The importance of the application of Faith to all spheres of life.
By Benjamin Stegman
Why should we care whether our thinking is Biblical in everyway? Why does it matter? As long as we’ve got the basics down, why worry about anything else? This is indeed the question of the hour and in an age where the average American Christian man would just as soon lose an appendage as think anything through in any detail definitely bears consideration. There has been a tragic loss of clarity in the Church at large, being replaced to a very real extent with spiritual lethargy and purposelessness. Most men have no multigenerational vision for their families; life is a purely day-to-day activity, with work, play, and Sunday afternoon football taking center stage in many cases.
In the last century, there have been several men who have dared to confront the psychological apathy and mental sloth that has overtaken many Christians. Francis Schaefer with "How then shall we live" is probably the most well known, but there have been numerous others who have given thought to this subject. Probably most recent has been the efforts of Dan Smithwick with the Nehemiah institute. At the same time as this work in worldview development has been progressing, there has been a trend within the church, especially amongst evangelicals, towards a distinct separation of faith from life. As time has passed, it has become completely natural for a man to don his good attitude and state of mind along with suit and tie and head off to church on Sunday morning while no one would ever guess that he was a believer during the rest of the week. The popularization of the traditional separation of clergy and laity (and thus faith and life) has played a large part in the (often unconscious) training and desensitization of Christians to the point where they think nothing of leaving their faith at the door of the corporate world. Faith has become something that you practice privately, at home, behind closed doors, and certainly not in the workplace or public sector. As a result, for many years the subject of Biblical worldview has been brushed aside, or at least neglected, by most modern Christians. To a very real extent, this trend is the part of the long-term effects of Constantine’s popularization of the institutionalized Church; clergy became stronger as laity became weaker with the unfortunate product being the lukewarm Christian. This tendency coupled with the societal trend towards separation of church and state within the last century has lead to the Godless nation we now know. The advent and acceptance of the public school system further widened the perceived chasm between faith and life, as younger and younger children were indoctrinated with the idea that faith was something to be confined to the quiet recesses of personal time. Even the church has taken up the work of widening the gap; service in the name of Christ is now something a committee is formed to accomplish. Witnessing is now something one does with little pieces of paper in their hands (tracts) while going door to door in Mexico, or while putting on shallow little "skits" with one’s anti-family (i.e. youth) group. We as the bride of Christ have slowly but steadily advanced down the slippery slope of abolishment of true faith while Satan has looked on with glee. Christianity has become just another "religion", nearly completely assimilated into the recently popular "global community of faith". We have become baseless, "blown about by every wind of doctrine", as evidenced by the rampant apostasy and revivalism present in the world around us.
This may seem tragic, but all is not lost. God has given Christians a plan, a plumb line, and a standard: the Word of God. What is needed now is committed Christians, willing to turn their back on the world, forsake tradition, and apply their faith in Christ to every sphere of life. With this challenge in mind, I tackle our first subject.
The Nature of Truth
The truth...a paradox, as our society would have us think. Relativity reigns supreme, or so we're told. The only truth is that there is no truth. The list goes on. Given history, Christianity in times past has been the gold standard of reason and logic- the veritable anchor of rationality of the ship of society in a sea of meaninglessness and confusion. Alas now even this is not the case. The Evangelical, Charismatic, and even Pentecostal movements in the last century have led the headlong dash of society down the slippery slope of emotionalism and amusement. Darwinism has firmly established humanism and secularism as the final authority of all things. We in the Church must not be deceived and ensnared by this deadly trend towards relativity. We must realize what the "hope that lies within us" is before we can ever begin to give an answer for it. It should be recognized by the reader that any discussion of truth (or any subject for that matter) will be by default based on the presuppositions held by the participants. Several of these assumptions are integral to the Christian Faith and are listed below. It should be noted that the complete proving of the validity of these presuppositions is beyond the scope of this paper, though such a topic may very well be the subject of upcoming articles. Thus, without further ado...
1.) God exists as sovereign and is therefore the basis of all meaning.
-In other words, He is the one great Fact behind all facts, the one great Logic behind all logic, the one great Truth behind all truth. Truth exists precisely because God does. God is, was, and will be before all others. By virtue of this fact, He is the basis of meaning and all reality.
2.) The King James Bible (and its derivatives) is God's Word to mankind, inspired, inerrant, and preserved to this day.
-God defines reality, thus He and He alone is the objective measure of truth. Therefore, anything the proceeds from the mouth of God must be truth, since it would be impossible for the basis of all, and thus truth, to be contrary to His own nature. God justly demands obedience by virtue of the fact that He is before all others. He created all, thus anything that exists, exists for His purpose alone: His glorification. Human beings are created in the image of God- our existence; physical, mental, and spiritual, is a dim reflection of His. While we have been given a wondrous mind with which to think, we are kept from pure thought by our will and emotions. Thus, while God is perfectly capable of speaking to us-audibly or otherwise, we are incapable of hearing accurately 100% of time. God knew this, and for this reason He gave His word, in written form, into the hands of men, protected by His divine providence to ensure it's preservation throughout history. Thus, while we hear from the Holy Spirit under the new covenant, we must diligently compare what we "hear" with what we already know to be true in Scripture for the simple reason that God, as the basis of truth, will always be consistent with Himself. I've already stated that by obeying God we are Glorifying Him, thus: The ultimate means to the end of humanity (to Glorify God) is the application of the Word of God to all of life. Therefore, at least in this case, the end demands the means.
Based upon these assumptions, let us examine a few questions.
1.) Can truth ever be relative?
We have defined truth as that which God says. Therefore if God's Word is truth, what is written in the Bible must be the absolute, objective measure of truth. Thus: truth is not relative. Either a fact is aligned with a Biblical position and therefore correct and true, or it is misaligned with the Word of God and it therefore incorrect and untrue. By our definition, "relative truth" is an oxymoron.
2.) Can truth be known?
Truth is defined as the words of God. He has preserved his Word in the Bible, therefore, yes: truth can be known.
Therefore, we see that the goal of the Christian is, and must be, the application of the Word of God to all of life. We call ourselves Christians, which means that we follow Christ. This is easy to say, but do we realize the full implications of such a statement?
To follow Christ is to follow God’s Word.
I have never met a Christian (or an unbeliever for that matter) who would argue with the premise that by definition a Christian is one who follows Christ. The fact is though; Christ is not among us in bodily form. We cannot "follow Him" in the sense that a little boy follows his father around his work. However, God has not left us alone. John 1:1-5 explains the idea that Christ is the Word of God, which was present at the beginning of time. This is important because, coupled with the fact that God’s Word will never pass away, Christ and the Word are one, and in the written Word, are both known. Some have argued that Christ is the exclusive foundation of our belief and I agree wholeheartedly. However, how is it we learn about Jesus and His ways? The obvious answer is through the Scripture. According to Galatians chapter three verse twenty four the Old Covenant was given for the purpose of leading us to Christ. The word "schoolmaster" is from (3807) paidagogos which means "a tutor i.e. a guardian and guide of boys. Among the Greeks and the Romans, the name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without them before arriving at the age of manhood." Thus, it can be inferred that a proper understanding of the Law would lead naturally to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is; the entire Bible points to Christ and explains and expounds upon His nature, thus giving us the base for knowing Him. (It should be noted here that although one can know everything about Christ, it is entirely possible to miss knowing Him personally. A good knowledge of the Scriptures must go hand in hand with a personal relationship with Jesus Himself. This is where the "Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the sons of God" [Romans 8:16], without the relationship the knowledge is worthless). Thus to follow Christ is to align oneself with the principles of Scripture and thereby strive to make application of the truth contained therein to all areas of life.
The importance of a thoroughly Biblical
worldview.
I trust that we’ve established the fact that Christ is known
primarily through the Scriptures, therefore to follow Christ is to apply
His Word to life. It wouldn’t seem that too many folks would have problems
with this logic. Unfortunately, there has been a shift, especially within
the house church movement of late towards the notion that Christ can be
known (and thus followed) with out the plumb line of scripture as the
final authority. To illustrate this point, here are a few quotes from
a popular email discussion loop I was once a part of: "Subjective truth
is just as authoritative as objective truth. God lives in both realms-
the subjective real and the object real. Both are real and both are from
God. God doesn't water down the message just because he is speaking and
touching you in a different way. God doesn't get it wrong it is us who
get it wrong." Here’s another: "I believe that [the bible] was divinely
inspired. However, I think that there are other things written by Christians
that are just as divinely inspired. In fact, I've read things from this
very discussion list that were just as inspired and instructive as anything
in the New Testament. It was men (and corrupt ones at that, in my opinion)
who made the decision about the canon". (Note: the following arguments
borrow heavily from my responses to the above, and other, statements on
the aforementioned discussion loop). There is serious error in the idea
that subjective truth is equivalent to objective truth. Subjective truth
is an oxymoron- there can be no truth that is not objective. A subjective
truth is nothing more than a random statement (be it fact or fiction,
the differentiation is up to the hearer) - e.g. "My blue sweater looks
simply ravishing on me" (subjective means that my statement is based on
my opinion.). I will contrast this with an objective truth; "I live in
the United States of America." This is not based upon my opinion, you
can go look up my name in any U.S. census report and discover the truth
of my statement. Based upon this fact, subjective truth is useless except
to the individual whose opinion or emotions are involved. God cannot be
both subjectively and objectively true. Either He's 100% consistent, or
He isn't. This mode of thought leads directly to the breakdown of absolute
truth, as we find so prevalent today in the world. Such heresies as sodomites
arguing the acceptability of their behavior by God have stemmed from this
exact line of reasoning. Of course it can be reasonably argued that one’s
interpretation of Scripture can be in error. This is a good explanation
of the diversity of denominations and opinions. However there is an enormous
difference between an error in perception (i.e. feelings or emotions,
however you want to look at it), and an error of interpretation. Let me
offer an analogy: Let us suppose that I have a dream. I am on a cloud,
flying through the air, I see a purple bird with pink feet flying around
my cloud. Then my dream ends. Now, let us suppose that the next day I
am discussing my dream with you. After mentioning my conviction that my
dream is reality, you express (hypothetically speaking or otherwise) your
even firmer conviction that I am off my nut (so to speak). Well, although
it seems irrefutable reality to me, I don't have any logical basis to
dispute your statement, for the reason that my tale of my dream is 100%
subjective- that is, I was "there", and you were not. At the same time
you don't have any logical basis to dispute me, for the same reason- I
was there, you were not. Now let me bring this story back to reality.
I may well feel that I have heard from God, but as such, I have no logical
basis to claim that my "word" has any correspondence with reality for
the simple reason that I have nothing to analyze it against. (Who knows,
maybe it was bad pizza *grin*). Some people may protest that I am casting
down the possibility of divine revelation through prophecy- not at all.
As stated above, the fact concerning prophesy from God is that it will
never contradict previous prophesy, that is, (again, as I said before)
God will never "tell" us anything that is not consistent with His revealed
Word. My point here is that without a rock solid standard by which to
compare all else and thus determine reality, the only path left is that
which descends into illogicality and confusion. This standard is, and
must be God’s Holy Word. To illustrate the implications of this, I offer
a new scenario: I say I have heard from God, that I can cheat on my wife
(supposing, of course, I have a wife, which I don't *smile* but for illustration
purposes, bear with me.). You say, "This sounds fishy", and I say, "Prove
it". Having your Bible in hand and the Spirit of God in your heart, you
can show me up for what I would be (making such a blatantly ungodly statement),
a false prophet. If you didn't have the two articles, which I mentioned
(The Lord and His Word), we would plummet into the same quandary I spoke
of earlier with my "purple bird" story. In other words, it doesn't matter
that I was there and you weren't, I can't fool you, because you had the
measuring rod in hand. The fact is we cannot rely on our feelings (or
supposed "words from God") alone to guide our lives. The idea that I can
"hear from God" is definitely true, but I'm only human, I misunderstand,
I am distracted, I am wishy-washy. God can and will speak to us in a tangible
way, but anything He "says" will be entirely verifiable by the absolute
standard of His revealed Word. He will never communicate anything to us
that contradicts His Word. For Him to do anything otherwise would be inconsistent,
thus making Him a liar, which He, being the definition of truth, is not.
He has promised us in Mark 13:31, His Words will never pass away! Why
did Christ leave us with the Holy Spirit? John 14:26 says that the Holy
Spirit teaches us all things and "brings to our remembrance all the things
which He (Jesus) said to us". The word "teach" used above is from (1321)
didasko: which can also be translated "to explain or expound a thing".
This gives a sense of discovery, not of new truth, but of better understanding
of already revealed truth. In short; without the Bible as our standard,
we are lost to all reason; there is no base from which to start. The only
course left in the exclusion of the Bible is that of meaninglessness.
We cannot possibly live lives glorifying and honoring to God without the
Holy absolute standard He gave to us, the Bible. On our own, we fall into
heresies, are subject to "winds of doctrine" (Hebrews 13:9), and are condemned
to a life of error because of our fallible, sin prone, humanity.
Application of Faith (following Christ
and thus the Bible) to all of life
Is our faith truly on the
same footing as everyone else’s?
Christianity vs. Religion.
I remember several years ago when I first came to the university
I had to take a course in freshman composition. One of the stated objectives
for the class was to "develop critical thinking skills". Towards this
end we would read different articles, essays, magazines, and books on
our own and discuss them in class. How well I remember one such discussion,
although I don’t remember how the topic was broached, where I was asked
(based upon some statement I had made) "well what religion are you anyway?"
I, of course, answered "Christianity", and at the time, I didn’t think
much of it, but several months later I began to think more in depth on
the issue. All through recent history within the Church, Christians, as
well as the world, have come to associate Christianity with a given belief
system and/or doctrinal stance. To mention that one is a "Christian" will
likely immediately procure images of the Ten Commandments, Christ on the
cross, and other such "icons of the faith" in the minds of the listener.
Over time, there has been a progression of events that has led to the
acknowledgement and definition of Christianity as a "religion". Probably
the most influential in this trend was the hand of Constantine and the
subsequent "legalization" of Christianity. From there the movement picked
up pace, gaining momentum with the formation of the organized Catholic
Church, which gave way to the different reformations and corresponding
denominations. Although some might say that this change is innocuous,
perhaps the full ramifications of the trend toward organization of Christianity
into a religion can most fully be appreciated by Webster’s definition:
Re-li-gion: 1a: the state of a religious (a nun in her 20th
year of religion) (1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural
(2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious
attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic: scrupulous conformity:
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor
and faith.
As seen from the definition, the term "religion" carries with
it the theme of an organized system of beliefs, i.e. something external
to the character of an individual. To clarify; over time, one’s beliefs,
values, practices- religion could indeed become a part of one’s character,
however the general sense of the word leaves out this consideration. So
then, to be a follower of a "religion" can be taken to entail adherence
to its given set of "religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices". The
fact that Christianity has come to be known as a "religion" leads to a
very important point: Christianity is largely no longer connected to an
individual, but rather an institution. This has not always been so, and
should not be so now. I submit unto you that Christianity as a set of
beliefs or values must be secondary to Christianity as a way of life.
Several places in Acts, the body of Believers were referred to as the
"way" (Acts 22:4, 24:22), this brings to mind a mode of life, rather than
a set of beliefs (although a set of beliefs would certainly accompany
any mode of life). The Greek backs up this interpretation: The word hodos
(hod-os') means, to quote strongs, "a road; by implication, a progress
(the route, act or distance); figuratively, a mode or means: --journey,
(high-) way." Derivatives of this word can be translated "companionship
on a journey, i.e. a caravan: --company, to be a wayfarer, i.e. travel:
--go on a journey, to travel. In addition, in Acts, believers are first
called Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:26). The word "Christian" is from
Christianos (khris-tee-an-os'), which simply means "...follower of Christ".
In John 13:35, Christ states that believers will be known as His disciples
(which comes from mathetes {math-ay-tes'}, which means "a learner, pupil,
[or] disciple".) based upon their interactions with one another. The Greek
wording is essential to a proper understanding of this passage. I know
that this probably all seems rather technical, but bear with me. The words
"ye have" is from echo (ekh'-o) which means (again borrowing from strongs)
to "have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have (hold) possession
of the mind", this refers to alarm, agitation of emotions, etc., "to hold
fast keep, to have or comprise or involve, to regard or consider or hold
as to own, possess." This is "used of those joined to any one by the bonds
of natural blood or marriage or friendship or duty or law etc, of attendance
or companionship." Continuing on, echo means "To hold one's self to a
thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to. To be closely joined
to a person or a thing." Clearly, this wording is referring to a state
of mind far above a simple thought or action of love towards a brother
or sister in Christ. Next, the word "love" is from agape {ag-ah'-pay},
which means "brotherly love, [denoting] affection, good will, love, benevolence."
Finally, the phrase: "one to another", which is from en {en}, which is
"a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state),
and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e.
a relation of rest". In other words, based upon Christ’s own definition
of love that led Him to the cross (John 15:13), Christians must be willing
to lay aside their right to themselves, in the interest of putting a fellow
Christian first. It may seem that I’ve gone to a great deal of effort
to make a point, but I want to make it completely clear that to define
Christianity as a religion is to deny what Christianity essentially is;
a group of people following Christ! It’s awfully quiet, those of you who
are still with me, congratulations, we’re almost done.
Ramifications of
a Biblical World view.
You may feel, like many, that the concept of a thoroughly
Biblical worldview is comparatively easy to conceive relative to the actual
application of such an idea. It is my conviction that probably 99% of
those who speak of applying faith to all of life truly grasp the full
implications of such a statement. To be completely Biblical in every area
of one’s thinking one must consider myriads of different areas of thinking;
Science, Religion, Politics, Economics, Ethics... the list goes on. It
seems to me that a lifetime is hardly enough to afford even a cursory
understanding of the Bible’s full application to life, so rich is it's
depth and truth. But as Paul so truthfully writes in Romans 8:29, we who
are saved are predestinated to become "conformed to the image of his Son..."
We can trust Christ to lead us providing we are willing to obey. We are
on this earth to develop the mind and character of Christ, to be "transformed
by the renewing of your minds". Thus any application of God’s truth is
and must be a life long process of learning and application. As Philippians
3:16 and Romans 14:5 indicate, we must act according to the truth that
we have. To do any less, according to James 4:17, is sin.
Let us study to show ourselves approved unto God, let us cast
aside the distractions and traditions that so easily entangle us, and
let us move ahead together as the Body of Christ, towards the building
and establishment of the Kingdom of God, to the glory and honor of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.