Those whose hearts are pure rejoice when they see God bless, or use, someone else. Inward resentment against God’s blessing that rests on others is resentment towards God.
The very first thing that love is not—according to the apostle Paul—is it is not jealous (see 1 Cor. 13:4). We cannot claim that we love anyone of whom we are jealous. Jealousy is fundamentally selfish.
It is possible, of course, to make the Bible say anything you want it to say, and that is something that is quite common in Christian circles. All that is necessary is to find a verse that seems to support your point, and then ignore its context—either its immediate context (of the surrounding verses), or its larger context within its passage, chapter, book or Testament.
Examples of this error are endless. Here’s one you’ve no doubt heard: Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” (Matt. 7:1). If that was the only verse in the Bible, we might conclude that Christians should never make a judgment about anyone. And that is what some professing Christians actually think. (I’ve even heard some claim that no Christian can serve on a jury, or earn a living as a judge.)
From an often-overlooked verse in Mark’s Gospel, we can learn something very valuable about Jesus’ character, and about ourselves. Here’s the verse:
Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them (Mark 6:48).
The incident almost seems a bit comical. The Twelve were simply trying to accomplish the task Jesus had given them. We can read just a few verses earlier: “Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida” (Mark 6:45). And off they went. As they obeyed, however, they ran into opposition. “The wind was against them.”
Imagine that you were one of the twelve men who spent three-and-a-half years following Jesus, seeing His every miracle and listening to His every word. Near the end of those years, you celebrate an annual feast with Him known as “Passover” that you’ve celebrated every year of your life and that has been part of your culture for hundreds of years.
At some point during that meal, imagine Jesus taking some of the bread (probably unleavened), blessing and breaking it, and then giving everyone pieces to eat, which He explains is “My body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 14:24). He also tells everyone that they should do this in His remembrance (Luke 22:19). Finally, imagine Him then taking a cup of wine, giving thanks, and then similarly passing it around as He explains that it “is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). What would you have been thinking? Years later, the apostle Paul would retell that story and its significance:
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Clearly, from what both Jesus and Paul said, the central symbolism of the Lord’s Supper revolves around Jesus’ sacrificial death. His body was broken and His blood was shed. And clearly, Jesus wanted all of His disciples to remember His sacrificial death, perpetually into the future, in the bread and wine. All Christians agree on those fundamental facts.
The title of “Lord”—which denotes someone who should be obeyed—is found over 350 times within the 3,180 verses of Romans through Revelation, and most often in reference to Jesus. So, at least one out of ten New Testament verses written to Christians mentions Jesus as Lord, that is, as one to obey. Remember Jesus once asked: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:36).
Dear Friends,
For almost 20 years, I’ve penned a monthly e-teaching that has been e-mailed to a growing list of subscribers that is currently a little over 57,000. This e-teaching begins a new format that is shorter in length but more frequent in publication. From here on, we’ll be emailing “mini” e-teachings most Saturdays. They will continue to be relevant to your spiritual life and hopefully serve as a blessing and an encouragement!
So glad for the us in Jesus,
David
Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter (Matt. 7:21, NASB).
That well-known warning from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ—spoken near the end of His Sermon on the Mount—could not be clearer. He was, indisputably, talking about what is required to enter heaven. Calling Him Lord is not enough. Rather, one must “do the will” of Jesus’ Father “who is in heaven.” That is, to enter heaven, one must do the will of the One who rules heaven. Heaven is for the holy.
Most Christians are familiar with Paul’s famous words in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death.” They would seem to mean that disobedience to God earns the punishment of death. Although Paul’s declaration might explain why we all eventually die, it does raise some questions about the relationship between sin and death. For example, is physical death the only punishment for sin? If we have been forgiven of our sins, why do we still die? And once we are believers, can we sin without fear of death? I hope to answer those questions in this article. Let’s start by laying a foundation about the three kinds of death that are mentioned in Scripture.
In my Christian life over the past 49 years, at least three times I’ve watched a wave of “deliverance ministry” sweep through a segment of the church. The first time was when I was just a relatively new Christian, in the late 1970s. A man named Don Basham, who was part of a group of five popular teachers based in Ft. Lauderdale who jointly published a magazine called “New Wine,” wrote a book titled Deliver Us from Evil. It became quite popular within the growing “Charismatic Renewal” that was sweeping through the denominational world.
I read that book and learned that I could actually cast demons out of myself. As an adolescent male, I also realized from reading that book that I had a demon of lust. So, I followed its instructions for self-deliverance.
The book explained that, as any demons came out of me, I might choke, gag or even vomit. Sure enough, when I commanded the demon of lust to come out of me, I gagged. Wow! I felt it! It was the real thing! I was delivered from the demon of lust!
But there was just one small problem. It wasn’t very long before I realized the demon wasn’t gone. I found myself still struggling with immodest women. Had the demon returned? How did it gain entrance back into me so quickly? Should I do another self-deliverance?
This final chapter is an article that was published as my last monthly “e-teaching” of 2022, in December. I wrote it in response to a request from one of the young Amish-background believers from Johnsonburg.
One of the things I’ve been blessed to observe among the Amish-background new believers in Johnsonburg, PA, is their toleration for diversity of personal convictions regarding issues on which the Bible is silent—a phenomenon that is generally foreign in Amish culture. I’ve noticed, for example, some of the women continue to wear some form of daily head covering, while others don’t. And they all still love each other and get along! No one is condemning anyone else for their personal convictions because everyone loves the Lord and is trying to please Him. Of course, that is exactly what the New Testament teaches believers to do regarding issues on which Scripture is silent (see Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8).
As I was writing that last sentence, I knew some readers would be thinking, “But Scripture is not silent on the subject of women’s head coverings.” That, of course, is true. Paul did mention something about women’s head coverings, once, in 1 Corinthians 11:1-17.
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Among the multitudes of rules in Amish Ordnungs, rules regarding clothing number in the hundreds. It is no exaggeration to say that Amish people wear required uniforms that, in their minds, “separate them from the world.” To those who understand Amish culture, Amish clothing is akin to the uniforms that incarcerated people wear that identify them as prisoners. Just like those behind bars, Amish people have no choice in what they wear. This article, posted on Facebook on 12/8/22, explores that topic.
Most “outsiders”—the “English” as we are called by the Amish— are apt to think that all 350,000 Amish people in North America dress uniformly. They have no idea that there are scores of subtle variations in Amish dress codes from one Amish community to another. Those variations include acceptable women’s dress colors (always muted, solid colors but never patterns), number of pleats on women’s kapps, the number of men’s suspenders (0, 1 or 2), the brim width of straw hats, and much more. Amish people can often tell where other Amish people are from by observing those subtle dress code differences. And they also quickly notice if anyone within their own community is transgressing the dress code. Violators are corrected and disciplined if necessary.
Many Amish people have no clue about the origins of their dress peculiarities. If you ask an Amish woman, for example, why she has no buttons on her dress and must use scores of straight pins for fasteners, she is likely to tell you that is just how it has always been. And why are buttons not forbidden on men’s clothing? No one knows that either. (Buttons are used on men’s trouser flies and shirts.)
Amish folks would likely be very surprised to learn that modern Amish obsession with meticulous details regarding outward attire may well stem from the culture in which Jakob Amman, their founder and namesake, was born. Amman, a tailor by trade, was just as familiar as every other European of his time with what were called “sumptuary laws.” Those were strictly-enforced civil regulations that, among other things, stipulated detailed clothing restrictions for various classes of people.
For example, in 1672, officials in Switzerland’s Canton of Bern mandated that silk clothing be forbidden for the general population. They made an exception, however, for nobility—as long as their silk clothing was unadorned and without ruffles. Interestingly, the same mandate required maids to make their dresses from simple, “rural” cloth, with plain collars and without any lace or ribbons. The rationale was obvious: Maids should be easily distinguishable from their higher-class superiors.
So, imagine living under a civil government, wedded to a state church, that stringently regulated clothing styles and adornment of all citizens. Imagine your state government encouraging all its citizens to spy on and report the non-compliant. That was the only world Jakob Amman ever knew. As a tailor, he risked paying steep fines if he made or sold forbidden clothing.
All of this is to say that, although modern Anabaptists generally justify their distinctive attire with biblical references to modesty, simplicity and humility, the actual origin of their peculiar dress is more likely overbearing 17th-century European civil law that was designed to preserve class distinctions and the social order. Said another way, Amish attitudes regarding clothing distinctives have their origins in the “world”! Modern Amish culture is just a vestige of everyday European culture from three centuries ago.
This is not to say, of course, that authentic Christians should have no convictions regarding outward attire. John the Baptist, who wore a garment made of camel’s hair, told his convicted audiences that the person who has two coats should share with someone who is without a coat (Luke 3:11), and James similarly warned the rich that their garments had “become moth-eaten” (Jas. 5:2), a reference to Jesus’ prohibition of laying up earthly treasures. All of this indicates that clothing can be a stewardship issue.
In addition, both Paul and Peter gave general instructions regarding women’s outward attire that encouraged modesty and discouraged vanity (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3). Jesus also warned about those who cause others to stumble, which certainly has some application to modest clothing.
Still, there is no hint of a “Christian uniform” in the New Testament. And Scripture does allow for individual convictions regarding issues on which Scripture is silent, while also prescribing respect, toleration, and love for those whose convictions differ. So that is what followers of Christ do. We don’t establish clothing regulations or require uniforms.
Have you noticed that God made us all different? Our faces are all unique. Our personalities vary greatly. There are numerous body types. We possess different talents, skills and abilities. So why would God want or expect us to all dress and groom identically? That goes against how He’s made us.
And what could possibly be wrong with expressing my personality and my personal preferences in dress and grooming, within reason?
And is it possible to not wear a uniform and not be proud? Or maybe a more important question to ask would be, is it possible to allow others to not wear a uniform and not be jealous of them? (Jealousy may well be the root behind any demand for uniformity.)
Here’s one more question: Should I not care more about what my spouse prefers regarding my appearance than my bishop?
Amish folks and other Anabaptists sometimes make the claim that their distinctive attire “sets them apart from the world,” which sure sounds biblical. They also claim that their distinctive attire serves as a reminder and incentive for them to live righteously before those who are watching. OK, but distinctive dress also serves as a barrier to the gospel, because it sends the silent message to the unsaved that, if they want to be accepted by God, they must start wearing a uniform. That is one reason why modern Anabaptists are so ineffective in spreading the gospel and building God’s kingdom. (And most Amish people, of course, make no effort to reach the lost because most of them are lost themselves.)
All of this is to say that, at least to me, the Amish uniform is emblematic of a prison uniform, because all Amish people live in a social prison, jailed behind walls not made of concrete, but of threats from people whose love is conditional.
What should ex-Amish people do whose still-Amish relatives require them to dress Amish if they want the “privilege” to visit? Personally, I would have difficulty playing that game. If they know you’ve left the Amish and are no longer wearing the Amish prison uniform every day, what difference does it make if you pretend you are still Amish when you are around them? How would they react if you told them they had to dress “English” if they wanted to visit you?
I think that if I was ex-Amish, and my still-Amish family required that I wear the Amish prison uniform when I visited them, I would say:
Sorry, but I’ve believed in Jesus, the Son of God. He is now my Lord, not the bishop. And He has never given anyone a commandment regarding any uniform. Plus, He Himself never wore Amish clothes. Rather, He wore what everyone else in His day wore. If Jesus showed up today at your house without Amish clothes, would you let Him in? Apparently not! Neither would you allow Peter, Paul, John, James and Jude, who all followed Jesus’ example and wore the same clothing as everyone else, to enter your house! You might want to think about that.
So, if you want to follow manmade rules and conform to autocratic 300-year-old European culture, that is your choice. But if you reject me for following Jesus, Jesus said you are rejecting Him. And that is also your choice.
For me, I’m going to follow Jesus even if it costs me everything, including my family relationships. Knowing and serving Him is more important to me than anything, and I love Him more than anyone. Beyond that, I now have a new family consisting of millions of other people around the world who believe in the Lord Jesus like me. And I am welcome in all their homes without Amish prison clothes!
Not everyone will agree on those last couple of paragraphs, and they might suggest more grace on my part. They may well be right, and I am aware that I am still “a Christian under construction”!
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