Is It Unloving to Address Error?
Orientation
Many believe that avoiding difficult topics is the loving approach, but Scripture shows that true love requires engaging with truth.
- Silence in the face of error can leave stumbling blocks in place.
- Love and truth are inseparable in the biblical witness.
- The goal is sincerity and freedom from offense until Christ's return.
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10)
— Philippians 1:9-10
Clarification
Correcting error is not about winning arguments but about rescuing souls and preserving the clarity of the Gospel.
- The motive is care for the person, not a desire to be 'right'.
- The risk is rejection, but the potential result is saving a soul from death.
- It requires meekness, not contentiousness.
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)
— James 5:19-20
Structure
Biblical love operates through knowledge and judgment to discern and approve what is excellent.
- Love abounding in knowledge enables discernment (Philippians 1:9).
- This process delivers from untruths and removes hindrances to fellowship.
- It leads to being sincere and without offense until Christ's day.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. (1 Peter 3:15)
— 1 Peter 3:15
Weight-Bearing Prose
Pauline categories define this dynamic. Love must abound in knowledge and judgment (Philippians 1:9). This is not sentiment but a Spirit-enabled faculty to approve things that are excellent. The alternative is to be complicit in systems of error that obscure justification, inheritance, and sonship—core Gospel truths. James frames correction as soul-saving work. The contemporary church’s drift from the simplicity of Christ necessitates this function. Speaking truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) is a skill of maturity, requiring the Lord’s training to avoid an argumentative mode. The goal is not personal victory but clarity concerning the true grace of the Gospel. This work preserves believers from stumbling blocks and fosters a walk in sincerity.
Integration
This call to discernment flows from our secure position in Christ. Assurance is based on faith in the Gospel, not on our performance in addressing error. Christ is our righteousness and sanctification. His finished work is the foundation from which we operate, not a goal we earn by getting doctrine perfect. The Lord trains the heart for this work, fostering genuine care that overcomes the desire to merely be ‘right’. Rest in this: your standing is secure. Any engagement with error is from that place of rest and assurance, a participation in Christ’s care for His body. The pressure is removed; this is the outworking of a love that already abounds in the knowledge of Him.