The Jesus Standard Part 1
Recently I’ve had several conversations where people charged me with asking the question, “How close can I get to the world”. Nothing could be further from the truth. My heart passion, and the constant question I challenge people with is: “How close can I get to Jesus?” But, I do not understand why so many feel the need to impose man-made standards or rules on the lives of others when even Jesus didn’t demand these things.
The basis of this accusation is that I do not tell people they should abstain from alcohol, movies (or just R rated… there goes my Passion of the Christ DVD), tobacco products, or secular music (or that I’ll use a music video performed by a non-Christian artist in the church).
I’m going to respond to this argument in two parts. Part 1 is concerning the argument that we shouldn’t use music, video’s, movies, etc from a non-Christian source in the church to minister and Part 2 is going to address the argument that we should tell people to not drink, not smoke, not watch R-rated movies, etc.
Part 1: Argument: You shouldn’t dishonor God’s House, or God, by using music, videos, etc that come from a non-Christian source. It is irreverent and opening the door for the devil and could lead someone to listen to other material from this non-Christian source and it would in turn lead them astray.
These people feel the church is a sacred space, God’s House, and that we should reverence it. To bring anything into that place that is not “Christian” in its source is dishonoring and irreverent and also opens the door for demons to come in and cause trouble. Some will even distinguish between sin committed in that building from sin committed in other places and deem the former as worse because it has taken place in “God’s house”, while the latter has only taken place in my house.
Answer: First, We’ve all been “in Church” and heard a speaker quote someone… a president, religious leader, politician, artist, poet, etc. Were all these people being quoted Christians? Did the person being quoted have other quotes that were not Christian in nature? Did the person being quoted have lifestyles that contradicted Christlike Character? The answers are obvious.
As I understand it, Jesus said the Greatest Commandment of all was to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength”. So, the standard of behavior is not determined by WHERE you are, but rather WHO you are… are you a lover of God or aren’t you.
The Bible tells us that God is truth. Therefore, no matter who says it (Christian or Non-Christian), no matter what the source, ALL truth is God’s truth. So, whether I’m quoting a non-Christian, using a music video or movie clip, the bottom line is: if it is truth, it belongs to God.
The concern that someone may pick up this non-Christian CD or Video or book and entertain it is valid, but does it mean we don’t capitalize on the familiar ground? Do we not redeem the truth contained in these sources and use them for Jesus?
We see the Apostle Paul doing this on several occasions… One example is where Paul is speaking to a group in Athens and he quotes an Athenian poet (this was not a Christian poet, the phrase “your own” refers to one from their group): Acts 17:28 As some of your own (Athenian) poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
Paul is sighting a Non-Christian Poets poetry and declaring this statement is true. This has several implications. 1) Paul was familiar with non-Christian entertainment, 2)Paul viewed this truth as redeemable (usable for God’s glory), and 3)Paul exercised little to no concern that some of them may look at the rest of the poets poems or the poets lifestyle and get a mixed message because other poems may be vulgar, or contridict the Christian faith, and his lifestyle was most likely completely off base. Note that Paul didn’t go into an explination about how “not all this poets stuff is good, but in this part he got it right. Stay away from the other poems.” Or, “You need to know this poet’s life is completely wrong, so don’t let this little piece of truth make you think this poet is completely right.” No, instead we find him doing it again in the book of Titus.
Titus 1:12-13 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true.
Once again Paul is using a non-Christian source to confirm his message, and this source is a religious one that might lead someone away from Christianity to that other religion.
Did Paul defile/desecrate scripture or dishonor God by using quotes from non-Christian sources? Was he being irreverent? By quoting these non-Christian sources did he make the scriptures polluted, impure, and no longer authoritative and reliable?
Paul was being smart, capitalizing on the little truth they knew and using it to help them better understand the Kingdom of God.
Paul recognized that all truth is God’s truth, no matter what source it comes from and he didn’t seem concerned that in using this source it may lead people to entertain the other poems or prophesies of these non-Christian sources.
Was Paul wrong or in sin? No! Paul learned from Jesus! From his learning Paul said, I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1Corinthians 9:22
Interestingly, one translation in 1 Corinthians 9 refers to Paul finding familiar ground to connect with the people, without breaking the law of Christ.
How did Paul draw the line? The issue was: did it violate his conscience or the law of Christ?
Paul began to have his worldview changed by the work of Jesus Christ.
Remember, Paul was trained as a Pharisee (the strictest sect of the Jewish faith) and was full of the knowledge of the Law. He knew all the “Do’s” and “Do not’s”. His experience with Jesus helped him to find balance and to see life and following God in a whole new light.
It’s NOT an “anything goes” teaching by any means. There are rights and wrongs that are absolute, but there are a lot of things that are left between a person and the Lord. We call these things “disputable matters” based on Romans 14 and call the personal standards that you embrace a “personal conviction”. Whether to eat meat or not, drink alcohol or not, watch a certain movie or not, listen to a certain band or not, celebrate a certain holiday or not, all of these things are not issues of right or wrong, but rather personal conviction.
There are most definitely movies and songs to avoid, ones that are blatantly wrong to entertain. The ones that are vulgar and anti-God, but if a vulgar band puts out a good song do we not capitalize on the common ground and use that to communicate the Good News of Jesus? Do we not take the opportunity to connect Jesus and his truth to that song in the minds of the people so that every time they hear it they are reminded of Jesus and His truth? I think most people are smart enough to discern that the rest of the vulgar songs don’t represent Christianity.
Some would say don’t use it and they would use scripture to support their position. Others would say absolutely use it and they would use scripture to support their position. The bottom line then is the direction the leaders of a particular church family feel that God has called them to do ministry. This is their philosophy of ministry and something that does vary from one church to the next.
We as believers need to know that God has called us to a particular church family and then learn what He wants us to learn from that experience, but we shouldn’t try to argue and create division over these debatable issues.
1Corinthians 1:10 Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
We’re not to be spending our time arguing and being divided. We’re to be in harmony (maybe all playing a different note, but not saying ours is the only note and not clashing with all the other notes being played). We’re to be of one mind, thought, and purpose.
So, what about the fact that so many are joining churches only to find they don’t fully agree. Well it’s like this… If the ship is rowing in a direction you don’t want to go, you have to ask yourself a couple questions: 1) am I on the wrong ship? Or 2) does God have me here to learn something new? If the first, then go somewhere else, it would be sin to create the division over your personal preference or convictions and constantly make waves because you disagree with the leadership. If the second, humble your self, ask questions, learn, and serve. Work with, not against, the leadership and vision, and don’t be a source of contention.
Now I quickly want to address the issue of sacrilege or defiling the house of God statement. So…
Second, The Bible is very clear that as far as a temple building or any kind of building being the “house of God”, it’s just not true.
In the New Testament Steven made this argument:
Acts 7:48-50 48"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: 49" 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?
50Has not my hand made all these things?'
And again the Apostle Paul stated:
Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
Even Solomon who built the first building for the Lord said:
2Chronicles 6:18-21 18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
Even at the time frame when God said, “Build me a temple” they recognized it wasn’t the House of God. In that day it WAS sacred space, but that changed when God established the new covenant through Jesus Christ. Remember, the curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn in two? Now everyone has access to God Almighty! Now there is no one place that is sacred over another. The earth is the Lords and all that is in it! (Psalm 24:1)
In fact the real sacred space in the world is not a building, but a body… You! According to 1Corinthians 3:16-17 16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Church is not a WHAT or a WHERE, but rather a WHO. You are the church! You are the temple of the living God! And it is not what is being done or where, but rather by who that makes it sacred; Going fishing, going to a football game, eating dinner, going swimming, watching a movie, you name it! It’s all sacred not because of what is being done, but because of who is doing it.
If a Christian sings a secular song and uses it for Jesus then they’ve taken what was meant for evil and are using it for good. They are redeeming it. They are making it sacred. Not the whole CD or the band, but that song!
You can’t redeem sin, but you can redeem the tools of sin; people, cars, tv’s, computers, movies, music, holidays, etc.
So, there needs to be a shift in our thinking. I refer you back to a previous blog of mine called “Sacred Vs Secular”. If we don’t shift the thinking we’re all in a lot of trouble because I don’t know of any Holy Toilet Paper or such companies.
The fact is, there is a sacred (with and for God) and a secular (without or against God), but it has nothing to do with a building or piece of decoration. Remember Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel? It had a naked man in it!
Today many people hold church services in High School Auditoriums or Gyms or Movie Theaters. Are they wrong for using a Movie Theater to have church services? Don’t they know that there are bad movies played there? Is that place defiled and unusable or are they seeing an opportunity to redeem that space and use it for God and His glory?
What is the Jesus Standard? How do we be more like Jesus? Read Part 2.
The basis of this accusation is that I do not tell people they should abstain from alcohol, movies (or just R rated… there goes my Passion of the Christ DVD), tobacco products, or secular music (or that I’ll use a music video performed by a non-Christian artist in the church).
I’m going to respond to this argument in two parts. Part 1 is concerning the argument that we shouldn’t use music, video’s, movies, etc from a non-Christian source in the church to minister and Part 2 is going to address the argument that we should tell people to not drink, not smoke, not watch R-rated movies, etc.
Part 1: Argument: You shouldn’t dishonor God’s House, or God, by using music, videos, etc that come from a non-Christian source. It is irreverent and opening the door for the devil and could lead someone to listen to other material from this non-Christian source and it would in turn lead them astray.
These people feel the church is a sacred space, God’s House, and that we should reverence it. To bring anything into that place that is not “Christian” in its source is dishonoring and irreverent and also opens the door for demons to come in and cause trouble. Some will even distinguish between sin committed in that building from sin committed in other places and deem the former as worse because it has taken place in “God’s house”, while the latter has only taken place in my house.
Answer: First, We’ve all been “in Church” and heard a speaker quote someone… a president, religious leader, politician, artist, poet, etc. Were all these people being quoted Christians? Did the person being quoted have other quotes that were not Christian in nature? Did the person being quoted have lifestyles that contradicted Christlike Character? The answers are obvious.
As I understand it, Jesus said the Greatest Commandment of all was to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength”. So, the standard of behavior is not determined by WHERE you are, but rather WHO you are… are you a lover of God or aren’t you.
The Bible tells us that God is truth. Therefore, no matter who says it (Christian or Non-Christian), no matter what the source, ALL truth is God’s truth. So, whether I’m quoting a non-Christian, using a music video or movie clip, the bottom line is: if it is truth, it belongs to God.
The concern that someone may pick up this non-Christian CD or Video or book and entertain it is valid, but does it mean we don’t capitalize on the familiar ground? Do we not redeem the truth contained in these sources and use them for Jesus?
We see the Apostle Paul doing this on several occasions… One example is where Paul is speaking to a group in Athens and he quotes an Athenian poet (this was not a Christian poet, the phrase “your own” refers to one from their group): Acts 17:28 As some of your own (Athenian) poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
Paul is sighting a Non-Christian Poets poetry and declaring this statement is true. This has several implications. 1) Paul was familiar with non-Christian entertainment, 2)Paul viewed this truth as redeemable (usable for God’s glory), and 3)Paul exercised little to no concern that some of them may look at the rest of the poets poems or the poets lifestyle and get a mixed message because other poems may be vulgar, or contridict the Christian faith, and his lifestyle was most likely completely off base. Note that Paul didn’t go into an explination about how “not all this poets stuff is good, but in this part he got it right. Stay away from the other poems.” Or, “You need to know this poet’s life is completely wrong, so don’t let this little piece of truth make you think this poet is completely right.” No, instead we find him doing it again in the book of Titus.
Titus 1:12-13 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true.
Once again Paul is using a non-Christian source to confirm his message, and this source is a religious one that might lead someone away from Christianity to that other religion.
Did Paul defile/desecrate scripture or dishonor God by using quotes from non-Christian sources? Was he being irreverent? By quoting these non-Christian sources did he make the scriptures polluted, impure, and no longer authoritative and reliable?
Paul was being smart, capitalizing on the little truth they knew and using it to help them better understand the Kingdom of God.
Paul recognized that all truth is God’s truth, no matter what source it comes from and he didn’t seem concerned that in using this source it may lead people to entertain the other poems or prophesies of these non-Christian sources.
Was Paul wrong or in sin? No! Paul learned from Jesus! From his learning Paul said, I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1Corinthians 9:22
Interestingly, one translation in 1 Corinthians 9 refers to Paul finding familiar ground to connect with the people, without breaking the law of Christ.
How did Paul draw the line? The issue was: did it violate his conscience or the law of Christ?
Paul began to have his worldview changed by the work of Jesus Christ.
Remember, Paul was trained as a Pharisee (the strictest sect of the Jewish faith) and was full of the knowledge of the Law. He knew all the “Do’s” and “Do not’s”. His experience with Jesus helped him to find balance and to see life and following God in a whole new light.
It’s NOT an “anything goes” teaching by any means. There are rights and wrongs that are absolute, but there are a lot of things that are left between a person and the Lord. We call these things “disputable matters” based on Romans 14 and call the personal standards that you embrace a “personal conviction”. Whether to eat meat or not, drink alcohol or not, watch a certain movie or not, listen to a certain band or not, celebrate a certain holiday or not, all of these things are not issues of right or wrong, but rather personal conviction.
There are most definitely movies and songs to avoid, ones that are blatantly wrong to entertain. The ones that are vulgar and anti-God, but if a vulgar band puts out a good song do we not capitalize on the common ground and use that to communicate the Good News of Jesus? Do we not take the opportunity to connect Jesus and his truth to that song in the minds of the people so that every time they hear it they are reminded of Jesus and His truth? I think most people are smart enough to discern that the rest of the vulgar songs don’t represent Christianity.
Some would say don’t use it and they would use scripture to support their position. Others would say absolutely use it and they would use scripture to support their position. The bottom line then is the direction the leaders of a particular church family feel that God has called them to do ministry. This is their philosophy of ministry and something that does vary from one church to the next.
We as believers need to know that God has called us to a particular church family and then learn what He wants us to learn from that experience, but we shouldn’t try to argue and create division over these debatable issues.
1Corinthians 1:10 Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
We’re not to be spending our time arguing and being divided. We’re to be in harmony (maybe all playing a different note, but not saying ours is the only note and not clashing with all the other notes being played). We’re to be of one mind, thought, and purpose.
So, what about the fact that so many are joining churches only to find they don’t fully agree. Well it’s like this… If the ship is rowing in a direction you don’t want to go, you have to ask yourself a couple questions: 1) am I on the wrong ship? Or 2) does God have me here to learn something new? If the first, then go somewhere else, it would be sin to create the division over your personal preference or convictions and constantly make waves because you disagree with the leadership. If the second, humble your self, ask questions, learn, and serve. Work with, not against, the leadership and vision, and don’t be a source of contention.
Now I quickly want to address the issue of sacrilege or defiling the house of God statement. So…
Second, The Bible is very clear that as far as a temple building or any kind of building being the “house of God”, it’s just not true.
In the New Testament Steven made this argument:
Acts 7:48-50 48"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: 49" 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?
50Has not my hand made all these things?'
And again the Apostle Paul stated:
Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
Even Solomon who built the first building for the Lord said:
2Chronicles 6:18-21 18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
Even at the time frame when God said, “Build me a temple” they recognized it wasn’t the House of God. In that day it WAS sacred space, but that changed when God established the new covenant through Jesus Christ. Remember, the curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn in two? Now everyone has access to God Almighty! Now there is no one place that is sacred over another. The earth is the Lords and all that is in it! (Psalm 24:1)
In fact the real sacred space in the world is not a building, but a body… You! According to 1Corinthians 3:16-17 16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Church is not a WHAT or a WHERE, but rather a WHO. You are the church! You are the temple of the living God! And it is not what is being done or where, but rather by who that makes it sacred; Going fishing, going to a football game, eating dinner, going swimming, watching a movie, you name it! It’s all sacred not because of what is being done, but because of who is doing it.
If a Christian sings a secular song and uses it for Jesus then they’ve taken what was meant for evil and are using it for good. They are redeeming it. They are making it sacred. Not the whole CD or the band, but that song!
You can’t redeem sin, but you can redeem the tools of sin; people, cars, tv’s, computers, movies, music, holidays, etc.
So, there needs to be a shift in our thinking. I refer you back to a previous blog of mine called “Sacred Vs Secular”. If we don’t shift the thinking we’re all in a lot of trouble because I don’t know of any Holy Toilet Paper or such companies.
The fact is, there is a sacred (with and for God) and a secular (without or against God), but it has nothing to do with a building or piece of decoration. Remember Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel? It had a naked man in it!
Today many people hold church services in High School Auditoriums or Gyms or Movie Theaters. Are they wrong for using a Movie Theater to have church services? Don’t they know that there are bad movies played there? Is that place defiled and unusable or are they seeing an opportunity to redeem that space and use it for God and His glory?
What is the Jesus Standard? How do we be more like Jesus? Read Part 2.
Labels: alcohol, church, drugs, dvd's, films, Jesus, legalism, movies, muic, religion, rules, sex, tobacco
posted by Pastor Mike @ 8:34 AM
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