The problem with modern-day Christianity and what to do about it

With the way our world is in its current state and given the direction it is going, it is becoming more important every day for Christians to not lose their identity to something other than Christ.

There are many things in our society that pull people away from who they are in Christ— a sinner saved by grace attained through faith — including politics, family, and even church tradition, to name a few.

More than ever, we’re seeing an overwhelming connection with people that call themselves Christians and a murky combination of the words tolerance and love as if they are the same thing.

Heads up — they’re not.

In fact, the Bible speaks explicitly on tolerance that overrides the natural way God created things and also on the caution we must have to keep ourselves from idols and focus on what God says on all matters (1 John 5:21; Romans 1:18–32).

But we are supposed to love people, right?

Yes!

But without understanding the definition of love and the definition of tolerance, we would be giving Satan a place to create confusion in our life and also use his devices to lead us astray (Hosea 4:6; 2 Corinthians 2:9–11).

With that in mind, let’s get a closer look at how the Bible defines love.

The way that love is defined in the Bible is a display of self-sacrifice that was demonstrated best by what Jesus did on the cross by dying and resurrecting as a sacrifice on the behalf of humanity. This love is replicated by us through obedience to God, but is also something we must show others (John 15:13; Matthew 12:28–34; 1 John 4:21).

It’s how we show love to others that the understanding of love is lost.

On one side of the aisle in the modern church, the philosophy is a love that is loose and where any correction is looked at as a form of hatred. Opposite of that extreme, there’s a stance absolutely in favor of correction with no compassion.

Neither of those approaches are what the Bible teaches, so what gives.

What God gave us in His word can be trusted as complete and to treat is as something we use to guide how we live (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; Psalms 119:105; James 1:22).

What we are told to do based on what the Bible instructs us is to walk in truth and that God’s word is good for things such as teaching, correction, doctrine, and instruction.

The first type of church that you’ll see often in the modern age of Christianity is the one where love knows no correction. To have this line up with scripture, we’d need to know what the Bible says about love and correction and if they go together.

We find in several places within scripture that discipline and correction come from the love that God has for us when He is the one doing the disciplining. What should be concerning to those who claim to be Christians that take this stance is what is in Hebrews 12:8 where the Bible is clear that without disciple we are not considered part of the family. (Proverbs 3:11–12; Hebrews 12:3–11).

This same attitude of discipline is how Paul addressed issues with the churches that he wrote to in the New Testament, where correction was a necessary part of showing someone that you love them.

Paul addresses major issues in the church such as sexual immorality among members (1 Corinthians 5:1–13), people that cause irresponsible divisions (1 Corinthians 1:10–17; 1 Corinthians 3:1–4; Romans 16:17), self-declared wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:18–23), among other issues.

To add to what Paul called the churches out on, he also makes it clear that any of those problems must be dealt with by way of correction (1 Corinthians 5:9–13).

This is reinforced by what we see in Proverbs 12:1 where it says that a love of discipline is equal to a love of knowledge and hatred of discipline is foolish. You can also see that the reverse is true in Proverbs 13:24 where if someone withholds discipline they do not love the offending person.

The other extreme of love without disciple is discipline without love. We know that based on what the Bible tells us about God’s love being evident through discipline that there is no true discipline without care. Constantly having a cold heart is not biblical, even if it makes your discipline something to fear.

We see this mentioned in Luke 17:3–4 where we’re instructed to rebuke a brother in the faith caught in sin and then if there is repentance to forgive him. What’s most interesting about this passage is we are not told to just forgive when it is convenient, PR appropriate, or not that big of a deal to us personally — we’re told to do it all day at all times.

A common objection by the first type of church mentioned is the claim that we are not supposed to judge others. However, if you take that stance, what you find in the Bible will surprise you.

Having experienced this attempt at a critique personally, the go-to verse is Matthew 7:1 where we’re told not to judge unless we want to be judged. What those in the modern church with an incorrect understanding of love don’t understand is that we must also read the next four verses (Matthew 7:1–5).

The statement about not judging unless we want to be judged is an introductory statement and not even the real meat of what’s being said. We know this because in the next four verses of that passage it is explained that we must first deal with the sins in our life before addressing that same sin with someone else.

So it is not saying that we cannot have correction in the church or even address an issue that we see in someone close to us, but rather to do it the right way and to not be hypocritical.

That would go against having discernment, dividing the word of truth, fighting the lies of the enemy, and keeping that which is holy, holy (Leviticus 10:10; James 4:4; 1 John 4:1–6, 1 Timothy 4:1–11, Colossians 2:8, Hebrews 5:14, John 7:24, Philippians 1:9–10, 1 Timothy 6:3–5; 1 Timothy 6:11–16; 2 Corinthians 11:13–15).

All things considered, here’s what Christians with a proper understanding of love must do. We must explain with patience and also keep in mind that we are dealing with people who are considered brothers and sisters in the faith if they claim to be Christians.

However, being patient does not mean to be a pushover when it comes to doctrine. God’s word must be established and defended by those who believe, regardless of what the response is from those who oppose (1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Timothy 4:2; Romans 8:31; Titus 1:5–9).

TL;DR: The modern church doesn’t properly understand love. As a result, those without discernment are led away into unbiblical doctrines and twisting of scripture.