The Moral Inconsistency of Judging the World While Using Its Roads

The Consistency of the Faith

“For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? God judges outsiders. Remove the evil person from among you.”

-1 Corinthians 5:12-13

The Apostle Paul establishes the church’s mandate: Our task is not to judge those outside. Therefore, the necessity of consistency in our judgment and consumption must begin with those who are inside. But we have specific instructions for as to how to go about that as well and will get to that in a moment.

The cycle of social media and the news is familiar: a new movie, song, or series is released by a platform, and frequent protests or “boycotts” immediately begin. How many of us use platforms like Netflix or Amazon (even with prior knowledge that they contain blasphemous or anti-Christian content), but can simply decide not to watch the bad stuff and opt for something else ? And how many maintain subscriptions to platforms like Apple Music or Spotify, which do contain sinful music, but also good music, Christian, and instrumental content? Libraries, bookstores, the list could go on and on. Are we being consistent?

The debate is never about the sinful content of the world—of course, we believe it is wrong, even evil and do not like it one bit—but about where we draw the line in our own lives and how we judge others.

The Problem of the Double Standard and the World’s Status

The reality is that in the same restaurants, some people go to get drunk at the bar, but others eat with family and enjoy themselves for the glory of God. In the same hotels, some engage in all kinds of hidden evil, yet others enjoy family time and rest for the glory of God.

The Inconsistent Judgment: Many Christians publicly condemn a place or the content of a service or a trending music, but do not apply the same standard to the use of their own time on social media or some other blind spot they have.

The Logic of Selective Abstinence: If your personal conviction is against the consumption of alcohol for example, should you stop eating out forever, since most places that serve food also serve alcohol? Of course not, it sounds almost ridiculous. As a reasonable person, you can simply go to the same place and choose a different option, like eating food and having a soft drink. We often have such glaring blind spots and inconsistencies.

And what about movie theaters with films that blaspheme God? There are very bad movies to be sure, yet every once in a while a good movie comes out that is appropiate for the family. We can decide to go, but although we spend our money in the same place, we opt for something better, something wholesome and we enjoy the time with our children.

It is true that many of the platforms that almost all of us use have some content that contain sinful entertainment, blasphemies and corruption. It is a fallen world we live in, but Christians who know their Bibles and understand the depravity of man shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. Yet, on many of the same platforms, there is some beautiful God honoring content to be found, private groups where other believers network, learn and are edified, full of brothers and sisters who love the Lord, where others can share and learn from one another in a way that was impossible in the past for the glory of God. On very the same platforms where non-edifying things are found, much educational and beneficial content that is not sinful can also be found. It’s time to be mature and realize our inconsistencies. Because the fact remains that lost people may be lost, but they aren’t stupid. They too can spot the inconsistencies, and often, people with many inconsistencies simply lose credibility in the eyes of many. Being inconsistent in our faith like this can have a negative impact on our witness.

People in the world are slaves to their sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:16). Their conduct is the natural expression of their fallen nature. Applying God’s law to them to condemn them is a logical failure, because the Bible establishes that our task is to judge the conduct of those who profess to be believers, not the conduct of those who are lost (1 Corinthians 5:12-13). They are already under judgment and the wrath of God abides on them, this is what we share when preaching the Gospel, warning them of the wrath to come and urging them to repent and trust in Christ. But the rest, it’s just not our task, it’s already a given that they are condemned and our judgement above and beyond that does nothing to improve their circumstances. But I’d even take it a step further, when Paul says not to judge outsiders, this in the context of church discipline for immoral church members in 1 Coritnians 5, which suggests that even the accountability and judgement of other believers should be in the context of the local church as it is in the text where Paul says these words. Should we go around trying to practice church discipline on people who aren’t even members of our own congregation? I think not. There really are much better ways to redeem the time my brothers.

The Biblical Principle of Use and Conscience (Romans 14)

Hypocrisy is revealed when we condemn the means the world uses, but use them with inconsistent judgment. The question is not whether the medium is inherently sinful, it often is not, they are neutral things, but with what purpose we use it.

The Neutrality of the Means: Things like money and technology for example are neutral things that can be used for sin or for God’s glory. If we start judging based on the mere presence of sin in the environment, the situation becomes unsustainable. We literally have to physically die in order to escape the presence of sin. We cannot separate ourselves from the world in this way just because the world is sinful. Even as a hermit living in a cave in the desert, you would still have to confront and repent of your own sinful desires and thoughts. So let’s be honest, biblical and try to be a little more consistent.

The Logic of Utility and Edification: Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 10:23 guides us: “All things are lawful,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. This means that although the platforms may be neutral, our use must always seek what is edifying, true, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

The Principle of Conscience and Unity (Romans 14): We must apply the ethics of conscience. What is sin for one believer, because their conscience condemns it, is not necessarily sin for another. The key teaching of Romans 14 is:

Do not condemn: We should not despise or judge a brother whose conviction differs from ours.

Do not impose: Personal convictions (that are not direct biblical commands) cannot be imposed on the church as if they were the Word of God.

Do not cause to stumble: We must abstain from doing something lawful for us if it causes a weaker brother to stumble.

I’ll never forget a comment by a brother named Brian Tiura during a group discussion on this topic years ago. He said,

“Did not the roads of Rome bear the Roman armies marching to kill and do evil, and at the same time, evangelists carrying the Gospel?“

We can use the road brothers, but with a different purpose than those who do not know Christ. At the same time, the same platforms offer or contain content in some other category or page, and other forms of entertainment that are family-friendly and can also be a good and useful medium to communicate, teach and glorify God. Let’s try to be more consistent for the sake of our witness.

The summary is simple, Love the Lord, obey Him, love your neighbor and don’t do things that go against His Word and your own conscience. If you disagree with some convictions of other believers, that’s okay. You are not the Holy Spirit; so let’s try to focus on improving our own shortcomings, blindspots and inconsistencies for the sake of our witness and for God’s glory.