The Sword Room

What is a Christian? Sounds like a simple question, but talk to ten different people and you might get as many answers. It used to be that people thought they were Christians simply because they were born in America. Others will tell you you are a Christian if you believe in God, get baptized, go to church, or live by the Golden Rule. Many others would insist that you are not a true Christian unless you have made a decision for Christ, accepted Christ, or invited Jesus into your heart. In my video series What is a Christian I have observed that in modern culture the word “Christian” can mean just about anything and for that reason means nothing. In contrast to our inclusive view of what it means to be a Christian the early church was very exclusive, and if you did not meet the non-negotiable criteria of a credible profession of faith, you were denied access to the fellowship of believers.

Today while I was waiting in the Minit-Lube lobby for my oil change I picked up the March issue of Redbook sitting on the chair next to me. In the letters-to-the-editor were several responses to a piece in the previous month’s edition on swinging, better known as wife-swapping. The first letter expressed outrage, but the second was more positive in tone.

We recently started swinging, and it has done wonders for our sex life. It works because we’re a team: We do everything together, from emails to playdates. Swinging isn’t for everyone, and it isn’t a fix for a problem relationship–you have to be really secure to handle “sharing”–but I’m so glad we made this choice. Oh, and surprise: We’re a Christian household!

ELIZABETH J., San Jose, CA

Two immediate questions. First, just what does the word “Christian” mean to Elizabeth and her husband? Second, why go to the trouble to mention one’s claim to be a Christian in such a letter? Then on reflection I thought of a few more questions. When Elizabeth and her husband finish copulating with the other couple, do they witness to them in an attempt to lead them to Christ? Do they invite them to church the morning after? Do they pray before the sex, asking the Lord’s blessing? Or perhaps they conduct a nude Bible study afterwards. Scripture does tell us not to hide our lamp under the bed, and Elizabeth and her husband are putting it all right out on the bed with nothing concealed. Now that’s Christian transparency for you. I’ve heard of friendship evangelism, but this is ridiculous.

Hey Liz, didn’t you know fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God?

In 1963 when my wife and her family got saved in an evangelistic meeting in a little Baptist church rural Idaho, immediately the pastor sat them down and gave them a list of all the things forbidden them as Christians. They were not to smoke, drink, dance, cuss, play cards, or attend movies. The reason given was that engaging in these practices was a bad witness to unbelievers, and it was of utmost importance to maintain a “good testimony.” For many years Connie abstained from all the above “vices” and in fact has never tasted a drop oof alcohol. As far as I know she has never danced, although she loves to watch DWTS.

When she went away to Bible college and dragged me home her family was fit to be tied. I showed up in bell-bottom jeans, long hair, and a guitar slung over my shoulder. I talked about how cool it was to know Jesus when I should have wiped the smile off my face and more piously shown reverence for Gwaaawd. It was culture shock as much for me as them. I know they honestly thought my mannerisms and appearance were a “bad testimony.”

This business of a so-called good testimony has never jibed for me. Recently I was in a restaurant with a fellow believer, and when my meal came I dove right in without saying a prayer out loud. My friend looked at me disapprovingly over the top of his glasses and then bowed and said a rather loud prayer for the food.

Or was it for the food? I felt really thankful for the food, although my lack of an audible prayer seemed to tell my friend otherwise. I have actually heard people say that when you pray aloud for your food in a restaurant it is a testimony to others. A testimony? Really? Of what? Jesus warned us about practicing our righteousness before men to be seen of them. In the Sermon on the Mount He tells us to pray in secret where our heavenly Father alone sees and hears us. Now I see nothing wrong with asking a quiet blessing for the food. But perhaps a more biblical and God-honoring way to do it would be to bow in the car out in the parking lot before entering the establishment and thanking God for the food we are about to enjoy. Where did this idiocy about a “good testimony” come from?

And just what is a good testimony? I have spoken with a few waitresses over the years, and they will tell you that the so-called Christians are the lousiest tippers and the loudest complainers–the coffee is too cold, the soup is too hot, etc., They pray out loud before the meal and then leave a cheesy Chick tract and no tip. Don’t tell me it isn’t so, because I have seen it.

Such fake, plastic, phony, bogus Pharasee-ism makes unbelievers want to puke. Far from being a good testimony it is a repellent to all things Christian. What ever happened to Christlike warmth and loving empathy. If you want to make an impact on others that’s a good place to start.

Today I was reading in Luke 11:37-54 where Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and scholars of the Law. It all began when one of these Jewish leaders invited the Lord to dinner and was then surprised to see that He did not observe the custom of ritual hand washing before the meal. Using this as a point of departure Christ rebukes the Pharisees for being concerned with cleaning up the outside of the pot and cup while ignoring more important things like love and justice.

The Pharisees tithed everything, right down to the herbs and spices they used. If you read the Old Testament you will see that the Jews were to give a tenth of their flocks and crops to the Levites in service of the tabernacle and temple. These tithes served under the theocracy as a form of taxation as well as remuneration for the priests, who owned no property and depended on the offerings of the people for their sustenance. There is really no New Testament counterpart for this.

Somehow the concept of tithing became about money. Give ten percent of your income to the local church or you are robbing God. From here came the foolish notions of seed faith and questions about whether someone should tithe the gross or the net of his paycheck. The thing is, if you want to get technical about it, you ought to give a tenth of everything you produce to the Lord. If you grow a garden or have fruit trees, then a tenth of the produce should be taken to the church and given away. Of course no one does this.

In the New Testament there is no concept taught of storehouse tithing. Paul teaches proportionate cheerful giving in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: But let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And by the way, the apostle here is referring to a one-time offering for financially-struggling believers, not an ongoing tithe to heat buildings and fund weenie roasts. Or to keep smoldering stubs like Ed Young Jr. on their diet of steak and gravy.

Recently I visited a church with a monthly budget of nearly $50,000.000, and near the end of the month they had taken in under half of that amount. The preacher gave a sermon in which he spoke about the importance of keeping one’s obligations. I and nearly everyone else present knew what he was referring to; and it is true that when you make a pledge God expects you to keep it. And this is one aspect of the pastorate I always hated because it felt so wrong to try to influence believers into giving, as though somehow God was requiring them to do so.

True, there were those who gave cheerfully because they loved the Lord. But there were also those who thought their tithing bought them power and influence–a kind of one-up-man-ship. It bred the kind of external piety Jesus condemned. It produced a practicing of one’s righteousness before men to be seen of them. To me the whole thing savored of death.

In the Luke text Jesus tells the Pharisees to give the inner things as alms, and behold all is clean in you (Luke 11:41). We think what people need from us is money or some form of material help, and often they do. But it is easy to toss a buck to the panhandler without really caring about the person. Easier to throw money at him and be done with it–or to do it in the sight of others to appear loving and caring without giving a tinker’s damn.

What does it mean to give the inner things as alms? I believe it means, first of all, understanding that what people need most from us is spiritual rather than material. It is fine to feed a man’s body, but why not feed his soul? With love, compassion, empathy. With the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. Why not do it because you really want to? In this way we demonstrate our love for the Lord and others.

The way of the Pharisees demonstrates only love for self.

Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1)

These words of the Lord are often quoted out of context, and since we discussed judging last night at fight club the topic is still fresh in my mind. First let’s talk about what the word “Judge” actually means in the context of the passage above. The Greek word used denotes the passing of a sentence of condemnation on another person based on superficial and distorted observation. It is a hypocritical kind of judgment because the person making it is in the position of trying to remove a speck from the eye of another when he himself has a log in his own eye. This kind of arrogant judgment was characteristic of the pharisees, who while they were careful to strain the gnat out of their cup, ended up swallowing a camel.  The bottom line is that we are in no position to authoritatively determine the true spiritual condition of another person or to make a pronouncement as to  their eternal destiny.

But this is not the sense in which we hear Jesus’ words used today. In this culture of moral relativism not judging means not evaluating thoughts, words, and actions of either others or ourselves with any kind of moral or ethical authority. Of course there are behaviors which all people would deem immoral–rape and murder, for example. Most often these actions are said to be wrong because they hurt other people. But if a believer states a moral judgment on, say, certain sexually forbidden practices, then he is said to be judging–which according to many is a violation of Jesus’ prohibition of judging.

But this is clearly not a biblical conclusion, but is based on pagan humanistic relativism. In the case of the Corinthian man who was having illicit sex with his step mother, Paul tells his readers he has already judged the man (1 Corinthians 5:3)–and he was not even present in Corinth to confront the offender! He tells his readers that they must judge the fornicator (v. 12) and excommunicate him until he repents.

In today’s world even Christians have all but lost a sense of biblical antithesis. What does this mean? In means that the Bible speaks of human life and action in dichotomous terms–life and death, light and darkness, fellowship and alienation, righteousness and wickedness, heaven and hell. Jesus put it this way: He who is not for me is against me (Matthew 12:30). In other words, you are either a born again child of God or you are an enemy of God.

How judgmental of the Lord! Sounds like maybe He violated His own principle.

Or not