In the book of John there is an interesting exchange between Jesus and one of the few “good” Pharisees, Nicodemus. After having a lengthy, but unprofitable, discussion on this matter I decided to try and expound upon the subject here. Let us look at part of the passage in question (from the third chapter of John):

1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

The matter of contention that I want to address is what Jesus meant by “born of water and of the Spirit”, and more specifically what He meant by “born of water”. My position is this – that being born of water is water baptism and born of the Spirit is the gift of the Holy Spirit. I realize that many believe that the “born of water” refers to our physical birth. That is really the big area in dispute – what Jesus meant by “born of water” (although some would erroneously state that “born of the Spirit” is the endowment of miraculous gifts – I don’t want to get into that here).

To begin, Jesus said that one MUST be born of water. If this refers to our physical birth it is absurd for Jesus to attach an imperative (must) to it. Why would Jesus tell Nicodemus that he had to be born? Clearly, that had already taken place. This is the big question that those who claim Jesus is referring to the physical birth when He says “born of water” must answer – why would Jesus command us to do something we have no control over? Do you have a choice in your physical birth? Jesus might as well have commanded us to breathe as to command us to be born. This is not rational logic.

In verse four Nicodemus shows that he is confusing the command to be “born again” with the physical birth. In verse five Jesus says that unless a man is born “of water and of the Spirit” he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jesus is saying that neither of these things has to do with the physical birth. In verse six He explains that what is born of flesh is of flesh – that is the physical birth. When we look at verse five we see that the birth of water and Spirit have nothing to do with flesh! Flesh equals flesh, water equals water and Spirit equals Spirit. All three of these are distinct.

In my discussion, the other person stated that verses six through twelve deals only with the Spirit and that no mention is made of water. Thus this person concludes that the water must be the physical birth. If you are to stop at verse twelve you might likely draw the same conclusion. However, I’m not going to stop at verse twelve. Look at verses 22 and 23 of the same chapter:

22After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

23And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

What was Jesus doing in Judea? Baptizing people! I will note here that Jesus Himself immersed no one, but He commanded His disciples to do so. Please also note that these were water baptisms, not Holy Spirit baptisms. Verse twenty-three makes this clear. Now look at verses 25 and 26:

25Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying.

26And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

Notice that there was a dispute over baptism. We can easily conclude that the Jews who rejected John were associating baptism with their rites of purification. This shows us that John’s baptism, and Jesus’ baptism were not connected to Jewish purification rites. While that may be where the idea of baptism originated, that is not what John was doing. Furthermore, note that these people knew that Jesus’ disciples were baptizing people and that many were coming to Him. We know from other passages that Jesus’ disciples baptized more than the great baptizer John!

What does all of this tell us? It tells us that water baptism was an integral part of Jesus’ earthly ministry. While the water is neither flesh nor Spirit, it is the act that culminates our Spiritual birth. With all of this in mind, compare Jesus’ command to be born “of water and of the Spirit” to what Peter preached in Acts 2:38:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter’s statement is in perfect harmony with Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus. Our goal should always be to find the harmony in scripture. Seeking the harmony of the scriptures can often be the key to understanding something that seems mysterious and cryptic like the command to be born “of water and of the Spirit”.

In James 1:27 it is written:

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

I would think that we all would like to practice “pure and undefiled religion”. James tells us specifically how we can go about this. I want to focus on the first two things – visiting orphans and widows in their distress – and to see just how important this is to God.

I will begin with a little historical background; when James wrote this the church was under heavy persecution. There were going to be many newly-made orphans and widows as men were put to death for their faith in Christ. In the United States today there are few cases of people being executed for being Christians, and certainly they aren’t killed by our government. However, there are still great deals of children without families and women who have lost their husbands. These are the loneliest, most helpless people that we’ll meet and therefore need our help all the more.

It is easy to see that God has always had a “soft spot” in His heart for these two groups. Exodus 22:22 says, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.” Deuteronomy 14, 16, 24 and 26 deal extensively with the Jews obligations to the orphans and widows. God made provisions that the helpless could find the help they need. In Psalm 94 we see that the wicked go about killing widows and orphans.

One of the most interesting passages that I can point to is found is Isaiah 1. In verses 11 through 15 God tells the Israelites that He cares nothing for their sacrifices or celebrations. He says that He won’t listen to their prayers. Why? Because they were following the letter of the law (which is good), but their hearts were far from him. What does God tell them to do to get right in his eyes? In verse 17 the Lord says:

Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.

Sound familiar? Isn’t this exactly what James is saying? If we’re to be right with God we need to take care of those who can’t help themselves, those who are the most vulnerable and lonely. This is the very first thing the Lord commanded of them.

Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 25:

34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Jesus said that when we help “the least of them” we’re helping Him. Who are the “least of them”? By looking at the passages we’ve already read we can be sure that orphans and widows are part of that group. Not the exclusive members, but certainly a part of it.

Widows

In 1 Timothy 5 Paul gives specific instructions on how to deal with widows. For them to be taken care of by the church they should be at least sixty and have no family to take care of them. The young widows are told that they should remarry, have children and take care of their homes. It is those older, lonely widows that the church is to care for. The translation I use says in James to visit the orphans and widows. Certainly one of the best things we can do is to spend time with older ladies who have no loved ones to encourage or help them. Our nursing homes are full of such women. I think it is great when congregations reach out to those in nursing homes. There is a wonderful Christian woman from my congregation who is basically stuck at home, very ill and near the end of her life. We try to take her food on a regular basis so she doesn’t have to try and cook. I think her dog gets most of the food as she has no appetite, but what she loves most are the visits – the breaks from the loneliness. Giving these women our time or financial help is the least we can do for those who God cares for so greatly.

Orphans

Our country is also full of children who have no families to turn to. Our foster care system is a mess, full of people who take in children for a paycheck. That is not the Christian attitude. So, what can Christians do? There are many things, but I would like to suggest a couple of specifics. First off, look at this verse:

Galatians 4:5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

As Christians, we are adopted by God. God has only one Son, Jesus, but He has made it possible to enter into His heavenly family and to be counted as sons and daughters alongside Jesus. Can we not do the same for the orphans who need us? Adopting my son Eli is one of the greatest joys of my life. God has blessed me through Eli, and I hope that He will bless Eli through me. I am unwaveringly pro-life and I hope that all Christians are as well. It is one thing to try and get abortion done away with, but what we really need to do is step up and take in those children who need homes. If you can’t afford adoption, perhaps you could be a foster parent. You could provide a stable, Godly home for a child that desperately needs it. Don’t be like the Israelites in Isaiah’s time, just giving God lip-service, go out and do something. Take action like Jesus told us to.

Perhaps you aren’t able to adopt or to be a foster parent – that is understandable, not everyone can do those things for a variety of reasons. What you can do is give some of your money to help. Let me suggest to you a couple of wonderful ministries that could use your support:

Potter Children’s Home & Family Ministries:

http://www.potterministries.org

They provide a home for orphans and single mothers. They not only meet their physical needs, but make sure their spiritual needs are met as well. It is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky where I live and I’ve seen first-hand the great work they do.

Childplace:

http://www.childplace.org

This is the adoption agency through which we got our son Eli. It is a great work and they do far more than adoption. Please look at the website to see all that they do.

As Christians we are called to be people of action. James also tells us that faith without works is dead. As we look at what God has said about orphans and widows it should strike us by how much He cares for them. If God cares so much for them, shouldn’t we? I hope that this will serve as an encouragement to all Christians to take action in some way and reach out to those who need it the most.

Ephesians 2, verse 8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”

Grace is an amazing concept. Sadly, it is also a concept that is often misused and abused. This article taken from a sermon that I recently preached where I tried to explain what grace is, what it isn’t, and how we receive it. Let’s look at the Biblical concept of grace together.

What Grace Is

The simple definition of grace that most of us know is “unmerited favor”. The origins come from a word meaning “sweetness” or “kindness”, so grace is a kindness that we do not deserve. To better understand that, let us look at Matthew 18: 23-27:

23“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24“When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^[c]ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25“But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26“So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27“And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

How much did that servant owe in today’s money? Many estimates put it at three billion dollars. The point was that it was an amount that the slave had no chance of repaying, no matter what he did. I believe that Jesus sought to shock His audience by the magnitude of the debt. The master in the parable, who we know to represent God, showed the slave grace. He had every right to demand payment, but he simply forgave it.

Romans 5: 6-9 reads:

6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

We were enemies of God, yet He saw fit to save us. What grace! Paul explains some might die for a good man. We might die for our friends and family. We might die for a cause or country in which we truly believe, but who will die for their enemy? Jesus did. Just like the slave in the parable, we (through our sins) owe a debt we can’t pay. But God showed us grace by sending His son to pay the price for us. Let us go back to Ephesians and read the first seven verses:

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

While we were dead in our sins, while we were disobedient, while we were living lives of the flesh, God sent His son that we might be reconciled to Him. That is true grace. Isn’t it amazing?

What Grace Isn’t

Grace is not unconditional. Look at Genesis 6:8 which says, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” Noah found favor, or grace in the eyes of the Lord, but how? Through his obedience. Noah did what the Lord had commanded, even though he probably didn’t fully understand why he was doing what he was doing. Too often when people quote Ephesians 2:8 they stop after they say “saved by grace”, but there is more. Paul said we are saved by grace “through faith”. Faith is always tied to obedience and we cannot separate them. If Noah had not followed the commandments of the Lord he would not have found favor in His eyes.

Grace is not earned. Ephesians 2: 9 says that grace is a gift of God, “not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” There is no work that will merit God’s grace. If there were, imagine the pride and arrogance of those who had done those works. All of the things God has commanded of us (hearing, believing, repenting, confession, being baptized for the remission of sins and leading a faithful life) are essential, but none of them will earn God’s grace. We can’t do works to earn God’s grace because Jesus has already done the work for us! Look at Hebrews 7:27:

who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

The debt is too big, the price too high, so God paid it for us. Nothing we do will merit His kindness.

Grace is not necessarily permanent. Let us look at Galatians 5:4:

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace

Relying on something other than Christ – be it the old law, the teachings of men, or our own thoughts and desires – can cause us to fall from grace. Look at Romans 6:1-2:

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Is grace going to cover us if we keep on willfully sinning? Many translations say “God forbid it!” We’re supposed to be dead to sin. If we continue to wallow in it, we shouldn’t expect grace to cover our evils. The strongest language showing us that grace is not permanent may be found in Hebrews 6:4-6:

4For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

If we have tasted of God’s grace and we renounce Him and go back into the world, we are worse off than before we ever became a Christian. The Hebrew writer tells us that we might as well pick up the hammer and nails again and nail Jesus to the cross again because we are crucifying Him all over again. Remember what eventually happened to the slave in the parable we first looked at? When he failed to show mercy to another slave the master rescinded his grace and turned the slave over to be punished without mercy.

Despite what some may say, the Bible teaches that grace is not unconditional, it is not something you can earn, and it isn’t necessarily permanent.

How Do We Get Grace?

There are some who say that if we do anything we’re trying to earn God’s grace. For whatever reason it is usually only the command to be baptized that they’re talking about (having no problem with belief, repentance and confession). Remember that Paul wrote that grace is not earned, so is it true that something like baptism is an attempt to earn our salvation? Here is the example that I used and I hope you can follow it. I walked up to a young man named Bradley and said:

Me: Bradley, I’d like to give you five dollars. Would you like five dollars?

Bradley: Sure.

Me: Do I owe you the five dollars? Have you done some work for me and I owe this to you?

Bradley: No.

Me: So, I am giving you $5 by my grace. It is freely given, even though you don’t deserve it. Here you go. (I held out the bill and Bradley reached for it).

Me: Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing? Are you trying to earn this money? I said I was giving it to you by grace! You can’t earn it!

You see, Bradley was only reaching out to accept what I was offering by grace. Would he reaching out and taking it somehow earn it? Of course not! The same can be said about our acts of obedience. Believing, repenting, confessing and being immersed unto the forgiveness of sins are not trying to earn God’s grace – they are simply the ways we reach out and accept it. How silly to think that any of those actions could merit something as incredible as the grace of God!

There are things that we are commanded to do. Things we must do. Yet none of those things will ever earn God’s grace. Our debt is simply too big for us to pay. Let us rejoice that Jesus has already paid that debt. Let us do the things He has commanded us to do and know that they are not attempts to earn a gift that we cannot earn.

The 14^th chapter of Romans deals with some of the freedoms that we have as Christians. To the “legalist” this is a disturbing chapter. To those who have little regard for the commandments of God and the clear examples of the New Testament, this chapter becomes their license to do whatever they please. As always, there is generally a middle ground to be found. Let us look at this interesting portion of scripture and try to understand it better.

To begin, what is specifically being addressed? Two things – the food that we eat and holding certain days in high regard. Let us begin with the matter of what is acceptable to eat.

Look at verses 2 and 3:

2One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.

It is worth noting that the one who believes that there are still foods that are unclean, or unacceptable is considered “weak”. They are weak because they haven’t fully grasped the concept that all foods are now clean and acceptable to God (verse 20). We can get even more information when we go to 1 Corinthians 8. In that chapter Paul deals with food that has been sacrificed to idols. Paul goes on to explain that since there is only one God and the idols are fake gods, there is nothing wrong with buying and eating the meat that was once sacrificed to those idols. These meats were commonly sold in the markets of cities where there was a great deal of idol worship. However, to the Christian who was coming out of paganism, they would have been shocked to see a fellow Christian eating the meat sacrificed to an idol they now know to be a false god. To see a brother doing so may have caused the weaker to stumble.

Paul’s point is not to violate our conscience. If a weak brother feels it is best to abstain from some foods then we who are stronger should let him do so. Furthermore, if that brother is troubled by our eating certain foods, it would be better to refrain from doing so in his presence. In 1 Corinthians 8:13 Paul says that he would rather never eat meat again than to do so and cause his brother to stumble. He is saying that this is a matter of personal judgment and we should respect the decisions of weaker brethren. Certainly we should make attempts to lead them to a deeper understanding, but we should be patient and cautious while we attempt to deliver a full understanding of God’s word.

The second issue Paul deals with is the issue of holding certain days as holy, or above other days. Look at verses 5 and 6:

5One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God…”

How hard would it have been for the Jewish converts to totally give up the concept of a holy Sabbath day? Brother Wayne Jackson of the Christian Courier (linked under “religion” here) gave a good example of this in an article that he wrote:

Mr. Jackson knew of a family that was converted from the Seventh Day Adventist religion to the Lord’s church. That family had a hard time getting over the notion that Saturday was special in some way. While they were now trying to be “steadfast in the Apostles doctrine”, they still chose to view Saturday as a special day of rest and devotion to the Lord. Some people wanted to dismiss them as being silly. Being stronger in the faith, they knew that Jesus removed the laws of the Sabbath. However, it was wrong for them to belittle the family who were babes in Christ. They were to be patient until the family developed a deeper knowledge.

I can’t help but relate this to some people’s attitudes toward Christmas today. Some people regard Christmas above other days. They chose to use that day to focus on one aspect of God’s goodness – the physical birth of His perfect Son. If they hold that day above others there is nothing wrong with that according to Paul. It would become sinful if they:

1. Insisted that December 25^th was literally the birthday of Christ. That is almost certainly not the actual day of Jesus’ birth and since the date is not given, to insist we can know the date would be wrong.

2. Tried to bind Christmas upon others. Stronger brethren know that observing Christmas as the birthday of Christ is never found in the Bible. They see it as simply another secular holiday. For the weaker brethren to try and force the stronger to observe Christmas as a special “holy day” would be wrong as well.

If the weaker brother chooses to view that day as special or holy, then we know that “he who observes the day observes it to the Lord” and that the “Lord is able to make him stand”.

The important things I think are worth noting here are these:

• These things have nothing to do with God’s plan of salvation. To say that salvation is a “non-essential” like the things listed in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 is nowhere found in scriptures. To say that people can teach different plans of salvation than what is found in the word of God is both erroneous and dangerous. That is not what Paul is addressing here.
• These things have nothing to do with the worship of the church. Just like salvation, how we worship God is very important. To say that these chapters give us freedom to alter the commands and examples of worship to Christ is also a dangerous conclusion. Again, that is not what Paul is addressing here.
• These items are matters of personal life and one’s conscience. By noting that those who observe dietary restrictions and special days are “weak”, those beliefs are not those of a mature Christian. As Hebrews 5-6 and other passages note, we are to move beyond the milk of the word to the strong meat thereof. Since we are to move on to maturity, there should come a point where the weak brother is able to leave behind their views on clean/unclean foods and holy days.

When we look at Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 we need to take them only for what they are addressing. There is no need to go beyond these things and try to make these two chapters into permission to change the commandments of God. Likewise, there is no need for stronger Christians to condemn those who God does not condemn. Together, we can strive for a better understanding of God’s word as we “go on unto perfection” (Hebrews 6:1).

When you hold conservative religious beliefs in the area of Christianity, as I do, you may find yourself labeled as a Pharisee. Since the Pharisees were often rebuked by Jesus, to call someone a Pharisee is no small matter. I want to briefly look at some things Jesus said about the Pharisees so we can come to a greater understanding of them and why the name Pharisee is now used to slander conservative believers.

To understand the Pharisees we ought to first understand their origins. I am not a scholar of religious history, nor have I ever claimed to be as much. Nor am I attempting to give every detail on the origin of the Pharisees. I only want to explain the most elementary principles of their beginnings. The Pharisees saw the world around them changing. They felt the Romans and others were polluting the Jewish religion. They saw their brethren giving up their original tongues for Greek. They saw other Jews accepting and assimilating to the new world order. They did not want to be like those who were accepting the changes. They wanted to be separate and to remain pure toward God, rather than to be like the world around them. In those ways they were to be applauded. God has always commanded that His people be different from the sinful world around them. Where they failed is when they went beyond the commandments God had already delivered for them.

In Matthew 23 Jesus said, “1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”

How often do we miss the first part of Jesus’ instructions? Jesus said to do all that they command. He recognized that the Pharisees in many ways were upholding the Law of Moses and that was a good thing. It is the second part of Jesus’ statement that gets so much attention, but we shouldn’t overlook any of His words. In some ways, to be like the Pharisees is commendable. They sought to follow God’s word and to teach it. In those ways, Jesus said to follow them.

The trouble the Pharisees ran into occurred not when they followed the Law, but when they went beyond it. In verses 5-12 we see that what they really loved were their religious titles and to be seen as righteous by men. In verses 23-28 Jesus alludes to some of the new commandments they had given - special rules of purification and the like never commanded by Moses. It wasn’t that they were trying to follow the law to the letter, it was that they thought they had the right to add to the law new commandments.

To be certain, in their attempts to follow the law they had forsaken the weightier matters thereof - justice, mercy and faithfulness (verse 23). But listen again to Jesus:

but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

We can, and should, attempt to follow God’s word to the best of our ability. There is nothing wrong with being conservative and trying to do only those things we are commanded. There is something wrong when we neglect the spirit of Jesus’ commandments - to be just, to show mercy and to be faithful. Jesus says that these things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, He insists that we do both.

I would submit that those who think they can go beyond the word of God and add innovations to worship and to the way we are to live are being like the Pharisees. I would submit that those who seek only to follow the letter of the law without justice, mercy and faithfulness are being like the Pharisees. We are to take the middle ground according to Jesus. Let us all strive to find that path and walk in it.

One of the things I admire most about my brethren in the churches of Christ is that for every action – be it in worship or manner of Christian life – someone has asked, “is this acceptable to God?” If everyone who claimed to be Christians would ask that question (and appeal to the scriptures for their answer), much of the divisions we see today would not exist.

When the question is posed, “is it acceptable for the Christian to dance”, there are differing points of view. In the camp of those who believe it to be wrong I see two types of people; those who by looking at scripture feel there is some precedent that leads them to believe it to be wrong, and the old “kill-joy” types. By that I mean that there are always some who seek to take any activity that people enjoy (reading fiction, playing cards, watching television) and seek out reasons to denounce that activity. Both types may come to the same conclusion on dancing, but out of very different motives.

My little sister-in-law asked me whether I think dancing is wrong. Since I know she looks up to me and respects my views on the Bible I took my answer very seriously. I want to explain why I gave her the answer I did. This is a subject that many conscientious Christians, especially young ones, want an answer to. I can’t give my opinion on a Biblical matter without first appealing to the Bible itself. I will begin with dancing in the Old Testament.

Many times in the Old Testament we read of dancing. The only time I see it as a command would be in Psalms 150, where David is telling the people ways to praise the Lord. Many of those times the dancing was done by the people when God had provided some form of victory for them. Some chapters where this takes place include 1 Samuel 21, 29 and 30, Jeremiah 31, and Judges 11. The people danced in joy because of the goodness of God to them. What was this dancing like? That is hard to say. I can be confident that is wasn’t the bump-and-grind form of dancing that is so popular today.

In 2 Samuel 6:14 we see David “dancing before the Lord with all of his might”. The Ark of the Covenant had been returned from the household of Obed-edom, and having the presence of the Ark filled David with great joy. I note that David danced “before the Lord”. This was not a dance with another person, but he alone moved his body before the Lord to show his joy. The fact that it was done “before the Lord” shows me that he was directing this dance to the Lord, that God might see his appreciation and happiness. Again, this is very different from the types of dance that are prevalent today.

When Solomon wrote there is a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4) I would have to conclude that the type of dancing he referred to are the types we’ve already looked at – natural outpourings of joy and thanks to the Lord.

Speaking of things that are natural, I need to interject here that dancing is just that – natural. The smallest child when hearing music will move their bodies to the beat. My son Eli loves to dance and he is only 18 months old. Every commercial with a catchy beat will send him wiggling and swaying to the music. This is not to say that simply because something is natural that it is good, but to show where dancing comes from. The desire to dance seems to me inherent.

Looking at the examples of dancing in the Old Testament is profitable, but isn’t our authority. The New Testament, the law of Christ, is our authority. Unlike the Old Testament there are few mentions of dancing in the New Testament.

The best positive example of dancing in the New Testament I can find is in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25). This is where the older son hears music and dancing as he approached the house where his wayward brother had returned. While I don’t think we can read too much into this, Jesus was acknowledging that dancing was a form of celebration. This doesn’t mean He sanctioned it, but simply that He recognized it to be a form of celebration.

The biggest mention of dancing in the New Testament is overwhelmingly negative. It is found in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. It is where the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod on his birthday causing him to get so excited he made a vow that cost John the Baptist his life. Obviously this was a different type of dancing. It appears to have been done in a sensual way, to arouse the men who viewed it. Clearly it was successful in doing so.

I think that many of the types of dancing that are common today are more closely related to the dance of Herodias’ daughter than David’s dance before the Lord. However, I think it is wrong to lump every type of dancing into the same category as her sensual performance. I have seen many a bluegrass band perform and many of the people there dance. They shuffle their feet, slap their legs and clap their hands. They don’t touch anyone else, they don’t move in ways to arouse others. There is clogging, line dancing, ballet, and simply dancing by ourselves – none of those things are done in lascivious ways, little if any physical contact is made, and I don’t think they can be thrown in with the various forms of “dirty dancing”.

My answer to my sister-in-law was to compare dancing to speech. Look at James 3:1-12. James tells us how destructive our speech can be, and we all know this to be true. Since our speech can be destructive should we never speak? Should we remain silent at all times so that we never have opportunity to speak evil? Of course not. There are evil forms of speech, just as there are evil forms of dancing. To say that one should never speak or never dance because some forms of both are wicked is to go to an extreme that I am not willing to go to.

When the Christian views dancing they should look to 1 Thessalonians 5: 21-22:

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.

We need to recognize that some forms of dancing are evil and we are to abstain from them. We need to realize that pressing up against someone and swaying or grinding may provoke lust and that would be wrong. Just because we don’t lust doesn’t mean we couldn’t cause our dance partner to lust and stumble. We should also realize that many, if not most, places where people dance are not places the Christian should be – bars and even some high school dances that aren’t properly chaperoned come to mind. However, if I were to dance with my wife in our home what could be wrong with that? If you dance alone for fun or exercise, where is the sin? If you tap your toes and shuffle to a good song, what wickedness results? I can see none.

In the end, this truly is a matter of personal interpretation, unlike so many other religious issues. Shall we, as Christians, dance? If we are careful in the manner in which it is done, then I can see nothing wrong with it.

Religious division isn’t a topic I ever thought much about until the first time I stepped foot into a church of Christ. I basically thought that it didn’t really matter whether you were a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Methodist or any other group that called itself “Christian”. In fact, people from all of those religious bodies attended the Baptist youth group that I was a part of without any mentioning of our differing practices.

To be told that the world of denominations was counter to Biblical teaching was a shock. I was so used to “I’m-okay-you’re-okay” theology that I didn’t know quite how to react. After being told that what I was raised to believe was incorrect I did what most people will do in the same situation – I put up my defenses. I began to seek out writers and teachers that would defend the positions I already held. I had little interest at first in simply trying to go to the Bible; I just wanted to find someone who would tell me that I was fine and that there wasn’t anything wrong with what I held to be true. I think of the Jews of Jesus’ day that rejected Him because He wasn’t who they thought the Messiah would be. In essence they said, “you’re not who we expected, so what you teach can’t be true”. What a terrible attitude both they and I had.

Now I spend a great deal of time pondering over religious division between those who call themselves Christians. It is a subject that truly pains me. It has literally brought me to tears when I see a person I care about who is more concerned with following what their family has always believed rather than what God has said. It is a subject that I simply can’t let go of. In writing this I hope to release some of my pent up emotions and to point out how crazy my previously held beliefs really are.

Differences in Worship

Many will initially claim that our only differences are in the way we worship, not what we believe. That is not true, as I will get into, but first let me deal with worship.

If all that really matters is our belief in Jesus, and the way we worship is left completely up to us, then the Apostle Paul was a fool. He wrote many times about worship and about who was to lead the individual congregations of God’s people. Why bother if these things aren’t important? Why waste so much time when all he needed to write about was Jesus? I think the answer is this – it was important, and it still is important how we worship and how the church is to be organized.

Paul writes to Timothy and Titus to tell them the qualifications of elders and deacons. He calls those congregations that do not have elders lacking. Never is one man (or woman) to head the church. Why do we need to replace this system of church leadership that Paul described with single “pastors”? Why do we need popes, conventions, boards and headquarters? Was the Holy Spirit, through Paul, not smart enough to come up with the best system of leadership for the church on Earth? How arrogant to think that we can come up with better ways than the Holy Spirit of God!

People who call themselves Christians cannot agree to respect the silence of scriptures when they choose to add instruments to the singing of the church. Since there is no direct command one way or the other regarding them I can in some ways understand the confusion. However, look at Paul’s direct command for women to not hold positions of authority over men. Many, if not most, denominations choose to violate a clear command. How can we ever agree on principles like respecting the silence of scripture when people won’t even agree that we are to follow direct commands?

The desire is not to respect and follow the direct commandments, but to explain them away when they don’t agree with what we want or what we already believe to be true.

Must I extend my fellowship to those that would directly violate the commandments of God? How can one who seeks to follow the word alone worship with one who has little regard for it? Are we to keep silent and let anyone worship in any way they see fit, even if it is erroneous?

Differences in Manner of Life

Again, there seem to be many who say that we’re free to worship how we want, but living the Christian life is what really matters. After all, much more of the New Testament is dedicated to principles of Christian living than specifics for worship. That is true, but there isn’t even much agreement for the principles of living either.

Look at the United Church of Christ and similar denominations acceptance of homosexual living. Again, it is directly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments, but people can’t agree that it is wrong. Why? Because people want to live that way. Because we have loved ones who live that way and we don’t want to entertain the notion that what they’re doing is un-scriptural. Again, the most far-reaching reasons are given to explain why God has no problem with homosexuality without regard for Biblical teachings.

Look at Jesus’ specific instructions on divorce and remarriage; the only time a person can get a divorce and later remarry is if their spouse committed sexual acts with another. Our society is full of divorced people and if we don’t want to scare them off, if we want to have big numbers (and thereby a big collection each week), we ignore the fact that many people are living in adultery by remarrying after getting unscriptural divorces. This is just another direct command that is ignored or explained away.

There are so many other examples; “Christians” who believe that it is alright to get drunk every now and then, who have no problem with unmarried people living together, etc. Direct or indirect commands make no difference to many because they’ve never asked, “is God alright with what I believe?”

Conclusion

In the end, what do the various groups that call themselves Christians agree upon? Very little. I would say we agree upon the deity of Christ, but some even twist that. Is that all there is to the gospel? Is that all we must have in common? If so, the Holy Spirit through the inspired Apostles wasted a lot of time, words and energy. Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments”. What commandments? If the Bible is just a bunch of suggestions, where are the commandments? Jesus prayed that His followers might be one, just as He and the Father are one. Did Jesus and the Father practice “unity in diversity”, or were they truly one?

Will we ever get anything perfect? I doubt it, as humans are imperfect. The problem lies in when we give up trying. Many people who worked for me used the saying “no one is perfect” as an excuse for every mistake. I often replied, “no one is perfect, but some people never try!” The example holds true in religious matters – we may not get everything right, but that is no reason to just accept who we are and what we believe without ever trying to do better.

If there is no truth in matters of worship and living then God is a liar. Why would Jesus pray for a unity that is unattainable? The truth is that God is not a liar, and unity is possible when we are willing to cast off our own beliefs and simply let the Bible say what it says and do all we can to follow it.

There are many common sayings that are quite stupid. I think the one I hate the most is, “no offense, but…”

If you ever hear someone start a sentence with the words “no offense, but…”, the chances of you getting offended just went through the roof.  What that person really means is that they don’t want to offend you, but they know they’re about to.  They’re about to tell you that you look like you’ve gained weight, you’re mother is stupid or your favorite band stinks.  No one ever says, “no offense, but you’re probably the most awesome person I’ve ever known”.

With all of that in mind, I propose that we change the saying from “no offense, but…” to “brace yourself, I’m about to offend you”.  Sure, you’re still getting news you don’t want, but the person is at least being honest with you now.

A couple years ago I began having terrible muscle cramps in my left leg. Originally we thought this was due to a pinched nerve. It was when the cramps began to hit me in the left arm as well that I thought something serious might be wrong. After a hospital stay and lots of tests, a doctor at Vanderbilt diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis. The diagnosis was scary, but not as scary as the alternative – a deadly brain tumor.

I probably shouldn’t have, but I wondered aloud to my mother if this wasn’t a punishment from God. Certainly I deserved it. The life I lived before I became a Christian was a terrible, selfish life. Not that I am perfect now, but I think I’ve tried my best to work on my problems. My mother’s response is one I’ve heard others give in various situations – “God wouldn’t do that to you”. That sounds nice, but is it true?

Let us look at King David and his sin with Bathsheba. David committed adultery with her (conceiving a child in the process) and to make matters worse, he set up her husband to be killed. In 2 Samuel, chapter 12, the prophet Nathan calls David out for his sin. David is truly repentant, and God spares his life and even lets him keep his throne. Despite that, there was a price to be paid.

One consequence was that trouble followed David all his days (verse 10). The second, crushing consequence was that the son conceived in adultery died on the seventh day (verse 18). David mourned for the child even before it died so much so that his servants were afraid to tell him of the child’s passing for fear that he might commit suicide or hurt himself in some way (verse 18).

Many people, if told by David that the child’s death was punishment for his sins would have said what my mother said – God wouldn’t do that. The Bible is clear that God did do that. To say that God won’t punish us here on Earth for our sins is not Biblical. In fact, the converse is true. I am content with this – it is better to pay for our sins here on Earth than eternally in Hell.

Perhaps having multiple sclerosis is not actually a punishment, but a test / trial. Let us look at James chapter 1. Verses 2 and 3 read, “ 2Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance”. Many versions translate “endurance” as “patience”. I have never had the patience that I should have. Even today I struggle to display the Godly patience that I should have.

One of the biggest effects that MS has had on me is that it has physically slowed me down. I literally cannot run anymore. I used to walk very quickly, always in a hurry. Despite being so short, tall people had a hard time keeping up with me when I walked. Sometimes I think that God may have been showing me that I need to slow down. I need to take time with those I love, I need to show patience with everyone – be it other drivers on the road or my children.

Certainly having MS has tested my faith. I can’t understand why I have to have such a scary and unpredictable disease. I hope that in dealing with it I will develop the patience James speaks of, and that the testing of my faith will only make it stronger.

There is one other possibility that I feel is important to mention when wondering why I have this disease. In Luke 13, beginning in verse 11, we see a woman that was “bent double” that Jesus healed. The disease was caused by a “spirit”, but is still identified as a disease. What was it? Spina bifida perhaps? I don’t know what it was, but I can only imagine the agony of being bent double all of the time.

When Jesus healed her He said, “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (verse 16).

Her disease was not a punishment from God, nor a testing of her faith by God. Her disease was caused by Satan. Why is it that God gets blamed for so many terrible things but no one ever calls out Satan as the cause? Is it perhaps because so few people really believe in Satan or his power? I can’t say for others, but for me, I must acknowledge that my disease may have been inflicted by Satan. Perhaps he is trying to draw me away from God. Perhaps he is playing the role of Job’s wife, urging me to “curse God and die”.

I can’t say why I have multiple sclerosis. Perhaps it is a deserved punishment for the wicked life I once lived. Perhaps God is testing my faith (note: not tempting me, as James says that God tempts no man). Perhaps Satan has afflicted me to try and cause me to turn from God. Perhaps it is none of the above. I simply can’t know. What I can know is that there is something beyond this world of sickness and sorrow. I can know that if I am obedient and faithful there is a home for me where sickness cannot touch me. I long to see that place and pray by the grace of God I will one day be there with Him.

Note:  this article was written primarily for those that already believe that using instruments in praise to God is an unauthorized addition and believe that they should not be used.

Many Christians who respect the silence of the scriptures in regards to instrumental music in worship often wonder if instrumental “Christian” music is permitted outside of the worship services.  Much like the issue of instrumental music in worship, there is no “thus saith the Lord” for us to turn to for a definitive answer.  This issue is a modern issue that the scriptures could not address.  The early Christians didn’t drive vehicles with CD players in them or carry their iPods around with their music collections on them.  Despite the fact that there is no direct passage for us to turn to, we must still search the scriptures to try and find our answer.

Defining “Worship”

Those who believe there is nothing wrong with instrumental “Christian” music outside of worship say that since it is being done outside of “official” worship services, there is nothing wrong with it.  While there may be some truth in that position, we should first attempt to understand what God wants inside our worship services.  There are five elements that we find in Biblical worship that is to occur on the first day of the week:

·        The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11: 20-22)

·        Prayer (Acts 2: 42)

·        Preaching / Teaching (Acts 2: 42, 20: 7)

·        Giving (1 Corinthians 16: 1-2)

·        Singing (Ephesians 5: 19, Colossians 3: 16)

We can agree that these are the only five acts of worship found within the New Testament.  Hopefully we can also agree that excluding any of these acts, or changing them, would be unacceptable to God.  It would be wrong to change the elements of the Lord’s Supper, to not have any prayers, or to add instruments to our singing.  However, the question is not how to behave within the assembly, but how to view these objects of worship outside the assembly of the saints.

Altering the Elements of Worship Outside the Assembly

The Lord’s Supper.  We know that we are to partake of the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week.  Because we are told to partake of it on the first day of the week, that excludes the other days of the week.  A Wednesday night observance of the Lord’s Supper would be unacceptable.  Also, replacing the elements of the Lord’s Supper would also be unacceptable.  We couldn’t exchange milk and cookies for unleavened bread and fruit of the vine and continue to follow the Biblical pattern.  However, no one would insist that we refrain from eating unleavened bread and grape juice as a snack outside of worship services.  Certainly the early disciples continued to eat bread (and likely drink the fruit of the vine) on a daily basis (Acts 2: 42).  As long as we don’t attach a spiritual significance to the bread and grape juice, they would be acceptable to eat together at any time.

Prayer.  Prayer is unlike the Lord’s Supper in that it is perfectly acceptable to do at any time.  In 1 Thessalonians 5: 17, the apostle Paul encourages us to “pray without ceasing”.  This is clearly an exaggeration as it is impossible to never stop praying, but the point is clear.  We are to spend as much time as possible speaking to the Lord.  We know that our worship on the first day of the week must include prayer to be acceptable, but we should also engage in prayer at every opportunity in or out of worship services.  The question we have to ask is whether or not we may alter prayer when it is done outside of “official” worship.  May we pray through Mary or one of the apostles when we are not in worship services?  Could we pray to someone or something else outside of worship services?  In John 14: 13-14, Jesus assures us that we must pray to the Father in His name (by His authority).  Praying to, or through, someone else would be wrong.  While our prayers may be more personal and specific outside of worship, the manner in which it is done cannot be changed.

Preaching / Teaching.  Preaching and teaching is another aspect of our worship that extends into our personal lives.  The obligation to teach falls to each of us, man or woman, young or old.  However, inside the worship services there are guidelines to be followed in our teaching.  Specifically, who is to do the teaching is limited.  In 1 Timothy 2: 12, Paul writes, “but I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”  Because of this command, women are excluded from preaching or teaching in an assembly that contains men. 

Does that prohibition on women teachers extend outside of the assembly?  In Acts, chapter 18, we read of Apollos who was preaching boldly about Jesus.  However, all of his teachings were not correct. In verse 26, we read that Aquila and his wife Priscilla took Apollos aside to better teach him.  Priscilla did not “call out” Apollos in a public setting, but she was permitted to teach him in a private setting.  Through the example of Priscilla, we can see that women are permitted to teach men, but they are not to have a position of authority over them, especially when the church comes together to worship.

While we may alter who is to do the teaching outside of worship services, may we alter the message?  Could we teach a different gospel?  Galatians 1: 6-9 assures us that there is only one gospel.  No matter who is doing the teaching, if we teach outside of what is found in the Bible we are “accursed”!

Giving.  While it is sometimes not given much attention, giving of our money is an act of worship.  The strict regulations of the Mosaic law have been removed, leaving us to give as we have prospered.  2 Corinthians 9: 7 tells us that God loves a cheerful giver who doesn’t give grudgingly.  We are given a great deal of freedom to give as we see fit.  We also have freedom to give outside of our worship services.  We can give to the needy or to charities that we choose to support.  While there is nothing wrong with giving outside of giving to the church on the first day of the week, it would be improper to substitute our giving to individuals or secular charities for our giving to the church.

Singing.  Singing is another act of worship that we are permitted to do outside of worship.  James wrote, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises” (5:13).  It should be noted that when we have joy in our lives we should sing “praises”, which indicates that our songs are to be directed toward God.  Much like prayer, we can address God in song outside our worship services.

Since we are permitted to sing praises in settings other than worship, can we add to that singing?  Can we sing and play instruments, or listen to those that do?  We must remember that these songs are still “praises” that address our Lord.  If we can conclude that Paul’s admonition to “speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” excludes instruments, why would James’ instructions be viewed any differently?

A Couple of Counter-arguments Considered

“Isn’t listening to Christian music, even if it uses instruments, better than the other stuff on the radio?” someone may ask.  Is the message of “contemporary Christian” music better than the message of honky-tonk country songs and sexually explicit rap songs?  Of course it is.  The problem with this question is that assumes that we must listen to some form of music and the question is simply which type.  We take advantage of many types of entertainment; music, television and movies.  However, we don’t have to listen to the radio, watch television, or go to the movies.  We don’t have to choose the lesser evil.  1 Thessalonians 5: 21-22 says “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

Another argument that may be offered is, “I know the difference between worship and my personal life.  I would never use instrumental music in worship.” 

How would we explain the difference to a non-Christian, or a new Christian who does not fully understand the difference between worship and our personal lives?  What impression would it leave upon a non-Christian friend who heard “Christian” radio playing in our car, only to attend worship services with us later and have us try to explain why instrumental music would be inappropriate?  Wouldn’t we be guilty of sending mixed signals?

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, we can see that it is often acceptable to somewhat alter the elements of worship in our personal lives.  However, it is usually unacceptable to alter the essence of those elements.  Adding instruments to songs of praise, in or out of worship, may amount to spiritual gambling.  Are we willing to take the chance that God will find our additions to spiritual songs acceptable?  Are we willing to possibly confuse those we are trying to convert?  When a Christian considers whether or not they should listen to spiritual songs with instrumental accompaniment, the benefits may be too small and the risk too great.  In the end, it is a personal decision that we must each make.