Worldly Christians

Spend much time in the Church, and sooner or later, you're bound to hear certain phrases which amount to Christian jargon.

For example, consider the phrase "worldly Christians". What does it mean, exactly? Well, to most people who use the phrase, it refers to professing Christians who do not live in a manner which is consistent with their faith. To be worldly, in other words, is to compromise one's convictions in order to fit in with the crowd.

There are indeed people who fit that description. But deciding who ought to be described as a "worldly Christian" gets a little bit tricky when it involves standards of behavior which are alleged to be derived from the Bible but which, in fact, are matters of subjective personal opinion.

I once heard a pastor say that going to the movies was sinful. Why? Well, he explained that going to the movies was "what worldly people do".

The trouble with that "explanation" was that it was a shining example of circular logic. According to him, going to movies was sinful because it was what worldly people did, and those people were worldly, in turn, because they went to the movies!

If asked to cite a particular scripture which proved that going to the movies was sinful, I doubt seriously that the aforementioned pastor could have done so. It would be rather surprising if such a scripture existed, given the fact that movies were not even invented until the early 20th century. But even if he were to base his argument on the assumption that scriptures pertaining to theatrical presentations also pertained to film and video, I can't think of any scriptures which would support the idea that dramatic presentations are inherently sinful .

When that pastor said that going to movies was sinful because worldly people went to movies, I remember thinking that worldly people had also been known to do the following things from time to time:

• Eat
  
• Sleep
  
• Work at jobs
  
• Wear clothes
  
• Read books
  
• Play games
  
• Drive cars
  
• Talk with one another
  
• ...and so forth.

So does that mean that all of the above activities are sinful? One would conclude that such was the case if one took that pastor's "argument" to its rational conclusion.

God does indeed demand that we Christians exhibit a higher standard of behavior than the standard which is typically exhibited by those who have not submitted to God's will. But we don't need to engage in endless speculation in order to ascertain what types of behavior are acceptable and what types of behavior are forbidden. There's a simple standard: If it's clearly forbidden in the Bible, within the context of the New Covenant, then it's sinful. If no scripture forbids the activity in question, then there is no clearcut reason to regard that activity as sin.

(I say "within the context of the New Covenant", because it's clear from scriptures that even though God is the same yesterday, today and forever, God has allowed Christians to do certain things --- such as eating non-kosher foods --- which were impermissible under the Old Covenant.)

It's mystifying to me as to why some Christians seem to feel the need to expand on the Bible's clearcut prohibitions. Have they achieved such mastery of the clearly stated Biblical rules that they feel a need to make up new rules as they go along? That seems unlikely. Yet, some Christians insist that it's sinful to dance or to listen to rock music or to do any number of other innocuous things which aren't mentioned at all in the scriptures or which (as in the case of dancing) are mentioned in ways which actually portray those activities in a positive light!

Even with regard to the rules which are explicitly stated in scriptures, it should be clear from the example of Christ that it is possible to be so legalistic when interpreting those rules that one misses the heart of the gospel. Time and time again, Jesus was criticized by the Jewish leaders of the day for allegedly lacking sufficient respect for the Sabbath. But he responded by saying that man was not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man. In other words, God was not so inflexible that God was unwilling to consider the circumstances when determining whether or not a person had sufficiently honored the Sabbath. When laws pertaining to the Sabbath were taken to mean that a man who needed healing would be forced to wait an extra day for that healing, then things were clearly in need of correction and divine perspective.

Of course, the flip side of legalism is moral relativism. People are often prone to rationalization when it comes to doing things they really want to do. In its own way, moral relativism is just as dangerous as legalism. The trick, therefore, is to balance a healthy respect for God's laws with an understanding of the fact that God's laws are not given to us in order to put us into bondage. Rather, they are given to us in order to help us and to help others.

If you as a Christian feel personally that God has told you not to go to movies or wear store bought clothes or do any of a number of other things which are not specifically addressed in the Bible, then by all means, follow your own conscience. If you regard it as sin and you do it anyway, then it is sin, even if it is not necessarily sin for other Christians. But understand that there is a distinct difference between things one ought not to do because such things violate one's own conscience and things one ought not to do because such things are universally prohibited by God's word! Elevating your own personal perceptions to the level of God's word in effect diminishes your respect for God's word, by treating your opinions and God's laws as if they are one and the same.

If you intensely believe that you are right about a particular subject, there's no reason you shouldn't try to persuade others of the legitimacy of your point of view, provided that you are not obnoxious about it, and provided that you are humble enough to consider the possibility that you might be the one who is wrong!

Also, keep in mind that even if you are right and the other person is wrong, it doesn't necessarily follow that the other person is bound for hell. Not one of us is saved by works. Salvation comes only through God's mercy and grace. I'm thankful that I don't have to worry that being unintentionally wrong about something might deprive me of my divine inheritance. I do the best I can to keep God's laws as I understand them, but ultimately, my salvation will not be based on my performance, but on the fact that I have accepted Christ's act of atonement in my life.

Understanding that simple basic principal would go a long way in terms of resolving many of the conflicts which have erected barriers between different Christians and different Christian groups in the past.

Broken, Not Crushed

Not long ago, I wrote a number of poems, most of which pertained to my faith in Christ in some way. I thought I would share another one of those poems with you.

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BROKEN, NOT CRUSHED
© by Mark Pettigrew

My heart, once whole, is now broken
as on the altar I lay.
Searching, I look to the heavens,
not knowing quite what to say.

Prayer, once a ritual, fails me.
Nothing I say can suffice.
All that I know is my vices
grip me, as if in a vise.

Freedom is mine for the taking,
freedom from death and from sin.
I long to know His forgiveness.
I long to be born again.

Asking for mercy is painful.
This, I must freely admit.
But there are worse things than “painful”.
Now I’ve gone too far to quit.

Long have I carried these burdens,
long have I suffered this pain.
Tears are now flowing like fountains,
cov’ring this altar like rain.

Jesus is beckoning to me,
offering all that I need.
So I kneel down at the altar,
confessing every bad deed.

Now I am broken and humbled.
Now restoration is mine.
Joy is the fruit of repentance, and of His mercy divine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Many people fear that if they humble themselves before God, confess their sins and ask for forgiveness, it will be a painful experience. They're right. It's never fun or easy to acknowledge that one has failed.

But it isn't a question of whether or not we will acknowledge our sins and our failures, it's just a question of when and how we will do so.

Will we acknowledge our sins willingly, in order to receive the blessings of God's forgiveness? Or will we wait until Judgment Day, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? The pain of confronting our sins and dealing with them now is nothing compared with how painful it will be to do so if we wait until we're forced to deal with those issues.

Don't put things off any longer. Give your heart to Jesus so that you can know the joy of salvation.

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To download additional Christ-centered poems I've written (stored online in the form of PDF files which can be downloaded from a public SkyDrive folder), visit this link, then select the poem in which you have an interest, and then click the Download button.

Ted Haggard: A Christian Perspective

If you've read or watched or listened to the news recently, you already know about the scandal pertaining to Ted Haggard. There's not much point in repeating it here, other than to sum up the matter by saying that Haggard was head of the National Association of Evangelicals until he was forced to step down from that position in response to allegations that Haggard had paid a male prostitute for sex, during which Haggard allegedly used illegal drugs.

From what I gather, Ted Haggard hasn't admitted guilt in terms of actually having gay sex or using methamphetamines, but it now appears that he has admitted buying meth (and being tempted to use it), and he's admitted that he contacted the gay prostitute who made the accusations against him.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I would not presume to know whether or not Haggard is guilty as charged. But I do believe in the fundamental American principle of "innocent until proven guilty", despite the fact that there seem to be a number of people who are all too willing to suspend their appreciation of that principle where Haggard is concerned.

Regardless of Ted Haggard's guilt or innocence, I do believe that he's a brother in Christ. And that, to my way of thinking, means that members of the Body of Christ, such as myself, have certain obligations towards him.

If the accusations which have been leveled against Ted Haggard are false, then I pray that he will be vindicated and that his accuser will be punished for what will have amounted to slander.

On the other hand, if indeed Ted Haggard has been guilty of some serious sins, then I pray that he'll genuinely repent of those sins, learn from the experience and become a better person as a result of the experience.

If Ted is guilty and repentant, then I pray that the church will demonstrate the love and forgiveness Christ requires us to demonstrate, knowing that there isn't a single one of us who has not ever sinned in some way against the Lord.

However, if Ted is guilty and unrepentant (or unpersuasive when claiming to be repentant), then I pray that his church and the larger evangelical Christian community will both love him and hold him accountable for his sins. (Contrary to the false teachings of some Christians who have perverted doctrines pertaining to forgiveness, the two things are not mutually exclusive. Love should be unconditional, but forgiveness should not be unconditional. We should always be willing to forgive, just as God is always willing to forgive us. But God's forgiveness is not unconditional, nor should ours be, lest we equate forgiveness with condonation.)

By the way, I've read some recent blog posts suggesting that conservative Christians have a double standard when it comes to how sinning Christians are treated. Those posts have unfavorably compared the recent reaction of the Christian community to Ted Haggard's sin to the Christian community's earlier harsh reaction to Bill Clinton's sin.

I have two responses:

1. I'm getting pretty tired of saying this, but I guess I have to say it again, because a lot of liberals seem to be incapable of grasping the concept: The uproar over Clinton's sin was not just about his sexual sin. That was just a part of it, and a relatively small part at that. The bigger issue, which led to an attempt to impeach Clinton, was that he had committed perjury. When Ted Haggard likewise commits perjury while serving as a political leader who has sworn to uphold the law of the land, then and only then will I consider the two situations to be comparable.
2. As the above paragraphs ought to make clear, I do believe that Ted Haggard should be held accountable for any sins he may have committed, even if he and I are both political conservatives. I totally agree that double standards ought to be discouraged. For my part, I do the best I can to avoid such double standards.

Beyond questions pertaining to Ted Haggard himself, and pertaining to questions about how the church ought to treat Ted Haggard, it seems to me that we ought not to be naive about the larger spiritual and social realities pertaining to this incident. What really concerns me about this incident is the manner in which this news story is being used by people who are transparently hostile towards conservative Christians in order to try to discredit all of us.

Visit recent blogs which comment on the issue, and you'll quickly discover that there is a palpable sense of glee among those who never much liked what Ted publicly stood for to begin with. All of which makes me wonder about the objectivity of news reporters covering the story, given the well-documented fact that there are disproportionately large numbers of political liberals working as journalists.

Like it or not, the Christian church today is involved in what have rightfully been described as "culture wars". To be a particularly prominent and successful Christian leader is to invite derision, false allegations and all kinds of other forms of negativity from people who are dedicated to agendas which are contrary to Christian values and teachings.

There are a lot of people in the world with serious axes to grind against the church and its leaders. Such people will sometimes say or do just about anything in order to try to neutralize the effectiveness of those of us who are doing our best to spread God's word and bring spiritual light into a world of darkness.

If such people can find genuine instances of hypocrisy among Christians, then so much the better for them. But let's not be naive. Such people are not above lying through their teeth, if necessary, in order to score points.

The same thing is true in the political arena, especially in an election year in which liberals are visibly salivating at the prospect of recovering from losses in previous elections.

The well-known relationship between Ted Haggard and George Bush has a lot of political liberals thinking that this latest scandal will virtually guarantee that they will succeed in driving most Republicans out of office.

Never mind that Ted Haggard's sins, whatever they might be, are Ted's sins and his alone. Never mind that it's utterly illogical to blame all conservative Christians for the sins of one of our leaders. To some people, this incident just confirms their bigoted and ignorant assumptions to the effect that all conservative Christians are hypocrites.

I'd be the last person to claim that Christian leaders are perfect. Over the years, I've had my own personal encounters with hypocritical pastors and other leaders with feet of clay.

Years ago, my own father (who served for two consecutive 3-year terms as a Methodist lay minister when I was in grade school) committed adultery and subsequently divorced my mother as a result of his adulterous affair. Since that time, I've seen a number of other instances of hypocrisy in the church. As a result, I developed a healthy skepticism of people who claimed immunity from criticism on account of their leadership roles in the church.

So I acknowledge that some Christian leaders are hypocrites. However, people who think that demonstrating the existence of hypocrisy in the church disproves the legitimacy of Christianity itself (or that it disproves the legitimacy of teachings promoted by the more conservative branches of the church) are way off base.

It is as nonsensical and illogical to claim that the existence of hypocrisy in the church and among some leaders of the church disproves Christianity as it is to claim that the existence of hypocrisy among some law enforcement officers or public school teachers means that neither law and order nor education are desirable things.

While it's true that sincere believers in Christ do aspire to be perfect, or that they ought to aspire to be perfect, the true message of Christianity is not, and never has been, that being a Christian instantly makes one perfect. Our salvation is not something which we have earned, nor is it something which we could ever hope to earn. It's a free gift, paid for by Christ on the cross and given to all who will humbly admit their failures and ask for God's forgiveness.

Most of us understand that forgiveness through God's grace and mercy is no excuse for not doing our best to meet God's standards of behavior. Most of us understand that we ought to seek to grow in wisdom, self control and righteousness. But we also understand, if we're realistic and honest with ourselves, that very few of us will attain those lofty goals in our lifetimes.

Therefore, seeking and finding instances of imperfection among Christians in an effort to discredit Christianity itself amounts to shadow boxing, in the sense that it's an attempt to refute a claim that most serious Christians never make about the Christian faith in the first place.

Only the naive and the ignorant see incidents such as this latest incident involving Ted Haggard as a victory for people who oppose Christianity. True Christians do not worship or serve Ted Haggard or any of the other prominent but fallible human leaders who have guided or led the church in the past or who will do so in the future. It is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone to whom we look for ultimate inspiration, guidance and salvation.

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NOTE: This is a slightly updated version of an older blog post here which has been (or will be) deleted now that this newer version has been posted.