Doctrinal Heresy & Relational Heresy

Most of our readers are at least aware of the problems that result from doctrinal heresy, but few are aware or have thought about relational heresy or even know what it might be. Almost 20 years ago, our friend and associate, Rich Poll from Apologia Report contributed the article, "The Ambush of Discernment." He deals with many of the aspects of discernment that can derail those involved due to false expectations, workload, and other things including our attitude toward others. In other words, our relationships. Bob from RPM Ministries just posted the article, "Beware of Relational Heresy While Addressing Perceived Doctrinal Heresy." The issue is an important one. A pastor and good friend, Fred Greening the mean-spiritedness which seemed to be part and parcel of those who engaged in apologetics/discernment ministry until he met Joy and me. He began talking about the issues of mindless evangelism and heartless apologetics:

We talk a lot about doctrinal heresy—and it is a vital issues that we must address.

Orthodoxy—right belief—is essential.

We seem to talk less about relational heresy.

Orthopraxy—right relationships, right living—is equally essential.

We talk even less about right relationships while talking about right doctrine. Our failure to address this runs counter to God’s all-sufficient Word. The Bible is replete with commands about how we treat one another while we address doctrinal disagreements. The Bible consistently commands us to guard our hearts against relational heresy.

The point in the article is that there seems to be an underlying assumption that it is normative for churches to talk about "Orthodoxy—right belief—is essential." Sadly, it isn't so. All we have to do is look around at how many churches embrace the occultism of the Enneagram, the New Apostolic Reformation, or Bill Gothard's teaching, to name but a few examples. In those settings, there seems to be the idea that niceness is the closest thing to godliness, and pointing out false doctrine is viewed as decidedly not nice and, therefore, ungodly. However, that being said, the article is an important one. There is a great deal in Scripture about defending the faith, exposing false doctrines, and teaching the essentials, and there is a great deal about our hearts and how we treat others in the process. Our goal is not to win arguments but to win over those in error.

https://mailchi.mp/36941ce94c68/the-gift?e=169825fd77