Errors In Judgment
 “They are enemies of the Cross of Christ� (Phil. 3:8).
" Let us, my brethren, make haste and be gone, lest the bath, wherein is Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, should fall upon our heads."
-- Attributed to the Apostle John
 Some time ago, a friend called me to express caution over a statement I had made about the teaching of a prominent, African-American Christian leader. I had questioned the Christian leader’s doctrine of Christ, for his published statements on the destiny of those who have never heard the Gospel provided a way of salvation other than calling on the name of Christ. My friend, however, did not want all of the good this leader has done for the Church to be tarnished by my identifying this leader as a heretic, simply because one of his teachings is somewhat controversial. (To be fair, I must say that this leader’s teaching does say that the other means of salvation is still based on the work of Christ, just not by calling directly on Christ. I must also say that my friend believes a public clarification on this teaching was made by the leader at a church conference. But I cannot find any references to such a clarification.)
Because of my friend’s expressed concern over my judgments, I have taken a different approach to this issue. I have written to the leader to see if there has been a clarification of his statement. I will not mention this leader’s name when speaking of the teaching, at least not until I hear directly from the leader, even as I have not given the name of that leader here. Also, I have decided against making a critique of this unnamed leader’s controversial teaching in this post. I know my friend will be happy that I have taken these steps.
Nevertheless I am concerned for my friend, for myself, and for those of us who lead in the African-American community. For it seems that we have trouble making judgments on fellow colleagues, and that we are unwilling to distance ourselves from those whose lives or teachings are in error. It is almost as if making macro-level judgments, which have public approval, are acceptable – “Jesus Christ is the only way!� Yet micro-level judgments, which do not have public approval, and which will make us stand out from the broader African American community, are unacceptable – “he is wrong about Christ!�
How ironic this is, for when necessary, we will make moral and theological judgments on the works of others. We were quick to say the Duke University lacrosse players were wrong for raping the exotic dancer. The governmental authorities were wrong to delay assistance to those debilitated and displaced by Hurricane Katrina. It was wrong for the slave owners to use the Scriptures to teach the deterministic slavery of Blacks.
But what if someone taught everything else correct in the Scriptures, but promoted the Curse of Ham? What if someone completely defended the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, but said the people of New Orleans are beyond the ability to be saved by Christ because of the practice of Voodoo? What if a soundly teaching pastor were found to be keeping an African-American family as his personal, unpaid house servants, complete with hazardous servants’ quarters? Members of our community would cry foul, and demand retraction, apology, repentance, and, in the last case, a criminal investigation. But when it comes to our own, such as a pastor who steps out on his wife, or a leader who teaches contrary to the Gospel, only in the most quiet corners will we express misgivings over the colleague’s actions. In public, we say nothing.
It seems, then, it is not simply that we enjoin ourselves to macro-judgments while avoiding the aloneness of making micro-judgments. Instead, we are willing to make judgments of any type when it is to the perceived benefit of African-Americans as a whole within the larger culture; but we are unwilling to make judgments when it is to the perceived detriment of one African-American individual on an issue that is “just among us.� When micro-judgments are made by members of our community, those making them receive the ad hominem epithets (“you’re just jealous,� or “you’re such a hater�), the dirty laundry chastening (“we don’t air our issues in public where they can tear us down�), the victimization clause (“we’re the victims, so give us a break�), the lesser-of-two-evils justification (“well, he’s not as bad as so-in-so who is completely wrong�), or the grace appeal (“but it is always better to give grace – to err on the side of grace�). But these responses are judgments – moral judgments on the one who has judged another, and theological judgments on the importance of the witness of the Gospel to each of us. Even my friend made such a moral judgment.
How different this is from the Apostles, who, like Paul and John, could identify someone as an “enemy of the truth� (cf. Phil. 3:18). How much different this is from our Lord who could say to the leaders of Israel, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves,� (Matt. 23:15, ESV). For our Lord and the Apostles, making judgments on the teaching and lifestyles of others was about the truth of the Gospel – about heaven and hell. Oh how they rejoiced in making judgments for the sake of the Truth (2 John 4, 3 John 3)!
And how much happier we will be, if we disassociate ourselves from sharing pulpits and platforms with those whose teachings deny the Gospel of our Lord Jesus! How much stronger our people will be if we are consistent in demonstrating to them the difference between right and wrong, moral and immoral, truth and error, for the sake of the name of Christ. How much cleaner we will be if we are the lone ones to leave the public acceptance bathhouse of friendships with those whose lifestyles bring shame to our precious Savior.
To continue to do otherwise would be to refuse to judge something or someone to be in error, which is a denial of grace. Sadly, that would be an error in judgment.
Eric C. Redmond is the Pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Temple Hills, MD.
Comments
October 16, 2007
Philip Lazar
October 29, 2007
Lionel Woods
August 14, 2007