The Deadliest Weapon (Part 2): Concerning the Misconceptions of Foul Speech.

During this article, I would like to address a specific implication of American Christianity's mode of legalism as it applies to speech. Hopefully this article will be both thought provoking and edifying to those who read it.

Quite frankly, the issue at hand is that we have allowed legalism to rule so much of our lives, that we have actually created an exact (or nearly so) list of "bad words," as though one's heart is judged based on their word choice, rather than on their faith or obedience to God.

You may not believe me, but try using any one of society's list of "cuss words" in the context of the church body, and just see how well it sits with the people. You don't really have to try this to know that it's true In fact, you probably shouldn't for the sake of avoiding being a stumbling block to them. However, let's say that you did try this. You may find that, even if you use one of these words in the context of trying to encourage someone (for example: "You're the nicest f@!#ing person that I know, and I wanted to let you know how much I care about you."), they will ignore everything else that you say in the conversation because of one simple word that we have deemed as horrible. Furthermore, they will not even consider where your heart is in saying this.

What is even worse is that one can have a horribly harsh attitude when speaking to someone, but they will be pardoned as pure in speech because they have not employed any of the technically "bad words." For example, "Why haven't you finished this one simple task that I asked you!? Was it really that hard!? I've never met someone so lazy in all my life!" They never technically "swore," but I really don't believe that "swear words" are the issue at hand here. Let's see what God's Word has to say about our language.

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, specifically in Chapter 4, versus 29-32, he wrote: "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

So, as you can see, God instructs us to use our speech in a way that not only avoids bitterness, wrath, etc., but instructs us to specifically use our speech for necessary edification. Obviously it is not a matter of which technical words that we are using. One can not defile language with words, but with the heart behind them. As The Gospel Accord to John, chapter 4, verse 24 states: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." When Jesus said this, he was speaking to a woman who was obsessed with the idea of her status with God being based on where she worshiped, what heritage she had, her social status, etc. Jesus told her this to get her to realize that it is the state of one's spirit and heart that define one's relationship with God, rather than our physical actions. Of course I realize that most physical actions are a reflection of the heart - don't get me wrong - but in and of themselves, words and actions can not be sinful.

In conclusion, the reason I say all of this is not to justify being able to say swear words. In fact, I would actually recommend avoiding them when possible, since, due to society's misunderstandings, these words could easily be used against Christ's testimony. However, I also don't think that we should by any means condemn people for using these words. Moreover, I am upset over this issue, because we have strayed away from the purpose of our speech. We should be focused on using our language to, as stated earlier in Ephesians, to edify each other, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Our goal in life is to be proactive for the kingdom, not just deactive against the enemy's. If we spend all of our time condemning people for wrongs that we're not even able (or allowed) to judge them for, we will never take the time to observe how our actions can be used for God's glory, and we will never overlook the small problems in life to see the larger ones at hand.

The Deadliest Weapon (Part 1 - revised): Concerning the Misconceptions of Worship

The first issue that I would like to address in 'The Deadliest Weapon Series' (see introduction to The Deadliest Weapon for context) is the average American Christian's view on worship.  We have allowed ourselves to be terribly deceived on this topic.  For whatever reason, the word 'worship' is nearly always used to mean praise music.  Why is this?  Quite honestly, the Scriptures scarcely (if ever) use the word 'worship' in the context of music.  Music is frequently used in the context of such topics as: praise, adoration, motivation for (or triumph after) battles, joy, delight, thanksgiving, and many others.  Worship can often include some of these topics (though probably not the topic of battles, since all war is a ramification of, or response to, the fall), but the point here is that worship is so much more than just these.  

Worship, as described in the Bible, always involves and requires a pure heart, communion with Christ and His followers, humility, service, and most importantly, sacrifice!  

The reason I say this is not to point out that worship and music can not be related.  Rather, what I am saying is that they are not synonymous, and that worship should involve so much more than just singing or playing instruments.  Dr. Lee Campbell speaks clearly and powerfully on this issue:

"This [worship] is a much richer concept than mere corporate singing and praise once each week for 20 minutes - an event that could occur without any actual worship going on at all." (http://www.xenos.org/essays/worship.htm)

In addition, my intentions in this article are not just to abolish the misconceptions of worship in its most common use of the word, but to establish what worship is and to promote what God's Word has to say about worship.  

In order to worship God, we must properly understand the purpose and definition of worship.    The purpose of worship is the same purpose for all of life -- namely, to recongize the one true God's existence, to give Him glory and credit for every last aspect of nature (and everything else) that has been given to us, and to give back all that we possibly can to God with a pure and reverent heart.  Again, this means having communion with Christ and His followers and humility.  It also requires devotion and a committed, growing, healthy relationship with (and view of) God.

I think the essential problem with today's mode of worhsip is that we settle for giving hardly any effort to God, other than the effort of standing up from our chairs or pews to sing a few songs that someone else wrote for us, and we shamefully call it worship.  Again, there is nothing wrong with music, and it can definitely be a great way to express our adoration for God, as well as a method of giving God glory and credit.  However, perhaps a more appropriate name for it would be praise music; not worship.

So, what are some examples of worship, you ask?  Well, God graciously gave us a great list of them through his commandments.  Here are a few that come to mind:

>Evangelism (mark 16:15 and Acts 1:8)-- an act that includes great sacrifice, dedication, and the proclamation of God's glory.  It can even involve sacrifice to the extent of losing all pride, earthly riches, selfish desires (like pursuing a career of choice), or even one's life!  Of course this would require having communion with Christ and humility before Him, because only Christ can accomplish this work.

>Discipleship (Matthew 28:18-20) -- this includes giving up the much desired time for other pursuits, in order to train someone in the truths that God teaches and in the disciplines that God requires of us.  Would this not count as worship?

>Church fellowship/involvement -- this requires sacrifice by humbling ourselves enough to confess our sins regularly and by building each other up through God's Word.  Would this not bring glory to God's name as we bear testimony of the the Holy Spirit's work of unifying the body?  Wouldn't it also bear testimony of Christ's promises of love, the establishment of justice, and more?  Which brings me to my last example...

>Living a Christlike life (John 1:7) -- if bearing the testimony and reputation of God Himself in a world so filled with skepticism of His very existence is not a form of worship, then I don't know what is.  Would this not require a growing relationship with Him, dedication, and the greatest sacrifice of all?

These are only a few of the obvious, fundamental forms of worship.  I'm sure you all could think of more by simply taking to time to ask God how you can use the spiritual, mental, and physical gifts that He has already given you to give back to Him.

I don't wish to make this article any longer, except to ask for you to consider these things carefully and to respond with any comments or questions that you have.

The Deadliest Weapon (Introduction)

Disclaimer:  This series of articles will probably be more applicable and relative to Christians than for skeptics thereof, but feel free to read them anyways.  

In the many years that I have been a Christian (though I am yet still young), and in the time that I have spent fighting for the one integral truth, I have hardly come to know anything more deadly than American Christianity.  What I mean by this, is that American culture has so deeply permeated our thoughts with extrabiblical (or even abiblical) opinions, tradtions, and private interpretations of scripture (see 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, regarding the divisions caused by private interpretations), that our views on God and His Word are horrifically distorted. We scarcely even look to God's owns Words to form our thoughts on Him.  Because of this, I would like to commit my time to addressing a few (if not many) of the ramifications related to this pressing issue through a series of articles which are to follow this introduction.

I hope that you find these articles to be helpful through thought provocation and through serious analysis of your faith and beliefs.  Please, please, please leave your thoughts, questions, comments and grammatical corrections.  I want to hear feedback from you all.