Christian Unity

I am in the midst of reading Kingdom Come by John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine. I intend to write a review of the book here once I am finished. But in my reading I came across the following quote, which is so good that I feel compelled to post it:

In some respects the bondage of law appeals to the flesh more than the freedom of the gospel… The slave’s life is easy in some respects. He is told what to do, and when he has done that, he is through. His master sees to all the problems of life for him. All he has to do is to follow orders. There are not a few Christians who would thank you to tell them exactly how much Bible reading they are expected to do every day, how many times a day they are to pray, exactly how much of their money they are to give, how much of Christian work they are to do, and exactly what work; also what they must not do — in short to have a rule and code of precepts which they are to perform, by which to keep out of hell and go to heaven. But the free Christian must ever seek the mind of his Lord: he must judge what is well-pleasing to Him, must study and think what love would do; and he cannot be content with the mere right and wrong: he must exceed those bounds; in short, he must follow Jesus. — Robert H. Boll, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (1951) page 29.

I’m sure we have all come across people who want to be told what to do. The ICOC bred an entire generation of people who thrive on that approach. It is reassuring, in a way, to know that this malady was not invented in my lifetime! And the remedy has been around for about 2000 years.

The following is a condensed version of a class I taught recently on the book of Hebrews. I suspect that this topic touches on a need that all churches share in common, regardless of their different views on other matters.

The book of Hebrews carries a message that is highly relevant to the church today, and in particular to this congregation. The message of this book is an admonition to persevere to the end. That is a very appropriate message for a shepherd to bring to a church, since a primary responsibility of a shepherd is to help the church persevere to the end.

The writer of Hebrews is not identified. Some believe it to be Paul based on the style as well as on the possible reference to the book of Hebrews found in 2 Peter 3:15. It was written to encourage Jewish Christians who were apparently considering returning to Judaism. Internal evidence indicates that the book was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, when the daily sacrifice came to an end (Heb 10:11). It is thought by many that the letter was written in the mid 60’s.

Hebrews contains a message from God to people who are not continuing to thrive in the Lord as they should. We would do well to pay attention to it!

The writer argues that Jesus is greater than angels; that he is greater than Moses; that his priesthood is greater than that of Aaron and the Levites, and that the covenant of Christ is greater than the law of Moses. We will not go into any of these topics in depth in this class. Instead we will focus our attention on the admonitions to persevere in Christ,

Hebrews 3:5-6 introduces the theme of holding fast to the hope we have received. In the following verses he points out that the Israelites did not hold fast to the hope of entering the promised land as they left Egypt, and thus were denied entry to the promised land. He goes on to say:

Heb 3:11-14 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

We are warned not to be like those Israelites, so that we will not also be prohibited from entering God’s rest. We are to “see to it” that none of us has the kind of heart that can lead one to fall away from the living God. We are commanded to encourage one another daily. Without that encouragement, our hearts can become hardened by sin, and therefore may lose our share of Christ by turning away.

In chapter 4 he continues:

Heb 4:11-13 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

We will be held accountable in judgment based on the Word of God. That Word will make everything visible and will penetrate to the very motives of our hearts. There will be no hiding from it. The obvious message is that we must examine ourselves now so that we can be ready for that day.

In chapter 5, as he begins to address the subject of Jesus’ priesthood (order of Melchizedek), he pauses to admonish them about their lack of understanding.

Heb 5:11-6:8 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

Are we progressing in our understanding of God’s word? Have we even read all of it? If not, what are we doing about that? He urges them to master the elementary teachings and to move on to maturity. The alternative is to risk falling away and reaching a state where repentance is impossible. Learning God’s Word is not optional, but essential to survival as a Christian! If we continually receive the nourishment God provides but remain immature and therefore do not produce the results God seeks, we are in danger of being cursed, like the worthless land that is eventually burned.

Heb 6:9-12 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

The writer proceeds with a word of encouragement. They were not yet fallen beyond recovery. But they needed to be diligent and not lazy, to continue to serve and love to the very end.

After going into more detail about the superiority of Jesus’ covenant to the old covenant (chapters 7-10), the writer says:

Hebrews 10:19-25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Here we are called to draw near to God, forgiven and full of hope. Are you near to God? Do you speak with God constantly in your thoughts throughout the day? Are you constatnly trying to do things for God, both small and great, for the simple purpose of pleasing Him? Do you feel close to God? Would God agree?

Again we are instructed to encourage one another. There is a purpose in the church assembly. Each of us has a mission given to us by God, to encourage our brothers and sisters. Do you come to church with a mindset that you are on a mission from God? Do you live as someone “on a mission” to care for your brothers and sisters outside of the church services? Remember we are to “see to it” that nobody is being hardened by sin. We are responsible for one another. If we reject that mission and live our lives for our own selfish purposes, we are in dire danger, as the next verses state:

Hebrews 10:26-31 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Jesus said we are either with him or against him. We are either gathering or scattering. If we are not active in building up the church, we are in danger of falling into verses 26-31. This is not a game! We all know of people who are not coming to services on midweek, or even not regularly on Sunday. We need to encourage them, to share what we have learned, and to see to it that they are not being hardened by sin. That is a mission from God, for which each of us will be held accountable by God.

Chapter 11 illustrates how our faith must be put into action to have any value. In each of the examples of faithful men and women in that chapter, we see their faith put into action. How active has our faith been recently?

Heb 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Again, he points out that we need to persevere to the end, and to fulfill the mission we have been given. Consider Jesus, who did not shrink away from the most difficult test but endured to the end. We have not (yet!) been called upon to shed our blood as Jesus did. However, some of the original readers of this letter might very well have had to shed their blood. Are we as devoted as they were?

We must throw off everything that hinders. What hinders you from being everything God called you to be? We have only one mission. We may have to “make tents” for a living, but serving Jesus must be our life. If church is just something you do a couple of days a week, can you really call Jesus your Lord?

Heb 12:32-30 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.But my righteous one[f] will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Think back to the time when you were closest to God, when your Christian faith was strongest and your life in Christ was vibrant. What was different then? What were you doing then that you are not doing now? As the writer says, we need to persevere to the end so that “when you have done the will of God” (there is more of that to do!) then you can receive what has been promised. Talk to your spouse or a good friend, and find out how to get back to being a strong and healthy Christian.

Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

Under the new covenant, we need to be all the more careful to obey!

Heb 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

If this was written in the mid 60’s, it is quite possible that Peter and Paul had recently been martyred when this book was written. If not, then it was about to happen. In any case, they were being called to imitate the faith of men who would literally give up their lives for the gospel. And we are called to imitate that same faith.

Heb 10:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Leaders will be held accountable for caring for the flock. But all Christians will be held to account for what God called each of us to do (Remember Heb 4:13). We have looked at our common responsibility to encourage one another and to help get or brothers and sisters to the finish line. Let’s take that accountability seriously, and “see to it” that none of us turns back from following the Lord!

Birds of a feather flock together. It is as natural as gravity, and apparently just as inevitable. People tend to gather in groups with similar beliefs and opinions on a wide range of subjects. It happens on the small scale (sharing a table in a cafeteria) and the large scale (red states and blue states). It happens in our choices of television and radio news. It happens online, as we visit sites and read blogs that align with our own thinking. And it happens in churches, as we seek a congregation that “meets our needs” or where we “feel comfortable”.

Sometimes it happens by conscious choice. In other cases, shared experiences and common needs can influence each person toward the same views.

As a result, each group’s point of view is regularly reinforced and seldom challenged with any depth. This has the effect of caclifying each group’s view and polarizing the issues. Thus it is a significant hurdle to unity.

Sociologists call this phenomenon homophily. An interesting article on this topic appeared in the Washington Post a couple of weeks ago. Quoting from the article:

Homophily may help explain some of the bitter partisanship of our times — when your friends are drawn exclusively from one half of the electorate, it is not surprising that you will find the views of the other half inexplicable.
…
We participate in settings where we don’t have to explain ourselves because everyone else agrees with us. What this means is, ‘I have no reason to challenge or question my own beliefs.’

We tend to believe that our view is the reasonable one, and that our opponents are just not being reasonable. Perhaps that is not always an accurate assessment.

In the history of the Restoration Movement churches, there are many places where this phenomenon can be observed. Its effect has always been to divide and to preserve division. By becoming aware of the tendency, perhaps we can avoid perpetuating the divisive effect. Maybe we can even undo some of the damage.

One aspect of the instrumental music debate that is not often discussed has to do with what a conscientious objector should do in an instrumental congregation. Most people I have heard speak from the a cappella side have apparently assumed that such people are bound by their convictions and consciences to leave that church. I would like to explore that question just a bit.

A person’s conscience, when properly trained about right and wrong, makes him aware of guilt when he violates that standard of right and wrong. Even an unbeliever has a conscience that functions like this (Rom 2:14-16). And even when our consciences are inaccurately trained, we are still under an obligation not to violate them. Likewise we are obligated not to tempt a brother to violate his conscience, even if he is misguided (1 Cor 8:9-13). However, it is not sufficient merely to avoid violating our consciences. We must also obey God (1 Cor 4:4)

However, I do not become guilty because of another person’s actions. There is nothing that another person can do to make me guilty of sin. My guilt or innocence hangs entirely on things I personally do. So a third party cannot do anything that puts me in violation of my conscience. In these cases, my conscience is violated only if I respond in a way that violates my understanding of right and wrong.

Let’s apply this to the instrumental music question. Suppose Brother X is convinced at this point in time that instrumental music in worship is sin. Therefore he cannot conscientiously play a musical instrument in a worship service. If he observes another brother playing an instrument in worship, does this make Brother X guilty of sin? I do not think so. As long as Brother X sings, based on his understanding of various passages, he is being obedient with respect to that teaching.

It might be appropriate for Brother X to approach the player of the instrument and attempt to persuade him to cease. Or it might be appropriate for him to bring his objection to the attention of the church leaders. But what should he do if they do not agree?

I believe he should keep his conviction between himself and God (Rom 14:21-23). He should continue to sing according to his conviction, and to abstain from playing an instrument in worship. If he does these things he is not guilty in any way with respect to his conviction about instrumental music. He may be saddened by what he perceives to be disobedience by his brothers. But God tells us to bear with the failings of the weak (Rom 15:1). We should not part ways because of things like this.

Even J. W. McGarvey, a strong opponent of instrumental music, wrote that this would be a viable option under some circumstances when he replied to a letter with the following advice (What Shall We Do About the Organ, page 9):

But as you are not a preacher and as those who stand with you are not able to organize a self-edifying church, I advise that you remain where you are, participate faithfully in all parts of the worship that are not perverted, and persevere, without growing weary, in earnest and prayerful efforts to secure the removal of the instrument. I advise this because it is the only course left open by which you can still observe such of the ordinances as are still observed according to the Scriptures. The alternative would be either to stay away from church altogether—which is a sinful course of life while there is a real church, even a partially corrupted one, within your reach—or to attend some church in which both the teaching and the worship are still farther removed from the divine order. Of course I am supposing that there is no congregation of the primitive order within reach of you to which you could transfer your membership. If there is, the path of duty is obvious.

I commented at greater length about the above article in a previous post. The relevant point for this discussion is that McGarvey did not consider it sinful for the person to remain if that were the only choice available. The presence of a nearby a cappella congregation has no bearing on whether or not singing in the presence of instrumental music is sin. It could be debated what is best in that situation, but that is a different question.

Now I acknowledge that Brother X may be confused on the subject of conscience. He may believe that he would be guilty by association if he were to be present at the instrumental worship service. In this case his conscience has been inaccurately trained. Yet he is obligated to follow his conscience, and therefore must not worship with the instruments. I believe this is the case with many if not all of those who hold the conviction that singing in worship must be a cappella. They will not attend an instrumental worship service as a matter of conscience. I hope and pray that these brothers will reexamine their understanding of conscience and guilt. Until they do so, their confusion about conscience may be causing unnecessary division in the body of Christ. At least that is how I see it.

In the meantime, Brother X could (must) still embrace the instrumental brothers and sisters in every context other than at their instrumental worship service. If God has adopted them as sons, along with Brother X, then they are all brothers, whether or not Brother X’s convictions are correct.

AT TENNESSEE FORUM, more than 1,500 hear speakers from a cappella, instrumental churches debate ‘What Will It Take to Be Together Again?” — Christian Chronicle article

This past Saturday, Freed Hardeman University hosted a discussion about issues separating the a cappella churches of Christ and the instrumental Christian churches. This is a greatly needed and long overdue dialog that I hope will continue until it bears fruit. Speaking for the a cappella churches was Professor Ralph Gilmore of Freed Hardeman. Addressing the other side of the issue was David Faust, president of Cincinnati Christian University.

Not surprisingly, the issue seemed to boil down to how to interpret the silence of the scriptures. For Faust, instrumental music is not the focus of faith, and should not be an issue that divides the church. For Gilmore, “There can be no genuine unity without truth.” He sees things like four-part harmony as permissible expedients, but instruments amount to “swapping something in the category specified with something else” which he sees as prohibited.

Recently I have been involved in a constructive and respectful email conversation about this subject with another gentleman associated with Freed Hardeman, and the issues there are the same. I think the conversation needs to turn from which view is correct, toward something that seems to be more urgent at the moment: how can we get along while we disagree about this?

I would love to see the a cappella folks bear with the perceived failings of their instrumental brothers and sisters without passing judgment over instruments. I would love to see the instrumental folks offer to lay down their instruments in order to hold some worship services with their a cappella brothers and sisters. And I would love to hear both sides apologizing for a century of willful division. I think the following quote from Faust sums up the most important issue between the two:

“Often, we are like two lifeguards who get in a fistfight on the beach while a swimmer is drowning.”

Let’s call off the fight and help the poor swimmers. Let’s not wait until we agree on every point to stop fighting. And let’s not wait until the Lord returns to embrace one another as brothers.

This month marks the one year anniversary of my first post on this blog. To date I have posted 86 articles advocating unity among all whom God has adopted as his children. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul wrote that we should “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Explaining my purpose in starting this blog, I stated in the first post:

I am beginning this blog as a part of “every effort”. Today it is no more than a handful of sand hurled at a giant. Perhaps with the help of God and others it can grow to the size of a small stone. And perhaps God will use that small stone to slay the giant.

From the beginning, the message on my heart has been that Christians need to find a way to be unified. That was Jesus’ prayer on the night he was betrayed. It seemed to me that I needed to do something to promote that cause.

When I began this blog, one of the subjects burning on my heart was the plea of the original Restoration Movement pioneers for unity. The Restoration Movement has a rich history. I wanted to see what I could learn from that history, in the hope that something could be learned that would contribute toward the unity for which Jesus prayed. I wanted to explore the thirteen propositions of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address, to learn what went right and what went wrong in the years that followed. I also wanted to explore the hermeneutics that emerged from this beginning, to see what role those have played in the divisions that followed. And I wanted to explore the events at Sand Creek that led to the major divisions in the movement in the late 1800’s.

Along the way, some posts have addressed current events such as the ICOC unity proposal, the various unity discussions at conferences related to the 100 year anniversary of the 1906 split, and various other topics, mainly related to unity in God’s church.

People continue to find this blog through various search engines as they look for information on Restoration Movement historical topics and hermeneutics. I am encouraged that people are searching for those things. I would love to see more communication among those who are searching for the causes, and the solutions, for our divisions.

I want to thank all who have commented and offered support over the past year, especially to the faithful regular visitors who have encouraged me regularly. I also appreciate the many visitors who have dropped by occasionally to see what is going on here.

This blog has been the launching point for several email conversations with others interested in Christian unity from various points of view. I think all respectful communication on this subject has the potential to improve relations among God’s people, and I appreciate every opportunity that has presented itself for that to happen.

I want to continue to blog and to encourage communication on these topics. I pray that this blog may have some kind of positive effect for unity, and that God will multiply that effect to His glory.

What would you be willing to bet your salvation on?

We are all fallible humans. Our understanding is incomplete on many if not all subjects. If our salvation depended on complete and perfectly accurate knowledge and flawless reasoning, none of us would be saved. Thank God that is not the basis for salvation!

Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

1 Cor 2:4-5 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Cor 3:18-20 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

1 Cor 8:1b-3 Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.

One who is a Christian has bet his salvation on the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross, and in his resurrection. That is the core of the gospel according 1 Cor 15:1-11.

Hopefully, none of us would willingly to bet our salvation that we are correct on every point of doctrine. Yet some people are willing to write off as lost those who disagree with them on such subjects as communion cups, missionary societies, or musical instruments. In effect, they demonstrate a willingness to bet someone else’s salvation on the correctness of their views. Those folks have moved a long way beyond the positions of their predecessors of 100 years ago. Consider the following statement by James Harding in 1901:

I have been taught all my life that the Scriptures teach ‘by precept by approved apostolic example and by necessary inference,’ and it is certain that this is correct….I am sure it is safe to do as they did; I am not certain it is safe to do any other way.

It is one thing to say that following this hermeneutic is safe, and entirely another to say that abiding by all of its conclusions is essential to salvation. Some even go beyond that today, saying in effect that all of the inferences drawn by their faction of the church are free from errors, and that any deviation from their view is rebellion against God. It would be better to exhibit the kind of wisdom James described in chapter 3:

James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

We need the humility to admit that our knowledge and our reasoning are faulty. There are some things God has not told us. When we insist on reading between the lines of scripture and binding what we think we see there, we are not being wise. Let’s pray for the wisdom that leads us to do good deeds together, to extend mercy to one another, and to seek peace.

Today I have something on my mind that is not directly related to unity but hopefully will provide food for thought.

Deu 5:11 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Eph 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Eph 5:4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

Rom 3:12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
Rom 3:13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
Rom 3:14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

Col 3:8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

As the passages above illustrate, the scriptures have quite a lot to say about the sin of profanity. Yet we are surrounded by it everywhere we go. Christians must be different in this area, and must make a difference. We should not even have a hint of profanity in our language.

Strangely, most profanity involves words related to just a few things–mainly: illicit sex, bodily excretions, and God. (I feel uneasy even enumerating those three things in the same list!) The words are usually introduced into conversation without regard for their dictionary meaning, as a means of emphasizing something, generally as an expression of emotion. Such an utterance is called an expletive. When words having holy meaning are dragged into this kind of filthy conversation, the result is blasphemy. This kind of filth should not be coming from the lips of a Christian. And it should not be comfortable for a Christian to listen to it, whether in person or in the media.

Here is one of my pet peeves. There is another class of expletives that is derived from the former. These are slight variants of the standard profane words or phrases, which are used as substitutes for the more direct profanity in “polite company.” I am talking about expletives like dang, darn, heck, freakin’, cotton pickin’, gee whiz, golly, shoot, son-of-a-gun…and many more. You get the picture. It does not take a linguistic genius to tell where these words came from. Speaking in this manner lowers our resistance to the more overt profanity. I believe the latter terminology is every bit as inappropriate for Christian lips as the former.

Pro 17:27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

Jam 5:12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear-not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.

A wise and righteous man does not need to add expletives to his language to emphasize. And he does not need to swear to demonstrate that he is telling the truth. The very idea of swearing suggests that when the speaker is not swearing, his word cannot be trusted.

Words and sayings that were once regarded as profanity are becoming accepted in the common vernacular. And profanity itself is becoming more and more acceptable. Christians must make a conscious effort not to be conformed to the world in this area.

Matt 12:34b Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

I will be spending the next three days travelling to attend a funeral.

Funerals remind us of our mortality. They cause us to reflect on our lives and on our loved ones. At times like these I consider the way I am spending the time God has given me, and whether I am spending it on the right things. And I wonder whether my life is making any difference…and whether it needs to make a difference.

In the Declaration and Address of 1809, Thomas Campbell wrote:

Oh! that ministers and people would but consider, that there are no divisions in the grave; nor in that world which lies beyond it: there our divisions must come to an end! we must all unite there!– Would to God, we could find in our hearts to put an end to our short-lived divisions here; that so we might leave a blessing behind us; even a happy and united church.

May God enable all of us to make a difference in that area.

If I am to live to be as old as the gentleman whose funeral I will attend on Wednesday, I have another 30 years remaining. But the days pass with increasing speed. When my great-grandmother was 86 years old, she told me that it had taken half of her life to reach age 16. I am past the midpoint between those two milestones, and see no reason to doubt her statement. Perhaps this is what Paul had in mind when he said:

Eph 5:15-16 Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil

Let’s pray that God will enable us to live up to that calling.