When “Walking in Love” Becomes a Weapon
There is a familiar, unsettling feeling when spiritual language—intimacy, love, grace—is used to mask a doctrine that denies the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice, such as the claim that Jesus died spiritually rather than physically. When objections arise, the response often shifts from addressing the doctrine to accusing the objector of not walking in love. This subtle condemnation and emotional manipulation can be confusing and disarming. Prayers and appeals to relationship are extended, all while undermining the very foundation of that relationship: the truth about Christ. How should believers, firmly rooted in Pauline grace, respond to such tactics?
This is not a new phenomenon. Paul warned the Romans about those who “by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). The strategy is ancient and familiar: when the gospel itself is challenged, the focus shifts to the defender’s manner rather than the error presented. The issue becomes not the corruption of the gospel, but the tone of the response. The problem is not a false Christ, but an alleged lack of love.
This conflict is not a mere relational disagreement; it is the very issue Paul confronted in Galatians. When Peter withdrew from Gentile believers out of fear of the circumcision party, Paul did not suggest a private, gentle conversation. Instead, he “withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed” (Galatians 2:11). Was this unloving by worldly standards? Perhaps. But by heaven’s standard, it was the only loving course of action. Why? “That the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5). True love is inseparable from truth. One cannot exist without the other.
The Bait of False Peace
Religious environments often exert an unconscious pressure to prioritize superficial unity over doctrinal clarity. This pressure is palpable. Questioning a teaching can lead to stigmatization—initially subtle, then overt. Labels such as divisive, negative, or rebellious are applied. The call to be “nicer” or more “loving” is pressed. Believers face a choice: remain silent, nodding in agreement while their conscience protests, thereby quenching the Spirit and entering bondage; or leave and be branded as the problem by those who remain. “See,” they say, “we were right about them.”
This pressure often arises from good motives—kindness and a desire to walk in love. Yet it is a trap. Continually exposing oneself to error and those who promote it under the guise of love allows leaven to permeate the lump. Paul’s strong language offers comfort here. He calls false teachers “dogs,” “evil workers,” and “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). He commands separation. This is not about a confused brother needing mercy, but about those who espouse error and campaign for it. Such individuals are to be refused after a second admonition (Titus 3:10).
When false teachers cannot win doctrinal arguments, they seek to win emotionally. They stigmatize opponents as narrow, dogmatic, and unloving, while portraying themselves as the true bearers of grace. They cloak a cursed gospel in the language of sweetness and kindness. This is a prelude to spiritual harm—a flattery designed to ensnare the unsuspecting. Recall Jezebel’s feast for Naboth: the honor was a setup for his downfall.
What Love Actually Is
It is essential to reclaim the biblical definition of love from sentimental counterfeits. The apostle John, often called the “apostle of love,” ties love inseparably to truth: “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments” (2 John 1:6). What is His commandment? “That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23). Right belief about Christ and genuine love for others cannot be separated. Tolerating a doctrine that diminishes Christ is not love; it is hatred disguised as tolerance.
John further warns about those who deny the Father and the Son: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 1:10-11). This is not about bearing responsibility for their deeds, but about recognizing the seductive spiritual power behind error—a “spirit of error” (1 John 4:6). To fellowship with it is to be seduced by it.
Walking in love means paying the price for truth, because only truth sets people free. Standing against the teaching that Jesus died spiritually—a doctrine that denies the sufficiency of His blood and introduces a corrupted Christ—is not unloving. It is shepherding. It is marking the wolf to protect the sheep. Sometimes the most loving action toward those promoting error is to stop engaging and “mark and avoid them” (Romans 16:17), trusting God to use that separation to bring repentance.
Your Freedom in the Conflict
How should believers stand in such conflict? They must rest. Security is not found in being liked, approved, or deemed “loving” by those who promote error. Standing is found in Christ alone: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). This peace is undisturbed by human accusation. Identity is not “divisive person” or “unloving critic,” but justified saint, son, and heir.
Rest must be found in Christ’s approval, not in preserving fractured human relationships. The peace Paul describes comes from justification by faith, not from maintaining superficial harmony with those who distort the gospel that justifies. There is a fierce freedom in obeying the command to separate—a freedom of a clean conscience and the liberty to enjoy God’s Word without the constant drip of subtle condemnation and twisted scripture.
Believers should not be swayed by emotional manipulation. The sudden emphasis on “grace” and “love” from those whose core doctrine remains false is revealing. As Paul teaches, these are often those “pretending to be grace, which produces… because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:4-5). No ground is to be given—not for an hour.
Commitment to sound doctrine about Jesus is not evidence of being unloving. It is evidence of understanding what love costs and what truth matters most. It is evidence of loving Christ enough to be hated for His name’s sake. Believers are called to stand firm, be comforted by Paul’s strong language, be clear, and love the brethren enough to contend for the faith once delivered—so that truth, and the true peace it brings, may remain.
