Are we called to not be direct with others? Is that bad, morally wrong, or just a reflection of our culture. TODAY, I am going to show you what the Bible says about giving an “APT REPLY” or being too direct.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines an APT REPLY as: “able to respond without delay or hesitation or indicative of such ability.” The Collins Dictionary.com defines an apt reply as: “to the point and particularly appropriate.

People have called me direct and one who gives an apt reply at times. The bottom line is that some people don’t like an apt reply. Perhaps it's about accountabililty or not wanting to told anything). By anyone welse (an unteachable spirit).

The bottom line is that we are not to play loosly with words. If we speak truth we can speak and give an “apt reply” instead of some obscure encrypted sentence which is wrong. Some time back, I was sitting with some local folks that taught me that in the reigion, things often mean the opposite of what is literally stated. One gentleman asked the other gentleman if he “might-could consider” doing something. I thought it was a request until he elder gentleman turned to me and said I am going to tech you something about local culture, and went on to explain to me that a request as such if most often not a literal REQUEST but a command to do something. Despite the way in which his words were used, it was still an “apt reply”, and I can respect that. So, is giving an APT REPLY biblical?

PROVERBS 15:23 says “A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!”. 

So what does it mean to make an apt reply? To make an apt answer is to address a problem in someone's life according to Proverbs 15:23. Another version of Proverbs 15:23 says it this way: “TO MAKE AN APT ANSWER IS A JOY TO A MAN, AND A WORD IN SEASON, HOW GOOT IT IS!”

The  point is this: It should be a “JOY” to give an answer that is helpful to another person, even when it cuts to the core. To be clear, it’s just as important as to “HOW” we say something as to “THAT” we say something. So first, we must say it and then be mindful as to “HOW” we say that helpful truth. 

To be clear, there are times when there are right answer is not always appropriate, but it’s still good to give wisdom words to best help the other person make decisions for themself. On the flip side, it is a joy to give a helpful answer to a problem, but it must be spoken in the right time and in the right way. Timing is critical. We must make sure that we are not criticizing the other person out of anger. That would be wrong. 

Being a productive and effective parent or leader mandates being able to give an apt answer  and being disciplined in your speech; using your words for the benefit and encouragement as well as correction (when needed) of others. 

IN CLOSING I want to close with Proverbs 24:26 which says, “AN HONEST ANSWER IS LIKE A KiSS ON THE LIPS”. 

The ESV says it this way: “WHOEVER GIVES AN HONEST ANSWER KISSES THE LIPS”.

This saying compares giving “A RIGHT ANSWER” with kissing  “THE LIPS”. A right answer is a straightforward, honest response to an inquiry. And in the end, this is called giving an APT ANSWER because such words reflect LOVE, RESPECT, and INTIMACY towards the inquirer, much like a kiss on the lips. And, the greatest sign of affection and respect for another person is to tell the person the truth.

So to answer the question as to is it wrong or bad to give an “APT REPLY?” The answer in summary is a whopping “YES”. We are called biblically to be respectful but direct with others. That is not bad or morally wrong. WHY? Because the greatest sign of affection and respect for another person is to tell the person the truth-and that mandates giving an “apt reply”.

The Christian faith is EXPLODING in India. Today, I am going to share with you some stunning facts through an article titled “Massive Growth of Christianity Reported in India” by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson at RENEWAL HEART MINISTRIES. Then, I will add my commentary and show you how God sees things through His Word, the Bible. Let’s get started!

The article opens by stating: "Though the Christian church in India goes back to the time of St. Thomas the Apostle, church growth in India has been slow until now. India is predominately Hindu (74%), with some Muslims (20%) The truly exciting thing is that the percentage of Christians has increased substantially from 2.5% a decade ago to about 5.8% today."

That represents a huge increase in the growth rate. Something is happening!
Missiologist and church growth expert C. Peter Wagner has been receiving reports that the percentage may actually be 25% Christian — at least in parts of this large country — most of the growth coming in the past 10 to 15 years. And the growth may not all be in traditional churches. A substantial part may come from Jesus-follower groups within the Hindu culture.

In this huge and very diverse country, it's difficult to get accurate statistics regarding religion, but anecdotal stories indicate exciting changes. According to Christianity Today, Operation Mobilization, one of India's largest missionary groups, has grown to include 3,000 congregations in India, up from 300 in less than a decade. A hospital-based ministry in north India has seen 8,000 baptisms over the past five years after a decade of only a handful.

"Everybody knows about the massive scale of growth among Dalits," says Operation World's Jason Mandryk. Somewhere between 70% and 90% of Christians in India are Dalits, low-caste groups, so that many higher caste Hindus view Christianity as a low-class religion, worthy of contempt.
"Now we see signs of growth in the middling castes and among the under-35s," Mandryk says. "There's a new dynamic for the urban, educated generation. There's growth happening in upper castes as well."

Wagner writes, "It is becoming more and more common for whole villages or other people groups to all decide to follow Jesus Christ together at one time." There are reports of both new churches and traditional denominational churches seeing signs and wonders in the Spirit.
However, there is intense persecution from a radical Hindu movement that is afraid of the growth of Christianity. 

You hear of churches being burned, of pastors being persecuted — and occasionally killed. But, in a way, Hinduism is its own worst enemy. It is based on a caste system in which the top 15%  dominate the country. Christianity is beginning to declare that "the gospel is a message of deliverance, not just for heaven. It is a message of freedom. The truth is that God made man in his image." And that message of deliverance seems to be catching on across India.

The key to this growth seems to stem not from some charismatic leader, political change, a major scandal in Hinduism, or social upheaval, but from intercessory prayer! I encourage you to make India a personal prayer focus. Pray for congregations, for leaders, for evangelism, for disciplining new believers, for converts from both Islam and Hinduism. God is at work in India.

IN CONCLUSION: The truth of God is written on all men and women’s hearts. As we close, I want to leave you with a few passages that sum up WHY Christianity is exploding in India. Let’s take a look:

FIRST: 
Is Ezekiel 36:26 which tells us in the ESV…
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

How do you and I see others. As Christians, we can look at others, including the Hindu lowest Caste (class) called the Shudras as equal in that they too, you us, were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). As Christianity spreads in India, God is increasing the number of new, clean, Christ centered hearts that is and will continue to change the landscape of India through the love and truth of Jesus Christ.

SECOND: 
Is Psalm 51:10 says:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” 

India’s Caste System consider’s the lowest class called the “SHUDRA” class or “CASTE” level to be so unclean that all other class Hindus are considered dirty if they simply fall into their shadow.

Hinduism does not allow for a clean heart by it’s very nature of being a man-centered class system; especially the distant they have for their Shudra-deplorable or the “unclean” lowest class. Everyone else is artificially elevated for no other reason that they were born into a lower class or “CASTE” level. 

But PROVERBS 21:2 says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart”.

Simply put-God sees the hearts of the people of India, not their CASTE or CLASS level. And God doesn’t leave them there. He makes them great in their time of need through Jesus Christ.

THIRD AND LAST: 
Romans 2:14-16tells us:
“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”

In other words and in the end, the TRUTH of God is written on all human hearts; including the Hindus of India. True salvation for them is a matter of acceptance or rejection of the true God of the universe through Jesus Christ. 

If that sounds EXCLUSIVE to the Hindu-that is because, YES, Christianity is EXCLUSIVE not INCLUSIVE. God accepts the Hindu Shudra class. WHO are the Shudras? In India, the Shudras are the lowest ranking class of the caste system and typically function under the roles of laborers and artisans in Hindu society. It is stated in many ancient Hindu texts that the main function of the Shudras is to serve the other three higher castes. 

But Jesus tells us quite the opposite in Matthew 23:11, saying: “THE GREATEST AMONG YOU SHALL BE YOUR SEVANT”. And this is true for the very highest class to the lowest Shudra Caste - class of Hindu and all other human beings on earth.

It’s true in fact in that we are seeing massive growth and the spread of Christianity in .India”. While India is predominately Hindu (74%), with some Muslims (20%) It’s very exciting in that the percentage of Christians has increased substantially from 2.5% a decade ago to about 5.8% today. 

That represents a huge increase in the growth rate. And yes, something BIG is happening! And that thing is Jesus Christ is making Himself known all over India. And that’s why Christianity is spreading in India!

https://www.joyfulheart.com/misc/growth-of-christianity-in-india.htm

IN A RECENT BARNA STUDY ON THE STATE OF AMERICAN 'CHRISTIANITY: Of American churchgoers, recent studies unveiled exactly why Christianity, and many churches are failing at their core mission. Today, I am going to show you through an excerpt from Southern Evangelical Seminary, SES.Edu, exactly why that is and how that failure reflects our efforts-or lack-there-of as Christians. Let’s get started.

IN A RECENT STUDY ON THE STATE OF AMERICAN 'CHRISTIANITY': Of American churchgoers, recent studies found the following.

63% agree that God accepts the worship of all religions

48% agree the Bible contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true

54% agree that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion rather than objective truth

Around 2 in 5 American churchgoers agree that gender identity is a matter of choice

Nearly half of American churchgoers disagree or are unsure that abortion is a sin. WHY is this important? Because murdering babies and children reflects the most basic state of morality and building blocks of any civil society. Or there-lack-of.

The study also found that: Only 2 in 5 Senior Pastors have a biblical worldview* This is a MAJOR problem and unveils that 3 in 5 pastors do NOT have a biblical worldview. Why are they pastors to begin with is beyond me outside of the  idea that perhaps they are unmotivated, unskilled and perhaps incapable of getting another job in a different field.

Furthermore, only 12% of Children’s & Youth Pastors have a biblical worldview*
*”Biblical Worldview” is defined here as making sure our understanding/choices are consistent with God’s principles and commands: 
(Sources: Barna.com, PewResearch.org, ArizonaChristian.edu, TheStateofTheology.com).

Why should anyone in a highly-educated, scientific, “tolerant,” and technologically-advanced culture believe the truthfulness of Christianity? Thinking well about things like logic, faith and reason, the evidence for God’s existence, and the true nature of Christianity directly address all the issues listed above. 

When the evidence is examined in a systematic way, we can see that we have excellent reasons to believe Christianity is actually true. And if that is the case, as C.S. Lewis observed, there is nothing more important we can take hold of and learn to effectively share with others. As SES co-founder Dr. Norman Geisler said, 

“Why should anyone in a highly-educated, scientific, “tolerant,” and technologically-advanced culture believe the truthfulness of Christianity? Thinking well about things like logic, faith and reason, the evidence for God’s existence, and the true nature of Christianity directly address all the issues listed above. When the evidence is examined in a systematic way, we can see that we have excellent reasons to believe Christianity is actually true. And if that is the case, as C.S. Lewis observed, there is nothing more important we can take hold of and learn to effectively share with others.”

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA SAID:
“Some, who think themselves naturally gifted, do not wish to touch either philosophy or logic; nay more, they do not wish to learn natural science. They demand bare faith alone, as if they wished, without bestowing any care on the vine, straightway to gather clusters from the first. Now the Lord is figuratively described as the vine, from which, with pains and the art of husbandry, according to the word, the fruit is to be gathered. We must lop, dig, bind, and perform the other operations. The pruning-knife, I should think, and the pick-axe, and the other agricultural implements, are necessary for the culture of the vine, so that it may produce eatable (sic.) fruit. … So also here, I call him truly learned who brings everything to bear on the truth; so that, from geometry, and music, and grammar, and philosophy itself, culling what is useful, he guards the faith against assault.”
-[CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, circa 200 A.D.]

I would like to close with the words of my old friend, teacher and mentor, Dr. Norman L. Geisler:
“[Apologetics] is opening the door, clearing the rubble, and removing the hurdles so that people can come to Christ.”

Our culture’s failure to keep the orthodox faith and use apologetics rightly has led to a crisis of biblical literacy that the United States has never seen. How do I know this? 

The research is in and only two in five pastors have an orthodox biblical worldview; meaning three out of five don’t; 63% agree that God accepts the worship of all religions; 48% agree the Bible contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true; 54% agree that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion rather than objective truth.

Even worse, only 12% of Children’s & Youth Pastors have a biblical worldview*
*”Biblical Worldview” is defined here as making sure our understanding/choices are consistent with God’s principles and commands. When we lose the youth, we lose the faith. And of all the challenges we face, this is AMERICA’S STATE OF FAITH CRISIS and source of most all of our current problems. This raises one serious question: What are we going to do to begin to change this for the next generation?