Confronting the sin of others is deeply uncomfortable. We're all sinners, and we know that hypocrisy itself is a great sin. "Woe to you hypocrites" is one of God's recurring themes. We're also not called to police every sin. /1

In our culture, the idea of confronting someone's sin is so beyond the pale that the secular world invented the "intervention," where a group of deeply concerned friends embolden one another to bring someone's error to his attention, in hopes of him finding redemption. /2

In the LCMS, there is a formal corporate (as in legal) "dispute resolution" system in place through which any & all matters of correction outside the congregational level must be handled. Pastors are forbidden from publicly discussing error, lest they themselves face charges. /3

Online, whenever anyone confronts the error of others, they are accused of "purity spiraling." I was accused of this yesterday for rebuking pastors who lie, slander, & completely dismiss fellow Christians in the name of God, binding the consciences of honest men. /4

The argument against "purity spiraling" is the Voltaire quote, "the perfect is the enemy of the good." If someone is generally good, they are above reproach even when they sin publicly. An ally on some matters is free to err in others & you must remain silent. /5

A concrete example of this would be a faithful confessional pastor who preaches pure law & gospel every Sunday. He also happens to pepper his sermons with pornographic illustrations & cussing. He's a great preacher so it would be purity spiraling to confront him. /6

Sound good? Of course not. What a vile example. It doesn't matter how great a pastor is or how many things he does well. When his public sin is injected directly into his Call, it is a paramount problem, not some small matter to be wished away in the fullness of time. /7

Rather than purity spiraling and "punching right," I was told we should just focus on the Marxists in Lutheran circles. Sounds great. I've been doing that. They attacked & dismissed me as a racist nazi (a counter clockwise purity spiral, perhaps). /8

And when the Marxists called me a nazi, those guys on the right whom we're supposed to coddle machine-gunned me from behind, agreeing loudly & with more passion than I've ever seen any of them muster in defense of the Cross. /9

That's why it is necessary to deal with the good guys first. When confessional pastors scream bloody murder in unison with Satan's forces, we will undeniably fail. These faithful men who have adopted some pagan error must come around, or the Adversary will devour everything. /10

What does it look like when Jesus purity spirals? Here are four of the letters He sent to the early churches. In each letter, the church is commended for what it has done well, & condemned for their various public errors. Didn't Jesus know the Law might drive them away? /11

Throughout Scripture, the rebukes of those who speak God's truth take many forms. Gentleness is used wherever possible. And where hearts are hardened, those in error receive wrathful rebukes & promises of far worse in this life & the next for any who do not repent. /12

Does that mean we should post online like Elijah, or Luther for that matter? Not as a first step, but then again, neither did they. Should we rebuke every error? Of course not. None of this is about perfecting this life through policing each other. /13

But we live in an overwhelmingly Satanic world, a world where the very most evil people on the planet frequently say exactly the same words as those in our pulpits. If this does not give you serious pause, your Faith is growing cold. /14 https://twitter.com/MeldEndCastles/status/1354636964264370177

Satan's attacks have moved beyond Indulgences & convents. Satan has convinced the world there are new sins discovered in the past century which are the most important, most deadly among all sins. These sins require the eradication of the sinner. /15

Satan has convinced Christians that lies are the truth, and that any amount of hatred towards those who reject them is warranted. Many Lutheran pastors are in lockstep with this plan. It fills them with far more zeal when you will see from them on any other subject. /16

Unless truly Faithful laity stand up and confront these demonic attacks, Satan will gain full control of our church just as he has in Rome, where they also still have church every Sunday and read from the Bible. This is a fight worth having. This is a fight we *must* have. /17

Look again at what God calls "teachings of demons" in 1 Tim. That stuff is trivial compared to the lies that confront us from our own pulpits. None of this is hyperbole, and none of it is misplaced anger. An attack on truth is an attack on God. /18

These lies are actively driving men who hunger for the Gospel away from Lutheranism, and these wicked pastors laugh about it. If these lying pastors' sins are not worth confronting then nothing is. I have never seen such malevolence toward the lost & needy in my life. /19

May God grant each of us the wisdom to recognize the truth when we hear it, and the humility to repent when it convicts us.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. /20

Some more purity spiraling from the Old Testament. Maybe we should blame this one on the demiurge. https://twitter.com/MeldEndCastles/status/1355634322842247191