Justification by faith is deeply ingrained in some believers, so that they are quick to condemn as false brothers those who deny or distort the doctrine. This is biblical and commendable, but it does not mean that they are free from the pattern of hypocrisy above. The sin of paying lip service to a biblical teaching while opposing its application is rampant, and shows itself when it comes to many other doctrines.

For example, some of us have been persecuted by professing believers for affirming that Scripture means what it says when it states that non-Christians are fools – that is, morons and idiots. There are Christians who acknowledge that unbelievers are "fools" in a poetic sense, a sense that is ambiguous and that carries little meaning and offense. But by it we mean that all non-Christians are stupid people, that they are intellectually retarded and defective.

Scripture is just as clear about this as its teaching that non-Christians are sinners. And here also, we do not mean sinners in a poetic sense, but we mean that non-Christians are wicked and filthy people. And this is what we were before God saved us. There should be nothing vague, or poetic, or beautiful about the idea. Any professing believer who does not have this meaning in mind when he uses the word "sinners" implicitly denies a basic tenet of the Christian faith, and this also reflects negatively on his understanding of salvation.

As long as Christians affirm these two teachings only in a poetic sense, they are paying lip service to God and Scripture, but they are exposed when they criticize someone who actually applies them. We affirm with Scripture that all non-Christians are stupid and evil. They are not smart and not good. For us this is not a matter of personal satisfaction, nor is it a mere debate tactic, as it has been alleged even by those who claim to be Christians. It is first a matter of reverence toward God and Scripture. It is a matter of biblical inerrancy.

Because the Bible is inerrant, then it is correct when it calls non-Christians stupid and evil, and we are correct when we repeat this teaching. Those Christians who dare to oppose this expose themselves as enemies of Christ – they affirm the message on the one hand, but oppose the application on the other. These hypocrites are useless as servants of God. They are the very problems that true ministers of the gospel labor to overcome.

Scripture does not refer to the intellectual aspect of man's fallen condition with a rather respectable-sounding term like "the noetic effects of sin" – it calls them morons.¹⁴ Even if the teaching produces no theological or practical significance, we must still affirm it just because it is the truth that God has revealed in Scripture. But the implications are in fact tremendous and far-reaching.

Only when we affirm with Scripture that the non-Christian is both stupid and evil, and not just evil, do we truly acknowledge the full extent of his fall. And then we may in turn affirm the corresponding solution in Christ. Thus to underplay either aspect of man's fall is to obscure the glory of the gospel. What an evil thing it is to do this. And this is why those who oppose us on this issue commit a great sin against the Lord and treachery against all the believers who contend for the true gospel, since not only do they refuse to proclaim the full extent of the fall and the full power of salvation, but they persecute those who do. And in this manner they have become enemies against the grace of Christ, devaluing and dishonoring his blood and his sacrifice.

These hypocrites pay lip service to the inerrancy of Scripture, but when God speaks something in it that they find difficult to accept, that stirs up their fear of men, or that threatens their respectability or appearance before the world, they turn from it and refuse to accept it. Then, when someone merely repeats and applies what God says on the subject, they throng to silence him. The real object of their hatred is the Lord. They resent him for saying such things.

Of course, justification by faith and the noetic effects of sin are just two examples of how men often pretend to agree with divine revelation, but pick up stones against anyone who dares to apply it, and who is humble enough before God to proclaim it without question or hesitation. This pattern of hypocrisy is seen in professing believers regarding just about anything that the Bible teaches.

As another example, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." A person does not really believe this passage unless he can say, "If you are a homosexual or an adulterer, unless you repent, believe the gospel, and turn from your sins, God will send you to hell, where you will suffer extreme pain and agony forever." This is what the passage means. But nowadays those who call themselves Christians profess belief in Scripture on the one hand, and instead of warning homosexuals and adulterers, they ordain them to the ministry.

 

NOTES

¹⁴ See Vincent Cheung, "A Moron By Any Other Name," "Professional Morons," and Commentary on Ephesians.

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