Following on from yesterday...

Remember that verse I posted yesterday about not being ashamed of Jesus' words?

Well, I'm now going to say that I think most Christians today are confused about what Jesus actually said, confused as to what the Bible actually states.  In fact, I don't think: I know.  There are many views on every little thing in the Bible, and two churches in the same city will preach totally different things.  On one side of the road we will have the pentecostal charismatic church, and on the other side of the road we will have the methodist church.  Down the road there will be the Catholic church, and the other side of the city will be the Church of England church.  All teaching different things, and living in different ways. And when you add to this the fact that in these churches different people will believe different things, you have even more confusion.


Okay, I don't have all the answers to all these people's differences, but I do have the Bible, which is the inerrant word of God.  And from the Bible, I can draw conclusions about a lot of things.  From the Bible, I can decide that the Roman Catholics believe a false gospel, and most churches which speak in tongues should not be doing so, and all sorts of other wonderful things.  I can even decide that it is pleasing to God if a Christian behaves in certain ways, and therefore displeasing to God if a Christian does the opposite.

However, once I have decided these things from the information that I have on hand, from Bible verses and the accepted interpretation of them in my home, I am then somehow being evil, judgemental, and legalistic.  I am focusing on works, and not on grace.  I am somehow adding to God's word, and all because I don't happen to want to subtract from it and downplay issues which will annoy people.

I'm now going to use an example.  Suppose I frequented a place where christian women wore tops so low that every time they bent over in front of me I could see a large proportion of their chest.  Suppose some of these tops were cut so that I could see the woman's chest even when they weren't bending over.  And I'll note that by ''chest" I actually mean that area of a woman's chest which should be seen by no other person than her husband.  Yes, that does mean that if she has no husband, then she should keep it totally private.

Now, suppose I went to my Bible and saw that Jesus said that if a man lusts after a woman, he has broken the commandment not to commit adultery.  Suppose I also read Song of Songs, and noticed that from what it said there, seeing a woman's breasts could conceivably cause men to lust.  Suppose that I then read that a woman should dress modestly in one of Paul's letters.  And, to top it all, suppose that I read that no one should cause another Christian to stumble.

It would be not inconceivable for me to connect all the dots, and decide that it was sinful for a woman to wear a low cut top.  Now suppose that I suggested this to someone who wore a low cut top, suppose I mentioned my opinion that women should not wear low cut tops.

There are no prizes for guessing that I might be told to mind my own business, and accused of turning salvation into something which could be gained by man's works.  "You pharisee, how dare you!" might conceivably be the response.  Someone would smile sweetly, and explain that grace was all that mattered, forgetting that Jesus' words to a woman he forgave were no others than "go and sin no more."  They'd say that because they'd been saved by grace, they could do what they liked.

And, you know, I think that many Christians who know what they believe and why are put off stating it for fear that they will be labeled legalistic by those around them.  After all, it's so much easier just to say, "Oh, to say women shouldn't wear low cut tops is legalistic.  I shall wear what I like, as Salvation is all of grace" than to go and examine the Scriptures to see if it really is true that low cut tops should not really be worn by Christians.  It's hugely off putting if you know that to stand up and say that something is wrong or right will mean that other Christians will turn their backs without even properly considering what you're saying.

So, my options seem to be either to be confused as to what I actually believe—no thanks!—or to be called legalistic—and again, I don't actually want that.  But I can tell you this, and that is that if two people have two directly opposed opinions on what the Word of God says on a particular topic, only one of these people can be right.  God's Word never contradicts itself.

However, I think we—as Christians—need to know what we believe and state it, rather than drift around confused as to what we believe and afraid to state it lest someone cries 'legalism' on us.  Speak the truth in love, yes, but don't refrain from speaking the truth; I think there are many Christians who simply won't consider certain issues until these issues are pointed out to them in words of one syllable (I am most probably one of them)...not because they deliberately want to ignore the issue, but because they genuinely have never considered the issue in the light of God's Word.

Finally, I also think I need to read my Bible a bit more so that instead of saying "I think, I think, I think" I can say "God's Word says, God's Word says, God's Word says".  Oh, and I should also state that I really don't know how exactly one speaks the truth in love, and therefore can only say 'forgive me' if I speak the truth harshly.  Maybe I should find out how one speaks the truth in love, but I'm sure speaking the truth in love doesn't mean downplaying the truth.  However, if you don't downplay the truth people don't normally consider it's been spoken in love, and so...


Share the gospel with unbelievers and believers, yes, but go further with the believers and state the impact the rest of God's Word should conceivably have on their life.