Category: Thoughts

One of the obstacles young people face in fully embracing the Christian message is the struggle with pluralism.  That is, what about all these other faiths?  Can they all be wrong?  The exclusiveness of the Christian message borders on intellectual arrogance in their mind.

I would approach this objection from two angles.  First, understand and be able to explain that Christianity does not have a corner on common grace, God’s general revelation to man.  The golden rule, honoring one’s parents, and caring for the poor are not exclusive to Christian teaching.  With an attitude of humility, we must recognize and celebrate God’s truth that is revealed in a variety of belief systems.  We can agree with unbelievers in their goal of strengthening their marriage and loving their children.  By virtue of being created in God’s image, all people have some level of moral ability.  And we demonstrate generosity, when we acknowledge truth wherever we find it.

Where Christianity does have exclusive claims, we need to be firm in our teaching.  Jesus’ own words could not be more clear; Jesus is the only way to eternal life with God, the Father, our Creator.  There is no room or need to compromise on this foundational tenet of our faith.  All paths do not lead to heaven.  Our rescue from sin, our deliverance is only through faith in the work and name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12 and a hundred other texts).

The second angle is to proclaim the exclusive message of “Jesus is the only way” in love, not condemnation.  Rather than excluding people, love emphasizes the inclusiveness of the wide open invitation.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world should be saved through Him” (Jn 3:16-17).  The salvation message of Christ is open to all.  There are no limits; no barriers of race, culture, sophistication, location, or time in history.  “For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile [or any race, for that matter]; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:12-13).

If you think about it, most religions are basically cultural and nationalistic.  Christianity is just the opposite.  And because of that, its movement has spread at various times and in various ways across the whole world.  We so often associate Christianity with Western Europe or the United States, but that is because our understanding of the history of the church is naturally colored by our own cultural experience.  The cultural variety of Christianity extends from families in Palestine who have a Christian heritage going back a thousand years to the explosion of Christianity today in the global south.

We partly dismantle the pluralism objection by emphasizing the wide open invitation for people everywhere to join in.  In my opinion, Christianity is not a narrow view to be defended, but a wide open invitation to be extended.  There is incredible cultural diversity in Christianity.  And young people may be surprised to find this out.

As we think about these lifestyle issues, one of the challenges faced by both unbelievers and doubting Christians is the caricature of the biblical standards on these issues that is called “Christianity.”  Our culture’s confusion about feminism is a good example.

The caricature is a concept of male headship that is colored by the abusive patriarchal model of many cults, domineering husbands and fathers operating under a misunderstood biblical mandate, and a vague notion of what the term “submission” implies.  Attaching the Christian label to the abuse of male headship has thinking people running for the exits, and I don’t blame them.  But the concept they are rejecting is not the biblical teaching but a cheap imitation.

The biblical concept of male headship is covered many places in Scripture, and the most succinct is, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ” (I Cor 11:3).

Our Christian bookshelves are filled with books about “the man is the head of a woman” running the gamut from the man is always in charge no matter what to trying to explain away the concept altogether as a first century cultural overprint.  What I have rarely seen is a book that tackles “God is the head of Christ.”  Maybe that concept is a little too much to get our minds around.  I bring it up because a proper understanding of male headship is inextricably linked to understanding the relationship between God and Christ.  And Jesus explains it for us in John, chapter 5.  (Much of what follows here is based on a Christianity Today article Headship with a Heart by Steven Tracy.)

“For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.  Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel” (Jn 5:18-20).

The Jews clearly understood Jesus’ repeated claim to equality with God, the Father; so much so that they sought to kill Him.  In this passage we see this equality in action as the work of God the Father and the work of God the Son is shown as the collaboration of intimate equals.  Their relationship is rooted in equality, not superiority.  Does this equality diminish God’s headship?  Apparently not.  Thinking about how this applies to male headship, particularly in the marriage and family setting, this is the first application:  we are to treat our wives as intimate equals.

Continuing, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.  For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgement to the Son” (Jn 5:21-22).  God shares His authority with the Son.  Does this diminish God’s headship?  Apparently not.  Christ did not use His shared authority to usurp the Father.  He was responsive to the Father’s authority; He did the will of the Father.  We are to share authority with our wives.

Finally, God shares His honor with the Son.  “So that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (Jn 5:23).  Isaiah wrote, many years before, “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another” (Is 42:8).  But God does share His honor and glory with the Son because He wants all people to honor the Son.  Does honoring the Son diminish God’s headship?  Apparently not.  We are to honor our wives.

When we take this back to I Corinthians 11:3, we find the concept and practical implications of male headship are rooted in the relationship of God and Christ explained in John chapter 5.  This approach to male headship also fits the example of Christ’s own ministry in which He honored women far above the cultural expectations.

The feminist answer to the abuse of male power is to reject the concept of male headship altogether.  The biblical response is to clarify, explain, and celebrate headship with a heart.

When we embrace the gospel message of Jesus Christ we become saints, sanctified ones, “set apart for God’s holy use or purpose.”  How does God view that which He has sanctified, but not being used for its holy purpose?  Let’s get a snapshot look in Daniel chapter 5.

“Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.  When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, in order that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.  Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.  They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.  Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.  Then the king’s face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; and his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together” (Dan 5:1-6).

Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, during a great feast brought out the sacred vessels stolen from the temple of God and profaned them by drinking from them and using them as items of worship to his pagan gods.  During this profanity, a man’s hand appeared and wrote an inscription on the wall.  It read, by Daniel’s interpretation, “God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.  You have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.  Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians” (Dan 5:25-28).  Sure enough, before the night was out, Belshazzar was killed and his kingdom passed to Darius the Mede.

Why this punishment for Belshazzar the king?  Listen to Daniel’s summary of the king’s actions.  “Even though you knew all that happened to your father, Nebuchadnezzar [made to live like a beast of the field because of his pride], you have not humbled your heart, but have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven.  They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear or understand.  But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and your ways, you have not glorified” (Dan 5:22-23).  Belshazzar exalted himself by using the holy things of God in idol worship.  As a result, his kingdom was taken away and he was slain; all because he chose to desecrated the holy things of God.

Viewing the Old Testament as “examples written for our instruction” (I Cor 10:11), here’s the application that I take away from this story.  Your body is a holy temple.  Do not desecrate what God calls holy, what God purchased with the “precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (I Pet 1:19) by worldly living.  When we live in sin, we are treating Christ’s death – Christ’s substitution in our place – as trivial.  And it is a dangerous thing to desecrate or trivialize the holy things of God.  Remember, saint, your label over and over in the New Testament is “holy one.”  Live your life worthy of your holy calling (Eph 4:1).

It is easy to talk about the worldliness of our popular entertainment options with a broad brush, attacking the most offensive elements.  But when I label the world’s approach – advertised as enlightened, but actually profane – I am referring to many subtle messages as well.  Let me give you a tiny example.

When Rhonda was in France for nearly a month helping Annie and her family celebrate the birth of their son, I spent most of my time catching up in my work as a consulting geophysicist or writing.  By the end of the time, I was growing quite weary of a computer screen.  So I switched to the TV screen in my down time.  After watching just so many reruns of ESPN Sportscenter, I turned to the primetime offerings of the broadcast networks; something I have rarely taken the time for in the last five years.

I happened on to a show called “The Middle” airing their Christmas episode.  In this installment, the what appeared to be high-school age daughter was in a fit over the fact that her what appeared to be quite bright little brother did not believe the story of Christianity.  The episode included the typical complaints about Christianity we have come to expect on network television, painting our religion as not for thinking people.  However, the culmination of the Christianity discussion took a twist that is just a tiny example of what I mean by the profane in our entertainment industry.

A character named “Pastor Tim” attempted to allay the sister’s fears about her little brother by asking her if her brother was into Justin Bieber.  She said her brother was not “into” Mr. Bieber and she could not understand it.  “Pastor Tim” then made the leap to say it is the same way with Jesus.  Some people are “into” Jesus and some are not just like they are “into” Justin Bieber or not and for similar reasons that we really can’t explain or figure out.

I know it is a small point but it illustrates the word profane.  Comparing acceptance or rejection of the gospel message as being like choosing to be “into” Justin Bieber or not was a classic example of demeaning the sacred.  What does God think of demeaning the sacred?  We will find out with a story from Daniel chapter 5 next time.

Several times in his letters to Timothy, the apostle Paul warns his young protégé to avoid “worldliness” (Greek word bebēlos, translated “profane” in the King James Bible).  Worldly or profane is such an apt description of our culture’s view on these lifestyle issues and nowhere does it come through more clearly than in the entertainment industry.

Most of what is being delivered to us today as entertainment is best described as profane.  It cheapens and demeans the sacred, replacing it with the profane.  Gratuitous sex, graphic violence, and blasphemous language in music and movies takes the sacred – the beauty of sex within marriage, life created in God’s image, and calling on the name of the one true God in times of trouble – and cheapens them for thrills, drama, or laughs.  It is worldly.  It is ungodly.

And the red flag it raises for me is how much Christians swallow what is being offered.  We are encouraged to overlook those objectionable elements and explore the world’s movies and music as a way to engage our culture; a way to establish common ground with our unbelieving neighbors.  I believe this approach is the exact opposite of the New Testament approach to engaging our culture.  And if this appears to just be another legalistic railing against the entertainment industry, please read the following verses prayerfully and carefully.

“Therefore, since Christ has suffered death in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered death in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.  For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.  And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they malign you; but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (I Pet 4:1-5).  These characterizations of a pagan lifestyle clearly describe the current “flood of dissipation” coming out of Hollywood.  How do we respond?

We are called to a life of holiness that, as Peter points out, will actually lead to derision – “they malign you” – for not participating in the world’s lifestyle.  This criticism from the world is in God’s view a badge of honor.  There is no honor in legalism, self-righteousness, or pride.  There is no honor in looking down our noses at the lifestyle excesses of our unbelieving friends.  There is no honor in a lack of love toward any person.  But there is honor and great reward for a godly lifestyle that refuses participation in evil and accepts the demeaning and even abusive responses that may accompany a godly stand.

Will our holiness efforts separate us from the lost or will it surprise and raise curiosity among the lost?  It all depends on our attitude.  If the attitude that accompanies our desire to keep a godly lifestyle is in any way self-righteous or condescending, we are doing the gospel and our audience a great disservice and any ridicule we experience is of no spiritual value.  However, if we are winsome and humble and cheerful and loving in our efforts to develop a holy lifestyle, we will actually become a curiosity to outsiders.  In this way, we will engage the culture by seeking the good of our neighbor, rather than joining them in their sin.

Biblical accommodation and engagement is conversing and drinking coffee in a neighbor’s apartment when you hate the taste of coffee.  It is going to dinner with your obnoxious co-worker in order to build a bridge of friendship.  It is dying your hair yellow to become more approachable while attending a university that celebrates such nonconformity.  Nonbiblical accommodation is when our participation leads to sin.  The eye is the gate to the mind and the mind is the gate to the heart.  I can’t help but believe that the current fair coming out of our entertainment industry and entering the eyes of believers is at least dangerous if not outright sin for the follower of Christ.