“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”
This is a tough passage. Apparently, there is to be a difference in the way we treat non-Christians who ignore God’s truth, and non-Christians who pollute it. We must love our enemies… However very little latitude is to be offered when someone distorts the “non-negotiables” of Christianity.
Jesus said the second most important commandment is to love your brother, but the most important commandment is to love God. Sometimes we get those out of order… If it’s up to me, I should be at peace with all men, but sometimes it’s not up to me… I must follow the truth of scripture and not allow deviation. I must be holy, I cannot “go along, to get along”. Nor can I do anything that lends validity to a false doctrine.
The phrase “this teaching” in this morning’s passage, refers to and earlier verse that says “those who deny the coming of Jesus in the flesh” … and that point is non-negotiable. I can’t allow the teaching of those who deny His coming because it is the substance of the Gospel. If I show tolerance toward those who deny Jesus’ coming in the flesh, I am guilty of helping spread that lie.
There are many “non-negotiables” in scripture, and it is critical that I know what is, and what is not flexible in the Bible.
So, my guidelines are as follows:
1. I must not bend on points where God is unbending, even when it is unpopular.
2. I must be rigid without hating those who teach differently.
3. I cannot compromise to get along.
4. I must study my Bible carefully and rely solely on scripture to determine what is, and what is not “negotiable”.
As I said, this is a tough passage, but it’s also an important one… because according to this verse if I support those who teach heresy, I am guilty of teaching it myself. I must disagree civilly. But at the same time, I must be willing to be labeled intolerant by clearly calling sin, sin.
"We are to be hard where the Bible is hard and soft where the Bible is soft" - Francis Schaeffer
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