“Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” Mark 11:17

When Jesus entered the Temple and saw something sacred being exploited for selfish purposes, He reacted angrily. He was not annoyed by people who disagreed with Him politically. Rather, His Temple cleansing was inflamed by the hypocrisy, corruption and exploitation of something sacred – and his anger directed not only at the merchants and moneychangers, but their patrons as well.

The Word of God is, of course, sacred. Yet many so-called “Christians” enable corruption of the Gospel by serving as apologists for POTUS and his band of false shepherds as they pervert Scripture to serve their evil purposes. Are you a patron? Are you an enabler?

The Lord’s example should provoke His followers to anger when false Christians use His name to advance values that contradict the Gospel – when “Christianity” is brandished to justify cruelty toward the vulnerable, contempt for sojourners, fraudulence, retribution, greed and hate. We should be incensed when loyalty to a political demigod becomes more important than obedience to Christ. And we must be infuriated when the Gospel of love, mercy, humility and truth is transformed into a dogma of power, grievance and domination.

Are you infuriated…or are you an apologist for the perversion of God’s word?

Jesus, of course, was not motivated by partisanship, personal resentment or pride. Rather, He intervened in defense of God’s word and those being harmed by the corruption of it. Our response to the corruption of Christianity must not itself become corrupt. The Apostle Paul taught that we must follow Jesus’ example:

“In your anger do not sin” Ephesians 4:26

That is, true Christians condemn the abuse of the Gospel without hating those who abuse it. We confront the hypocrisy of false shepherds and their lost sheep without becoming hypocrites ourselves.

Many, however, choose a different path. They shun the Gospel message of mercy and love to abuse the vulnerable and those who do not look like themselves. They are apologists and enablers of one of the great haters of all-time.

Christian anger must look like that of Jesus in the Temple. Like today’s false Christians, the corrupters were acting in defiance of God’s word and will. Jesus cleansed the Temple without becoming hateful towards those whose corruption He confronted. His anger was all about protecting God’s purposes and people.

Ours must as well.