Love, Love, Love, or Turning Over Tables, Or

In today’s information culture there are all kinds of incidents that involve Christians, Christian leaders, Christian organizations, and people in general. As Christians, just like people in general, we form opinions, make judgment calls about what we read, and hear about certain public incidents.

Ultimately what happens it normally comes down to Is God the Father and Jesus nothing but love, love, love, mercy, mercy, mercy? Or is Jesus all about pulling out the whip and turning over tables? Or all about calling people hypocrites, blind fools, brood of vipers, children of hell?

What about forgiveness? Jesus said to forgive 70×7. Did that mean we are to forgive and not hold people accountable. To never require justice, restitution? To just forget?

What about Peter calling out Ananias and Saphira and they fall dead? What about Paul calling out certain people and publicly exposing their sin?

BOTH/ALL/SOME

The problem with some Christians, actually with many Christians, it seems they like to base their beliefs on extremes, especially when it comes to Jesus. They also fall prey to quoting and applying Scripture out of context. It is as if they form a belief, an opinion, a position and then go to the Bible to defend their position, instead of using Critical Thinking (actively analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting information to make reasoned, informed judgments and decisions) to form a balanced theological position. What ends up happening they make Jesus to be who they want Him to be, not who He was. He is either a passive Jesus that appears to wink at sin or He is a Jesus who is angry and goes after sinners.

The bottom line is He was one who loved whomsoevers, who showed much love, mercy, grace, while at the same time confronted sin and sinners in a variety of ways. What we cannot do is build a belief system off of one verse or verses out of context.

We must also take a look at all of Scripture in context before we build belief systems or we will come up with distorted beliefs, unbiblical opinions regarding public incidents, and form false doctrine.

Balance

In this article/podcast I am going to attempt to bring biblical balance. I am hoping reveal Jesus of the Bible, the God of the Bible, not a man-made Jesus. I am hoping to show how to properly interpret Scripture regarding this topic. Before I do that I want to talk about Forgiveness since there are some misconceptions.

Forgiveness

There are false beliefs about forgiveness, two common ones are ‘forgive and forget’ and if you truly forgive you do not hold people accountable. There is also a belief, especially when it comes to victims of clergy abuse, especially clergy sexual abuse, that if a victim does not report abuse until years later they must be lying. All of these misconceptions are unbiblical. I will not address this topic in this article/podcast, because I have an entire series on Forgiveness. Click here for the blog articles, and click here for podcasts.

Love, Mercy, Grace

It is clear, and no one questions that Jesus while on earth showed much love, mercy, and grace. That is not up for debate. But there are those who only seems to see that side of Jesus or they take it further that it should be taken. They use certain Bible verses to the extreme and want to apply them to every situation. Here are some examples:
John 8:1-11 – The woman caught in adultery. Go and sin no more.
Some use this passage to make a dogmatic statement that as Christians we should give those who sin free passes, no consequences for sin. We have multitudes of passages where there were consequences for sin. It should be clear by the context Jesus was specifically dealing with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Jesus certainly did not wink at the sin of the woman. He told her to go and sin no more. Does any Christian truly believe that if she committed adultery again there would not be any consequence. That there are no consequences for sin? The Bible teaches otherwise.

Matthew 5:38–42 – Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give generously.
Matthew 5:43–48 – Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you.
They interpret this passage as meaning that Jesus was saying just let people abuse you. Jesus was sharing a principle, not a dogmatic rule. Common sense Jesus was not saying let someone physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, sexually abuse you. The Old Testament and New Testament, Jesus, the Apostles confronted individuals who done these things and there were consequences.

Matthew 18:21–22 – Forgive without limit (“seventy times seven”).
Luke 6:37 – Do not judge or condemn; forgive, and you will be forgiven.
We address this in previous blog articles and podcasts, but the bottom line these verses command us to forgive but there is nothing in these verses that say we must blindly trust those who have sinned against us, or that we must reconcile to individuals regardless of what they have done, or that we are not to seek justice. Jesus is not the grand enabler.

Some want to use the example of Jesus on the cross and the fact he did not resist the evil done to Him. Reminder He is the only redeemer, the only Savior, we are not. Reminder, He had a specific calling, to be the Messiah, the sacrificial lamb. Reminder Stephen, the Apostles, others were called to be martyrs.

Christians Should Not Defend Themselves or Others

Overall we have dealt with this already, but some go even further. They will say we should always be a martyr if need be, and not even protect others including our family, to trust God. There are no Bible verses that say that, and it is stretching the Bible passages already shared. Some use the following verse:
Matthew 26:52 – “Put your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
Context matters. Jesus was called to be the Sacrificial Lamb, thus He was not to be protected by attacking the soldiers. Jesus desires peace versus violence. It is not violence to protect yourself or someone else. Jesus was giving a warning to not resort to violence to solve every situation. But we have a moral obligation to defend others, especially our family. Wisdom says we should defend ourselves.
Luke 22:36 – “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one”
First off because of zealots and bandits it was common to have some form of protection. Selling a cloak for a sword indicated the seriousness of the current environment. Jesus was preparing the disciples for a season of danger and hostility. Protection is much different than violent context.

Be a Martyr

Jesus died as the Sacrificial Lamb. Stephen died as a martyr. The Apostles, all but one, died as martyrs. There a multitudes that have died as martyrs. Some choose to, others had no choice. We as individuals can choose to die as martyrs. But dying as a martyr, for your faith, is much different than dying because you chose to not defend yourself. I would call that foolishness and there is no Scripture that teaches a Christian must not defend themselves and die because they did not protect themselves from someone who was going to harm them. I have heard some insinuate they would never kill another human being even if the person was harming their spouse. What?????

Whips and Turning Over Tables

The other extreme. Instead of love, mercy, grace, there are those who want to make Jesus as the angry one who got physical against evil. They use the following verse to defend their position. They are completely taking this passage out of context.

Matthew 21: 15-16
¹⁵ And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; ¹⁶ and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

Mark 11:15-17
¹⁵ Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; ¹⁶ and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. ¹⁷ And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.

Context:
The passages do not say that Jesus used the whips literally on the people. They did not need to be hit by the whips to drive them out. If someone is swing a whip around in anger, they do not have to hit you to get you to leave.

Jesus anger/actions were not based upon someone physically harming him or harming someone else. His anger was because the money changers were ripping people off and the temple was being made into a marketplace. (Travelers had to purchase animals for sacrifices.)

Jesus was manifesting righteous anger at sinful behavior, but not any sinful behavior, but at disrespect to the temple.

This type of behavior was only manifested twice in all of the Gospels, at the beginning of his ministry and at the end. That is significant.

There is no example in the New Testament of any of the Apostles, the authors of the New Testament manifesting angry physical behavior. You do not build a doctrine out of one passage of Scripture.

Rabbit Trial: What would Jesus think about churches that have in the foyer (outer court of the temple) the selling of books, resources, beverages, snacks, etc? Again context. Jesus was angry because the money changers were making an unjust profit. He was angry because the temple (the outer courts) was being made into a marketplace. Is not the selling of all kinds of items within the church prior to church service, during church service, after church service turning the church into a marketplace? But what is being sold are good resources and just selling some coffee with pastries. Okay, what kind of markup? Are people getting ripped off? Why not sell the resources at cost so as many as possible can be blessed? This be honest, there are church marketing resources on how to increase church income in the foyer. Let that sink in.

Jesus and the Apostles Confronting Evil by Words, not Physical Harm

There are plenty of Bible passages of Scripture where Jesus and the Apostles confronted evil by the use of words, going as far as identifying specific individuals as evil, rather than by confronting them with physical harm.

Jesus uses words like blind fools, serpents, generation of vipers, white supulchres full of dry bones, hypocrites. Peter calls out Ananias and Sapphira. Apostle Paul calls out Euodia and Syntyche, Hymenaeus, and Alexander the Silversmith.

Self-Defense

It is clear in Scripture we are to avoid violence and if possible avoid harming someone. We should try every possible tactic to avoid the harming or killing someone. (Being in the military is a different topic.) It is also clear in Scripture we have a right to defend ourselves when necessary, even to the point of taking a life.

Exodus 22:2-3 – “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed” — recognizing the right to protect oneself and property in danger

Luke 22:36 – Jesus told His disciples, “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” — implying preparedness for protection. Obviously use it if needed.

Matthew 10:16 – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves… be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” — wisdom in protecting oneself while remaining peaceful as much as possible.

Defending Others

I will admit that I find it very disturbing if a person believes we should not defend, protect others from physical harm. Not sure how a Christian could call themselves pro-life and not protect someone whose is being attacked, especially with the potential of them being murdered. Legitimate threats with the serious possibility of taking place need to be addressed, prevented, stopped if taking place.

Psalm 82:4 – “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” — a godly duty to protect the vulnerable

Proverbs 31:8-9 – “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” — defending the poor and helpless

Jeremiah 22:3 – “Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors” — rescuing from harm is a moral imperative

Wisdom and Discernment

Even though we have a right to defend ourselves and defend others we need to use wisdom and discernment. Not every threat is a literal threat. Words are much different than actions. One has to ask what is the level of threat, what is the potential of it being carried out? What steps can be taken to eliminate the threat without bodily harm? Need to make sure your heart is in alignment with God. What would a godly person do? Need to make sure not taking personal vengeance instead of actually defending and protecting.

Be careful labeling your actions as righteous anger. Most of the time what people call righteous anger is actually a fleshly response. The ultimate goal of righteous anger should be to bring good out of evil, not just confront evil.

Romans 12:19 – “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God” — avoid personal retaliation, but God will judge

James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously… and it will be given to you” — seek God’s guidance before acting

Proverbs 4:7 – “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom” — wisdom is key in knowing when and how to defend

Spell/Sherwin Incident

With all of this information we should be able to use the principle of Critical Thinking with Scripture to determine if the actions of Pastor Spell were appropriate for the situation, especially with Pastor Spell being a pastor of a church.

Summary

Jesus, God, clearly reflect love, mercy, and grace and clearly desire for us to walk in the same way. Scripture is clear that God calls us to forgive. Scripture is also clear that Jesus and the Apostles had no problem confronting evil. However, there is no evidence that Jesus and the Apostles used physical harm to confront evil. The closest thing to a physical act is when Jesus twice in 3-1/2 years of ministry used whips to to drive out the money changers. There are Bible passages that make it clear we are to not take revenge on anyone or attack anyone other than for self-defense or the defense of another.

Scripture does make it clear that we have a right to defend ourselves and others. We may chose to be a martyr for the sake of the Gospel, but we should not chose that for others, we should defend them in any situation if need be. Not just physically but verbally protect them if need be.

It is not either/or, but both. Let’s use wisdom and discernment so that our actions do not bring disdain to the Gospel, and unnecessary harm to another individual.

Series on Pastor Tony Spell and Luke Sherwin Incident Podcasts
Handling Personal Physical Threats Podcast
Missing the Mark-My Story Podcast
Passion for the Lost Podcast
Pastor Spell and Luke Sherwin Incident
Love, Love, Love, or Turning Over Tables, Or

#preacherrichd #selfdefense #defendingothers #spell #pastortonyspell #sherwin