Barbara's Banter

Most people think praising God is just about singing songs at church. Although that can be a part of it, praise is so much more than just singing songs. It’s realizing how BIG God is and how little we are.

This reminds me of one of my favorite songs called Yakko’s Universe. Yakko was a character from the cartoon series Animaniacs produced by Steven Spielberg in the mid 90s. I miss this wacky show which was entertaining to kids and adults. Sure it was a cartoon but it was a mix of wit and humor along with some educational segments about various subjects like geography, math, history and so forth – usually done in musical form.

In Yakko’s Universe, Yakko explains in the chorus, “It’s a great big universe and we’re all really puny. We’re just tiny little specks about the size of Mickey Rooney. It’s big and black and inky and we are small and dinky. It’s a big universe and we’re not.” That’s my favorite part: “It’s a big universe and we’re not.” I love that song. When I hear it I always think of how BIG God is. God is BIG and powerful and great – and we’re not.

Then this great, big, powerful God who owns the universe sacrifices His son so we can have salvation. WOW! He says, “Come and follow me and I will care for you. My son has paid the penalty for your sin. I will supply all your needs. I will forgive you. I will be with you in the good times and the bad times. You will never be alone. I will give you strength. I will lift the burdens of this world off your shoulders. I will give you rest. I will give you comfort. I will give you hope. I will give you eternal life. I will give you true love.”

When this sinks in with us, we cannot comprehend the wonder of it all. As we gain understanding we fall to our knees. We cry. We repent. We surrender. This is where praise begins…with a certain brokenness.

Suddenly we see God face to face. We see Him everywhere. We see His strength in a thunderstorm. We see His peace in a sleeping baby. We see His majesty in a towering mountain. We see His joy in a laughing child. We see His beauty in a vibrant sunset. We see His vastness in a star filled sky. We see His guidance in our lives.

We arise from bed in the morning blessing Him. We thank Him as we drive the car. We want to walk with Him. We talk with Him throughout the day. We meditate on His greatness, His power, His love. We whisper the name of Jesus. We shout for joy. These are all part of praising God. Eventually we realize the reason we live is to worship and praise God.

“I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will
continually be in my mouth.” ~Psalm 34:1

We are all different and music that draws one of us closer to God may not draw another. This is fine when we are listening to worship music daily on our own. However, what do we do when we gather together to worship with others which is what we call corporate worship? Because now we have the person who likes fast music, the person who likes slow music, the person who likes country, the person who likes opera, the person who likes jazz, the person who likes rock n’ roll, the person who likes easy listening, and so on all under one roof trying to worship together. And where ever we have people gathered together, we have problems!

We tend to forget that when we gather together in a church environment it is a shared experience. We don’t come just for our benefit but the benefit of others – the fellowship of the saints. Corporate worship is for everyone gathered together, not just us.

Now the purpose of this blog is not to put us on a guilt trip if we gravitate towards a church that has the kind of music we like. However here are a few points to help us think about corporate worship in a different way.

Two People Can Be at the Same Event and Feel Entirely Different About It
Just because a worship service isn’t touching us, doesn’t mean it isn’t touching the heart of others. Not every song sung will be our favorite but it might be someone else’s favorite. Remember that corporate worship is a shared experience. Most of us think God likes what we like in music. That may be true, but guess what? He likes what the other guy likes, too. And how do we know the songs sung we didn’t like were not some of God’s favorites?

Not All Change Is Bad
Just because that’s the way we’ve always done it doesn’t mean that’s the way it should always be done. Models for corporate worship are just that – models. The format we use is not holy. We don’t worship the format or the model. The same applies to new songs. The old songs we sing are not holier that the new songs or vice versa.

Be Careful in Judging Someone’s Motive in Worship
Worship is a heart thing. God may be convicting someone’s heart to lift his hands, another to cry, another to move joyously – all at the same time singing the same song. As individuals we express ourselves in different ways. It’s okay. God made us that way. Everyone doesn’t need to raise hands. Everyone doesn’t need to clap. The danger is when we judge others who do or those who don’t.

Just because someone isn’t very expressive or demonstrative when they worship doesn’t mean they aren’t spiritual. Just because people sit during worship instead of stand doesn’t mean they are less spiritual. They might just be tired, or old, or sick. God knows the hearts of others and we don’t.

Think About What Is Sung But Don’t Dissect It
The melody might be nice but it’s the words that carrying the meaning. We need to think about what we sing so we can absorb the words and what they mean. Some love the old hymns, but sometimes we know them so well we go on auto pilot when we sing. New songs keep us alert. And if you don’t know the music you can still absorb the words.

Songs should be theologically sound but some get hung up on the use of a word or phrase even though it might be biblical. We forget that the Bible is in many ways a metaphor – God as a Father, a King, a Rock. We know God is not a literal rock. Bible authors took metaphorical and poetic license and so do song writers. Do the songs honor God, or give him praise and adoration, and thanksgiving? Are the songs about God and what he’s done and who he is? Do they tell the story of the Christian and why he/she loves God? Do they speak of our forefathers and lessons learned? Just remember, if you dissect everything, you end up with nothing.

Shift from What Pleases Us to What Pleases God
Believe it or not, God should be our focal point, not us. We must shift our emphasis from whether we are pleased to whether or not God is pleased.

Worship isn’t about us and our feelings. We don’t worship because we feel like it. That’s why we are admonished in 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 to give thanks all the time – not just when we feel like it. Rejoice all the time – not just when we feel like it. Pray all the time – not just when we feel like it. Worship is the same way. We choose to worship. We can choose not to get so caught up in our likes and dislikes during corporate worship that we don’t focus on the one it’s all about! Worship is about GOD!

Conclusion
Today we live in the era of the individual. It’s a me, me, me society and this definitely spills over into churches. The emphasis in churches is no longer meeting with a community of fellow believers. Somewhere it all went wrong. Church became about the building, the preacher, the talent, the church’s ability to meet our needs and the music. Many churches now exist to entertain us and make us feel good. They are no longer gathering places where we can worship together, pray together, serve, share and give of our lives, gifts, and talents to others – all for the glory of God.

Throughout the Bible we have examples of people gathering together to worship God without music being a controversial issue. But as people became more mobile and exposed to different cultures, new ideas began to be introduced into churches. Today’s technology exposes everyone to a variety of music styles and genres. People have strong opinions about what they like and dislike so it’s only natural our preferences spill over into a church setting.

Gathering together in corporate worship is not the same as private worship. Corporate worship cannot replace private worship. If the only time we are filling up our spiritual gas tanks is at church, we are going to be running on empty most of the time. We have six days to draw close to God listening to and singing those worship songs we love. When we come to church and gather together to partake in corporate worship it is a shared experience.

It actually involves other people – a family of believers. And in a family you have different likes, dislikes, and opinions. Personal benefits in corporate worship are derived from being in the body of believers and praising God together. The Bible says there is a certain power when believers gather together to worship God. (Matthew 18:20)

However many of us have not mastered the art of a shared experience. We are more interested in what we like rather than what the other person likes or even what God likes.

Here are some complaints about worship in church.

• Songs are too fast
• Songs are too slow
• Not enough spontaneity
• Too much spontaneity
• Order of service never varies
• Order of service varies too much
• Want  a more traditional service
• Want more contemporary Christian music
• Want more live musicians
• Have too many live musicians
• Don’t like the worship leader
• Don’t want people to raise their hands
• Don’t want people to clap to the music
• Don’t like old hymns sung in a modern way
• Don’t like new songs
• Want liturgical dance
• Don’t like the sound system
• Music is too loud
• Don’t like the worship style
• Don’t like Power Point
• There is no choir
• There is no special music
• Don’t like it when people sing off key
• Don’t like songs with repetition
• The list is endless

Now these are all legitimate complaints, but they are our preferences. There is nothing wrong with us having preferences but realize they’re our preferences, not God’s. We need to be able to differentiate between our preferences and God’s likes and dislikes. In other words these are not things God is concerned about in worship. He loves to hear us worship him in song whether it’s fast, slow, loud, soft, on PP, in a hymnal, live music, CDs, traditional or contemporary. And the bottom line is that worship is supposed to be about God, not about us.

I’m not going to take the time to go into each one of these complaints and show biblical examples of how they are okay with God. But here are a few examples.

• Repetition: Revelation 4:8 tells us the four living creatures rest not day and night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” We are talking 24/7 here so I don’t think God minds a little repetition.
• Clapping hands: Psalm 47:1 says, “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” And this Psalm was for the chief musicians, so I don’t think God minds us clapping hands with the music.
• Too loud: Several biblical passages talk about making joyful noises like Psalm 98:4, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Noise indicates shouting, letting your voice and instruments be heard. So I don’t think God minds the volume as much as we do.
• Dance: Psalm 149:3 says, “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.” So I don’t think he minds a little dancing.
• Lifting hands: Psalm 134:2 says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” So I don’t think he minds us lifting our hands.
• New songs: Many scriptures refer to singing a new song to the Lord. Psalm 33:3 says, “Sing unto him a new song;” So I don’t think God minds new songs.

I could go on and on. All of these complaints might be irritating to us but they are not unbiblical. They are not heresy.  The caption on this cartoon was too small to read but it said, “The church organ being replaced by drums and guitars. Overheads replace hymnals, and the pastor ain’t wearin’ a tie! It must be the end times!”

Now the purpose of this blog is not to put us on a guilt trip if we gravitate towards a church that has the kind of music we like. However, we need to clearly understand we do so because of our preferences, not God’s. And yes, it might be nice to gather together to worship with everyone who likes exactly the same things we do, but we lose a bit of that family atmosphere when we do. If we don’t develop a little tolerance and patience we may end up worshipping all alone – which does away with the biblical concept of gathering together.

In our last blog we covered a historic overview of Christian music through the ages and ended with that music making a journey to America. We learned that as Isaac Watt’s music began to spread around England many Christians utterly rejected it. Some churches split down the middle over Isaac Watt’s hymns. By now his hymns had spread to America as well. It’s hard to keep a good tune from spreading. Newton’s and Wesley’s hymns spread to America, too. The Methodist church in England may have banned Wesley’s hymns from being sung in church, but they were sung in American churches.

Watts, the Wesleys, and Newton’s hymns reflected the era they lived in. It portrayed a magnificent, saving God and at the same time gave glimpses of what people were experiencing at the time. Some loved this; some hated this! Americans seemed to embrace it. After all, it was a new country with new ideas.
About a century after Watts, Wesley and Newton, Civil War broke out in America. During the Civil War our country went through a devastating economic downturn. People were roaming the streets in poverty. Churches began opening their doors for people to come in and pray all the time. And there was an enormous spiritual revival in America. That period of time was called the “Open Door Revival.” And with the revival came a different kind of music. There was greater emphasis on Jesus being our friend.

Here is where the songs of people like Fanny Crosby emerged. Her music reflected the individual conversion experience. Fanny was blind and just one of many who wrote hymns, but she might have been the most prolific. She wrote about 8000 songs under at least 200 pen names. Here are two you might recognize: Blessed Assurance and To God Be the Glory.

However there were people who rejected this music and its content. They called them human hymns and people would walk out of church angrily shouting “human hymns,” “human hymns” in the midst of the music.

When the Roaring Twenties came a new generation wanted to sing the gospel in an up-to-date way. Young musicians were encouraged to write choruses instead of standard church songs – short, bouncy melodies that could be sung over the radio and picked up by listeners after they heard it once or twice – something people would hum all through the week. You know, like the advertisement jingles on the radio. And there were simple children’s songs too like Give Me Oil in My Lamp.

In the Deep South we had soulful spirituals that had risen from the slave culture plus other songs with a jazz flavor from New Orleans – music with a beat that quartets would sing at storefront churches and in locations where people were poor. This so- called gospel music could help them escape their miseries and find a bit of joy. It grew and soon it spread into Saturday night “sings” held in theaters and auditoriums – and eventually into churches as part of praise and worship.

Staunch Christians did not like this music one bit and made it known. But there it was and there was no stopping it.

Christian worship music controversies have continued. Today’s present contemporary style of church music has been growing for the past thirty years or more. Although to some it seems more like an explosion than a growth. The reason it seems like an explosion is that today we don’t have to wait for fifty years for a song to catch on because of our technology. A song can be written in an hour and travel worldwide in an instant through the airwaves. By tomorrow it will be on an album and in a Christian music store in your neighborhood.

As society changed through the years, so did music. In biblical times they didn’t have music in elevators, department stores, and waiting rooms. They didn’t have radio, television, live theater, rock concerts, and iPods. But today we do. Because of this exposure we have all developed very definite ideas about what we like and don’t like in music. Some of us like fast, some like slow. Some like country, some like opera. Some like jazz, some like rap. We know what we like. It’s only natural that our preferences would spill over into a church setting.

Actually there is nothing wrong with having music preferences, but problems occur when we think our preferences are God’s preferences. Because even though we might not admit it, most of us think God likes what we like and dislikes what we dislike. This kind of thinking can affect our corporate worship – a subject we’ll explore next time.

Controversy surrounding church music may not have been prevalent in biblical times but it’s not new. Because as people became more mobile and exposed to different cultures, a variety of ideas began to be introduced into churches.

The evolution of church music as we’ve come to know it was originally steeped in the Old Testament Psalms. Then around 70 AD the Odes of Solomon were introduced. In the 300s Ephraem the Syrian wrote a wide variety of popular hymns, poems and sermons in verse full of practical theology for troubled times. By the Middle Ages they were doing chants at church. Gregorian chants accompanied by a crude organ with no harmonies lasted about 1000 years.

By the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500 – 1600s most official churches had grown to have silent congregations. A priest might sing in Latin which no one could understand and a choir might sing, but not the congregation. But with the reformation came the feeling that God’s word demanded a response and singing was one way for the common person to do that.

Martin Luther
Martin Luther was very influential in the Protestant Reformation and one of his lasting legacies was congregational singing. He dispensed with the choir and assigned all singing to the congregation. He thought music and singing were a means of instilling the Word of God in the people and teaching the tenets of faith – especially to the young. He loved Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” He arranged songs in harmonies, used musical instruments in church, and used vernacular that people of that time could understand. These were all very controversial ideas at the time. He put the catechism, the Ten Commandments, and the Creed to music so they would be easy to remember. He wrote some of the songs we still sing today like A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

John Calvin
Now about the same time as Luther we had John Calvin who was all for congregational singing including the young and the old. Both Calvin and Luther realized that learning songs steeped in scripture was a way to write it on people’s hearts. I guess in those days, just like today, people remembered song lyrics more than the seven points given in a sermon.

However Calvin had a different approach. All his church songs had to be sung in unison with no harmonies and no musical accompaniment. He felt that harmony and instruments would distort the clarity and spiritual meaning of what was being sung. Furthermore it had to be the Psalms or Old Testament scriptures. He wanted people to sing only words found in the Bible. Of course the danger in this was that none of those verses had much to say about Jesus.

Now Luther had adopted folk tunes into his church and Calvin didn’t want any of his church’s songs to be associated with street music, bar tunes, or dancing. Singing at church was not for human amusement or pleasure. A typical song might be Psalm 23…but sung without musical accompaniment or harmony. It would be more of a monotone.

First Worship War
So what we have here are two influences during the Protestant Reformation, Luther and Calvin, with two vastly different views on church singing – each thinking his way was the right way. Plus we still had the Catholic Church going strong with its chants and one organ. Now I’m not saying this was the first worship war, but I’m sure some people might have gravitated to the church which was more in tune with how they personally felt about church music.

Isaac Watts
About 100 or so years later Isaac Watts was born in 1674 and grew up on Calvin’s musicology. When he was 19 he complained about the music to his father. I guess teenagers not liking their parent’s music is not a new phenomenon. His wise father encouraged him to write some music of his own and he did immediately. Isaac Watts eventually became a minister and continued to educate people about the Word of God, his power, and the significance of Christ’s life, death and resurrection through songs. He became a prolific hymn writer – at least 600 hymns we know about. Out of the hundreds of hymns he wrote a few have stood the test of time like When I Survey the Wondrous Cross and Joy to the World.

Now the churches were ripe for change. Watt’s songs were not only powerful but also personal. They were easy to sing with language that was plain and simple. His style soon spread to lots of denominational churches like Anabaptists, Presbyterians, Mennonites, Methodists, Puritans, and other non-Anglican streams. You might call him the first Christian cross over artist.

Charles and John Wesley
In the early 1700s brothers Charles and John Wesley were born. Both were leaders in the Methodist movement. At that time the usual method of singing in their church was called “lining out.” Church songbooks were expensive and many could not read so a song leader would say/sing a line and the congregation would say/sing the same thing. In other words people did not sing one line immediately after another as they do now. The Wesleys changed that. Charles and John wrote 56 collections of hymns in 53 years. Charles Wesley was the more prolific writing close to 9,000 hymns. Here are two you might recognize: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

John Wesley’s first book of tunes only had a melody line because he had serious doubts about singing harmonies. It was published in America in 1737 and for his effort he was brought before a grand jury in England for altering authorized psalms and for introducing unauthorized compositions. It is sad to realize that although Wesley wrote thousands of songs, his Methodist church sang none of his hymns in Sunday worship. They could only be sung at informal gatherings during the week.

John Newton
Around this time John Newton a converted slave trader wrote Amazing Grace. Of course it wasn’t originally Amazing Grace. It was Faith’s Review and Expectation which isn’t quite as catchy. It’s been sung to several different tunes. You see some of Watts, the Wesley’s, and Newton’s hymns were sung with melodies borrowed off the street so when people heard them they could sing them because they already knew the tune. This too was controversial. Newton even penned the words to a popular Austrian drinking song so the churches could sing it. It’s called Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.

So we can see that controversy surrounding worship music grew as people became exposed to new and different ideas. Next time we will explore the evolution of worship music in America.

In our last blog we discovered that music has a powerful impact on people. God created music and it is good. It seems so sad that this wonderful creation of God has caused so much division in his church.

When I became Worship Ministry Director for our church about twelve years ago I discovered that music is a subject near and dear to people’s hearts. And through study I’ve discovered it’s something near and dear to God’s heart as well. Music is mentioned over 800 times in the Bible. The Psalms teach us that music was used to praise and worship God and other passages show it was used for other purposes as well. Here we have a few famous songs from the Bible.

• Exodus 15:1-2: Moses’ song of victory and praise after God led Israel out of Egypt and saved them by parting the Red Sea; Miriam joined in the singing too
• Numbers 21:17: Israel’s song of praise to God for giving them water in the desert
• Deuteronomy 32:1-43: Moses’ song of Israel’s history with thanksgiving and praise as the Hebrews were about to enter the Promised Land
• Judges 5:2-31: Deborah and Barak’s song of praise thanking God for Israel’s victory over King Jabin’s army at Mount Tabor
• 2 Samuel 22:2-51: David’s song of thanks and praise to God for rescuing him from Saul and his other enemies
• Song of Solomon 1-8: Solomon’s song of love celebrating the union of husband and wife
• Isaiah 26:1: Isaiah’s prophetic song about how the redeemed will sing in the New Jerusalem
• Ezra 3:11: Israel’s song of praise at the completion of the temple’s foundation
• Luke 1:46-55: Mary’s song of praise to God for the conception of Jesus
• Luke 1:68-79: Zechariah’s song of praise for the promise of a son
• Acts 16:25: Paul and Silas sang hymns in prison
• Revelation 5:9-10: The “new song” of the 24 elders acclaiming Christ as worthy to break the seven seals of God’s scroll
• Revelation 14:3: The song of the 144,000 redeemed from the earth
• Revelation 15:3-4: The song of all the redeemed in praise of the Lamb who redeemed them

In biblical times music didn’t seem to be controversial with God’s people. Unfortunately that has not been true throughout church history, nor is it true today. People have definite opinions about what they like and don’t like about music – and most seem to have the delusion of thinking their opinions are God’s opinions. What we prefer, we think God prefers. We’ll take a closer look at this in our next few blogs.

Music can be powerful. Studies show that music can…

• Affect your mood
• Alter buying habits
• Make you work more efficiently
• Relieve pain
• Reduce stress
• Increase stress
• Affect your eating habits
• Increase athletic performance

The list goes on and on. Music also helps teach. When we sing something we remember the words. One of the first songs we teach children ends with, “Now I’ve sung my A-B-Cs, next time won’t you sing with me?” Stroke patients who have lost their speech can be taught to speak again by singing. Those who stutter have been helped through singing.

When my dad had Alzheimer’s he could not remember people’s names or who they were. However he could listen to a CD of gospel songs and sing every one of them without missing a beat or lyric. Then he would look at me and say, “You know what that song says is true. God is great!”

God created music and it can be a powerful tool. The Psalms show us that music was used to praise and worship God. But music was used for other purposes in biblical times as well. Music was used to…

• …soothe the soul as mentioned in 1 Samuel 16:23. “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”
• …stir up the gift of prophesy as mentioned in 2 Kings 3:15. Elisha said, “But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.”
• …inspire as mentioned in 2 Chronicles 20:21, 22. When Jehoshaphat was going into battle he appointed singers unto the Lord. As they went out before the army, they sang, “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endures forever.” And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the children of Ammon and Moab which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
• …teach God’s Word as mentioned in Colossians 3:16. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
• …release the power of God as mentioned in Acts 16:25-26. Paul and Silas found this out when they were in jail. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, and the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s shackles were loosed.”
• …etch the mighty power of God in our memories. In Exodus 15:1 Moses sang a song of praise to God for deliverance from Pharaoh. “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord: I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously…” It’s quite long so I won’t quote all of it here. Some say this song of Moses is the oldest recorded song in the world.

Songs were used throughout biblical times to express: joy, triumph, grief, relief, celebration, thanks, praise, and so on. Matthew 26:30 tells us that when the last supper had ended Jesus the disciples sang a hymn before leaving. What a powerful image!

It seems so sad that this wonderful creation of God has caused so much division in his church. In our next few blogs we will explore some aspects of music and its impact on God’s people.

Last time we discussed the concept of a Christian being in the world but not of the world. We cited the example of Paul being able to discuss literature and philosophy with educated men and still maintain his loyalty and relationship with Christ. He had the ability to become all things to all people in order to win as many as possible for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

Problems arise in Christian communities about how far a Christian should go to be in the world but not of the world. Christians have strong opinions of what they think is right and wrong. Is it okay to drink alcohol? Is it okay to smoke? Is it okay to play cards? Is it okay to dance? Is it okay to listen to rock music? Is it okay for guys to have long hair? And so on. Some may think certain Christians blend in a little too much with the world around them. Some religions even set rules and regulations up, equating abstinence from these actions as righteousness.

Paul cautions about a yardstick mentality that measures righteousness in Colossians 2:16-23. “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink…” This passage does not just focus on what a person eats or drinks but on whether or not a person is bound to the Sabbath, has false humility, focuses on religious rules and so on.

Paul said, “Don’t let anyone judge you,” but I would go one step farther and say, “Do not judge anyone by these things.” Is it seeing a Christian drink alcohol, dance, or play cards that irritates us, or could it be that although they do these things they may outshine us in the truly weightier issues of being a Christian. They may even have a stronger belief that God is the answer to everyone’s problems.

When we focus on outward appearances of others it erodes away at our personal relationship with Christ. We tend to emphasize our idea of righteousness rather than God’s grace. Our opinions about such matters become more important that God’s Word. We become judgmental rather than loving. God looks on the heart. We do not know the heart of all we meet.

Some may have said about Paul, “How can he have studied pagan philosophers and been close to God?” In fact, for years and years many disciples had trouble accepting Paul’s conversion. When they accepted it they took exception to Paul wanting to offer salvation to the Gentiles. When they accepted it, they still wanted Gentiles to keep the laws and regulations they kept. They even wanted them to be circumcised (Acts 15:1-5). When the elders and apostles met to discuss this, the conclusion was, “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God (Acts 15:19).”

Now this ruling didn’t mean that Gentiles shouldn’t have to repent, turn to God, believe in Christ, etc. Those are non-negotiable parts of Christianity. However the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised to be considered Christians. Some staunch Christians could not accept that ruling (Acts 15:24).

How about us? What is our idea of a Christian being “in the world” but not “of the world?” Can Christians engage in the world, keep their moral compass, and still put God first in their lives? Let’s not make the mistake of judging matters that should be left to God. Remember God knows what is in a person’s heart. God looks on the heart, not outward appearances (1 Samuel 16:7).

Shortly before his crucifixion Jesus told the disciples that though they were in the world, they should not be of the world (John 17:14).  Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it (John 17:15-16).” So as Christians we should not be “of the world.”

However, we live in the world and scripture indicates we should not retreat from the world altogether. How else could we be the salt of the earth or a light in the world (Matthew 5:13-15)?

Yet on the other hand we must be careful not to conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). So we need to be cautious about getting sucked into worldly philosophies that influence our values, attitudes, and behaviors which can negatively impact our relationship with Christ.

So what is a Christian to do? 

Paul seemed to have a certain balance between the two concepts of being in the world but not of the world. Paul was able to use his cultural knowledge for the benefit of Christ. He could quote pagan philosophers when speaking before the educated in Athens. When he told them, “In him we live and move and have our being.” Paul was referring to Christ but he was quoting the Greek philosopher Epimenides, who said the same thing about the pagan god Zeus (Acts 17:28). When he said, “We are his offspring,” he quoted a different philosopher, Aratus. It was Paul’s very knowledge of these teachings that enabled him to talk to dignitaries of the world. In doing so he was able to get the message of Christ across to those who probably would have never heard it – or if they heard it, they would not have listened. 

Paul had the ability to adapt his message and maybe his lifestyle to become all things to all people so he could win as many as possible for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). To the Jew he became as a Jew; to the weak he became weak; to those not having law he became as one not having law.  In other words, he found a common ground with those around him so they would accept him and listen to what he had to say. Paul had the ability to be “in the world,” plus maintain his loyalty and relationship with Christ.

Therefore Christians shouldn’t be withdrawn and into themselves.  In many ways we look and act like everyone we meet. We are educated, have jobs, participate in hobbies, and join in activities. However, we don’t compromise our principles, nor do we have a holier than thou attitude. Our main purpose is still to serve Christ, but we realize God loves everyone. So it doesn’t hurt to be available to people when they have questions about God. Being available doesn’t happen if we are not participating in life. So if we are in the world, eventually we may get the chance to let others know we are not of the world – we are of Christ.      

I get a little flustered when it looks like scriptures contradict each other. Certain scriptures indicate that God loved the world. John 3:16 says He loved the world so much that he sent his son to die for it. Jesus came to save the world, not condemn it (John 3:17).

However, John said, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).”

Do the concepts of loving and not loving the world biblically conflict? I don’t think so.

What did God love about the world? When God created the world he said what he created was good. Nature, galaxies, animals, and so on – it was all good (Genesis 1:31). But I don’t think he died for nature or the sun, moon and stars. What does God love in this world? It has to be the people – you and me. That’s what he loved so much that he gave his only begotten son to die for.

What was John referring to when he said not to love the world? I don’t think he was referring to people, but rather the philosophy, mentality, outlook, priorities, attitudes, and behaviors that permeate society and influence people. These can actually lead us away from God. 2 Timothy 4:10 says that Demas loved the world so much he deserted Paul and went back to Thessalonica.

John goes on to say in 1 John 2:17, “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Paul told us about the perils and pitfalls of falling prey to the enticements prevalent in today’s world: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (Galatians 5:19-21). These things can lead us astray and away from God’s path. And most of all – they can prevent us from loving God. 1 John 2:15 says that if we love the world, the love of God is not in us.

What does that mean? Does it mean that loving the world blocks God’s love for us? No. God loves us unconditionally. While we were yet sinners he died for us (Romans 5:8) and he will continue to love us forever. But having a wrong kind of love for the proclivities of the world blocks us from loving God as we should.

The bottom line is that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 24:6). We either let God rule us, or we let the world rule us. And when we serve the philosophies of this world we are building on a foundation that will eventually pass away. The desires of the world pass away, but the man who does God’s will and loves him, lives forever (1 John 2:17).

So do we love the world? Yes! We love God’s creation and we love the people, but we don’t love the detrimental influences of the world because it impacts our lives in a negative way. It will keep us from drawing closer to God. In fact, it will prevent us from loving the people in the world Jesus died for.