Discernment: Part 2

The Absurdity of Denouncing Discernment

Almost every time I have seen a discerning Christian draw public attention to the (publicly) unbiblical message or methods of a minister or ministry, he or she is quickly met with multiple negative responses. Usually some will protest, saying, “You shouldn’t say that, because Christians shouldn’t publicly judge or criticize other Christians,” seemingly unaware that in so doing, they themselves are publicly criticizing other Christians. Those who criticize Christians for criticizing other Christians would have a hard time justifying their inconsistency. Such criticism reveals that we all truly believe in a supreme standard by which ministries should be measured, and then either publicly praised or rebuked, so that others may be commended to the true and cautioned of the false. The real question is not whether we ought to warn others of false ministries, but by what standard we must do so.

Those who take offense to a public call to biblical discernment often cite Matthew 18:15-20 as grounds for their objections. This passage teaches that you are to go to your brother privately, “if your brother sins against you,” that is, personally. Personal sin between two Christians should be resolved between those two Christians. If the one in sin remains rebellious, other believers must become involved, because the sin has already affected the whole church, whether the other believers were aware of it or not. This is the only place in Scripture where a believer is commanded to go to a sinning brother privately, because the sin was committed privately. In every other passage dealing with church discipline, (including 1 Cor. 5; Romans 16:17-18; 2 Thess. 3:6-15) the command is “deal with the sin.” Public sin demands a public response, because watching Christians must understand the seriousness of sin, and a watching world must know that the Church takes seriously obedience to God’s holy Word. God’s reputation among the lost is at stake in our dealing with public sin, (such as unbiblical evangelism). Jesus called out false teachers publicly. So did Paul. So did John the Baptist. All the heresies of the early church were warded off by faithful Christians who stood for the truth and publicly decried those that promoted error. The chief reason that fleece-robed wolves and ignorant idolators run rampant in the "church" today, is that most orthodox Christians are too afraid to speak out against them. Spineless orthodoxy is a catalyst for bold heresy.