IS IT RIGHT?: To Judge, To Expose Error, or to Even at times Call Names?

Well, present company accepted, of course,
as we remain in keeping with all our beloved BB "rules",

How about it?

From a Biblical perspective, no less?

Adapted from:

IS IT RIGHT?:
To Judge, To Expose Error, or to Even at times Call Names?
By E. L. Bynum.

Let's go.

"Many today believe that it is wrong to expose error and to name names. Liberals have always seemed to believe this, but in recent times it has been widely espoused by evangelicals and charismatics.


"Now we are seeing the same fatal error being declared by those who profess to be Bible believing fundamentalists.

"Those who are faithful in exposing error according to the Bible are now being widely denounced, and are accused of being unloving and unkind. In this thread we intend to present the teaching of the Bible on this vital subject.

I. It Is Right To Practice Biblical Judgment.

"One of the most misused verses in the Bible is,
''Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt. 7:1).

"Every Scripture verse should be read in its context, if we are to properly understand the true meaning. In vs. 2-5 of this same chapter it is evident that v. 1 is referring to hypocritical judgment.

"A brother who has a beam in his own eye should not be judging the brother who may have a mote in his eye. The lesson is plain, you cannot judge another for his sin if you are guilty of the same sin.

"Those who cling to "Judge not, that ye be not judged,"
to condemn those who expose error should read the entire chapter.

"Jesus said, ''Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing... " (v. 15).

"How can we know false prophets
unless we judge them by the Word of God?

"If we know the false prophets,
how can we fail to warn the sheep of these "ravening wolves?"

"All through the Bible we find proof
that they should be identified and exposed.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit" (vs. 16,17).

"Did the Lord mean that we could not judge the tree (person), by the fruit of their life and doctrine? Certainly not, for you cannot know without judging. All judgment should be on the basis of Bible teaching, not according to whims or prejudices.

''Judge not according to the appearance,
but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

"Here our Lord commands that
we are to "judge righteous judgment,"
which is judgment based upon the Word of God.

If judgment is made upon any other basis,
other than the Word of God, it is a violation of Matt. 7:1.

"Webster's Dictionary says that a judge is "one who declares the law."

"The faithful Christian must discern
or judge on the basis of God's inspired law, the Bible."

II. It Is Right To Expose False Teachers

"False teachers are free to spread their poisonous doctrines today because there is a conspiracy of silence among many Bible believers. Wolves in sheep's clothing are thus enabled to ravage the flock, thereby destroying many.

"John the Baptist called the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious leaders of his day) "a generation of vipers" (snakes) (Matt. 3:7).

"Today, he would be accused of being unloving, unkind, and unchristian.

"Jesus said to the religious Pharisees, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things ? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34). To many evangelicals and some fundamentalists, this would be unacceptable language today, but it is biblical language and it came from the mouth of the Son of God.

"Standing face to face with these false teachers, Jesus Christ the Son of God, called them "hypocrites," "blind guides," "blind," "whited sepulchres," "serpents," and "ye generation of vipers" (Matt. 23:23-34).

"Yet, we are told today that we are to fellowship with men whose doctrines are just as unscriptural as those of the Pharisees. Some who say they are Bible believing Christians insist on working with Roman Catholics and other assorted heretics. Yet, according to many, we are not supposed to rebuke them for their compromise."

"The Bible Admonishes Us To Expose Error.

"We are to TRY them. ''Beloved, believe not, every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world " (I John 4:1).

"All doctrine and teachers are to be tried according to the Word of God. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20).

"Every message, messenger, and method is to be judged according to the Word of God. The church at Ephesus was commended because they had "tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars" (Rev. 2:2).

"The church at Pergamos was rebuked because they tolerated those that held "the doctrine of Balaam," and "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate" (Rev. 2:14,15).

"It is never right to tolerate false teachers, but they are to be tried by the Word of God, and exposed. Of course those who want to disobey the Word of God will seek by every means to avoid this teaching.

"We are to MARK them and AVOID them. "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17).

"We are to REBUKE them. "Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" (Titus 1 :13).

"We are to have NO FELLOWSHIP with them. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11). Reprove means to censure, condemn, find fault, rebuke, and to refute. How can we obey this Scripture unless we try them by the Word of God?

"We are to WITHDRAW from them. "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which ye received of us" (II Thess. 3:6). We are to withdraw from those whose doctrine and conduct does not conform to the Word of God.

"We are to TURN AWAY from them. Concerning the last days, he says that some will have "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" for such people are "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (II Tim. 3:5,7). How can we turn away from them if we do not identify them, and this requires that their message be compared to the Word of God.

"We are NOT to RECEIVE them into our house. "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" (II John 10,11). There is no doubt about who John is speaking about, it is "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ... " (v.9).

"We are to REJECT HERETICS. "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject" (Titus 3:10). We should reject those who deny redemption by the blood of Christ. There are many who deny this or some other doctrine of the Word of God. If they will not respond to being admonished, then they are to be rejected.

"We are to SEPARATE from them. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (II Cor. 6:17). This makes it plain. God's people are to come out of apostasy and religious error.

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III. It Is Right To Name Names.

 

III. It Is Right To Name Names.

"Many mistakenly believe that it is wrong to expose error and to name the guilty teachers; but they are wrong according to the Bible.

"Paul named Peter publicly. Peter was guilty of unscriptural practice. "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed ... But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" (Gal. 2:11-141. The whole issue revolved around salvation by the law or by grace. When the integrity and purity of the gospel is at stake, then we have no choice when it comes to the matter of exposing error and naming names.

"Paul named Demas for loving the world. "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world" (II Tim. 4:10). Those who forsake the cause of Christ for worldly living and pleasures should be named and exposed.

"Paul named Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul told Timothy to "war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some have put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme" (I Tim. 1:18-20).

"Paul named Hymenaeus and Philetus. He told Timothy to "study'' that he might be able to "rightly" divide "the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as cloth as canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some" (II Tim. 2:15-18). False doctrine overthrows the faith of some, so those who are proclaiming it must be exposed.

"Paul named Alexander the coppersmith. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he bath greatly withstood our words"
(II Tim. 4:14-15).

"John named Diotrephes. "I wrote unto the church; but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not" (III John 9). He related how this man had prated against him "with malicious words" (v. 10). He further said, "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God" (v.11). It is not wrong to name those whose doctrine and practice is contrary to the Word of God.

"In fact, the whole Bible abounds in examples of false prophets being named and exposed. All this modern day talk about love, used as an excuse for not exposing error, is not really biblical love but is really sloppy agape.

"Moses called the name of Balaam. (See Num. 22-25). Peter exposed "the way of Balaam... who loved the wages of unrighteousness"
(II Pet. 2:15).

"Jude exposed "the error of Balaam'' (Jude 11). John exposed "the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication" (Rev. 2:14). This gets right to the heart of the matter, concerning the doctrine of separation.

"Nathan identified the man. There was a man in a very high place who was a secret adulterer. Surely this man who held the highest office in the land could not be rebuked by a lowly unpopular prophet. Nathan went right into the presence of David, revealed the sin in a parable form, and then told the enraged David, ''Thou art the man"
(II Sam. 12:7).

"Hanani named king Jehoshaphat. In many ways Jehoshaphat was a good king, but he mistakenly forgot to practice religious separation. He caused his son to marry wicked king Ahab's daughter.
(See II Chron. 18:1; 21 :1-6).

"Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord?"

"Yes, it is right to expose error and to name those who are in error. It is right to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).

"It was once delivered and it has never been recalled for revision. We had better beware of 'false teachers...who privily shall bring in damnable heresies" (II Pet. 2:1).

"Faithful messengers will warn the sheep of these heretics, and identify them by name. It is not enough to broadly hint of their identity, for the young lambs will not understand and will be destroyed by the wolves."

Alrighty then.