A church can face a painful choice: address wrongdoing honestly, or protect a reputation at someone else's expense. Scripture gives us reasons to resist that second path. It also warns us against confronting other people's failures while excusing our own.
These questions are central to Christopher Tolliver's When We Call Sin Good: How the Church Defends What God Calls Us to Surrender.
Read the warning in its setting
Isaiah's warning about calling evil good belongs to a specific prophetic message. The chapter identifies the house of Israel as God's vineyard and the people of Judah as His chosen planting, describes oppression where righteousness should have been, and condemns people who acquit the wicked for a reward while denying justice to the righteous. This is more than an isolated phrase to attach to an opponent. Read Isaiah 5:1–7 and 20–24, KJV.
Applying that warning to church life today requires honesty about the distinction: the original warning concerned Israel and Judah, not a particular modern congregation. The pastoral question is whether we are repeating the moral reversal the passage condemns. Are we excusing harmful conduct because the person responsible is influential? Are we treating truthful correction as a greater problem than the wrongdoing itself?
Let correction reach us first
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns against hypocritical judgment. His illustration moves from noticing a small obstruction in another person's eye to confronting the much larger obstruction in our own. Verse 5 then speaks of seeing clearly enough to help the other person. Self-examination comes first; pretending that nothing is wrong is not the solution. Read Matthew 7:1–5, KJV.
A practical application is to ask the same questions of ourselves that we ask of leaders and institutions. Have we listened carefully? Have we checked what we are repeating? Would our judgment change if the person involved were someone we disliked rather than someone we admired?
That examination makes room for fair correction. It should never become an excuse to dismiss a person's report of harm because the person is imperfect.
Restore with humility, not denial
Paul instructs believers to restore someone overtaken in a fault with meekness, remembering their own vulnerability to temptation. He also calls them to carry one another's burdens and examine their own work. The passage holds care for others alongside personal responsibility. Read Galatians 6:1–5, KJV.
For a congregation, the pastoral application is to pursue truthful, humble correction rather than humiliation or concealment. An allegation needs careful examination. A disagreement does not automatically establish abuse. Neither a respected title nor a history of good work makes a serious concern disappear.
These verses do not provide a complete safeguarding procedure. Practical steps may include listening without retaliation, preserving relevant information, and involving appropriate independent help. Restoration should not be confused with an automatic return to authority or immediate renewed trust.
Begin with one honest question
What are we defending that we should be willing to examine?
Bring that question to Scripture before using it against somebody else. Read the surrounding passage. Separate established facts from assumptions. Consider what correction would require of us, not simply what it would require of someone else.
When We Call Sin Good explores repentance, compromise, and accountability in personal and church life. It offers a place to continue that examination with an open Bible.