Fighting About Nothing<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
by Walter Martin
 
A great evangelist of the past once said that churches by and large have become places where we have soft lights, soft music, and even softer sermons-and as a result people have been lulled into a false sense of security.  I think we have to come to grips with the fact that the end of the ages which the Christian Church must face is upon us.  It is to be a time of great trouble and trial for Christianity.
Now, I am not going to argue about the Pretribulation, Midtribulation, or Posttribulation positions or whether Jesus is coming before the Tribulation, in the middle of the Tribulation or after the Tribulation.  I have a dear friend who says he's a PanTribulationist:  Everything is going to pan out in the end.  I think he's probably closer to the truth than he knows.
We've been so busy fighting among ourselves.  We are so busy arguing about whether or not Christ is going to come before the Tribulation, in the middle of the Tribulation or after the Tribulation-which is pure trivulation, anyhow!  Premillennial, Amillennial, Postmillennial.  Sprinkle them, pour 'em, immerse 'em.  Give 'em wine, grape juice or Coca-Cola at the Communion service; leaven bread, unleaven bread.  Bishops, ruling elders, deacons:  No bishops, no ruling elders, no deacons.  Back and forth, in and out, up, down . . . the whole world is going to Hell on the doorstep while we're fighting about nothing!
We must get our minds off peripheral theology and get down to the main business of the Church, which happens to be how to penetrate the world.  There are many people awaiting the Second Advent of Jesus Christ who do nothing for the Kingdom.  They're so heavenly minded they're no earthly good, and this is exactly what we want to avoid.
The end of the ages is upon us, and we must be accountable to each other for our actions.  It is biblical to hold fellow Christians accountable.  A leader of a home Bible study once reprimanded a member of the group when he dared to criticize a prominent Christian leader for his error on a doctrinal issue.  He felt one Christian brother should not attack another, and ended by saying, "It doesn't matter how you bring one to Christ, just that you do."
How do you scripturally refute this idea that the end justifies the means?  You don't.  You can't, because if you will do anything to get somebody to Christ, then why not lie to them?  Why tell them the truth at all?  Why not tell them there is no hell?  Why not tell them anything you want to tell them, just as long as they inevitably get saved?  It is quite true that a host of ministers today give you half the truth, part of the truth, and seldom ever all of the truth.  The reason for that is they don't want to offend anyone.  Why?  It would cut down on their audiences and it would certainly cut down on their support.  So they won't do it.
Scripture teaches specifically that the end does not justify the means.  The Apostle Paul makes that quite clear when he says "...some claim that we say 'Let us do evil that good may result.'  Their condemnation is deserved."  A Christian leader cannot justify ungodly behavior in this way.
You needn't be concerned that you are attacking a brother in this situation.  Scripture teaches that every minister is subject to the Church and to Scripture.  If he will not accept the discipline of the Church, and will not live within the context of Biblical theology, then he is to be reprimanded for it.  If he won't listen, he is to be disciplined for it.  If he refuses discipline, he's to be excommunicated for it.  It's as simple as that.  Sadly, we have enough in this particular minister's theology to have excommunicated him years ago on the basis of the Doctrine of man, the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment, and many other points of doctrine.
What bothers me is that every time you open your mouth as a Christian and say, "This is wrong," you've got some pious person popping up saying, "Oh, but that's judgmental."  I don't think they've ever read Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians, where he says we are supposed to judge within the body.  If we don't judge within the body, how is anyone ever going to know the truth?  People can say whatever they want to say.
You are not attacking a brother if you are holding him accountable.  Every minister is subject to Scripture and to the Church, and we must tell people the whole truth-not just a part of it.