In an age where lack of political correctness is viewed as a character flaw, there is increased pressure on Christians and churches (from within and from without) to “get along” with almost everyone and to avoid offense at all cost. Indeed, it would seem that offending others and separating from erring brethren are grievous sins that only the ignorant and intolerant commit.
But the scripture places far more weight on sticking with truth than on sticking with friends, even when the truth offends friends. Indeed, Paul wrote in Romans 16:17, “…mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them.” He said again in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly.”
We have heard the arguments that we should strive toward unconditional love and unity. And indeed we should. But we should not compromise truth and scriptural principles to accomplish these things. As a matter of fact, unconditional love is what makes us unafraid to confront and separate from those who err. Those who insist on fellowshipping with Christians who sin and cling to error but without dealing with their scriptural errors are the ones who have no unconditional love. I believe what they are exercising instead is unprincipled love. Truthfully, their love for others may not seem to have conditions, but their love for truth does. They only love truth under the condition that it does not create problems.
And their unity is also a farce. They would (and do) sacrifice the truth for fellowship. Some would accuse us of sacrificing love for the cause of truth. But as I said above, true love will cling to truth. We will, however, sacrifice unity for truth, for truth is tantamount; without it, unity is sin.
And what do we mean by truth? We mean the truths, principles, and doctrines contained in the Word of God. Believing (or claiming to believe) the Word of God produces the anticipation that we will live by that book. And we are quite aware of the jaded argument that “nobody is perfect.” But scripture does not implore us to separate from imperfect brethren, for then we would all be isolated one from another. But it does instruct us to separate from some brethren, so what are those qualifications? In reading passages dealing with separation and those who are in error (1 Corinthians 5: the man in fornication; Galatians 2: Peter and his two-faced actions around different groups of people; and others) we see that the deciding factor is that one party chose error, chose sin, and did not repent. As a matter of fact, it was separation from and confrontation of these erring brethren that brought about restoration and unity. Paul pointed out to the Corinthians that their approach to the fornicator thus far had been ineffective and wrong. What worked (as evidenced by his repentance and restoration mentioned in 2 Corinthians 7) was separating from him. As such we are not opposed to putting people out of church when they cling to their sin.
Now, some ask how much separation we should exercise from those who err. Well, to provide room for restoration, it is obvious that we do not close them off entirely. The distinction is easy and clear: do not fellowship with them. Being friendly in public or in passing is not fellowship. Going places with them, eating, and “hanging out” with them is fellowship.
Ironically those who promote such unity are often those who cause strife and division. My opinion is that they harp so loudly about unconditional love and unity and not being judgmental for one reason: as a mask for their own dissembling. They “…serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” And do they ever! These are folks who go around and gather information from everyone, then use that to strengthen themselves with some and against others; in other words, they do it to serve their own cause. What does the scripture say about someone who dissembles (creates strife and division) with his speech? Proverbs 26: 24-25 says, “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” So, they create strife because they have hate and deceit in their hearts. They “speak fair,” which corresponds with Paul saying they use “good words and fair speeches” to deceive. The seven abominations mentioned are very likely those mentioned in Proverbs 6: 16-19, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Those who are the subtle troublemakers in a church will exhibit most, if not all, these characteristics. Oh, and rather than expressing unconditional love, we find that God hates these things, including him who sows discord.
God does not stop with these descriptions of their sin; he goes on to detail deeper their wickedness. Note Proverbs 26:26-28, “Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.” Give me a man who will show someone’s wickedness before the church, confront people, and separate from brethren, over a man who coddles them and acts as though they have done no wrong. Phooey on your flattery and cunning lies; be straight-up and plain.
Dissembling and causing strife are most always accompanied by (perhaps even defined by) gossip. Gossip is compared with fire in scripture. To stop the fire, we are told to remove the wood. Note Proverbs 26:20-22, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Ridding the congregation of troublemakers is not our first desire. Rather we would that they repent and get right with God. That would remove the wood easily. But should that not happen, we are not opposed to removing the wood forcefully.
Finally, let us talk about the charge that dealing with sin and confronting those who err causes division and strife, and is thus just as wrong as what we have dealt with here. There would be no division were it not for the sin and error, and particularly if people did not cling to it. The strife and division are caused by those who love their sin, not by those who confront the sin. We use true love for brethren and zeal for truth to purify our lives and the lives of those we love. To do otherwise is not unconditional love; it is unconditional compromise.
