Op-ed: Christians, don't forget that judgment begins inside the house

There is a strong tendency for many of us Christians engaged in the public square to focus on what's happening outside the church. The culture is loud, visible, and often openly hostile to what Scripture teaches.

Still, we ignore at our own peril the fact that the Bible consistently turns our attention inward. Not because what's happening outside doesn't matter, but because what happens inside matters more. The Apostle Peter wrote himself,

Judgment begins at the household of God. (1 Peter 4:17)

If that's true (and it is), it would be wise of us to observe what has become commonplace in so many supposed places of worship:

It would be easy to dismiss all of this by saying, "That's not real Christianity. Those aren't real believers."

But Scripture does not allow us to distance ourselves that quickly. When people publicly claim the name of Christ while living and teaching what He condemns, the response of the church is not to ignore them — but to confront them.

Paul faced this exact situation in Corinth. Faced with open, unrepentant sexual sin among those inside the church, he did not say, "They must not be real Christians." He said,

Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? (1 Corinthians 5:12)

When the name of Christ is attached to what dishonors Him, it is not enough to quietly disassociate.

It must be clearly, publicly repudiated.

Not because they are merely "controversial" or "offensive." But because they represent something Scripture treats with the utmost seriousness: the corruption of what is meant to be holy.

The gathering of the church is not a neutral space. It is not a platform for experimentation or a stage for self-expression. It is, according to Scripture, the place where God's people devote themselves to "the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers" (Acts 2:42).

• It is where God is to be worshiped.

• It is where truth is to be proclaimed.

• It is where holiness is to be pursued.

When that space is filled with the very things God deplores - when those things are tolerated, justified, and even celebrated - what we are dealing with is not cultural confusion.

It's spiritual corruption of the highest order.

The prophet Jeremiah saw this in his own day, and his words still cut:

Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. (Jeremiah 6:15)

That was not merely a description of the world at that time. It was (and is) a warning to the people of God then and now.

The danger is not that sin exists "out there." The danger is when it becomes welcomed "in here," dressed up in religious language, softened by sentiment, and shielded from rebuke in the misappropriated name of love.

Scripture does not permit us to redefine love that way.

God is love. Therefore, love does not celebrate what God condemns. And grace does not erase His call to holiness.

The New Testament speaks with unmistakable clarity on this point. When sin was openly tolerated among God's people, Paul did not commend their compassion or open-mindedness. He didn't praise their winsomeness and willingness to come alongside and "do life" with the godless. He confronted their compromise:

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven. (1 Corinthians 5:6 - 7)

That language is strong because the issue is serious. The church does not belong to us. It belongs to Christ, and Christ does not share His house with idols. That is why Jesus Himself, in one of the most striking moments of the Gospels, entered the temple and drove out those who had corrupted it:

My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. (Matthew 21:13)

There is more at stake here than internal consistency. There is the matter of our credibility as a body of believers. If we refuse to confront sin in our own midst, why would anyone in the culture take seriously our calls for repentance in theirs?

But even that is not the deepest issue. More important than our credibility is the honor of the Lord Himself. The church bears His name. And when we tolerate what He condemns, we do not merely weaken our witness, we profane what is holy. That is why Scripture calls us not only to purity, but to fear. Not fear of man, not fear of backlash, but a reverent fear of God, who sees, who judges, and who will not share His glory with idols.

Calling out sin within the church is not harshness. It is not unloving or divisive.

It is obedience.

Scripture calls us to remove iniquity from our midst, not to artfully manage it. It calls us to repent of depravity, not reframe it. It calls us to destroy idols, not tolerate and accommodate them.

Worldliness in the world is inevitable, but worldliness in the Church is intolerable.

When we encounter it - and there is plenty these days to encounter - our response should not be self-glorifying performative outrage, but a sober, biblical commitment to guard what God has consecrated.

We do that by drawing lines where Scripture draws them, speaking clearly, and refusing to compromise.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.