Balancing our Views on the World and Sinning Christians

I always find it interesting when reality hits and something that I’ve been teaching for years is brought close to home.

For the last 7 years I’ve stood firmly planted against the Emergent Church movement, and while I’ve talked to people who hold views that may in some way converge with the practices of the EC, I hadn’t really met anyone who in practice really subscribed to the whole of what was being taught in the movement. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Emergent Church (which is really an old subject now), they are basically teaching a form of Ecumenicalism. That is, a movement away from doctrine and a move towards an all-encompassing, all-inviting, “it doesn’t matter what you believe” sorta thing. Two of the biggest voices in the movement have been Rob Bell and Brian MacLaren.

Within the last year, I’ve been getting into some not-so-welcome squabbles on Facebook with people that are almost by-the-book Emergent, whether they regard themselves as that or not. The arguments have been stemming from my rigid (ahem…Biblical) adherence to what the Bible teaches on certain subjects. Even that statement would come off as an “I’m right and everyone else is wrong” stance to them. That’s not what I’m trying to do. I want nothing more than to promote a balanced view of the Christian life, stemming from a balanced view on Scripture. It seems though, that mainstream Christianity has a disjointed view on what “balanced” means.

I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. I believe that all parts are true. I believe that the original authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the words they did. I also believe that certain practices must be adhered to when interpreting Scripture. One of those rules is that no two parts of Scripture should be in direct contradiction with one another. The one thing that I see popping up time and time again from people of all different theological backgrounds, and especially from the Emergent camp, is that the view of “love” is held at a disproportionately high level compared to other attributes of God and Christian fundamentals.

Two areas seem to be affected more than others: our view of the unsaved world, and our treatment of Christians living in unrepentant sin. There are other areas that are affected, but those topics are left for another time.

The first issue, our view of the unsaved world, is a sticky one. As I said before, we have to strike a balance. We must uphold all Scripture, and make its validity real to ourselves each and every day. Balance is certainly a key issue. Jesus tells us that he came into the world “to seek and to save that which is lost.” Three times in the book of John he tells us to “love one another, as I have loved you.” And yet when confronted by the Pharisees he called them such names as “brood of vipers” and “whitewashed tombs.” Upon visiting the Temple, he was outraged by the money changers and turned over the tables of the merchants for doing evil his Father’s house. On the one hand, we have love being preached, but on the other, we have righteousness being displayed. Jesus’ balance was that we not to make light of sin, and we are not to treat sinners as if they are not enemies with God, and yet at the same time, we are to love them and care for them in the reality that if they are not saved, they will spend eternity in Gehenna.

Paul echoes Jesus’ teachings. He says in Rom 13:8, “… he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” And again in 1 Cor 16:14, “Let all that you do be done in love.” But he also says in 2 Cor 6:14-15, “Do not be bound together (unequally yoked) with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” Once again, we see that a balance must be struck. We cannot allow one of Paul’s teachings to either override another nor negate another. That said, we are to show love to unbelievers, to treat them as we would want to be treated, but we are not to be brothers and sisters to them as we are with each other. We have Christ as our head, they have Satan. We belong to the Light, they to the darkness.

I could go on to continue quoting verses from James, Peter, and John, but we’ve done enough. When I look at disagreements, I like to go to take arguments to their logical end. In this case, I’ll take it all the way to the end. What is the end for unbelievers? It is to stand before God at the Great White Throne judgment where he will, in perfect holiness and righteousness, condemn all who did not believe in his Son to eternal condemnation. One thing I don’t think many people think about is the question, “What will our reaction be upon seeing the guilty punished?” I think a good key to this is the cry of the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-10, “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintain and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” James White has little theory that he believes that most people believe in some kind of a positional sanctification in the afterlife, as if sin halts once people die. The fact is, the Spirit is working as a restrainer on the earth right now- what will happen when the body dies, and that restraining Spirit is no longer at work? When it is only the sinner and God, what will their reaction to God be? The only reasonable answer is that with sin un-harnessed, sinners will defy God in ways they’ve never done before. With the Holy Spirit pulled aside from them, it will only be themselves and their sin standing before God. I think people think that upon seeing sinners, the saints will cry for God’s mercy, as the “love doctrine” seems to imply in people’s lives today. But, Christian, what do you think your reaction would be to seeing God, in all His majesty and splendor, being defied by a person whose whole being is set against Him? Will it be mercy and love? No, our only response will be to praise and glorify God as his perfect righteousness condemns those that oppose him.

Its not really a great thing to think about, seeing those we love and care for condemned for all eternity. On the other hand, to see God’s perfect holiness poured out will be an awesome thing, and he is as worthy of being praised for his upholding of justice as he is for the love that was shown by Christ on the Cross. God is as righteous as he is holy. God is not more of one than the other. This is balance. We have to uphold the one attribute as much as we do the other. We are to love the unsaved, treat them with respect, but they are ultimately at enmity with God. They stand opposed to us as his children. To be friends in the sense of having the same kind of harmony with them as we have with others of the elect is to be bound with darkness. Anyone who has ever told someone that they will go to hell if they do not put their faith in Christ knows this well- the response of those who reject Christ is animosity.

We can say a similar thing for Christians living in sin. One thing that is so often glossed over is the idea of punishment within the Church. We are to love our sinning brothers and sisters, but fellowshipping with them is a different story. Once again, we must hold Scripture in balance. One truth cannot override another. So, where Scripture states one thing, we have to hold it in as high of regard as other things stated. Paul says in 1 Cor 5:9-11, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” Such an idea is often looked down on in Churches today. Most people’s mindset is that we should allow such people to carry on in our Churches in order to show them the love of Christ so that they will eventually turn from their sin. But look what Paul says in the follow-up letter in 2 Cor 2:6-8 where he talks about the outcome of the above situation, “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.” After the person was punished, Paul commended them for punishing him, and he repented, turned, and was welcomed back into fellowship in love. There is a purpose in punishment- so that they may be welcomed back with open arms. Look at what Paul said, “…otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” Punishment is not there just for the sake of punishment, not meant to push them away or to simply prove to them that they were wrong. Instead, to keep them from “excessive sorrow,” we are to be working with them, pushing them to holiness, and then welcoming them back with open arms.

While this post may seem like a separate thought from the recent topic of homosexuality, it really isn’t. Look at the above passage in 1 Cor. “Immoral person” is the Greek word pornos, and refers to any person who is involved in open sexual immorality- of any kind that is not between a husband (man) and a wife (woman). As I said in the first post I made on homosexuality, the big deal about it is that people, even Christians, are defining their life and their very person by a particular sin. Paul’s command is that we are not to associate with these people. This is not to be unloving, or to bash them with Scripture, or to make ourselves look more pure than they. It is simply to follow the command of Scripture, and the same would go for us if it were true of any of us.

In closing, I want to urge you to uphold each other in love. We need to be calling sin for what it is- sinful. The unsaved person cannot be saved if they do not know they are sinful, and in turn, the saved person cannot repent without being convicted. We cannot do that without knowing and upholding doctrine, and having a balanced view on it. God certainly is God of love, but he is many other things as well. Jesus, having the “fullness of deity” was the display of God’s attributes lived out through human life, and we are commanded to walk as he walked. This means balance and harmony in our doctrine.

You cannot show God's love without showing his righteousness and holiness as well. Part of God means no God at all.

Grace and peace,

Mike