Why “Winsome” is Losing

Neglected teaching from 2nd John

Monday in my podcast, I featured a rather unwinsome address by Michael Clary.

Clary denounces a kind of neo-pietism that has thoroughly infected evangelicalism.  One feature of this pietistic impulse is that niceness, “winsomeness” if you will, is put above truth and common sense even.  The result is that churches often enable great evil, such as two examples he gives, abortion and the current Invasion.  And on this September 11th, we have no idea what further great evil may come out of the latter.  Churches that support the Invasion will inevitably have even more to answer for.

A related problem with this pietistic winsomeness is that it enables the infiltration of the church:

…we’re told we should be agreeable, compliant, maximally non-confrontational, syrupy sweet, and winsome. Don’t push back. Don’t oppose them while they invade and colonize our churches, seminaries, publishing houses, and institutions.

And, as Anne Kennedy noted this summer….

Twenty Fun Ways To Be Nice As A Christian

…the infiltrators themselves urge niceness. Of course, they would.  Public apostate Dr. Kevin M. Young is one of them.

Well, there is an epistle that warns against such winsomeness, one I intend to teach on this Sunday afternoon, 2nd John.

St. John wrote to a “chosen lady and her children,” probably a church.  But if the “chosen lady” was actually a prominent Christian woman, that does not change the lessons of this letter substantially.  Whether a church or a household, John is not critical of them but is glad they are “walking in truth.”

But John saw a danger, which no doubt prompted his letter.  He begins by gently and repeatedly reminding that truth and love, real love from God, go together.  “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.” (v. 6) Genuine Christian love is always in line with God’s truth, with God’s Word.  Then John gives a warning that indicates he was concerned the church would be manipulated to love in a way, in a self-destructive way, out of line with truth.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. (vv. 7, 8 NASB 1995)

The danger was that false teachers, who deceive by sounding Christian and authoritative and, yes, loving and winsome, would lead people astray from vital truth and undo that church’s progress in The Faith.  The church leaders needed to “watch,” be alert to these false teachers, and deal wisely with them to protect the church, not be negligent and allow them to infiltrate.  Protecting the family of God and preserving The Faith from predators, instead of enabling predators, is part of Christian love.

Then he gives a more specific instruction with additional warnings.

Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 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. (vv. 9, 10)

If John were writing today, perhaps he would be required to give a trigger warning on that instruction!  Do not even greet an itinerant teacher who is off on his teaching about Christ? Don’t be “welcoming” to him at all?  Remember John is addressing the problem of false teachers who claim to be Christian teachers, not seekers or Christians who have mistaken ideas but are learning and do not presume to teach.  But, still, how not winsome!

Yet it is that important that the church and church leaders not aid or enable false teaching and false teachers.  Churches should not even welcome such as Christian brothers lest the churches “participate in . . . the evil deeds” of misleading and infiltrating the Church.

But how many churches follow this clear command from John?  You know that churches that obsess about being “winsome” and “kind” usually do not.  That would certainly include today’s pietistic American evangelicalism that Clary addressed.

Instead the Apostles and Fathers called out false teachers again and again.  It is that important to drive off the wolves from the sheep and keep the sheep away from the wolves.  But what if one is too nice even to call a wolf a wolf?

The temptation, and one many churches and other Christian institutions fall into, is to remain nice.  So a few wolves have snuck in?  Still be nice, and don’t call them wolves!  With the decline of Big Eva and many once orthodox churches, we see and are seeing the results of such nice cowardice.

To refuse false teachers entrance, even to refuse to recognize them as Christian brothers, may seem odd and harsh and downright unloving (even though it is tough love towards both errant teachers and the Church).  Still recent church history — and really all church history — proves St. John right.  We should have learned from Scripture.  Now we are learning the hard way if we are learning at all.  When will we obey?  When will we obey St. John and give false teachers no entry into our churches and institutions?