May 4, 2012
So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. -- Ephesians 4: 25 (NLT)
J. C. Ryle once said, "Never let us be guilty of sacrificing any portion of truth on the altar of peace." I find this quote relevant today as much as it must have been when it was uttered over 100 years ago. For the sake of unity and peace, we see the truth of the Word of God sacrificed each and every day by those who claim its mantle. This of course leads to an erosion of the truth, a compromise of the Gospel and success for the enemy of God. The only unifying factor for us as Christians should be the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Any other unity is a false unity. So let us set the record straight about some of the most misunderstood Biblical concepts there are.
Let us start with the "Judge not lest ye be judged" verses from Jesus Himself. By far, these are some of the most misused and misunderstood verses in the Bible. Here is the context, which is often missing:
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. -- Matthew 7: 1-5 (NKJV)
Read these verses very carefully. They are NOT speaking about judging our brothers but rather about hypocrisy. Jesus is saying that if you are committing adultery, how can you help or criticize your brother who is committing adultery? How do I know this? Read verse five. Jesus does not instruct us to leave the speck in our brother's eye -- He says to remove it! Wait a minute preacher; are you saying that we are supposed to judge our brothers and sisters? I am not saying it -- God is!
It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you." 1Corinthians 5: 12-13 (NLT)
How often do we get it backwards in the church? We spend so much time judging those in the world and then get mortally offended if anyone says anything about someone inside the church. Wait a minute"doesn't James teach about not judging? Let's go to the Scriptures!
Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? -- James 4: 11-12 (NLT)
The NIV says do not slander each other. Slander implies telling malicious falsehoods about someone, so I would wholeheartedly agree. We should never be found to be oppositional from the truth. Even in the NLT above, it says do not speak evil against each other. Here is another verse from the teachings of Paul that should clarify:
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. -- 1Corinthians 13: 6 (NIV)
The usage of the conjunction "but" indicates that Paul is drawing an oppositional comparison between evil and the truth. Since we know the truth is God's Word and the Word is God Himself, this only makes further Biblical sense. In researching commentaries regarding these two verses from James, I could not find any that would suggest that discarding the truth would somehow be applicable. If anything, the opening line indicates that we should be embracing the truth. By the way James closes his thought here it seems clear he is speaking about condemning our brothers or sisters in terms of their eternal destination. God alone has the power to save or destroy. Once again, I would agree that it is never our place to state that anyone is "going to hell" or must not be saved. We are to judge fruit and discern.
But discernment is a lost art amongst the modern evangelical community that thinks it is ok to hold hands and sing kumbya regardless of what doctrine is being preached. Let me paint an obvious picture for you. If you walked into a Pentecostal church this weekend and the preacher there said that you could still be saved and have eternal life even if you considered Jesus only to be a prophet"what would you say and or do? Clearly the Word being preached is heretical. Clearly the congregation is being taught things that are not true and do not adhere to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you honestly think for a second that James is implying that we should be silent? Do you honestly believe that our role should be to simply join hands with everyone and be unified? Should we slink out the back door so as to not "speak evil" against that preacher but meanwhile show no concern at all for the other people inside? Do not hide behind "love." If we walked out of that church and never said a word about it -- how is that showing the love of Christ to those who may not have the discernment we do? If I see an unsaved person how am I showing them love by refusing to witness to them the life saving grace of God? Well the same principle works on the inside of the church too.
Enough of the misguided calls for unity which will only serve to lead more people
away from the truth. The key verse today reminds us that we are supposed to
tell our neighbors the truth. If I am driving my car off a cliff I would hope a
friend would tell me to change my direction -- not hold my hand on the way down
and say everything is going to be OK because we are unified. Lastly, I am not
talking about developing a critical spirit. I am not talking about being
disagreeable. There are small things we can always disagree upon but DOCTRINE
should not be one of them. Don't ever set up an altar of peace and unity for
the purpose of sacrificing truth.
Rev. Anthony
