lder, the
rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken." God now only persuades.

7. Note how involved in the Law and in hypocrisy they still are who
esteem themselves prominent saints and at the same time are intolerant
of the infirmities of Christians. If they fail to find perfect
holiness--a miracle of purity--in those who possess Christ and know
the Gospel, then nothing is as it should be; the heavens are on the
point of falling and the earth about to be destroyed. They can only
judge, censure and deride, saying: "Oh, yes, he is truly evangelical;
indeed, he is a visionary!" Thus they indicate their utter blindness.
With the beam constantly in their own eyes, they show how little they
know of Christ.

Know, then, when you meet one so ready to censure and condemn, one
requiring absolute perfection in Christians--know that such a one is
merely an enforcer of the Law, a base hypocrite, a merciless jailer,
with no true knowledge of Christ. As, with Christians, there is no law
but all is love, so neither can there be judgment, condemnation and
censure. And he who calls another a visionary is certainly a visionary
ten-fold himself. In the thing for which he judges and condemns
another, he condemns himself. Since he ignores mercy and all but the
Law, he finds no mercy in the sight of God; in fact, he has never
experienced, never tasted, God's mercy. To his taste, both God and
neighbor are bitter as gall and wormwood.

8. But tender mercy is to be shown only to Christians and only among
Christians. With the rejecters and persecutors of the Gospel we must
deal differently. It is not right that my charity be liberal enough to
tolerate unsound doctrine. In the case of false faith and doctrine
there is neither love nor patience. Against these it is my duty
earnestly to contend and not to yield a hair's breadth.
Otherwise--when faith is not imperiled--I must be unfailingly kind and
merciful to all notwithstanding the infirmities of their lives. I may
not censure, oppress nor drive; I must persuade, entreat and tolerate.
A defective life does not destroy Christianity; it exercises it. But
defective doctrine--false belief--destroys all good. So, then,
toleration and mercy are not permissible in the case of unsound
doctrine; only anger, opposition and death are in order, yet always in
accordance with the Word of God.

9. On the other hand, they who are mercifully tolerated must not
imagine that because they escape censure and force,