Freedom Run Wild & Abundant Pleasures...mmm...YES, PLEASE!

On Sunday mornings under the Big Top we have been examining the Paradoxes of the Christian Life. God wants to give us all manner of graces but the way we access such grace is the opposite of what we'd expect (or want !!). Last Sunday's Paradox: Freedom through Slavery and this Sunday's will be Abundance through Monogamy. 

I ran across some of G.K. Chesterton's writings on the subject in his classic work Orthodoxy. Chesterton, like C.S. Lewis after him, had a wonderful way of putting things, especially big biblical truths. He beautifully summarizes both how total sold-out-ness (slavery) to the rule and order of a good God leads to freedom and how monogamy leads to the most abundant of pleasures.

The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.

Chesterton goes on to use the example of sex:

I could never mix in the common murmur of that rising generation against monogamy, because no restriction on sex seemed so odd and unexpected as sex itself...Keeping to one woman is a small price to pay so much as seeing one woman. To complain that I could only be married once was like complaining that I had only been born once. It was incommensurable with the terrible excitement of which one was talking. It showed, not an exaggerated sensibility to sex, but a curious insensibility to it. A man is a fool who complains he cannot enter Eden by five gates at once. Polygamy is a lack of the realization of sex; it is like a man plucking five pears in mere absence of mind.

One of the great difficulties of the Christian life is warding off the deception that the only way you are truly going to get personal freedom and get abundance of pleasure is to go out and get it yourself (e.g., making more $ to have more personal choices, climbing the ladder to get more personal time off, etc. and seeking multiple partners, multiple purchases, multiple social circles, multiple "good time activities" as primary means to personal pleasure).

Accordingly, I pray Chesterton helps you today: Submission to God's rule allows freedom to run wild & monogamy in marriage keeps us ever-sensitive and enjoying the truly strange and mysterious (and quite pleasurable!) gift of sex. 

Tattoos & the Christian

Greek for "It is finished"

As our own kids and those of some good friends romped around our yard this past Sunday afternoon looking for plastic eggs, they discovered inside them your mainstream sugar supplements coated with colored dyes (each which are like a russian roulette of allergic reaction to our children) but also a copious amount of -- removable tattoos. Katie had stumbled upon a bunch of these and thought they'd be great for easter egg prizes. They also sparked a question with which I've been confronted frequently lately:


"By the way, what do you think about tattoos?" OR "What do you think about Christians getting tattoos?"


I don't have tatts myself, but next time I preach on Christian Liberty from 1 Corinthians 8, Romans 15 or otherwise, I hope/dream to wear those tattoo sleeves on my arms just to see how the church reacts. 


I do think, as Christians, we can be too quick to either say: "GRACE" and just assume the substitutionary death of Jesus automatically creates/entails a more relaxed outlook on all of life that permits pretty much anything; or say: "STOOPID" and demonize tattoo-wearing while either quoting a verse from Leviticus or just condescendingly giving someone the "Why would you do that?!" look. 


Let's instead engage with God's Word as we do some critical thinking on this subject. I managed to finally do so and I started to formulate a response - but then ran across a really helpful & biblically-serious old article I read in a Christianity & Culture publication called Critique (ed. by Dennis Haack)... and then managed to find that article on the interweb, which I've posted below. 


"Decorating or Desecrating the Temple?" by Travis Scott


Some quick thoughts on the above article:
(1) Don't click on the link if you ain't prepared for some serious engage-your-mind reading and reflection on this subject. This is not the one-minute read followed by "now I can get a tattoo!" sort of thing. He covers all the potential bases, some of which you likely never knew existed.
(2) I found fascinating the history of how various kinds of bodily marking and tattoos have been viewed by Christian cultures throughout history. Admittedly, Scott probably should reveal that there's more ebb than flow (more of a negative view toward the practice throughout history) - nevertheless, that there is even some very positive views taken by Christian leaders in different historical periods is interesting. 
(3) I also appreciated that this is written by someone who is inked. I think he is particularly fair, asks good questions of the reader, and the insights he shares at the end re: his experience with tattoos was revealing to yours truly. 

A 4th century encouragement for a 21st century job

This past Sunday under the Big Top, I taught from 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 on God's Calling. The  sermon in a nutshell was basically: When it comes to questions of "God, where do you want me?", "What do you want me to do?", "With whom do you want me to do it?", the biblical, God-speaking to you default is to remain. Though walking with God daily, prayer/discernment, & good counsel may lead you elsewhere, remaining where you are, what you're doing (vocationally/job-wise), with whom you're already doing it is God's starting line. 


Of course, the place, the people or the job (especially) isn't necessarily what we would choose in the Game of Life (or in the elementary/primary school Game involving those do-dads constructed out of notebook paper where you start by choosing a number, open up a leaf, and eventually find out who you marry, what your job is, and how much money you make - what were those things called?? Please don't say 'do-dads').


Jobs we wouldn't pick. I was reading some older church history and came across this. A prominent fourth century church father, Basil, informed his young brother, Gregory of Nyssa, that he was to become the bishop of Cappadocia (in the middle of nowhere...a.k.a. middle of modern day Turkey).  To which Gregory objected! He didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere away from friends and family ministering with and to a strange people where there is little prospect for distinction & advancement. His older brother replied:

I don't want you to obtain distinction from your church but to confer distinction on it.

Cappodocia is now best known in history for being the center from which the so-called Cappadocian Fathers (Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, & Gregory of Nazianzus) fought the heresy known as Arianism (the rising belief growing in popularity that Jesus was inferior to God the Father and was, in fact, created by the Father...a similar belief to modern-day Jehovah's Witnesses). Indeed, through his service there, Gregory conferred distinction upon the place and the the people.


Jesus conferring distinction like it's going out of style. When the incarnate Christ walked this earth, all he did was confer distinction upon places, people, jobs that otherwise had none. Consider the places. Jesus was raised in the runt among places, Nazareth. One of Jesus' future disciples even confessed when first being told about Jesus: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). He conferred distinction upon the hated territory of Samaria (see Luke 10:33 and 17:16) - where, from the Jewish perspective, a bunch of 'half-breeds' lived whose worship of God was considered a joke (cf. John 8:48). Among the many examples of people upon whom Jesus conferred distinction, perhaps the one who stands out is the woman of ill-repute who interrupts dinner to wash Jesus' hair with oil: "And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her" (Mark 14:3). Consider the jobs. Jesus chose for his cabinet: Fishermen (a poorly-regarded, blue-collar job), a zealot (someone who was organizing radical, militant religious rallies), and a tax collector (symbolically stood for all things evil & traitorous in the eyes of God's people). But all legitimate positions from which to begin following Jesus. 


You and your job. For those who have trusted their lives to Jesus, Paul states the following: "To [us] God chose to make know how great are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Christ still exists to confer distinction upon jobs, including the locations and the people who work there. All the riches of glory which are contained in His person is in you, who have believed.


The temptation of course is to think: Which next place, which next people, which next job will bring me distinction, will finally set me apart. You already are set apart, friend, because of Christ in you. Such is the hope of glory! And he wishes, through YOU, to now bring distinction upon whatever you do, wherever you are & whomever you are with.  

George Mueller: How to ascertain the Will of God

This past week I had the privilege of preaching from Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 on the topic of "Listening and Hearing from God." While I reading & prepping I came across a short tract by George Mueller (1805-1898), called "How to ascertain the will of God." Mueller preached at his local church for six decades and built five large houses for orphans in England. I have never read of or run across another human in the last millennia for whom I have more respect in the areas of discerning God's will & specific, bold prayers. I hope you find this brief & straightforward piece of wisdom as instructive as I have:

I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.   2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.   3. I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides me at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.   4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.   5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.   6. Thus, through prayer to God, the study of His Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving the most important issues, I have found this method always effective.

Halloween: Do or Don't?

"Should Christians participate in Halloween?" 

Admittedly, this is a strange image.

Every year I've managed to dodge this question fairly successfully - preferring to respond: "But the real question is: Should Christians participate in Valentine's Day? The origin of love according to Hallmark and the Peanuts card that Ramsey Rives gave me in 3rd grade is a Greek mythological figure who shoots arrows -- not Yahweh. Well, that's heresy right there (see 1 John 4). Okay, I'll wait for that. This is a legitimate and serious question and I've been asked by a host of persons about it this year. Katie and I have actually given it quite a bit of prayerful & biblical consideration over the years so here we go...

A word of grace. Wherever we land on these types of gray-area issues, I always encourage folks from Romans 14:4: “To his own master a servant stands or falls.” In other words, We each will have to give an account to God but we should not demand others give an account to us. But we often do demand, don't we? If not in word, through our attitudes or our judgments toward others about 'other' things (but really, it's all about that thing).  Pressing accountability is not true of every or even most issues. Most issues aren't matters of Christian liberty or gray-areas. Most issues Scripture is pretty clear about. So while we should refrain from being demanding of accountability about drinking in moderation, watching R-rated films, or perhaps (??) certain language we use, the same isn't true for "sleeping with someone" before marriage - some will argue that this is a gray-area issue so they can keep doing who they are doing  but Scripture (not to mention wisdom!) gives us clear instruction with regard to "keeping the marriage bed pure" (Hebrews  13:4). So with this issue of Halloween, some will walk away happy, even smug with what the Oelschlagers have decided to do, while others will be infuriated. Which is why my intent here is not to change a person's mind as to whether they should celebrate it. It ain't gonna happen. My hope is that, by considering the matter from God's Word, we extend further grace to persons on both sides of the issue.

Where I land...in my "Megatron" costume. I do not think it is wrong for Christians, who have a clear conscience in doing so and are not causing a ‘weaker’ brother to stumble, to participate in Halloween. Let me give a few thoughts to support that statement – allowing God’s Word to be our primary guide.

The counter argument. The two major points against Halloween:  (1) That we are celebrating an ancient druidic/Celtic holiday in which spirits of the trees were worshipped and (2)  add to that the continued existence of modern day witchcraft, sorcery, ghoulishness still celebrated today around Halloween (even though isolated & amongst a small minority at least in Cayman's varied cultural landscape). These are both serious matters. We are called to be “in” the world yet not “of it” (John 17). So we are equally called to guard our hearts from evil yet also be a friend to sinners. 

God’s Word. While it doesn’t speak to this issue directly, it does speak to a surprisingly similar issue. Namely meat sacrificed to idols/false gods/demons. 

1 Corinthians 10:19-31:  ¹⁹ What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?  ²⁰ No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.  ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  ²² Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  ²³ "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.  ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.  ²⁵ Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.  ²⁶ For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."  ²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.  ²⁸ But if someone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience-  ²⁹ I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience?  ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?  ³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

A few notes:

• Conscience. If your conscience (see also 1 Corinthians 8) doesn’t allow you to participate & if God has convicted you it’s wrong, don’t do it until/unless God changes your mind. Far worse to do what you believe God has told you is wrong than to do it doubting with every timid step.

     >>> If you can in good conscience, dress up your kids, have them walk around the neighborhood & pilfer candy from the neighbors (but "Take only One" if they aren't home), do it without being burdened. 

     >>> If because of your past, concern for your kids, deep belief/suspicion in dark spiritual forces being harder at work, don't do it even if you acknowledge someone else's freedom to do differently.

• Idols & Candy. You might make the parallel of meat with Candy or with costumes. Were either dedicated to the Celtic figure Samhain or any sort evil spirit? Likely not. Could they have been, sure. Was that a Wiccan who just handed me a tootsie roll and cursed it with a spell that will make me prematurely bald? Perhaps. Is it likely? Depends on your culture, where you live, etc. But likely not (I hope someone put Rogaine in my bag just in case).

• So verse 28: “BUT if someone says to you, “This party, candy, costume is in honor of Samhain who we believe to be the Celtic Spirit of Halloween,” don’t eat it, put it on, participate. Lest we cause a young Christian or non-Christian to confuse our faith in Christ with hypocrisy. 

• Helpful? Then the next logical question comes from v.23: I can understand how the participation in Halloween can be “lawful” or “permissible” (NIV), but how can it actually be "helpful" or "build" someone up??  Great question (see two points below).

Your situation. If our children had a strange unhealthy interest in ghoulish, ghastly, fearful, & all things “dark,” I would certainly abstain. Also, if we weren’t being intentional about exposing our kids on a daily basis to the truth & light of God’s Word & the truth and light of the Rescuer Jesus Christ, then I might also be more hesitant about making much of any holiday lest they put all their hope & attention on a self-indulgent occasion to stuff themselves full of Laffy-Taffy (not to mention the potential of impish evil spirits...although they do act rather impish themselves after a half-bag of High Fructose Corn Syrup and a pint's worth of Red Dye #3) . If we ran into a haunted house or a block party that stressed the perverse, spiritual strangeness, fear-based entertainment, Katie and I would have no problems walking away from it. So I think, practically and with wisdom, you must take into account your own situation as well – being brutally honest about your spiritual state & influences.

Your neighbor’s situation. If you don’t think participating in Halloween poses a spiritual stumbling block for your neighbor (and that’s an important “if"), consider the immense benefit of participating, especially if you are trick-or-treating. There are few opportunities in our culture where people will actually walk up to our door and meet us face to face. There are few opportunities where we can actually walk up and down the streets in our neighborhoods with those who do not know Christ- and they will do this with you willingly and won’t think we are stalking them. Halloween can be a great opportunity to get to know people. I believe you have the opportunity to meet and enjoy some fellowship with the unbelievers God has put around you- and in a setting that they initiate. The ‘dangers’ of Halloween, for our family, do not outweigh these opportunities. Now, of course, being ‘separate’ on these days can be opportunities as well. It might be important to communicate your convictions by turning off the light and not answering the door. I'm sure in some contexts God can and does use this. But Katie and I have decided that we would rather be overtly engaging with those around us on this night with love and wisdom rather than abstain altogether.

The response of someone with a different conviction than me. I get pumped whenever people go to God's Word &, with the help of His Spirit, get it. This past week one of the person's with whom I engaged on this topic had a different personal conviction. She didn't begin to share my conviction about participating in Halloween, but she did look earnestly at God's Word & extended grace. Here are some excerpts from this person's response (which is right on!): 

Halloween is a very sacred day for those who follow Wicca - one of their most "holy" days which is where my struggle to feel ok about it all stems.   I fully realise that people aren't practising Wicca or celebrating anything with evil intent and aren't trying to glorify evil by celebrating Halloween so this is definitely where I get, just because I believe it is wrong doesn't make it wrong and it isn't wrong for somebody else to do it but if I believe it is wrong for me and I do it then it would be wrong.  Is that right?  LOL (YES it is anonymous person!!!!).....

I don't get any holy brownie points for choosing not to celebrate as opposed to another brother or sister in Christ who does but what I do get is that it is ok to feel the way I do about Halloween and at the same time make sure my heart is in check and not get self righteous and maintain a good heart attitude toward others that do.  Correct?  (Yes, and love the "holy brownie points" comment!)

In conclusion: No matter whether you decide to stay at home or participate, 1 Corinthians 10:31 is a good note to end on: “³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

I realize I responded to this question largely from a “family” point-of-view and you might not even have children, but I think trick-or-treating & carving pumpkins (not dance parties, club scenes, etc.) is where this dilemma is most visible. As just being at a club and partying is itself another dilemma over which we ought constantly to be submitting our hearts unto the Lord, examining our conscience, and striving to be ‘in’ the world but not ‘of it’ (ie. In the world, but with a mission). 

To balance out my family's conviction with the equally valid personal conviction that it's not glorifying to God to celebrate Halloween, I provide for you (BELOW) this Halloween evangelism tract, which has no doubt graced the bags of many an unsuspecting child, for your amusement/edification. My favorite part is the clown and the lone ranger praying together to trust Christ. Makes me wonder: Can clowns know Jesus? (subject of my next post).

A miraculous email or just 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Perhaps it's being a pastor (but I know this likely happens to you as well), but my inbox/spam folder receives an average of 1.5 Forwards a day that can be categorized as "spiritually inspirational." Most of them now are filled with stories of the miraculous or at least extraordinary -- and some of them are really pretty cool, even spur on my faith.

As I mentioned in a sermon a few weeks back on "The Spirit," however, a longing for extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit's power can (notice can) become what the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 6 as an "over-passion." A good thing that becomes idolatrous when we make it into an ultimate thing -- above our love for God & whatever He wills for our lives.

I was reading through an old journal recently and ran across an important lesson for the people of Judah and, I think, a good reminder for us that God displays great glory in the 'mundane' -- trusting Him enough to respond in ordinary obedience.

Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders (Ezekiel 7:26).

While people looked everywhere for and even followed rumors of the miraculous or 'extraordinary,' the faithful teaching of the law perished and the giving and receiving counsel from those who'd gained godly wisdom dissipated.

Notice this principle doesn't advocate not seeking God's will, but rather through responding to His great love through obedience in the day-to-day as well as seeking wisdom from those in your life who are equipped to give it (godly friend, parents, spouse, and especially godly pastors & elders in your church) can prove more valuable and ultimately more revealing than wishing one of these almost unbelievable emails would happen to you.

So we do know this about God's will for you and I: "Be joyful always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18). And in doing His will, don't be surprised to see the miraculous happen also.