As Christians, we have more opportunities than ever to share the gospel, encourage people, teach biblical truth, and tell others about the goodness of God.
Social media allows us to reach people we may never meet in person. Pastors and ministry leaders have the privilege of speaking to congregations from the pulpit. These are powerful platforms, but they also come with tremendous responsibility.
Unfortunately, the very platforms that should be used to point people toward Christ are sometimes being used to criticize, embarrass, and tear people down.
Scroll through social media for a few minutes, and you will likely find Christians arguing about pastors, churches, denominations, worship styles, politics, clothing, relationships, spiritual gifts, and countless other subjects.
Sadly, we can sometimes see this same behavior coming from the pulpit. A pastor may use a sermon to criticize another church, mock another leader, settle a personal disagreement, embarrass a member, or make it appear that they are more spiritually mature than those who disagree with them.
Some of these disagreements involve serious biblical issues that should be addressed. Pastors are called to protect the church from false teaching, and believers are called to exercise discernment.
But even when the concern is legitimate, the way we address it still matters to God.
Correction can quickly become condemnation. Discernment can turn into ridicule. Preaching can become retaliation. Defending the truth can become an opportunity to show everyone how much more knowledgeable, righteous, or spiritually mature we believe we are.
We may say that we are standing up for God, but we also have to ask ourselves an honest question:
Are our words displaying the character of Christ?
When Discernment Becomes Spiritual Pride
Christians are called to exercise discernment. We should test what we hear against Scripture. We should not accept every teaching simply because someone uses Christian language, quotes a Bible verse, or has a large platform.
First John 4:1 instructs believers to test the spirits to determine whether they are from God. Acts 17:11 commends the Bereans because they examined the Scriptures daily to see whether what they were being taught was true.
Biblical discernment is necessary.
But discernment and spiritual pride are not the same thing.
Discernment asks, “Is this consistent with the Word of God?”
Pride asks, “How can I use this person’s mistake to show everyone that I know better?”
Discernment seeks to protect and restore.
Pride seeks attention, applause, and a sense of superiority.
Philippians 2:3 tells us to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but to consider others with humility. That principle should guide us everywhere, whether on social media, in private conversations, or in the pulpit.
We can identify an error correctly and still respond to it in an ungodly way. Being right about the issue does not automatically make our attitude righteous.
That is something all of us need to remember.
The Pulpit Is Not a Personal Platform
Pastors and ministry leaders have been entrusted with a sacred responsibility. The pulpit is not a stage for personal opinions, unresolved grievances, or public retaliation. It is a place from which the Word of God should be faithfully proclaimed.
Second Timothy 4:2 instructs pastors to preach the Word, correct, rebuke, and encourage with patience and careful instruction.
Correction and rebuke are part of biblical preaching. But so are patience, encouragement, and careful instruction.
A pastor is not given permission to use the congregation as an audience while publicly attacking someone with whom they have a personal disagreement.
James 3:1 gives us a sobering warning:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
Those who teach God’s Word are held to a higher standard because their words influence the spiritual lives of other people. Members of a congregation may assume that something is true, righteous, or approved by God simply because it was said from the pulpit.
That kind of influence should produce humility, not arrogance.
A pastor’s authority should never be used to embarrass a church member, shame someone who cannot publicly respond, attack another pastor, or suggest that one church is more loved or favored by God than another.
The pulpit should always point people toward Christ. It should never be used to elevate the person standing behind it.
Shepherds Are Called to Care for the Flock
First Peter 5:2-3 instructs church leaders to shepherd God’s flock willingly, without pursuing dishonest gain or lording their authority over the people entrusted to them. Instead, pastors are called to be examples to the flock.
A shepherd does not use the sheep to build a personal following.
A shepherd does not injure the sheep to prove authority.
A shepherd protects, feeds, guides, and cares for them.
This does not mean pastors should avoid difficult subjects. Faithful preaching will sometimes make us uncomfortable. The Word of God confronts sin, corrects error, and calls all of us to repentance.
But there is an important difference between biblical conviction and personal humiliation.
Biblical conviction directs people toward repentance and restoration. Personal humiliation exposes people for the purpose of embarrassment or control.
A sermon should not become a disguised message aimed at one person sitting in the congregation. Personal conflicts should be handled biblically, honestly, and directly, not indirectly through a microphone while the other person has no opportunity to respond.
Matthew 18:15 teaches that when a believer sins against another believer, the first step is to address that person privately. The pulpit should not be used to avoid the biblical process for resolving conflict.
A pastor should not say indirectly from the pulpit what they were unwilling to say directly to the person.
Pastors Must Handle Other Leaders Responsibly
There are times when a pastor must warn a congregation about false teaching, abusive leadership, or beliefs that contradict Scripture. Silence is not always loving, especially when people may be spiritually harmed.
But there is a difference between responsibly warning people and building a ministry around criticizing other Christians.
A pastor can explain why a teaching is unbiblical without mocking the person who teaches it. A leader can protect a congregation without making accusations that cannot be supported. A preacher can defend sound doctrine without presenting themselves as the only person who understands God correctly.
Second Timothy 2:24-25 says that the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind, able to teach, patient when wronged, and gentle when correcting opponents.
Truth does not need cruelty to make it powerful.
God’s Word is already powerful.
We do not need insults, sarcasm, mockery, or public humiliation to help the Word of God accomplish its purpose.
If we cannot speak the truth without belittling someone, we may need to pause and allow God to deal with our hearts before we speak.
Correction Should Seek Restoration
Galatians 6:1 says that if someone is caught in wrongdoing, those who are spiritual should restore that person gently while also watching themselves.
I want us to pay attention to two words in that passage: “restore” and “gently.”
The purpose of correction should not be to destroy someone’s reputation, collect likes and shares, entertain a congregation, or generate applause.
The goal should be repentance, protection, healing, and restoration.
Before posting about another believer, or preaching about another person, we should slow down and ask ourselves:
- Am I trying to restore this person or simply expose them?
- Am I grieving over this situation, or am I enjoying the attention it gives me?
- Have I prayed for this person as much as I have spoken about them?
- Would I say this if the person were sitting directly in front of me?
- Have I followed the biblical process for addressing the situation?
- Am I warning people about genuine spiritual danger, or am I reacting to a personal offense?
These are not always easy questions to answer. But they can reveal whether our response is being led by the Holy Spirit or driven by anger, pride, jealousy, disappointment, or hurt.
Sometimes we believe we are defending God when we are really defending ourselves.
Our Words Can Grieve God
Ephesians 4:29 tells us not to allow corrupt or harmful speech to come from our mouths. Instead, our words should build others up according to their needs and give grace to those who hear.
A few verses later, Paul warns believers not to grieve the Holy Spirit. He then tells us to put away bitterness, anger, shouting, slander, and malice and to replace those things with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.
We need to sit with that for a moment.
Our words are not harmless simply because they are typed online or spoken during a sermon.
A cruel comment, mocking video, humiliating post, reckless accusation, or personal attack from the pulpit can grieve the Holy Spirit.
A microphone does not automatically make our words godly.
A Bible verse attached to an insult does not make the insult righteous.
Calling something “discernment” does not excuse slander, arrogance, or cruelty.
James 3:9-10 warns that we sometimes use the same tongue to praise God and curse people who were made in God’s likeness. James tells us plainly that this should not be.
How can we preach about grace on Sunday and publicly humiliate someone during the same sermon?
How can we post a worship song in the morning and tear apart another believer in the afternoon?
How can we teach forgiveness while refusing to extend grace to someone who made a mistake?
We cannot separate the way we treat people from our relationship with God.
Our words matter to Him.
What Are Nonbelievers Seeing?
Jesus said in John 13:35 that people would recognize His disciples by their love for one another.
This does not mean Christians will agree about everything. We will have different perspectives, backgrounds, experiences, and interpretations of certain issues.
But the way we handle our differences should reveal something different from the hostility, arrogance, and cruelty that are already so common in the world.
When nonbelievers see Christians constantly attacking one another online, they may begin to wonder whether the gospel has truly changed us.
When visitors enter a church and hear a pastor ridiculing other believers, attacking another church, or using the pulpit to settle personal conflicts, they may leave believing that Christianity is more about control and superiority than grace and transformation.
Some people are already hesitant to enter a church. They may have experienced church hurt, spiritual abuse, rejection, or harsh judgment. It may have taken everything in them just to walk through the doors.
When they see Christians publicly shaming one another, or hear pastors doing it from the pulpit, it can reinforce their fears and keep them from returning.
We should never compromise biblical truth to make Christianity more appealing. But we must also make sure that our behavior is not creating an unnecessary obstacle between people and Christ.
Sometimes the message of the gospel is not what pushes people away. It is the behavior of the people claiming to represent it.
Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers in John 17:20-23. He connected that unity to the world believing that the Father had sent Him.
Our unity is part of our witness.
When we continually tear one another down, something greater than our personal reputation is affected. Our behavior can distort the picture of Christ we present to the world.
Truth and Love Must Remain Together
Some people believe that speaking with love means avoiding difficult truths. Others behave as if speaking the truth gives them permission to be harsh.
Scripture does not ask us to choose between truth and love.
Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to speak the truth in love. Colossians 4:6 says our speech should always be gracious. First Corinthians 13:2 reminds us that even if we possess great knowledge but do not have love, we are nothing.
Truth without love can become a weapon.
Love without truth can become empty approval.
But truth spoken in love can bring conviction, healing, restoration, and spiritual growth.
Jesus was full of both grace and truth.
If we claim to represent Him, whether online, in conversation, or behind a pulpit, both should be visible in us.
We should not have to abandon kindness to defend truth. And we should not have to abandon truth to demonstrate love.
We Must Examine Our Own Hearts
It is easy to identify pride in someone else while overlooking it in ourselves.
Jesus warned in Matthew 7:3-5 about noticing the speck in another person’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own. His words do not prohibit discernment. They warn us against hypocritical judgment that refuses self-examination.
Before correcting someone publicly, pastors, leaders, and believers should ask God to search their hearts.
- Are we motivated by love or irritation?
- Are we defending Scripture or defending our ego?
- Are we protecting people from genuine harm, or are we trying to prove our superiority?
- Are we speaking because God has led us, or because we are hurt and want other people to take our side?
- Have we allowed God to correct us before we attempt to correct someone else?
Humility remembers that every one of us needs grace.
None of us has reached a place where we no longer need God’s mercy, correction, or forgiveness. The same grace we want God to extend to us should influence the grace we extend to others.
Let Our Words Reflect Christ
Our social media accounts, conversations, sermons, and teaching platforms are all part of our Christian witness.
Every post, comment, video, sermon, and public response communicates something about what we believe.
We will not handle every situation perfectly. We may speak too quickly, misunderstand someone’s intentions, or allow our emotions to influence our response. But when that happens, we should be humble enough to acknowledge it, repent, and make it right.
We can also become more intentional about how we represent Christ before we speak.
Before we post, comment, preach, or respond, we can ask:
- Is it true?
- Is it necessary?
- Is it gracious?
- Does it build up or merely tear down?
- Am I addressing the issue without dehumanizing the person?
- Is this biblical correction or personal retaliation?
- Will this help people see Christ more clearly?
There is already enough cruelty, division, and outrage in the world. Christians should not add to it in the name of defending God.
We can stand firmly on Scripture without standing arrogantly over people.
Pastors can expose harmful teaching without enjoying another leader’s downfall.
Believers can disagree without becoming disrespectful.
We can correct with gentleness, speak with grace, and remember that the person on the other side of the screen, or the person being discussed from the pulpit, is someone God created.
The world is watching how Christians treat one another.
Congregations are listening to how their leaders speak about people.
And most importantly, God is listening.
May our words, whether spoken privately, posted publicly, or preached from a pulpit, honor Him. May we be known for truth that is courageous, love that is sincere, leadership that is humble, and grace that reflects the heart of Jesus.
You are chosen and loved by our Heavenly Father. Have a blessed day!
