On fighting the good fight

One of the urgent needs in the church is to carve out space for pastors to speak intensely about those who lead believers astray—from both within and without the church.

Souls are at stake.

Consider Paul’s language in Phil. 3:2:

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

It’s clear just from a straightforward reading that Paul isn’t being polite here.

He is being derogatory—even scathing.

Gordon Fee observes that Paul’s point is “expressed with powerful rhetoric, full of invective & sarcasm.” Similarly, F.F. Bruce speaks of the “parody,” “invective,” & “opprobrious language.” And Bockmuehl says, “The first paragraph explodes with a bitterly satirical attack on a group of enemies.”

Now consider that Paul also says, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” And Jesus, at the appropriate times, used intensely “impolite” language. So we have an example to follow in the apostle and in our Lord.

Politically correct speech is a tool that the enemy uses t…