The Self-appointed and Self-sent Heresy Hunter
They can tell you which beliefs are a slippery slope to certain damnation, and are quite confident of it no matter how secondary or questionable the doctrine is amongst orthodox Christian believers. At any given moment they can see into every Christ professing soul and “prophesy” with laser accuracy whether a person is a true Christian or not. In the heresy hunter’s world, there’s really no such thing as an immature believer who hasn’t gotten all their doctrinal I’s dotted and T’s crossed or is struggling to put their old nature to death as they know they must. That may be the reality of the Christian life from faith in Christ and the moment of new birth, but that doesn’t fit their agenda and therefore must be discarded.
Yes, the self-appointed and self-sent heresy hunter can see damnable heresy, wolves and false brethren everywhere regardless of whether it’s obvious or whether it is true. When they see a professing Christian they don’t happen to like or agree with fail, or is obviously in need of serious correction, they swiftly and unmercifully lower their verbal sledgehammer of condemnation. Whatever they may say about Church discipline (which is legitimate and intended to be redemptive if possible) is mere pretense and undermined by bold declarations that such failure is evidence that they aren’t really a Christian and probably never were. The thought of praying for them “that their faith not fail” never enters the mind of the self-appointed and self-sent heresy hunter. In this and many other ways, they consider themselves servants greater than their Master.
If you’re orthodox in regard to all the primary Christian doctrines and creeds, and you don’t agree with them regarding the English rendering of a verse on some secondary issue, you may be accused of willfully and knowingly sinning and be deemed worthy of disfellowship. And while they are experts in pointing out and condemning those who are preaching a different Gospel, they ironically have a whole list of beliefs and practices which they insist must be denounced before they will consider you a Christian. Jesus may say unto you, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation but has crossed over from death to life.”, but the self-appointed heresy hunter says, “Not so fast bucko!”
On occasion they may even talk of about winning people and not merely arguments. But it doesn’t take long to realize, that it’s just that, talk. They demonstrate by their own words that what they really think is that any sign of mercy or giving someone the benefit of the doubt is a sign of weakness, compromise and losing face. The fact that they don’t really know the people they are condemning and that they are ignorant of the important evidence that comes with relationship is irrelevant. Presumption and slander are their stock-in-trade.
And yet, this person of apparent perceptual precision is clearly unwilling and unable to discern inwardly. They rarely admit their own errors, failures and hypocrisy even when they are confronted with them as they often are. On the rare occasion that they do admit to being wrong, it’s typically done with great fanfare and only over some minor issue, demonstrating what could only be described as a textbook definition of false humility.
Lastly, they are always going on about Paul the Apostle’s words regarding the condemnation waiting those who live sexually immoral lives, and they are right about that. But they miss, ignore and fail to take to heart the many other important things Paul, and the Lord Jesus Himself has said. Self-awareness is just not their strong suit, so approach with caution. You have been warned.