Conduct unbecoming

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” ~ 1 Peter 2:1-3

If you Google the term “Biblical Separation” one of the web sites that provides a definition is gotquestions.org. The definition provided is; “Biblical separation is the recognition that God has called believers out of the world and into a personal and corporate purity in the midst of sinful cultures. Biblical separation is usually considered in two areas: personal and ecclesiastical.” The personal tends to be related to conduct that does not match up with our preferences, standards or personal applications of scripture. The ecclesiastical in most (but not all) comes down to areas of theology and/or the nebulous term of “ worship practices”. Separation or disassociation with other Christians is practiced in varying degrees and in varying ways depending less on an objective standard, but more on how we were raised, where we received our education or what leader our Christian camp is associated with.

In my local Christian subculture the idea of separation over personal preferences and standards seems to be more pronounced than where I grew up. The topic of personal standards within Christian circles can at times get very heated. This is unfortunate as I personally believe we spend too much time and energy on things that are not doctrinal distinctives, or we argue among ourselves on things that don’t bring glory to the Gospel.

I grew up attending either an Independent Baptist Church or ones affiliated with the GARBC which is the northeastern version of conservative fundamentalism. While I grew up in conservative circles I must admit that when I attended college 27 years ago I did not know that things like hair length, mixed swimming, dating women of other races, Bible translations, watching girls athletics, face cards, shorts on women and men in public, stockings, skirts versus slacks, kulats for girls athletics, holding hands or public affection with my girl friend, collared shirts, jeans in church or going to the movies all had a direct correlation to your spiritually. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my parents, SS teachers, Pastors and other influential spiritual leaders had led me astray, and that people five states and 600 miles away could discern standing with God by a simple list of do’s and don’ts. Please notice my tongue firmly planted in my cheek when I say this.

Let me clearly state that I am a firm believer in standards and that the Gospel should change the way we live. We are called to be separated from our old sinful way of life and live a life to honor and glorify God. But a Christian’s life should be marked by being set apart for the Gospel, because we have been bought with a price, (1 Cor 6:20). If we spend any time reading the epistles we see that this is not a new phenomenon, and the Apostle Paul addressed these issues of strife and division over preferences in Rome (see Romans 14:1-15:1), Corinth, Ephesus, Colosse and Galatia. There is nothing new under the sun…

What I find perplexing is where the battle lines are drawn and what is seemingly ignored by believers who claim that the whole Bible is good for doctrine, reproof and correction. The norm tends to be that we shun, disassociate or separate company from other Christians over music preferences, clothing standards, entertainment choices or our interpretation of worldliness. But in the same breath we do not do the same over the sins of intolerance, bigotry, bitterness, fits of anger, slander and resentment. When was the last time we parted company from those exhibiting self righteousness, hateful or unloving actions, attitudes and speech, a refusal to accountable church membership, not loving our spouses like God commands, divisiveness, pride, selfishness, gossip, abuse of prescription drugs, dishonest or defrauding business practices, unforgiveness, and idolatry of job, money, a Bible translation, holiness standards, etc.? Most, if not all of these things are listed as not acceptable for Spirit-controlled or Spirit-filled believers to practice or to tolerate, yet they seem to be less important to root out of our lives and those in conservative circles than other sins. Jerry Bridges describes these all as “conduct unbecoming of a saint.”

In his book “Respectable Sins” Bridges devotes a chapter to Judgmentalism and he states; “The sin of judgmentalism is one of the most subtle of our “respectable” sins because it is often practice under the guise of being zealous for what is right. It’s obvious that within our conservative evangelical circles there are myriads of opinions on everything from theology to conduct to lifestyle and politics. Not only are there multiple opinions but usually we assume our opinion is correct. That’s where our trouble with judgmentalism beings. We equate our opinions with truth.”

Bridges goes on in the chapter to say; “Reverence for God…is not a matter of dress; it’s a matter of the heart.” He mentions that while certain standards may reflect a casual attitude toward God, he rightly acknowledges his (and my) lack of omniscience and the fact that we cannot discern this simply by conformity to a set of human standards. Bridges states; “It’s easy for us to condemn…obvious sins while virtually ignoring our own sins of gossip, pride, envy, bitterness, lust, or even our lack of those gracious qualities that Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23)” All I can say is OUCH!

I know I am guilty of this sin more times than I care to admit and I hide my “…judgmentalism under the cloak of Christian convictions.” I need to keep my eyes focused on Christ and work out my own salvation. I need to leave judgment to the only wise and righteous Judge and daily thank Him for His mercy and grace to me. I need to daily remind myself of what Jesus states in John 8:7; “"Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone..” We need to recognize that ALL sin is cosmic treason and ALL sin is a rebellion against God and His authority. We don’t get to pick and chose which ones are more or less heinous in God’s eyes.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” ~ 1 Peter 2:9-11