⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 2 min read
How to Speak Truth in Love While Practicing Biblical Discernment
Show: Contending for the Word Q&A Host: Dave JenkinsShow Summary
In this episode of Contending for the Word Q&A, Dave Jenkins answers a question that often creates tension for believers: How do we speak truth in love while practicing biblical discernment? Drawing from Ephesians 4:15, Galatians 6:1, and Colossians 4:6, this episode explains how Scripture binds truth and love together as marks of spiritual maturity—and calls Christians to contend for truth with courage while speaking with humility, gentleness, patience, and genuine love.Audio Player
Video Player
Key Scriptures
- Ephesians 4:15
- Galatians 6:1
- Colossians 4:6
Episode Highlights
- Why biblical discernment must never be harsh, cold, passive, or compromising
- How truth and love are joined together as marks of maturity in Christ
- Four pillars for speaking truth in love while guarding the gospel
- Why tone, posture, and motivation matter when correcting error
- How discernment should aim at restoration, not humiliation
Essential Truth
Biblical discernment speaks truth clearly and boldly, yet always with humility, gentleness, and genuine love. Truth without love misrepresents Christ, and love without truth distorts the gospel.Call to Action
For more from Contending for the Word Q&A please visit our page at Servants of Grace or at our YouTube. Subscribe to Contending for the Word Q&A wherever you listen to podcasts, and share this episode to help others grow in discernment and Christlike speech.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in beautiful Southern Oregon. He is a writer, editor, and speaker who loves Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology.
Dave serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He is the Host and Producer of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word.
He is the author of The War of Worldviews: Truth, Lies, and the Battle for the Christian Mind (Theology for Life, 2026), Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age and The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021).
You can connect with Dave on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or subscribe to his newsletter.
When he is not engaged in ministry work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, going to movies, sharing a meal at a favorite restaurant, or playing a round of golf with friends. He is also a voracious reader, particularly of Reformed theology and the Puritans, and is often found working through a stack of new books from a wide range of Christian publishers.
Dave earned his M.A.R. and M.Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
