The “political correctness” of the social sphere has produced a kind of religious correctness among religious people. This has led to the popular notion that Christians are not to be critical of any type of behavior that they consider to be sinful and wrong. It is alleged that “true” Christians will have a “live and let live” approach to others. Of course, the Bible is filled with teaching that defines and condemns all sorts of sinful behavior, so any prohibition against denouncing sinful behavior is a prohibition against the teaching of the gospel of Christ (see Romans 1:18-32; 2:1-3, 21-22; 3:9-23; 13:9-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 2 Corinthians 12:20-21; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 4:18-31; Colossians 3:5-9; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Revelation 21:8 for some examples of sinful behavior that is explicitly condemned by God).
Free agency is a wonderful and powerful thing: It gives one the ability (not the right) to do what is wrong, and it gives one the choice to either listen to detractors or not. Similarly, free agency also gives Bible teachers the right to teach sinners who are willing to listen. Those who have no interest in the gospel message should be politely treated and the truth teacher should move on to someone else (Matthew 10:14). The New Testament contains no mechanism for the coercion of good behavior or for the physical punishment of bad behavior. This does not mean that Christians are to be silent regarding the law of God. God’s word constitutes a standard, and it is applied to humans through instruction and learning. Local churches are to “sound forth the word of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 1:8). Individual saints are to teach others. The gospel message is the “word of the Lord” because it was “breathed out” by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Philippians 2:16 calls the gospel the “word of life.” It is the “word of life” because it contains life-giving, soul-saving instructions. The gospel of Christ is “the power of God to salvation to everyone that believes…” (Romans 1:16). But “salvation” from what? Religious people often speak of “being saved,” but from what are we “saved?” Paul immediately answers this question in the several following verses following Romans 1:16 and 17: The answer is SIN! We are saved from the guilt and soul-damning consequences of sin.
We rarely hear the word “sin” anymore. Most people, even many who call themselves “Christians,” are afraid to use the little word “sin.” They fear that if they define sinful conduct, someone’s (sinful) behavior might be indicted and they will be charged with unlawful “judging of others.” Jesus did condemn hypocritical judging (Matthew 7:1-5), but He would have condemned Himself if He had condemned the condemning of sinful behavior (see Matthew chapters 6, 23…etc). When one “speaks as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11) he commends what God commends and he condemns what God condemns. Immediately after identifying the “gospel” as the “power of God for salvation,” Paul gave a very thorough treatment of the sins of the Gentiles (Romans 1:16-32). Of course, this is one of the purposes of gospel preaching — sin must be defined in order for people to know what it is. The preaching of gospel facts can produce faith, but what good does it do for one to believe if he refuses to repent? Jesus plainly stated that people will “perish” if they refuse to turn from their sins (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 2:38). But how does one repent of his sins if he doesn’t know what they are? Salvation is from sin. Let us ignore this new “religious correctness” and let us get back to the work of showing people how they are sinners, why they need to be saved, and what they must do to obtain salvation!
—Tim Haile