Right Words – Wrong Ground: A while ago a couple of men stopped by the house, inviting us to their congregation. I recognized the older gentleman as the pastor of a local church that openly promotes Arminian theology. They were both very clean-cut, almost like Mormon missionaries. The younger one did all the talking, sharp, respectful, and clearly trained in what to say. As we spoke, I asked him plainly what his hope of salvation was. And while I expected the standard answer about a decision made, a life changed, and the usual “gospel” monologue that often accompanies it, what he said was not what I anticipated.
The answer he gave was better than I expected, though something about it still did not quite line up. He said, simply, that Christ died for his sins, and that Christ was all his righteousness. That is not nothing. Those are powerful words, and that is a good confession. It was not the usual rehearsed focus on man’s choice, man’s change, or man’s experience. It was a confession that pointed directly to Christ. Still, as the conversation briefly lingered, I could not shake the contradiction between what he had just confessed and the message standing behind him, something I am sure many of us have sensed or experienced, even if we have struggled to define it.
After they left, I found myself thinking about that young man and what he had said. Did he understand the weight of his own confession, or how it stood against much of what surrounded him? Not every person is as consistent as the framework he lives under, and sometimes that inconsistency leans toward truth. Mark 9:38-40. Men may speak words that sound right and borrow the language of grace. Perhaps that is why this stayed with me, because beneath all the differences, I recognized something familiar.
Honestly, that young man reminded me of myself. Forty years ago, I had plenty of zeal, but little knowledge. In my own mind I was an evangelist of sorts, eager to speak while understanding almost nothing of grace, the Gospel, or the righteousness of Christ. If anyone had asked me then for the ground of my hope, my confession would not have been nearly so clear as his.
It reminds me that moments like this are not always easy to navigate. You may immediately recognize the corruption of the system being presented, yet still sense that the person before you is more than the framework he represents. How do you speak plainly without sounding proud, and without compromising the truth of the Gospel? How do you expose error without treating the man himself as the enemy? It is easy to speak harshly, as though they have nothing and we have everything, but that rarely helps anyone. People tend to close themselves off when they feel dismissed. Many of us once repeated what we had been taught, even while sensing that something was wrong. If others had rushed to condemn every word, they might have trampled the very point where truth was beginning to break through. Acts 18:24-26.
Yet kindness toward persons must never blur the Gospel itself. We may be patient with those entangled in error, but we must be settled as to the ground of salvation. The question remains: What is the basis of salvation according to God? What is the ultimate difference between the saved and the lost? Those who know the true Gospel can answer plainly: Christ alone is the difference. And anyone who truly understands the Gospel of grace is going to speak that way sooner or later. The truth within shapes the words without, and what a man treasures inwardly will show itself outwardly. Matthew 12:34. If Christ is believed, Christ will be confessed. Romans 10:9-10.
What a man inwardly trusts will sooner or later show itself in what he confesses. Luke 6:45. If Christ is obscured in the foundation, error will appear in the language as well. For that cause, errors touching the Gospel are never small matters. Should error be exposed? Without question. A false gospel robs Christ of His glory and turns men back toward themselves. We do no kindness by making men comfortable on a false foundation. To speak kindly to a person is one thing; to soothe him in error is another. Jeremiah 6:14. If the Gospel of grace is precious, then its corruption must be plainly opposed. Galatians 1:6-9.
I wish I had understood then what I see more clearly now. That was last summer, and they surprised us by coming so far up our driveway while my wife and I were outside. I answered by telling them they believed a false gospel, but when the young man spoke as he did, I found myself unsettled and uncertain what to say next. Perhaps nothing changed for them, but the encounter has continued to instruct me. I wrote the pastor the following day to apologize for my abruptness. While I did not soften my convictions, I recognized the uncomfortable position in which he had been placed and left both him and the matter in the hands of the Lord. Hope something here may be helpful. MPJ