"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech..." (2 Cor. 3:12) "...By
good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." (Rom. 16:18)
Alvey Augustus Adee (1842-1924), a U.S. Diplomat, served for 47 years in the State
Department, rising to second assistant Secretary of State. When Adee was asked by President
McKinley the best way to say "no" to six European ambassadors who were coming to see him to
try to prevent war against Spain, he wrote on the back of an envelope: "The Government of the
United States appreciates the humanitarian and disinterested character of the communication now
made on behalf of the powers named, and for its part is confident that equal appreciation will be
shown for its own earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfill a duty to humanity by ending a
situation the indefinite prolongation of which has become insufferable." The president read this
message verbatim to the ambassadors. (From The Little Brown Book of Anecdotes, by Clifton
Fadiman, p. 7)
Let us use great boldness and plainness of speech as we teach the gospel so that none will misunderstand or be deceived.