengeance into his own hands.

And Romans 12:19:
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

This is a critical distinction:

Justice seeks what is right.
Revenge seeks to make someone hurt.

A Christian man can oppose evil without becoming evil.

Questions
 What’s the difference between righteous anger and personal vengeance?
 Can we fight for justice while still loving our enemy?
 Why is it so tempting to justify wrong behavior when we believe we’re fighting for the right cause?
 What happens when our desire for justice becomes hatred?

Here’s a line worth emphasizing:

“The righteousness of our cause does not give us permission to abandon the
righteousness of Christ.”

POINT 4 — Defenders of Truth Must Speak Truth in Love

Ephesians 4:15
“But speaking the truth in love…”

Notice it doesn’t say truth OR love.

It says truth in love.
We need both.
Truth without love can become cruelty.
Love without truth can become compromise.
Christian maturity holds them together.

Question
“Have you ever been so convinced that you were right that you stopped caring how you treated someone who was wrong?”

POINT 5 — Sometimes Standing Means Standing Alone

Daniel 3:16-18
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego essentially said:
We will not bow.
They didn’t know how GOD would deliver them.
But they knew what they would not do.

That’s powerful for men today.
Sometimes we won’t know the outcome.
Sometimes our position won’t be popular.
Sometimes people won’t understand.
Sometimes defending truth costs us something.

But our responsibility is faithfulness—not controlling the outcome.

Questions:
“What convictions are so important that we should be willing to stand even if standing costs us?”
“Are there times when we’ve remained silent because standing for what was right was inconvenient?”

POINT 6 — A Christian Man Must Examine Himself

This may be the most important part.

Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, O GOD, and know my heart…”

Before we ask:
“Who’s wrong?”
we should ask:
“Lord, is there anything wrong in me?”
Before we demand justice from others:
“Am I practicing justice?”

Before we condemn dishonesty:
“Am I truthful?”

Before we demand righteousness from leaders:
“Am I walking righteously?”

That brings us back to Micah 6:8.

DISCUSSION QUESTION

“If every Christian man in our communities consistently practiced Micah 6:8—doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with GOD—what would change?”

Closing Challenge — “STAND”

S — Seek Truth

Don’t believe everything you hear. Search the Word.

T — Take a Stand

Don’t allow fear, popularity, or convenience to determine your convictions.

A — Act Righteously

Don’t fight injustice by becoming unjust.

N — Never Abandon Mercy

Remember that the person on the other side of an issue is still someone GOD created.

D — Depend on GOD
Do what is right and leave the ultimate outcome in His hands.

STAND.

Final thought for Reflection
“When justice is separated from righteousness, the Christian man’s responsibility is not to choose a side—it is to choose GOD.”

Because ultimately, that’s the challenge.
We aren’t called to be defenders of our politics, our nations, our parties, or even our personal opinions.

We are called to be men who defend truth, pursue justice, love mercy, practice
righteousness, and walk humbly before GOD.

And that is something men from America, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, or
anywhere else in the world can sit down together and discuss as brothers.

Written By John Girton

“Don’t Be Deceived: Test Everything Against the Word”
Romans 16:17–20

This is a very strong passage for our Agape Men’s Fellowship discussion because Romans 16:17–20 is not simply warning us about false teachers—it calls us to become men who are discerning enough to recognize truth when we hear it. Standing in the place to be defenders of truth, but to do so with humility, love, and reverence for GOD’s Word.

Paul warns the believers to watch out for those who create divisions and put obstacles in the way of sound teaching. Then he gives the reason they can be dangerous: “by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

DON’T BE DECEIVED: TEST EVERYTHING AGAINST THE WORD

Romans 16:17–20 gives us a serious warning: “Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.”

We live in a time when we have access to more information than any generation before us. We read books. We listen to sermons and podcasts. We study commentaries. We watch videos. We hear people who speak with confidence and conviction. And sometimes what we hear sounds so good but we never stop to ask, “Is this true?”

Paul warns us that deception doesn’t always come sounding evil. Sometimes it comes through smooth talk and flattering words.

That means as men of GOD, we cannot allow someone else’s confidence to become our conviction. We cannot allow someone’s reputation to become our authority. And we cannot assume that something is true simply because it is written in a book, spoken from a pulpit, or repeated by someone we respect.

The Word of GOD must remain our measuring stick.

We should read. We should listen. We should learn. We should respect the wisdom and experience of others. But we must also search the Scriptures, examine what we hear, and ask GOD for discernment.

I offer you this six step progression:

Hear → Examine → Measure → Pray → Discern → Stand in Truth.

The question isn’t simply, “Does this sound good?”
The question should be:

“Does this agree with the Word of GOD?”

We are not called to be suspicious of everybody. We are called to be discerning. We don’t test everything because we want to prove someone wrong; we test it because we want to make sure we are walking in truth.

As men, husbands, fathers, grandfathers, leaders, servants, and believers, what we accept as truth doesn’t stop with us. What we believe influences what we teach, what we model, and what we pass on to others.

So tonight, let’s talk about how we protect ourselves from being deceived—not by becoming cynical, but by becoming grounded in the Word, sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and willing to test what we hear.

Don’t be fooled by smooth talk and glowing words. Measure everything against the Word of GOD.

Now I’d like to hear from you guys. Let me hear your thoughts
Questions:

1. Why do you think Paul specifically mentions “smooth talk and flattery”?
   • Why can something that sounds good be more dangerous than something obviously wrong?
2. What are some sources we trust without really checking?
   • Books?
   • Commentaries?
   • Preachers?
   • Podcasts?
   • Social media?
   • Even people we personally admire?
3. How do we distinguish between someone’s interpretation of Scripture and what Scripture actually says?
4. Have you ever believed something for years because someone you trusted taught it to you, only to discover later that Scripture said something different?
   • What did that experience teach you?
5. What does it actually mean to “test” something against the Word of GOD?
   • Is knowing Scripture important?
   • Is context important?
   • Should we compare Scripture with Scripture?
6. Can something be spiritually encouraging and still be biblically wrong?
7. What responsibility do we have when we discover that something we’ve been teaching or repeating isn’t true?

One Important Distinction – Discernment is not cynicism.

We’re not being called to assume everybody is wrong. We’re being called to know the Word well enough to recognize when something is wrong.

And there’s another beautiful piece in this passage that shouldn’t be overlooked. Paul closes with:
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” — Romans 16:20

That’s powerful because the passage doesn’t end with fear of deception. It ends with confidence in GOD.

Our protection isn’t merely our ability to argue theology. Our protection is being anchored in GOD’s truth and dependent upon GOD’s wisdom.

A Simple Challenge

Before I believe it, I will examine it.
Before I repeat it, I will verify it.
Before I teach it, I will measure it against Scripture.
And before I trust my own understanding, I will ask GOD for wisdom.

“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Father GOD,
Thank You for bringing us together tonight and for reminding us that everything we hear must be measured against Your Word.

Give us discerning hearts. Help us not to be deceived by smooth words, flattering speech, or things that simply sound good. Give us the wisdom to recognize truth, the courage to stand on truth, and the humility to receive correction when we are wrong.

Holy Spirit, reveal truth to us and guard our hearts and minds from deception. May Your Word be the standard by which we measure what we read, what we hear, what we believe, and what we teach others.

Make us men who are grounded in Your Word, guided by Your Spirit, and committed to Your truth.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.