This book is meant to be a springboard to help Christians come to grips with understanding where they stand as Christians, in a world which is saturated with non-Biblical thinking. I have tried to collect relevant examples to illustrate typical situations in which Christians are caught. I have also tried to make a difference between straight Bible teaching and my own personal opinions, because I know there are Christians who hold many different positions on some things.
Drawing the Line
At a school Shakespeare competition, after a scene full of cackling witches, someone announced to the audience that there had been a “real” witch in the cast, and also that a “Christian” was also one of them. God playing the devil? It seemed rather incongruous, to have a Christian hovering around a cauldron chanting spells and incantations. Whether or not the “Christian” referred to was genuine or not makes no difference, the fact is, it seemed (to someone) like a point worth making to inform the audience that a “Christian” had played the part of a witch.
This set me thinking about whether Christians can, in drama anyway, legitimately play the part of what is supposedly the ‘opposition’. I think they can, provided the setting is a drama of some sort. In this setting, a Christian can play any role, and play it well, but then this leads to the problem of the ‘value’ of the production. Should a Christian swear, pretend to take drugs, lie, cheat and behave like an animal, all in the name of Drama? And then comes the alternative question – would a ‘practising witch’ be interested in playing the part of an “evangelical, Bible-preaching Christian”? To both questions – I doubt it very much.
The fact is, Christians are supposed to be different from people who are not Christians, not the same. Did Jesus ever try to blend in by compromising his standards? Was the Early Church persecuted by Rome because there were no obvious differences between it and the pagan society it lived in the midst of? What used to come naturally to the Christians – greed, dishonesty, deception, hypocrisy, etc, was now to be resisted. What used to give them very little trouble conscience-wise, was now an obstacle to be overcome.
It is all a matter of drawing the line, and knowing where to draw it.
The Bible is (among other things) a book of rules. It is a Handbook for Life. The Manual for Man, made by the Maker of Man. Some of these rules are clear and specific : “You shall not kill”, while other rules are principles : “Love one another”. Frequently there is trouble over these two categories, because of a failure to see the difference between principles and direct rules, and arguments arise over interpretations.
The fact is, every Christian comes to God as an individual, and their whole life is dealt with by Him on an individual basis. As the proverb goes, “God has no grandchildren”, and neither does the Church. Pastors, deacons, elders and all, right down to the new convert who has almost no idea of what the Bible says, all are treated by God on an individual basis, and judged according to God’s own understanding. Only God can take into account every detail – our upbringing, environment, personality, circumstances relating to decisions – so only God is capable of making a fair judgement. No human could ever know enough to judge another human 100% fairly.
So there is no room for one Christian to ‘judge’ another, that is, there is no permission given for one Christian to try to force another Christian live by the their rules, or their perceived standards. This is not to say that church discipline is not involved, but church discipline is always applied on the basis of the direct rules, never the principles, because principles are always open to interpretation, while direct rules are as clear as “Keep off the Grass”, and “Leave this door shut”.
The reason why God has given us two types of rule is because some are universal and apply to humans at all times and in all cultures, while the other are flexible enough to fit every situation.
This is demonstrated in many ways. For example politics. Some Christians say that it is not for Christians to be involved in politics, because, they say, it is not ‘preaching the gospel’, or it is ‘not God’s domain’. Other Christians (such as Wilberforce, an MP who fought in Parliament for the abolition of slavery) would say that God is involved in every area of our lives, and that Christians in politics can help keep the country peaceful.
Another example is war. Some Christians say that ‘killing other humans is wrong’, while other Christians see war as a way of defending their wives, children, family and country from the ravages of tyrants.
Each of us must be persuaded in our own hearts as to where we stand on some things, but we must never try to twist the rules to suit our own fancies.
Have you ever seen an oyster-eating competition? Contestants gulp down oysters about one every three seconds. The Bible would call this excessive a form of greed, wasteful, glorying in the flesh, and if the contestants continued to eat food at this rate, it would be called gluttony – all sins to be avoided. But the ‘world’ glorifies eating competitions, (beer-swilling, pie-gulping, etc), and even awards prizes to the most successful food-gobblers, just as it tends to glorify all practises condemned by the Word of God. So where does the Christian fit into all this? That is not for me to say, but the reason this book was written was to help Christians ask the right questions about their lifestyle, and to move closer to the sort of lifestyle which pleases God more than it pleases the people of this world.
King Josiah.
In the Bible the story is told of a young king, who, on hearing the Law, was so enthusiastic to please God that he ordered the destruction of anything and everything which was not acceptable under the Law :
2 Kings 22:1-13. “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign . . .and he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that . . . the king sent Shaphan . . . to repair the breaches of the house . . .
“And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and . . . showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent (tore) his clothes.
And the king commanded . . . saying,
Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.”
So upset was the king that he more or less ravaged the land, removing idols, destroying shrines, and stamping on every bit of idolatry he could find. He obliterated much of the external, physical material connected with idolatry, but unfortunately did almost nothing about the inner, hidden idolatry in the people’s hearts.
There is a sense in which this story applies to all Christians, but more especially to those who give their lives to Christ later in their lives. I say this because from the first years of life, right through to old age, the standards and beliefs of world hold sway over people’s minds. The work begins with secular childhood. Almost all the literature, music, toys and educational material for infants is secular, comprising fairy stories, fantasies (the Tooth fairy, Father Christmas, Mother Goose, Barney, Pokemon, Barbie, etc, etc) so that by the time the child is going to Primary School their heads are filled with everything BUT the Word of God. Of course there may have been the odd token Bible story thrown in, but even then, these inserts are not treated as God’s Word, but are presented, usually by unbelievers, as fairly equal to all other fairy stories. The ark is pictured as a toy, similar to a tug boat, and Jesus is portrayed as a sort of wizard, or magical man, whose life was interesting, but not relevant to today. There is no teaching about a global flood, or God’s wrath on sin, and the early chapters of Genesis are treated as mythical, on par with Aboriginal ‘dreamtime’ and other pagan beliefs.
State, or Public schooling is, by Charter, secular. This means that some Christian material may be available, but teachers are not permitted to teach the Bible, unless that teaching is part of a curriculum, i.e. Comparative religions, dictionary meaning of ‘miracle’, an essay on famous people which may include Jesus or Paul or some other Bible name, and history.
Into this thickly woven net of secularism and misinformation go the Bible-in-Schools workers and others, but even at the Primary school stage, many children have already been shaped and moulded too far for the Word of God to have anything but a superficial effect.
King Josiah is a type of the zealous, enthusiastic older Christian, who reads the Bible and then desires with all his or her heart to throw out anything and everything which offends God. Sometimes this means gradually working through a whole lifetime of nonsense, and bad habits. Sometimes it takes years to unlearn wrong attitudes. But this is the sort of conversion which produces world-changing Christians.
But whenever a person does a ‘Josiah’ job on their life, it also causes many problems. The world is content with Christians as long as they remain docile and submissive. The world will speak well of Christians, provided they swear (a little), smoke (occasionally), drink (along with the ‘boys’ at the pub from time to time), go to late-night ‘wild’ parties, talk dirty, watch every current movie regardless of its content, attend rock-concerts, dress down, follow the fashions of the day, and do all those other things to conform to whatever peer group they relate to. (These examples are not a criticism of any Christian. They are extremes which may apply to some and not to others).
What was happening in the land before King Josiah arrived on the scene? The people of the land were gradually but determinedly adopting all the heathen ways from the people around them. It was mainly one-way traffic too, because the heathen were not becoming godly Israelites at anywhere near the same rate.
This is exactly how it is in most cases today, except where a revival occurs. For example, a Christian attends a Public school, and finds that 99% of all his or her friends are non-Christians. The Christian is therefore outnumbered by about 100 to 1, and comes into the social pressure to conform to the majority. Sometimes but not always, under this pressure to conform, Christian ethics go out the window, language is downgraded, values alter, and soon the Christian may be so much like his or her unsaved classmates that there is no noticeable difference between the two.
As we know from Nature, a healthy apple is placed in a bowl of rotten fruit, the health never flows outward to the rotten fruit. It is far easier for something to rot, or degrade, than it is for it to grow healthier.
The world also hardly ever shows ‘mercy’ to Christians. It expects Christians to conform to its standards, but it resents very strongly any attempt by Christians to bring it into line with God’s standards. This is because the heart of Man is biased towards rebellion and self-determination. (Have you ever heard of a child which loved obeying its parents all the time?) Nobody enjoys having to obey external authority. Most people prefer to do what they want, and it is therefore an act of self-sacrifice on the part of the Christian, to bow before God and accept His ruling. By obeying God, Christians show that they are very unusual in this world.
There are so many examples of this rebellious bias it would fill several pages to mention them. Rebellion is an accepted part of life. Teenagers are renowned for it. We talk about the temper tantrums of toddlers. We expect it from them. Our prisons are full of rebels. Our schools practise discipline of many kinds every day because there are always children who break the rules. The whole legal profession exists mainly because of people’s refusal to obey the Ten Commandments or the laws of the land. Rebellion is built into our human make-up, and it either grows stronger or it hides itself rather cleverly, and continues almost secretly.
As children became adults, they learn more and more sophisticated ways of hiding their rebellion, until the real motives behind everything they do are almost undetectable. Adults, by and large, have mastered the art of hidden rebellion.
It would not have been easy for King Josiah to institute his reforms. Thousands of people would have resented his actions. Josiah went against the prevailing culture of his day, and destroyed many of the ‘valuable works of art’ and ‘cultural heritage sites’ of the land. Many of the temples and statues would have been highly prized, greatly admired and reverenced. Josh’s soldiers marched into ‘hallowed’ places and wrecked them. In the same way, it is not always easy to be a Christian in today’s world because many of the things (objects and beliefs) which the world values, are despised and shunned by Christians. This always causes offence, but in the end, it all boils down to the question : who do you want to please most?
Some examples of this principle follow :
The New Age minister.
I was invited, by an ordained Anglican minister, to an evening meeting. Two other men were there, and a machine called an encephalograph, which measures brain waves. The purpose of the meeting was to take turns attaching electrodes to our heads and then try to alter our brain wave pattern, in order to have “visions”. Having never come across this sort of thing before I was curious about whether this experiment was within the limits set in the Bible, and the more I heard, the less I was convinced that I should be a part of the experiment. As the first man tried to have a vision, and claimed to be seeing things ‘coming through the wall’ of the room, I told my hosts that I did not think this was ‘of the Holy Spirit’ and that I felt uncomfortable with what was happening, then I excused myself and went home.
” . . . the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you”. John 14:17
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:” John 15:26
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:” John 16:13
“We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error”. 1 John 4:6
Spiritism
A woman once challenged me on the subject of life after death and people whom she considered to be modern ‘prophets’ one day. She told me I was stupid not to accept the evidence which these ‘prophets’ produced, such as being able to foretell the future, heal (at a distance and close up), diagnose illnesses and prescribe the correct treatment without medical training, contact the spirits, and see visions and wonders.
I told her that I believed only what the Bible said, even when it seemed that the ‘evidence’ contradicted the Bible. In other words, even if I saw a ghost and it spoke to me I would not believe that this ghost was the spirit of some dead person, still alive in another dimension.
The woman was so annoyed with me she gathered a heap of her books and asked me to read them, which I dutifully did, but I looked for the open statements by the ‘prophets’ which contradicted the Bible. In other words, I looked beyond the ‘miracles’ which these ‘prophets’ produced and found what their starting point, or basis of understanding was.
I found that these ‘prophets’ stated, in no uncertain terms, that “There was life after death in a spirit world”, that “Jesus was just one of many enlightened men”, that “Sin was just ignorance, or failure to understand something”, and “There is no final day of judgement”. There was also misinformation about angels, healing, religions and so on.
The woman took her books away and has never brought the subject up again.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement:” Hebrews 9:27
Creation in School.
I heard a story about a Bible-in-schools teacher, who had taken the class through the story of Creation, the Fall and was moving into the Flood. As the weeks went by, the children enjoyed the lessons, and the teachers in the room made no comment, but then she happened to mention the fact that the Genesis account was true. Instantly the school teacher expressed a mixture of surprise and scorn.
“You’re not telling me you actually believe all this stuff about Adam and Eve and Satan and a global flood do you?!”
Well of course she did. It was written there in the Bible, as history. Genesis is not the same as the Maori legends, or the Norse sagas, or the European fairy tales. Genesis is written in the matter-of-fact way of history, clear and simple.
“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:” Luke 24:25
“And he (Jesus) said unto them, ‘Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female?” Matthew 19:4 If it was good enough for Jesus to take Genesis literally, it should be good enough for us too.
Play centre
I once offered to tell stories to the children in a Play centre. The women I spoke to were only too happy to allow this, but then I suggested that I tell them Bible stories. I was told “We are not allowed to teach the children religion”. I protested : “But Bible stories are not religion, they are history, on the same level as the travels of Captain Cook, or the American Civil War!”
The women were adamant so I left them to their Play centre, but the incident revealed several things. 1. Many people do not regard the Bible as anything but a pile of spiritual propaganda, and 2. Many people think that the Bible is a collection of unbelievable fairy tales. This means of course that ‘preaching the gospel’ is only one small part of the Christian work. The larger part is re-education of ignorant unbelievers.
“Your word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgements endures for ever”. Psalm 119:160
A married couple.
I heard a sad comment from a married (Christian) man a while ago. He said that, when his marriage was going through a time of trouble, he and his wife went to see several marriage guidance people for advice. Most of the advice was for him and his wife to separate. There was no suggestion, he said, that he and his wife should work through the problems.
The Bible says that, in a Christian marriage, the covenant is meant to last the whole life, not be broken as soon as difficulties come along. The world’s advice is “split”, the Bible’s advice is “work through it”.
“Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Ephesians 5:24,25
After a while it gradually dawns on many Christians that following Jesus involves entering into a conflict. In other words, true Christianity is war! There are no guns firing, or cannons thundering, and no battlefield full of holes, but it is war, and sometimes it is war to the death.
But as long as a person skates around the word “commitment” they remain safe from injury. The world makes no criticism of people who merely ‘go to church’, or who have flowery pictures on their walls by saint Someone. The world is not offended at all by a worldly Christian, because that kind of Christian is no threat to the world.
Many years ago I was invited to go to the movie “The Life of Brian’ by the Monty Python team. I was at Polytech at the time and it seemed that the whole class was going, but I declined. Instantly I was cross-examined by curious students.
“On one level” I said to them, “I can see that the movie is very funny. I enjoy the humour of some ordinary man being mistaken for the Messiah, and I appreciate the absurdity of it, but on another level I find the movie very offensive, because it makes a mockery of the Son of God. Personally I could not sit through such a movie without having to first put my conscience outside on the street.”
For my stand against the movie I gained some respect, but the distance increased between myself and the other students, because I was different from them. I didn’t run with them to the world’s attractions. As Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23
The origin of rebellion
When God created the universe and the world, there was no rebellion in heaven. All the angels, and all the other created life-forms were in harmony with God’s will, and joy reverberated between God and His creatures. But one angel, Lucifer, was not happy with the position he had been given. It was a form of ‘job dissatisfaction’. Lucifer wanted a promotion, right up to the throne of God.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how you are cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!
For you have said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit . . . I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High”. Isaiah 14:12-14
God expelled Lucifer, along with the other angels who joined the rebellion, and sent them to earth, where Adam and Eve had just taken up residency. On hearing that Adam and Eve would be killed if they disobeyed God, Lucifer seduced Eve and Adam into questioning God’s word, and thereby brought about the ‘Fall of Man’. This rebellion of Man’s affected the whole of Creation, and produced a race of humans which was inherently rebellious.
From the moment when Lucifer rebelled, to the moment when Adam stood by and allowed his wife to eat from the forbidden tree, a war has been raging. At times this war seems to be so mild as to not be almost unnoticeable, at other times it has been violent and fierce – such as when the Roman Catholic persecutions took place across Europe and in Britain. Every conflict of man has its roots in this war between Satan and God. Every war, every trouble, every argument, every religious battle, every personal difficulty.
Some of these troubles are indirectly caused by the war, because all Creation was degraded as a punishment – storms, earthquakes, floods, sickness, ageing, death, etc. Other troubles are a more direct result of the war – depression, suicide, gossip, brawls, drunkenness, etc. The principle is clear – this world is better or worse in proportion to the amount of obedience or disobedience it shows towards its Maker.
How much influence does Satan have in this world? Immense. But he has only so much influence as people will give him. If all the world refused to follow Satan, he would have no influence.
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”. Revelation 12:9
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation (lifestyle) in times past in the lusts (desires) of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”. Ephesians 2:2,3
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will”. 2 Timothy 2:26
From these verses we can see that, unless we make a deliberate, conscious effort to reject error, we will spend our whole lives being led about by the Devil. This is where the warfare comes in. It is a battle for the mind, because the mind is the door to the heart. When Satan deceives a person’s thinking, he captures the whole person. The way to defeat the devil therefore, is to have a right understanding of God’s Word – in other words, to know the truth.
The Whole Armour of God.
In Ephesians, Paul describes a soldier in terms of a fully-armed Christian. Many drawings based on this passage of Scripture show the Christian as a rather glorified Roman soldier with a broadsword, but the truth is that this description is more of the foot-soldier, with a short dagger-like knife, with leather sandals.
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” This word “wiles” ought to alert us as to the nature of the war. A “wile” is a stratagem, or trick, or method of luring someone away.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.
Again, we have a warning here that, while we do wrestle against flesh and blood, in the sense that we write letters to and speak to real people, ‘behind the scenes’ are the spiritual entities which operate these flesh and blood people. Unsaved people are more like puppets than anything. Satan pulls the strings and they jiggle.
When Christians are treated unjustly, beaten up, slandered, libelled, and treated badly by the unsaved, it not because the unsaved are even interested in them – it is more a matter of Satan trying to destroy the Christian’s life. Jesus himself looked at the Pharisees and said “They knownot what they do” (Luke 23:34). The unsaved aren’t even aware of what they are doing most of the time. Like blind people, they stumble and grope through life, with no idea where they are going, why they are here, or what they are here for.
“And now, brethren, I understand that through ignorance you did it, (crucified Jesus) as did also your rulers”. Acts 3:17
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at (= overlooked without judging); but now commands all men every where to repent:” Acts 17:30
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” Ephesians 4:18
“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts (desires) in your ignorance” 1 Peter 1:14
“For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” 1 Peter 2:15
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with (1.) truth, and having on the breastplate of (2.) righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of (3.) the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the (4.) shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of (5.) salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is (6.) the word of God:
Praying always with all (7.) prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and (8.) watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”. Ephesians 6:11-18
These weapons are probably not listed in order of importance, but it is interesting that “truth” comes first. Without truth, all the other weapons would not function properly. This can be seen in the case of a cult, where some truth and some error are mixed together, producing peculiar behaviour. (i.e. the Exclusive Brethren claim to be Christians, but they are so exclusive they repel the very people whom God invites into the Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are much the same) or in the case of some extreme Pentecostals, who put “faith” higher than “the word of God”, or in the case of some naive but well-meaning Christians who think that all they need to win souls is John 3:16 and no more than that.
Most lists are made up to 7 parts. I like to add “watching” because it means literally “lying sleepless”, in other words, being ‘awake’ all the time to what is going on. Prayer should therefore be mixed with wisdom. This means that Christians are supposed to listen and watch and analyse the culture, or whatever they are praying about – world events, social changes, fashions, philosophies, ideas. Paul showed how much he understood on Mars Hill, when he was able to tune into his audience because he understood ‘where they were coming from’. Jesus was able to speak correctly to the Jewish leaders and also to the Jewish common people because he knew about their attitudes and beliefs. Watching is a way to understanding. This is why watching comes with the seventh part of the armour – a Christian who prays without understanding may be wasting his or her breath. Perhaps this is why Jesus forbade Christians from using “vain repetitions”?
“Blessed is the man that hears me (Wisdom), watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” Proverbs 8:34
“Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching”. Luke 12:37
Much has already been written (and preached) about the armour of God, and there are many fine lessons available, but one area I would like to focus on for a moment is the “loins girt about with truth”. What is truth? Some Christians glibly say “Jesus is truth”, but if that was all truth was, there would be little use for imagination, logic, reasoning, curiosity, appreciation of Nature, wonder and the capacity to learn!
Truth is a wide term. It means accurate. It means consistent with all the evidence. It means trustworthy. It encompasses all things, but it excludes anything which contradicts. The study of truth could use up a lifetime, and the application of truth could change the world.
Satan, of course, is opposed to any truth which puts him at a disadvantage. Satan wants people to believe anything which works against God. This is why Satan has developed the Theory of Evolution, which has its roots further back than Greece. This is why Satan has spawned several alternative religions, which all contain some of the principles of Christianity, but not enough truth to lead a person to the True God. Satan has also produced cults, (Mormons, JW’s, Worldwide Church of God, etc) weird philosophies (UFO’s, Flat Earth, Hollow Earth, Atlantis, Crystals,) witchcraft (for the women) and black magic (for the men), and a wide variety of other ‘custom-built’ distractions.
Jesus called Satan the father, or originator, of lies. “You (Pharisees etc) are of your father the devil, and the lusts (desires) of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it”. John 8:44
Satan’s co-conspirators, the other fallen angels (also called demons), have been busy through the history of the Church -
“Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times (that is between AD30 and the return of Christ) some (Christians) shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” 1 Timothy 4:1. This verse shows that even from within Christian fellowships there will come seductive, attractive lies, and teaching which is opposed to what the Bible says.
Doctrines of devils.
To single out the Roman church here is not really fair, because there have been many other departures from the truth from within the Church down through the centuries. The only reason I choose it here is because it is so easy to use as an illustration.
The Roman church, which pulled away from the Early Church about 300 AD, has taught celibacy despite the fact that the Scriptures allow all Christians to marry should they wish to. It has also taught Mary-worship, relic-worship, image-worship, saint-worship, pilgrimages, almsgiving, penance, formalism, ceremonialism, processions, absolutions, masses and blind obedience to priests. It has taught the use of Rosary beads, purgatory, and the supremacy of the Pope. It has promoted the ranks of Bishops, Abbots, Friars, Priests, Monks and Nuns. It has imposed military rule over kings and people who would not bow to the Pope. It has demonstrated extreme greed for wealth. It has produced Jesuit murderers and Crusades against unbelievers, both in Palestine and across Europe and in Britain. It opposed the Reformation with the fury of royal edicts and the mighty Spanish Armada. At the hands of the Roman church -which still claims to be the one true Church – some 50 million people were killed because they would not join. As well as this it has adopted many pagan symbols, manners, rituals and ideas. In short, the Roman church is a wonderful example of how Satan can propagate lies.
Legalism
One of the most damaging influences to the Church has been the rise of legalism. This happens when one or a few Christians decide that a certain rule must be kept by themselves and all other Christians. The rule or rules chosen are usually misinterpreted, or taken out of context. The result is a deadening of the life within the Church. Two out of many examples of legalism are : Sabbath-keeping and Tithing. I chose these two because they serve as a sort of template to illustrate how all legalism works.
Sabbath-keeping.
There are some who think that Christians ought to keep the Old Testament Sabbath law as described in Ex.20.
One reason why I believe Christians are not required to keep the Old Testament Sabbath (our Saturday) is because the Sabbath is just one small part of the whole Sabbath law system. There is also the sabbath for the land, (every seventh year the land was to be rested), and the multiple of seven for the year of Jubilee (the 50th year was a year for releasing all debt and returning people to their lands, and also making new arrangements for the lease or use of buildings). Lev. 25:8-10.
Now if Christians are required to keep the day sabbath, then they ought to, logically, keep all the laws connected to it. Let me explain.
Imagine finding a reasonably large log of wood in a paddock. Imagine picking the log up, with the intention of keeping taking it home, but finding that three other logs are tied by a strong rope to the log you are holding. You decide to take the log away, dragging the extra three, but now you discover that to each of the three logs are more strong ropes, all tied to many more logs. You use all your strength to pull all these logs, but now you find that every log has more logs attached, until you see that more than 600 logs are all tied to the first one. The load is now immense, and quite impossible to move, as it entails dragging the entire paddock of logs away!
This is how keeping the sabbath operates. As Jesus said, the only way one can obtain eternal life by your own efforts is by keeping the commandments. But when anyone tries to do this, they find it utterly impossible. Every attempt to keep the Law leads the person who tries into more and more effort, until they find that they must give up. The Law is one whole system, made of many parts, all connected by strong ropes.
“And, behold, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said to him, Why do you call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.
He said to him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
Honour your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbour as thyself.
The young man said unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If you want to be perfect, go and sell that you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions”. Matthew 19:16
The young man found that, although he kept the ten commandments, at least outwardly, and to the letter, there was a log attached to the last one (You shall not covet) which convicted him of sin. In his heart, he was covetous, that is greedy for more than he needed. Jesus went past the letter to the thought-life and conscience. In a similar way, the man may have come to Jesus and claimed to be keeping the sabbath, so Jesus could have asked him if he let the land rest every seventh year. To every law another law is always attached.
There are several other good reasons why I cannot accept the sabbath-keeper’s teaching. One is the matter of work by implication.
Part of the Law on sabbaths says that people are not to work (that is, work for money, as in a normal weekday job) on that day, yet even when people do not work, they still require others to remain in employment. For example the men and women who maintain the hydro-electric power stations.
Another problem I have with sabbath-keeping is the disregard of the implications of the resurrection. The early church honoured what we call Sunday because it marked the day when Jesus rose from the grave. The resurrection set the stage for a whole new start for creation. With the resurrection came the ushering in of the “latter days” which include the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers, the promise of eternal life, the destruction of Satan, the prospect of an end to death, and extinction of all Satan’s followers, and the re-creation of all that is fallen. The “new creation” began with the resurrection, which will lead to glory, everlasting righteousness, life, health and untold riches in Christ . . . yet sabbath-keepers would have us go back to the old ways, the Law, the “shadows of things to come”.
Put in artistic terms, this is like scraping the painting off and admiring the sketch. Architecturally, this is like pulling the house down and admiring the foundations. Musically, this is like evicting the orchestra and listening to the composer hum the music.
Some sabbath laws :
“And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family”. Leviticus 25:10
“You shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you: every one that defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people”. Exodus 31:14
“Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whoever does any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death”. Exodus 31:15
“You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations (homes) on the sabbath day”. Exodus 35:3
“Six years you shall sow thy field, and six years you shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard.
That which grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, neither gather the grapes of your vine undressed: for it is a year of rest to the land. . .
And you shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years . . .to forty nine years.
Then shall thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound . . . and you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land . . . and you shall return every man to his possession . . . and every man to his family.
A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be to you: you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather the grapes in it of your vine”. Leviticus 25:3
“And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day”. Numbers 15:32. This man was tried and put to death.
“Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do any work, but hallow the sabbath day”. Jeremiah 17:22
The above verses demonstrate how legalism would quickly stifle Christianity, and reduce it to the level of the Pharisees and Sadducees, whose well-meaning quest in life seems to have been the keeping of God’s Law – to the letter.
It was the religious leaders, the sabbath-keepers who hounded Jesus everywhere He went. It was they who objected to his disciples eating corn, and to the many acts of mercy and healing which Jesus did on sabbath days. Is this the kind of Christianity the world needs?
What sabbath-keepers, and all legalists miss is the fact that Jesus has ushered in a New Age. The resurrection left the sabbath law dead and buried, in the sense that the mere letter of the sabbath law has no hold on those who have risen (by faith) with Jesus.
But there is another, less legalistic form of sabbath-keeping. That is the Sunday-keeper! Despite all the New Testament teaching on freedom to worship, and home-churches, and love, and allowing your brother or sister in Christ to walk freely before God, there are still Christians who cling to the old forms, and who expect all Christians to ‘go to church’ on Sundays. This, they think, is the way it has been done for generations, therefore this is how it should always be done. It seems the longer something continues, the more likely it is that it will be set in concrete.
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days”. Colossians 2:16
“Conscience, I say, not your own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?” 1 Corinthians 10:29
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17
“And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily (secretly) to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage”. Galatians 2:4
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”. Galatians 5:1
“So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty”. James 2:12
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage”. 2 Peter 2:19
Does this mean the Law of God is abolished?
The answer to this question has to be “No” because without the Law, there would be no other standard available by which God could judge the world. He has already given Man a conscience, and written the moral laws on Man’s heart, and He has sent Jesus the perfect Example, but Man must also have access to a written Law, otherwise the scales of justice could be tilted unfairly in God’s favour.
Suppose you came driving through a city, and suddenly you were pulled up for breaking some obscure road rule which operated only along one street of the city? You would feel that a real injustice had occurred. But if, as you entered the city, you were given a sheet of paper with all the road rules for that city on it, you would have to take responsibility for your infringement.
In the same way, God has provided His Law, so that, for those who were able to read it, God’s Legal Standard of perfection was available.
Having said all this we ought to consider what use the Law is.
First it is God’s standard, by which He judges all people who have access to it. The Law is a mirror, in which people see their true state. It is asword to cut through hypocrisy and deception, revealing the inner sin, and bringing sinners to a sense of unrighteousness. As a tool in a Christian’s hand, it can be a powerful weapon, bringing complacent and apathetic people to a sense of their need for salvation.
On the other hand, Christians are not expected to keep the Sabbath Law. They have been set free of its demands, not to become lawless, but to practise a much higher level of living. To the Christian, any and every day may be a day of rest. All days are the Sabbath, or none are, to the Christian. The sabbath was originally made for man – Mark 2:27,28 – and not man for the sabbath. It was instituted to prevent one Israelite from working another Israelite to death. It was brought in to alleviate poverty and financial stress. It was instituted to stop people from being dispossessed of their land. Christians should never need to be forced into doing all these things – it should be a normal, Christian heart-response to care for workers, to rest, to alleviate financial stress, and to help people regain their property.
Christians are not required by the Law to attend church every Sunday either, since every day may be a Sunday to them, and all days are equally God’s – for work or worship, fellowship or travel, socialising or study, fasting or feasting – even for sport. The only injunction which Christians are required to keep is fellowship with each other, learning the Word, and helping each other :
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers”. Acts 2:42
“Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching”. Hebrews 10:25
Sabbatarians are similar to the legalistic Jews who tried to make Christians have themselves circumcised - see Galatians – Paul was firmly against this. Circumcision, like the log of wood in the paddock, was just one part of a huge integrated legal system which would have burdened Christians with an impossible load, had they tried to pick it up. So we see that there are many ways back into the Law, but the remedy is always the same.
God’s remedy to legalism is the finished work of Jesus Christ, which He accomplished on the cross and completed through the resurrection, all of which speaks to us of God’s grace – His unmerited, unearned, undeserved favour to us sinners.
The second example of legalism is Tithing.
One of the leading teachers of tithing used to be an American evangelist called Oral Roberts. He would send colourful pamphlets to people all round the world urging them to give money to his work, and he always attached the following promise from the Bible :
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
“You are cursed with a curse: for you have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in My house, and prove me now, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts”. Malachi 3:9-11
The teaching was clear – if people tithed, that is gave money to Oral Roberts, they would automatically receive health, prosperity, and even more money. It was even suggested that if one gave ten dollars to God ( i.e. Oral Roberts) one would receive one hundred!
This prosperity legalism appealed to many people, and Mr. Robert’s multi-million dollar empire grew and expanded, doing much good and helping many thousands . . . but was the teaching about tithing realistic?
First of all, I do not want to cast aspersions on God’s Word. I have no doubt that the promise in Malachi is reliable, but who was it addressed to, and why?
The Old Testament tithing laws were originally given to Israel, and they were not a separate group of laws all by themselves, but an integrated part of the whole Law. They operated by obedience and faith. The obedience part was performed by the body of the Israelite, and the faith part by his or her heart. It took faith to tithe. It didn’t seem reasonable that by giving something away one might gain more - a typical example of how God challenges our natural reasoning!
But where was the tithe supposed to go?
“When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled . . .” Deuteronomy 26:12
Numbers 18 explains that the Levites were to receive the tithes of the “heave offering”, and keep one tenth, the remaining nine tenths went to Aaron the high priest.
So under the law, there was a strict division between the Levites and the High priest, and the tithes consisted mainly of food (animals, and crops).
This is a far cry from the teaching of Oral Roberts, who expected money for his work (however noble) and who promised (guaranteed) financial prosperity to those who supported him. To many people it sounded like some sort of financial investment, backed up by God, who became trapped by His own legal process, and was forced to multiply to all who tithed a fabulous rate of interest.
There are several other offshoots of legalism in the Church.
A short list of actual statements (condensed and simplified) which people have said to me :
Only red wine (Greek – ‘yayin’ = wine containing alcohol) must be used at Communion
One cup, not several must be used at Communion
Someone must always say grace before every meal
Women must wear hats when they sit in a church building
Men must always take their hats off whenever they pray (even in a blizzard!)
Every time a fellowship meets there must be singing
Christians must attend church every Sunday
You are not a real Christian unless you “speak in tongues”
You must start each day with a “Quiet Time”
The Pastor is the head of the church
One tenth of your income must be given to the church
You cannot be saved unless you are baptised in water
You must not play competitive sport on Sunday
All children in a fellowship must attend Sunday school
The Bible must never be presented in cartoon form
The King James Bible is the only really accurate translation
You must never place the Bible on the floor
You must not make notes in the pages of your Bible
Legalism, unfortunately, seems to be a part of human nature. The longer people do something, the more likely it is that they will make rules to protect whatever they are doing, and eventually the rules become barriers to innovation. This is why so many branches of the Church seem to be way behind the times. The same old hymn books, the same old hymns, the same old order of service, the same old . . . People? Traditions harden and the entire fellowship, which used to be relevant to the people of its time, becomes a curiosity, like a slice of the past preserved in a Museum.
Which brings us back to the reason for this book – we ought to be careful about where we draw the line. How much tradition will we allow into our Christian life? How many rules have we accepted which are not in the Bible? How free are we? Have we drawn lines where they didn’t need to be drawn, and by doing so have we unnecessarily alienated ourselves from the unsaved word.
In the case of Jesus it was the religious leaders – the ones with all the extra rules – who opposed the Son of God. Are we in danger of doing the same thing, when we ignore the freedom we have been given, and cling instead to Man-made rules? Is some of the Church today actually an impediment and an obstacle to God, just as the well-meaning, zealous, religious leaders were to Jesus?
Christianity.
There are many books on this topic. Many large, thoroughly written books. But they all say much the same thing - Christianity is huge!
However there are many Christians who cannot see much further than the end of their nose. The narrowest version of Christianity, the version they expound, is John 3:16, where ‘getting saved’ and ‘getting someone to start attending church’ is the ultimate goal of conversion. How pathetically small this goal is. I much prefer the other version. The big version of Christianity is as large as the whole world, and as full of variety as the whole kingdom of Nature.
By way of illustrating this, just take a few moments to flick through the Old Testament Law. There are over six hundred laws in the books of Moses, and they apply to things as varied as public hygiene, building standards, trade and commerce, dress codes, sewage, wandering stock, accident compensation, insurance, property rights, menstruation, population control, marriage, education, sickness, making promises, agriculture, treatment of foreigners, the military, wills and inheritances, and land management. In fact, there is not a single activity which humans do which is not touched on somehow by the Law of the Lord.
For a national entity, such as Israel, the Law of the Lord would have elevated those people to the highest possible status in the world – if they had kept it.
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple”. Psalm 19:7
The Law of the Lord was given to a nation, not to the Church, so it is to be taken nationally, not spiritually. Christians are told to set their hearts on being like Jesus, and, if enough people did this we would end up with a Theocracy. But at present we in the West have a Democracy, which means that the majority – usually non-Christian – controls the law of the land. This law allows many things which are totally opposed to God – such as abortion. If our country was a Theocracy we would not have a huge number of things which we presently tolerate as ‘normal’. This is one of the strongest arguments for Christians being involved in politics.
The Law of the Lord is divided into three sections :
1. Ecclesiastical laws (the sacrifices and offerings for sin)
2. Moral laws (obedience, doing the right thing,)
3. Civil laws (basic, practical rules – building codes, agriculture, etc)
Jesus has already fulfilled number 1. His death on the cross ended for ever the need for sacrifices, because He Himself was the Final Sacrifice for all sin for all time.
2. and 3. Are still relevant to a nation, and wherever the Law of the Lord is kept, even partially, the resulting blessings still come. Does this mean that Christians should keep the Law? Of course not. But the Law is still relevant because it contains principles which would benefit any nation which applied them.
Take for example the fact that the Land, according to the Bible, belongs to God. Today the State owns it, and people have to pay money year by year for the use of it.
Another example is Family Inheritance. People today frequently have to sell up and leave, never to return, but the Law says that people may return to their land, and keep it in the family for ever. This would prevent the monopolists from destroying whole communities by buying everything up.
The Law demands that foreigners be treated fairly and with the same respect as the citizens of the country. This would have helped the North American Indians, the Maoris, the Southern Blacks, the Aborigines and many others.
The Law allows poor people to glean food from the fields of farmers. The poor were allowed to take what they could carry, but no more. This would alleviate much of the hunger in the world.
The Law forbids exorbitant interest being charged, and, after a certain number of years, all debts to be forgiven. This would prevent the recurrent debt crises which plagues many countries.
The Law forbids the eating of fat or blood. Doctors today warn against consumption of fat and some warnings have gone out about the possible dangers of eating blood. Food, we are told, must be cooked properly. The Law forbids the eating of animals found dead, such as a cattle beast found in a paddock. Today we are regularly warned about food poisoning (salmonella, botulism).
The Law requires that all sewage be buried away from human habitation. This would have prevented a huge number of deaths due to rats, fleas, and bacteria spreading through early towns – such as London, which used to have an open sewer running down the centre of the streets.
In many practical, sensible ways, the Law of the Lord is good for a nation, but if anyone suggests that Christians are expected to keep the Law, the answer still has to be “No”. The Law is available as a guide, or a list of suggestions, or principles, to all. We may take it or leave it. We may suffer some consequences if we ignore the Law, but we are not bound to keep it, and we will not be judged by it.
So, if someone tells you that you must “keep the Law” (or some part of it), you must draw the line and tell them you are saved by grace, and not by the works of the Law.
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”. John 1:17
“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them tokeep the law of Moses.
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said . . . God put(s) no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts (too) by faith.
Now therefore why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they”. Acts 15:5-11
Where the Lines are Drawn.
Every now and then an issue comes along which stirs Christians enough to get a few of them voicing their opinions. This has been happening from the very beginning of the Church – it is not a new thing to protest. The very name Protestant comes from the act of protesting.
At the beginning of the Church, there were disputes about whether Christians should be circumcised, whether Christians should eat meat or be vegetarian, and the position of truth in regard to various cults and religions. Colossians, for example, was written partly to defend Christianity from a philosophy based on knowledge. Galatians raised the issue of circumcision. Hebrews was aimed at the subject of the sacrificial system. Other New Testament books raise smaller issues, such as the place of women in marriage and in the church, leadership, gifts, the place of the Holy Spirit and so on. Controversy has always been a part of Christianity, and so it should be, because God is trying to establish His Kingdom on a planet overrun by His enemies. God has declared war on Satan, and the battle is fierce and violent.
It is not for me to say what anyone should believe, or where they should stand on any issue. This book is meant to be a stimulant, to help the reader sort out the issues for him or herself, and decide where the line should be drawn. I apologise if I inadvertently impose my own point of view, and I encourage the reader to take an opposite view if they think that is more reasonable.
The following is a short list, not in any particular order, of some of the areas in which Christians are involved in today’s world. In some cases the issues seem fairly ‘black and white’, while in others there is some leeway for alternative views.
In virtually every area of debate there are always people who hold different views about the same thing. Sometimes this is because of ignorance of the subject, at other times it is because of hidden motives, such as a desire to hold on to a tradition. Other reasons include fear of change, fear of having to back down and admit error – which springs from pride. Some people hold views because other people hold them, or because they find it difficult to make the time to actually think things through. Children commonly hold the views of their parents simply because they trust their parent’s judgement. Another reason is because the human heart is inherently rebellious so it is biased against accepting God’s Word on a matter – many Christians cling to error because they are still rebelling against God.
What this boils down to quite often is this :
1. There may be two or more very different views, all held by sincere Christians,
2. There may be two or more views which are, in some aspects, all correct,
3. Time and culture may have a lot to do with where a Christian stands.
As an example of 1. Take the case of Christians and war. Some Christians say it is wrong to “kill”, citing the 10 commandments. ( in the context “kill” means “murder”, but it comes to the same thing). On the other hand, some Christians believe that if they put a uniform on and march for a country’s welfare, they are doing the right thing. Two opposite views, both right.
As an example of 2. There is the matter of women and their role in the world. Some women have professional jobs, stay single, and avoid men, while others see their goal in life as being married and staying home to mind the children. Between these two activities there are many variations, and there are also many opinions, but for the women who make the choices it is between them and God.
As an example of 3. Take the case of pipe-smoking. In Western countries it is not seen as acceptable for a Christian to smoke, but in some European countries pipe-smoking is so much a part of the culture that it is not uncommon to see all the men come out of a church service and light up their pipes as they socialise. Some Scripture stands against this practice, but for the men involved it is not considered wrong.
All the following subjects have similar variations. Each of us must be persuaded in our own hearts as to whether what we are doing is pleasing to God.
Wealth
There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. Wealth is neutral, by itself – just so much land or money. But in the wrong hands wealth can be used for evil. Abraham, Solomon and king David were all wealthy, yet they walked close to God. Christians with wealth may provide well for their family and friends, support Christian work, help the poor. Wealth may be inherited or earned. Obviously, wealth gained through theft or some other form of sinful practise, is illegitimate. The Bible says that the best way to get wealth is to work hard for it.
Work Ethics
Whatever we do, we ought to do it as if we were doing it for Jesus. We may be self-employed or work for a boss, but above ourselves, and above the boss stands the Lord, who watches and listens as we apply our energy to the task. This means that we ought to always do our best, work the correct hours, keep our conversation within the limits of Christian standards and put whatever we do in the right context. Work should never be more important to us than the Lord, and if we are married, the wife (and children) must never be neglected because of the work.
Conversation
People should know by the things we say, and the things we don’t say, that we are Christians. Our office or studio or home should reflect our standards (no pinups, or rude, witty proverbs). What we talk about (no gossip or slander) should witness to people that we have a Judge to answer to one day.
Gambling
(See Work Ethics) The Bible says that the best way to get wealth is by hard work. This means there are only two ways to get wealth for most people, either by selling a skill, or selling an article, or both. Gambling is something poor people go for more than rich people, because the ‘lucky draw’ offers happiness to them. Stupidly they spend so much on gambling they could have helped themselves a lot more if they had kept the money. (A Lotto winner spent $120,000 trying to win another big prize, but he gained only $11,000.) Saving and investing are also useful but slow ways to gain wealth provided they are done with good advice.
Fitness
Some people make fitness one of, if not the major goal of their life. Their fitness becomes a taskmaster who is never satisfied. Overweight people do workouts and aerobics to become slim – usually they are battling against their problem with overeating too. The Bible says that it is good to be fit, but only fit enough to go about doing the work God has called us into. The pursuit of fitness is an unattainable butterfly, because all of Nature is subject to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, that is all complex systems are breaking down into less complex systems. All of Nature demonstrates this – birth, growth, ageing, sickness, deterioration, death, dissolution. The human body is no different from any other living thing, so it is a waste of time trying to reach perfect fitness with a body which is heading for the scrap heap anyway.
God has given us life and energy and mobility for a good reason. He means us to live for Him, but most people seem to think that fitness is meant only for self-indulgence. Athletics and outdoor pursuits, to name but two activities, consume many people’s lives, with the result that they achieve many things, win medals, conquer mountains, etc, but in the end (the Bible says) its what we do for Jesus that counts.
This is not to say that athletics is wrong, and that fitness is sinful. There are many Christians in sport, athletics and the Fitness Industry, who witness in their chosen field.
An interesting question to ask, in this context, is “What exactly is competition?” Because competition is involved in every fitness pursuit – either in terms of a person beating their best time, or overcoming their own limitations, or in terms of beating other competitors – does not competition boil down to a matter involving pride? Pride is a sin. Pride says “I am better than . . .” And pride can lead to jealousy, anger, dishonesty, cheating, lying and distortion of values. Christians ought to be very careful when they compete that they are not chasing pride.
The Arts
This includes dance, music, sculpture, drama, movie-production, writing, painting and drawing. There are Christians in all these fields, doing their best for Jesus, but there are still Biblical standards which remain the same regardless of what area of the Arts they are in. (See Philippians 4:8) and see Conversation and Work Ethics.
In whatever field Christians work they should always try to honour the Lord. This presents a very difficult choice at times. There are Christians in drama who find they have to say foul words because of the script – it is either that or quit. The same applies to dance – some dances are grotesque, rude and ugly. Some art is equally obscene. Each Christian must decided for him or herself whether what they are doing is honouring the Lord.
Politics
Some Christians say the Church is a ‘spiritual’ thing and that it should therefore keep away from any ‘political’ system. They say that it is not the Church’s business to meddle with the running of the nation. They say that Christians ought to stick to preaching the gospel, and not even try to improve any of the unsaved world’s affairs.
This view is of course contradicted by the life of Jesus, who challenged the religious and therefore political leaders of his day, who refused to speak to Herod, who soundly redressed Pilate, and whose followers set about to change the whole Roman Empire. In the West through history there have been many Christians in politics, (i.e. Wilberforce). It has always been very difficult for them, labouring as they usually have under the prevailing democratic systems, but their presence has often been very important. If our present Government was run by only Christians we would not end up with a puritanical, Pharisaical country, with everyone forced to go to church and say prayers, and listen to missionaries on the radio every hour . . . that is the absurd picture which ignorant people paint. The reality is, we would remain a democracy as long as the majority of people in the country chose to be non-Christians, most other things would remain the same, perhaps Creationism would be taught in all schools alongside of Evolutionism, and probably the media would have a lot more Christian input, but it is not certain even that such things as the abuse of tobacco, booze and the level of abortions would be much different. Democracies work like that. All Christians can do is work within the system as an influence for good, not force people to ‘become Christians’.
Science
All science is the gathering of information and the application of knowledge. Some of this knowledge is used to produce useful things, while most of it is stored as raw data. Like money, science in itself is neutral. Discoveries are made and utilised either for good or for harm.
It was science which produced bombs, poisons, biological weapons, tanks, missiles and the bullet. It was also science which produced the oven, the toaster and the electric fan, the bicycle, the bus and the fly swat.
For Christians, the practise of science is an exciting way of uncovering the wonders and marvels of God’s Creation, and of applying that wisdom to helping people. Science reveals, in every instance of design, confirmation that before Man arrived on the scene, God had already gone before, building into everything He made inherent wisdom and beauty.
Space Exploration
Some Christians say Man should leave Space alone and concentrate on helping the world. All that money, they say, should have been spent on food, clothing and housing. What is the use, they say, of a moon base, or an orbiting space station, or a Hubble space telescope? These things, they say, are irrelevant and of no practical use to humans here on earth.
Other Christians however hold very different views. There are, they say, hundreds of useful, beneficial products which have come as spin-offs from the Space Program. There is also the promise of new materials, drugs and even new, useful foods coming to earth as a result of space work, not to mention the satellite system which helps people find minerals, and locate people in distress. Telecommunications has opened up the InterNet and global positioning. Billy Graham, not long ago, used the global system to preach to people all around the world. Through the InterNet the Creation message and the Gospel are being broadcast to millions, not to mention other Christian sites and outreaches.
Through the Hubble, more of the wonders of God’s creation have been revealed, and through other space ventures the amazing solar system has been explored, bring to us all a greater appreciation of God’s love towards tiny planet earth.
Mankind was created originally to have “dominion” over all the works of God’s hands (Psalm 8:6) which includes the solar system, so there seems to be the potential for Mankind to explore and even colonise one or two of the planets.
Teaching
Teachers may, perhaps, be the most influential people in the world. Teachers include those who work in schools, but also parents to their children, leaders in groups and clubs, advertisers (teaching their products), and all the people who work in the Media, from actors in movies, to news presenters. Teaching is a wide and extensive work, employing millions of people. In fact, in some way, and at some time, everyone who ever lived has been a teacher.
Teaching is never neutral. The moment someone opens their mouth to pass some information along, they are teaching.
Christians ought to be extremely sensitive to what they teach. By their words and actions, Christians are like “open books” to the watching world, whether they work formally in a school, or informally in a gathering of friends at a social occasion.
All teaching should, in a perfect world, flow downwards from the Bible, since the Bible is the only true and sensible basis on which to base any truth.
Dress
Christians are given a general code of dress in 1Pet.3:1-4. The code is general because cultures are subject to continual change, and what may be acceptable to one generation may not be acceptable to another. The main principle is humility. Women are not to show off their welath, or to wear flashy, or seductive, provocative clothes. Men likewise, and they are not allowed to have “long hair” – whatever “long” means in each culture.(1Cor.11:14,15)
Men and women are expected to be different, and to dress accordingly (Deut.22:5), although there must be exceptions when it comes to drama, etc.
Origins
There are only two possible origins for the universe. One is evolution, or the winding out (progressively) of life from simple forms to highly complex, and the other is creation, which the Bible says was instant and perfect from the beginning, and which has since begun to fall into entropy, which is the exact opposite of evolution. The Bible does not allow for a combination of these two opposites. Because of either ignorance of science, or fear of ridicule, many Christians have failed to oppose evolution, thus allowing one of the most anti-Christian beliefs into the Church. There is no possible way the two views can be sythesised or reconciled, and wherever evolution is upheld, the Bible is degraded.
One God.
The world is well-supplied with religions, and there are many gods and goddesses available, none of which have ever done a stick of good for anyone. There are however, instances where alernative deities have blessed people, but this is what you would expect, if Satan is behind them. A miracle here and there helps to keep the poor, deluded humans from straying towards Christ.
Alternative deities always lack something. They are either all-powerful but lacking in compassion, or they are very ‘human’, with human faults, and not all-powerful, or they are all- wise but detached from Man, or they are all-glorious but unable to solve Man’s simplest problems, or they are erratic – helping sometimes but not all times, or they are fickle, proving a healing for one person but not another, or they are immobile, having a shrine, or they are cruel and demanding, appeased only by human sacrifice.
Christians worship a God who is perfect in every way.
Finally
Some might say here that “You have covered all bases so well that a Christian may do, or say whatever they like, and, as long as they say they have a good conscience towards God, they are free to be, in many respects, no different from unsaved people!”
The only answer to this is, yes, that is how things are.
The problem is, all Christians are at different points on a long road to heaven. Some have just started their journey. They still wear the dirty leather jacket. Their fingers are still stained with nicotine. Their arms are still marked by the holes made by needles and tattoos. They are weak with malnutrition, swollen by beer, and their appreciation of life is as thin as a sheet of old paper.
But God loves these people, and He calls them all upward, along the road.
Further up, along the road are Christians who have enthusiastically embraced the gospel and made, as a result, many sweeping reforms. They have thrown out their Playboys, switched off their TVs, and found honest employment. They now regularly attend Christian meetings, read good books, and try to learn as much as possible about Jesus. They spend time witnessing, and practise godly living.
Away along the road are other Christians. These are what you might call the Veterans. They have suffered, studied and forsaken all for Christ. They march like experienced soldiers.
Is God about to reject the lower class of Christian in favour of the higher? Of course not. All are saved on the same basis, and all share the same position in God’s sight – all are His children. There will be differing rewards for each, depending on what they have done with what they have been given, but none will miss out, provided they are committed and sincere.
It is this difference between Christians (the ‘level’ they are at) which has often been the ‘bone of contention’ over which the Church has fought. So-and-so doesn’t measure up to the standards which ‘Mr x’ thinks they should measure up to. So-and-so does this or that which really offends ‘Mrs y’. The result – antagonism, rejection, unhappiness, splits, pride, revenge, hate.
While it is true that all Christians walk before God as individuals, and answer only to God for their choices in life, there is also another aspect, in which they are accountable to each other. This is where church discipline comes in. For Christians who are part of a fellowship, there are times when problems may be sorted out -
“Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother.
But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church (i.e. The fellowship of which this Christian is a part): but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to you as an heathen man and a publican”. Matthew 18:15 ( i.e. Love him or her as an unsaved person.)
From the above it is obvious that Christians are not supposed to do whatever they like without some sort of rebuke from other Christians. This also means that ‘stronger’ Christians are permitted to assess ‘weaker’ Christians – not ‘judge’ them – but see, and discern, what sort of fruit they have in their lives. It also means that Christians are able to distance themselves from other Christians at times, and not embrace them wholeheartedly, thus sanctioning the sins they practise.
The New Testament call to believers is constantly the same : turn away from sin, fight sin, reject sin, war against sin, hate sin, avoid situations where sin may be waiting, break the sin-habits, cleanse yourselves from sin. (Many books have been written on this.)
All this has to do with where we draw the line in the Church.
Suppose we knew of a Christian, who professed openly to be one, but who also swore fluently? (or drank, or smoked, or took drugs, or drove wildly, or stole, or collected Playboys, or practised some other sinful thing regularly) After some time, and prayer, that worldy Christian might benefit from a gentle rebuke by another Christian. God wants His Church to be strong and healthy and morally upright. When Christians sin, the whole Church is damaged, and the name of Jesus is brought down. The Church is, after all, one Body, so any ‘infection’ will affect the whole body. (The Media is always eager to pounce on high-profile Christians and parade their errors because Satan is an implacable enemy of Christ’s followers)
Christianity gains absolutely nothing when it tries to ‘fit in’ with the world.
Christianity is nothing less than war. I think every prospective convert should be told this. It would make things a lot easier for them in the long run. So many people accept Christ because they think they are in for prosperity, happiness, and a ‘bed of roses’, but Jesus promised quite the opposite. If Christianity equalled happiness, why is it that most of the apostles were killed? “All that will live in a godly way – following the example of Jesus – will suffer persecution” (2Tim.3:12) Why is that? Because Christians draw lines. They say “I am not allowed to do this”. Adam should have said to Eve “Leave that fruit alone! God told us not to eat it!”, but he stood by and allowed his wife to disobey God.
Christians are, whether they like it or not, encumbered with Adam’s sinful nature, plus they are in a world dominated by Satan’s values. Satan and the world have no limits to where they will draw the lines. “Rules” say the worldly, “Are made to be broken!” Christian rules are always under attack, and, at every retreat, the enemy finds the next point of resistance and tries to push it back further. If Christians continued to retreat, hoping to find a happy compromise with the world, they would never stop retreating.
This is why it is so important to find out what God’s rules are, and then draw some lines.
