One thing that blows my mind is how the Christian community relates to the rest of the Christian community. I don’t understand when I see/read “Christians” who make it their life goal to point out how other Christians are misbehaving and being unChristian.
Yes, I acknowledge that Christians sin and are susceptible to temptation of all kinds. And when we sin, we need to be held accountable so we can repent and be restored. But much of the noise going on among Christians today is not calling out sin but denouncing what one side views as unChristian living; ie living counter to the culture.
I’ve seen so much of this recently, mostly centered around politics, but not exclusively. Some big names in Christianity have been slandering other Christians for things like not “loving your neighbor” because Jesus told us to love others and speaking up on cultural issues isn’t being a loving Christian.
I’m not surprised when the world criticizes Christians because Jesus said that if we follow him, it would bring persecution. But when Christians call out their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord — not to correct sin but to lambast their thinking on clear biblical principles — we have a problem.
The Bible is full of one another statements and the interesting thing I’ve found that people don’t mention about these statements is that they are in reference to other believers. When the Bible says, “Forgive one another, love one another, confess to one another, don’t judge one another…” these are all in the context of Christians to Christians, NOT unbelievers.
Yes, we are to forgive, love, etc. those who are unsaved but with the purpose of sharing the gospel. There is no mention in the Bible of misleading the unsaved from the truth of their sin so they feel better about themselves. It’s been said, “You have to hear the bad news before the good news makes sense.” If people aren’t told they are sinners in need of a Savior, they won’t care that Jesus came to Earth to save them.
When Christians need to criticize other Christians, there is a standard to follow. We have Matthew 18:15-20 which begins with the words, “If your brother sins…” and some manuscripts have the words “against you” making the sin a personal affront. This isn’t permission to say, “That Christian is talking against an issue I care about! I’m going to call him out!” It is for an actual sin issue, not your pet peeve or a perceived slight.
In the most general sense, if you are criticizing another Christian over a non-sin issue, you are discounting the words of I Thess. 5:11 — “So encourage each other and build each other up…”
But what if you think it is a sin issue? Should you jump online and start blowing off steam? Let’s approach it carefully.
First, check the Bible. Are you misrepresenting a passage and making it say something it doesn’t say? Read the entire context. Who was Jesus talking to and about?
Second, pray about it. What is your motivation for the criticism? Do you actually care to see them restored? Are you jumping on a bandwagon with your two cents? Do you know the person and situation personally? Can you address it in private? Are you shooting your comments at a famous person without knowing the full story?
Third, if you believe you really need to say something, do it kindly. The internet and the world are nasty enough. We shouldn’t be name calling, ranting, or tearing down others. Yes, we can point out error. But we don’t have to be rude about it. We can lovingly, patiently seek to win the erring brother through a generous, gracious answer.