Where There's Smoke…
Where There's Smoke…
...then there was the pastor who would not cat a 'Slim-Jim' sausage for fear that someone might think he was smoking a cigar!
No, no laugh track. The relater of that true story was not Jerry Seinfeld but a young mother in our church during a discussion of the Christian's liberty. But that is where most of evangelicalism is today, afraid of not being a "good" Christian. This fear is much like that that terrorized the populace during the French Revolution. If you were not a "good" citizen by following the rules of the majority, then you quickly had an audience with Madame Guillotine. Either go with the flow or find your head in a basket. And so, we are all expected to accept the norms of this age's anemic Christianity by loving each other without fussing about doctrine, modifying our worship so everyone is cozy, and aquiesing to the weaker brother without instructing him that his weakness isn't a virtue.
The apostle Paul did not think this way. His address to the Corinthians was inspired Scripture to all the church at Corinth and to everyone who has become a Christian since. The answer to their question regarding meat offered to idols and/or anything else not specifically forbidden by God was-it's OK. Paul's design was not to make the weaker brother's false conviction binding for the rest of the church. In fact it is his weakness and not the mature Christian's liberty that was the problem. Here was Paul trying to enjoy a Moloch burger value meal when someone with a weak conscience frets because it may have been offered to idols. Paul's argument is that even if it had been offered to idols, even if there was Moloch pries action figure included with the meal it was still all right to eat.
Now granted, Paul says to take the high road with these weak brothers and have a humus stuffed pita until they understand Christian liberty. But think about it. Suppose the weaker brother is given a copy of I Corin. 8-10 to read&hellips;is their weak conscience still the master of their domain? Do God's guidelines have to wait? If so, what a dangerous precedent. There is an unscriptural Christian world view out there that treats Christian liberty like it's something you can only do alone in the dark (and just to be safe, wait until the whole church is away at a family retreat, lest someone drop by unannounced). Any careful reading of I Corinthians 8-10 shows how obvious it was that the church there was as screwed up about this area as they were about most everything else. Anytime that I get close to impatience with other Christians I remember Paul's commitment to this group, which in turn implies Christ's commitment to these people. Which in turn is the reason for this article to those of you who may have been offended by our last issue of ETC.
Fear of man has impeded the progress of the people of God more than anything else in our history. And this age of Christianity, in many forms, tends and spreads this compost of fear in the soil of the church that continues to bring forth a harvest of Christians afraid of violating standards that are extra-biblical, pagan, liberal and satanic in their origins. Remember how the people were afraid of following Jesus too closely for fear that the false standard bearing Pharisees would kick them out of the synagogue? Here was Truth before them and they had lived so long with man centered righteousness that they hesitated, struggled, and walked away from the Lawgiver and Liberator!
So we write a couple of articles about our freedom in Christ to enjoy some things just recently regarded as taboo for Christians if they are to be "good" and instantly we are regarded by some as opening a Pandora's box of license that threatens the sensibilities of the church. When actually the problem is with the sensibilities of the evangelical church. Which, by the way, has no problem with chicken-fried steak (not that there is anything wrong with it.)
But this is where the church is and that is why we push the envelope. So we invite you to be noble like the Bereans in this area as in all that we write. Search the Scriptures and see if what we are saying is true.
So, as long as people think that racin' and rasslin' are legitimate sports, Kevin Costner can act and Amway isn't a pyramid scheme, we will be here teaching and writing. So, thanks for listening. Now if you will excuse me, I'm on my way to meet some of the guys for poker tonight.
Oops!