Five Worldly Things In The Church

Christians of the West have drawn clear lines on some issues in order to "separate ourselves" from the world. And that's necessary, given the culture in which we live.

Some of the things we see in the world are blaring differences than how God calls us to live. But there are various things observed in the church that sneak their way in from the outside.


This is a non-exhaustive list (in no particular order) of some things that are common in the church but pose a threat to its health, growth, and holiness. They're worldly things... in the church.


But be warned. These are all extremely close to home for many of us.


1) Insurance Companies

People want to be sure that they'll be taken care of should anything traumatic happen in their lives. But instead of developing a Christ-like, interdependent community of believers, we often allow individualism to creep into the church. Our health and wellbeing are held accountable, not by fellow Christians, but by massive insurance companies who promise to be there for us when times get rough. And they ought to! You think. I pay them $200/month! I'm entitled to their money!

Instead of having insurance, consider giving that monthly contribution to other Christians in need. In the New Testament, we see churches raising funds to care for the needs of others all the way across the region. Today, there are quite a few faith-based organizations that facilitate the giving of funds from person-to-person when medical bills are too much for one Christian to handle. You may even be able to do this within your church conference or denomination.

When we Christians take care of each other, we're bringing a very tangible unity to the Body of Christ. It's in this unity that we can practice various Christian virtues well. If you take care of someone's medical expenses, you have a tangible right to keep them accountable for their personal health, instead of simply "judging them" at distance for their behaviors. This principle can be applied, not only in medical needs, but in any need your brother has. Relying on each other cultivates openness, generosity, gratitude, selflessness, and so forth. This kind of community is not "of the world", but it will be extremely attractive to the world.

2) Long-Term Dating

Worldly relationships pretty much plateau at "boyfriend and girlfriend". We all know those couples - the ones who were once "just seeing each other" and have, one tentative step at a time, isolated themselves, devoted absolute loyalty, and torn down all their personal barriers between each other. Truth be told, the idea of "marriage benefits" really means nothing more to them than tax deductions. But is it really all that much different for Christians? No.

The Church basically just teaches not to have sex or live together outside of marriage, never bothering to explain that it's because such bonds, if broken, could destroy one's future ability to trust, love, and commit to their spouse. But truthfully, couples who have been dating for over a year (or four) are in the same danger. And if they're being honest with themselves, their unmarried devotion is less of a preparatory practice in commitment, and much more like trying to reach over the fence of marriage to take its fruit while avoiding its responsibilities. 

At that point, dating has become less of a means to an end and more of an end within itself. And even if they do end up getting married, the habits learned in dating will prove detrimental to their marriage! Feeling shame after sexual intimacy? Withholding parts of your personal life? "Taking breaks" in times of conflict? These are iconic in unhealthy marriages, and yet such practices begin in dating relationships that the Church would consider "healthy".

You see, biblical relationship statuses are "married", "engaged", and "unmarried". And the life of an unmarried person is meant to be drastically different than that of a married person. There is no "dating". No lengthy trial period of exclusivity. No pre-marital practice of entitlements and obligations to someone who could very well NOT end up being your spouse. Just wholehearted devotion to God and His work. We must believe that such a life before marriage is exactly what we need to prepare for it.

3) Medication

Many people need constant medication for various issues, in order to remain alive. But like the world, we Christians are all-too-quick to pop pills to numb the pain. I recently shattered my collar bone. You should've seen the doctors' faces when I denied medication. But what's more astonishing was that many Christians gave me the same face, as if to say "What, you don't want to avoid pain at all costs?"

No, I don't. And neither does God. You see, the church has somehow managed to isolate happy, positive things about God and yet neglect the parts of Scripture that talk about God using suffering to discipline His children. How many wooden plaques of "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" do you see hanging in the doorway? But the truth is that God wants us to go through pain in order to remain close to Him and rely on other Christians.

But beyond all that, we must remember that "because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Heb 2:18). You see, there are many people in this world whose pain is too deep to medicate. They're the drug addicts, the homeless, the social outcasts. God calls us to be Christ to them, but you can't do that if you decide to pretend it doesn't exist. Walk through pain together, with others, relying on God and the believers around you.

4) The State

People "of the world" want their moral standards to be imposed by the state. They want to use the government to force others to pay for contraception, to offer marital benefits to gay people - to affirm their beliefs. With no higher authority, they have good reason to put their hope in the State. But we too seek to impose our moral code onto those who don't even agree with it.

But instead of attempting to conform people on issues of morality and religion via secular government, consider using the government as a means of allowing people the freedom to choose for themselves. This resolves a greater concern in our society, which is government abuse of power and money. It just so happens that God's perfect justice is extremely expensive, and requires a lot of authority. So on this side of Judgement Day, the only one who wins in the battle of state-imposed morality is... the state.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul calls us to judge those inside the church - to let God judge those outside. He does this in order to protect the health of the church, explaining that "a little leaven leavens the whole lump". Don't try propping up a perishing world with biblical morality. Instead, seek a higher standard for your church community. And that separation - that holiness - will be a light in the world.

5) Political Apathy

Now, because the world is so clearly perishing, we Christians don't avidly bother stirring up the dust of politics. We cite Romans 13, which says, "The authorities that exist have been established by God". But we forget that the authority Paul is speaking of - Caesar - was born into a governmental system that gave him the power (and responsibility) to establish the laws.

Today, you have likely been been born into a republican democracy - not an empire - that likewise gives you a responsibility. YOU are the governing authority. The U.S. Bill of Rights begins with the words, "We, the People" - not "I, Caesar". So go back and read Romans 13, and ask yourself what your responsibility is as a citizen of a free, voting society.

It's a historical phenomenon that each individual Christian has such a prominent voice in society. Imagine if we engaged in politics with a biblical, unified, and consistent voice. Your governing authority was given to you by God. Use it well. (Also, you may like to know that your church doesn't talk about politics because, if they do, their non-profit status will be revoked. Look it up.)

You're Overwhelmed... I know.

It's true - being a Christian in a medicated, individualistic, apathetic, and falsely-assured society is tough. You can't just wear a purity ring, go to Bible college, and vote blue from the sidelines. The Bible tells us to "renew our minds". And it's true that the mindset of the world is so entrenched in our culture that it's almost impossible to see. But if we refuse to follow the course of the world, we can be a light to all those who are trampled in the flow. So please consider these things, and above all, seek to be like Christ in a world that holds on to anything but Him.

For now,
Phillip

A Sovereign Trinity

I sat at my community group as we fumbled around with the idea of the Trinity. I tried my hand at giving an explanation, but I think it probably confused the group more than we already were. So allow me to attempt to explain my view on the Trinity for the sake of clarification.

Considering again my #1 rule of theological interpretation and even speculation - that the answer that gives God the most glory is the correct answer – I began to look at my overall view of the Trinity, and I felt that it was severely lacking in glory and apology. I said, “what if a non-believer asks me about the Trinity? How will I explain what I have been taught?”

So I asked a couple of pastors this important question – is each individual of the trinity entirely sovereign independently of the others, or do they have to depend on each other to complete sovereignty? To a little bit of my surprise, every one of them confidently explained that each one individually contains all characteristics of sovereignty, namely omniscience (knowledge), omnipotence (power), and omnipresence (presence).

That really surprised me, and as I thought on that answer, the God that I worshipped and adored so much suddenly became exponentially mystified in my mind. I started to ask those elementary questions like “why are there three of them? What is their purpose? And how are they ONE?”

And I started to hash out the basic facts that I knew from the Bible. For example, Jesus is on his throne in Heaven… right?

"After making purification for sins, [the Son] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." - Hebrews 1:3b

Okay. But everyone seemed to be telling me “He’s everywhere. He’s in me.” How could he be anywhere he wants? I know that I have Christ in me, but how? (Wait for the answer… though we are all thinking it.)

Another fact we Christians all know is that Jesus Christ has been given all power.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…” –Philippians 2:9

"And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." -Matthew 28:18

The greek word for authority - "exousia" - is the same as “power”. In fact, the King James uses the word "power" instead of “authority” here in Matthew 28. So if God gave all power to Jesus (as a gift for enduring the cross (Phil 2:8)) then how could the Father also have all power? What kind of a gift is that?

But beyond all this, it was the concept of Jesus’ knowledge that sparked debate in my community group that night as we studied Mark 5 – the woman who touches his garment and is healed of a 12-year bleeding sickness. In verse 31, Jesus asks, “Who touched my garments?” This was quickly explained by people in the group as Jesus playing some kind of a game, like he knew who it was, but he wanted to test the woman in some way; while many said that Jesus had chosen not to know such things when he came to Earth, of which neither idea has any biblical verification. And yet, the evidence of Jesus’ lack of omniscience is expressed in Matthew 24:36, when Jesus speaks of the “close of the age”:

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Again, I must impress that this verse is not abrogated at any point in the scriptures. We must, therefore, assume that it is an eternal, unchanged fact. If Jesus does know the end times, I believe he learned it from his father after the above verse took place (just as he learns everything else, as he says in John 5:19-20.)

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.

How then does Jesus know everything if he himself says that he only follows the orders of his Father in Heaven? Seriously, if Jesus knows everything, then why would such obedience to his Father be necessary?

So, after totally annihilating my previous views of the Trinity, I quickly began to reconstruct them with the idea that the Trinity is only entirely sovereign as a whole. In fact, I would go so far as to see the three characteristics of sovereignty (power, knowledge, and presence) owned by the three separate characters within the Trinity. I mean this: The Son has clearly been given power, and the Father knows all, while the Spirit is the living and active presence of God on this earth. It suddenly made so much sense to me – all of my ideas of God just joined together like a puzzle, and I saw the whole picture for the first time (though there is so much more to see). I have access to Christ through the Spirit, and I pray to the Father as the Holy Spirit intercedes for me. I look forward to the day that I am in the presence of Jesus Christ and the Father, but I know that today is not that day.

All these things we already know by reading the scriptures, but I believe that our fear of asking questions has put God in a safe, often locked, and the combination has nearly been forgotten. We wouldn’t dare say that Jesus doesn’t know everything, so we say he does. But he doesn’t! And if Jesus is everywhere, then why don’t I see him? Because he’s not there! We need to stop mystifying our God, who is REAL, and start seeking His character for the sake of His glory here on Earth.

But most importantly, as my BIC (Brother In Christ) Brian Buxton wisely told me after community group, “we must not let our pursuit of anything other than salvific issues be a source of contention in the Body of Christ”. So please, if you are uncomfortable and uncertain with this topic, please seek the Lord, seek the Word, and seek counsel – don’t take sides. I write these because, though I feel that Trinitarian issues are very important, unity in the Christ-believing, grace-receiving church is still more.