Drawing the Line
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
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
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 know not 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
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
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
"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 a sword 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
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
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
"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 to keep 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 the