A fellow WELS Pastor asked me recently, "Why are we afraid as individual pastors to practice church discipline?" I think it's basically because we don’t like having to come right out and tell an erring member, “You’re wrong.” They won’t like it. They won't like us. Plus, we sometimes wonder to ourselves, since we also make plenty of mistakes, do we really have the right to say it?
What is true with individual Pastors and congregations is also true – perhaps even more so – with church bodies. It used to be that we Pastors were taught and were expected not just to speak clear enough to be understood, but to speak so very clearly so as not to be misunderstood. That standard has disappeared. Now, when a statement is made that sounds wrong, the claim is often made, "Oh, that can be understood correctly. He wasn't really wrong, he was just not as clear as he could have been."
There is great reluctance in recent years to saying that some actions or words are "wrong." Instead, other terms are used in place of wrong – words like: unclear, incorrect, misspoken, misunderstood, hazy, confused, imprecise, poorly chosen, improper, impolite, negative, regretful and the like. Here's what my dictionary gives as a definition of the word -
"wrong – crooked, twisted. 1. not morally right or just; sinful; wicked; immoral. 2. not in accordance with an established standard, ... 3. not suitable or appropriate ... 4. contrary to truth, fact, etc..." (Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition, World Publishing Co., Cleveland, OH)
Granted, my dictionary was published in 1968, but note especially the moral and ethical connotations in the above definition. This meaning denotes something bad and evil, and therefore sinful and in need of repentance, contrition, and forgiveness. But the word is seldom used anymore with this meaning. Yet it should be! This is especially true when it comes to the doctrines and practices in the visible Christian church.
For example, the teaching of the Roman Church concerning purgatory is not merely a misunderstanding of Scripture, or a hazy idea of the afterlife, it is wrong, evil, and sinful, and needs to be totally abhorred and rejected by all Bible-believing Christians! The same is true of that church's teaching about indulgences, or Mary as the "Co-Redemptrix," as well as many other false teachings. And the same is also true of dsipensationalism, millennialism, and the Rapture, among many other false teachings of the Reformed/Evangelical camp. There are all heretical. They do not meet the standard of Holy Scripture. Therefore they are wrong – wicked, sinful, and evil. Period!
The Intrepid Lutherans blog has shown what is wrong with allowing sectarianism even a foothold in any congregation that purports to be a confessional Lutheran church, and with the clearly deficient Kokomo statements regarding justification, among other things. We have also made it clear that making public use of another person's intellectual work, be it in sermons, prayers, services, hymns, music, or otherwise, without stating clearly that it is not your own work, is wrong, thus, immoral and unethical.
However, in doing this we believe we have been constructive, positive, polite, and patient. We have not deliberately and purposely attacked people's character or questioned their integrity. We have not tried to read their hearts nor have we expressed doubts about their possessing saving faith. We have simply and clearly said that some people's actions and statements are wrong. We very appropriately looked for recognition of the wrongs and a change away from wrong actions and statements.
And neither was this merely our opinion, but a fair and just comparison with the standards of God's Word and the Lutheran Confessions. We claim no divine wisdom or special powers, but simply "call them as we see them" – wrong – no more, no less.
If some see us as wrong, we expect similar treatment – to be confronted directly, openly, politely, and publicly, and held to the same standards of the Bible and the Book of Concord, with dignity and patience. If it can be proven we are in the wrong, we will confess and ask for pardon, and then we will change our words and actions accordingly.
By the same token, when we call some practice or words wrong in the future, we expect open and civil debate, and if we are proven correct, an honest admission of wrong-doing and an appropriate change in behavior. We do not feel that this is too much to expect or too much to ask.
Wrong is wrong and right is right, and to quote Mr. Kipling concerning such opposites, "never the twain shall meet!" That's as it should be, especially in something as important as the eternal destination of souls!
And that's the way we see it!
Pastor Spencer
