Christians and Clubbing...

At a recent camp I was a leader at, there was a question panel which I was on. The question came up, "can a Christian go clubbing?" I was not satisfied with my answer on the evening so I would now like to clarify my answer having had some time to reflect on the subject.



Can a Christian go clubbing? I think the answer to this question is undoubtedly yes they can. The teaching of justification through faith makes it clear that our salvation, our right relationship with God, is based solely on Christ's finished work on our behalf and that faith in Christ is the thing that brings us right relationship with God. So in one sense our actions don't matter, when talking to the Galatian Christians about the temptation to be circumcised Paul tells them that there is no need to be circumcised and that actually having found freedom they had to stand fast in it.


"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1




So can a Christian go clubbing? I think the Bible's answer would be that yes it is possible for a Christian to go clubbing because in Christ we have freedom, freedom from keeping laws and freedom from trying to be good enough for God.




However if we change the question slightly to should a Christian go clubbing? We can come to a very different answer. Should a Christian go clubbing? I think in 99.99 times out of a hundred the answer will be no and I will try to explain why now.


Firstly in 1 Corinthians 10 I think we can see probably one of the strongest arguments against clubbing, Paul says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful, All things are lawful but not all things build up." Paul's argument to the Christians at Corinth is that all things are lawful for them, all things are O.K. for them to do because of their new standing in Christ, but actually not all things are beneficial for them, not all things serve to advance their Christian life. If we apply this to clubbing, obviously it is possible for Christians to go to nightclubs but will it serve to build up their Christian lives? Will it make their walk with God closer? I think the answer is no and I would argue that actually the opposite may be true, it may cause them to slip further and further away from God.


Secondly I would argue that Christians shouldn't go clubbing because it doesn't set a good example to outsiders. Again Paul speaks on this issue in Ephesians 5: 15 "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise making the best use of time, because the days are evil." Paul tells the believers at Ephesus to live wise lives because the days are evil, because the days in which they lived where evil and the days in which we live are still evil. If we are Christians and we go night clubbing, I think it makes the evil world around us assume that the way they are living is O.K. because they see the Christians around them living in much the same way. They see Christians at nightclubs and assume that all the things they are doing is the same as what the Christians do. As Christians we are no longer to hold to the same values as the world, to chase after the same things as the world but instead we are to chase after the things of God.



Thirdly Christians who go to nightclubs are opening themselves up to temptation that they don't need to open themselves up to. The temptation of scantily clad women, the temptation of drink and drugs, all temptations that a Christian can easily avoid by not going to the nightclubs.




So can a Christian go clubbing? The answer is yes they can, but should they go clubbing? There are some questions we need to ask, is my clubbing going to serve to build up or tear down my Christian faith? Is going clubbing making the best use of my time? Is it living a wise life and setting good examples to outsiders? Will going clubbing open me up to temptation that I don't need to exposed to? Finally will my clubbing glorify God, will it bring the glory and honour to God's name that is due to Him? These are all questions that can be asked of any activity that we engage in.

Reforming the Reformation

Just recently I have been reading two books about the reformation, largely because my knowledge of the people, places and events of the Reformation was somewhat patchy, which is very poor for someone who claims to be Reformed. The two books in question are Reformation by Carl Trueman and The Unquenchable Flame by Michael Reeves.

Both of these books provide a fascinating introduction to the Reformation with Reeves providing slightly more detail and focus on individuals and Trueman providing a focus on the general themes of the Reformation.

One of the great principles that the Reformation was based upon was that the Reformed church must always be reforming and must be being reformed by the word. Today, for many us, the reformation was something that happened in the past, something to which we are committed as a historical event but something which has no impact on our churches today.

However this was never the intention of the Reformers, for them the Reformation meant more than just ridding the church of the widespread abuses of the Roman Catholic church. For them the Reformation was about always testing what we did in our churches by the word of God.

I know many of you reading this post will claim to be Reformed but are we actually living out the practice of the reformers? Are we testing what happens in our churches by how the word of God says that we should 'do church'? Has the reformation lost all meaning for us? Is it a historical event that serves no purpose today?

Just a thought....

Quick Questions

Over the past number of days exams have been very much in the news. Be it with questions that couldn't be answered on Further Mathematics papers or business studies modules.

The papers have rightly focused on the emotional turmoil that this has caused students during an already very stressful time in their lives. Many students are worried that the marks and time lost trying to figure out these unanswerable questions could cost them university places.

As Jesus was travelling around some towns and villages teaching a man comes up to him with a question, "Lord will those who are saved be few?" The man wants to know how many people will be saved at the end of time, some people thought the whole of the Jewish nation would be saved while others thought that some very obvious un-repentant sinners would be lost but the rest of the Jewish nation would be saved.

But how would Jesus answer? Jesus tells the man "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Jesus doesn't answer the mans question directly, he doesn't tell him that 2 million people or whatever will be saved but rather tells the man to make sure that he himself was among the number that would be saved. This was the most important thing not the number of people who would be saved but that we ourselves are among the number that are saved.

How can we do this though? How can we know for definite that we are saved? Well when we enter through the narrow door, when we come to put our trust in Jesus Christ and say sorry for our sin, then we can know for sure that we will be saved. Don't worry about the number of people who will be saved but rather let's focus on our own relationship with God...

A Translation Fit For A King

As many of you who will be reading this blog are aware this year marks the 400th year since the King James Version, or Authorised Version of the bible was released. This was a watershed moment for the church and any number of churches you may care to visit today will still be using the King James Version.

In it's this version was a literary masterpiece and many of the phrases contained within it are still in widespread use today. "A fly in the ointment" "By the skin of your teeth" being just two examples but many more can be found here.

But what i want to consider in this post is the very emotive question does the King James Version actually break one of the fundamental rules of protestantism today? The King James version was a child of the reformation, born at a time when religion and the way we did "church" was changing forever. The protestant reformers had 3 main points that differentiated them from their Catholic opponents.

The first of these was "Sola Fida" by faith alone, that the only way we could come to know God was through faith in his son Jesus Christ, that faith in Jesus was the only way to have right relationship with God, not through performing acts or supporting the church well enough but only through faith.

Secondly there was the idea of the priesthood of all believers. For the catholics only ordained ministers where suitable to read the scriptures, only they could understand them, only the ordained could hold office within a church. The protestants believed that all men should be able to read the scriptures that all men should be eligible to hold office within the church.

Finally then there was the idea of "Sola Scriptura". That the bible alone is the Word of God revealed to us. The reformers believed that the bible should be available to all men to read in a language that they understood. For the catholics the bible could only be read in Latin, which the uneducated man in the pew had no access to and couldn't understand. But the reformers wanted to change this and made the bible accessible to all men.

This is the point where i feel that the King James Version really falls down today, a wonderful translation...yes. Used by God...undoubtedly but how many of us really understand what the King James is saying today? Most of us today do not speak in the language of thee's and thou's we speak in modern English and in my opinion the bible should be read both privately and corporately in a translation that makes it as easy as possible for the people reading it to understand, which is essentially what the reformers proposed in not having the bible read in Latin.

Perhaps the final word belongs to the preface to the King James Version itself, where it claims not to be a new translation but rather to build on the work of William Tyndale in translating the bible. Many modern translations today build upon the fine work of the translators of the King James Version, especially the English Standard Version. Is it now on the translations 400th birthday time to be thankful for the translation but also a time to switch to those who have picked up the baton and carried it forward?

"No News Is Good News"

Over the past wee while I have begun reading a daily newspaper. The paper in question is the i paper, a kinda thinned out (or dumbed down in my case) version of The Independent. I thoroughly recommend reading this newspaper as you can get everything that's going in the world in around an hour.

But over the past while it seems that no news is good news, the paper is full of distressing images from around the world. If it's not civil unrest and the overthrow of General Mubarak in Egypt, then its the distressing scenes from Libya and the reaction against Colonel Gaddafi and his oppressive regime. Or more recently the terrible scenes from the earthquake in New Zealand. With so much evil in the world, with so many bad things happening (or good things happening in a bad way) how is it reasonable or coherent to believe in a God who rules the world and is in control of everything that happens? Let me suggest 4 reasons why I think the evil in the world doesn't rule out a loving, living God:

Firstly this isn't the way it is supposed to be. We are told in the book of Genesis that God created the world and when he created it is was very good. Now this doesn't mean that it was OK, that the world that God had created was better than average, it means the world that God had created was perfect, there was nothing wrong with it. But we all know that this isn't the way it is now? Events in Egypt, Libya and New Zealand show us that the world is no longer perfect and is stained with sin. But sin and all these bad things that happen are not the way it is supposed to be, they are an un-natural intervention into God's good and perfect world. Ever since Adam and Eve we have been living with the consequences of sin which unfortunately includes death and suffering.

Secondly this isn't the way its going to be forever. The bible also tells us that God has appointed a day in the future when he will judge the world, when the world will be returned to the perfect state that it once enjoyed. There will be a perfect world, a new heavens and a new earth, in which there will be no more sin, no more suffering and no more death. So this world is not all there is going to be, one day there will be a new heavens and a new earth which will be perfect. The only way to experience this new heavens and earth is to put our trust in God's son Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, God is sovereign and in control. The bible tells us that God works all things together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. At times in our lives and times of extreme suffering in the world it can be hard for us to to see this and hard to believe this. But knowing that its all part of some larger purpose, knowing that God will somehow work good out of our suffering is one of the few things that give suffering purpose and meaning. Knowing that God will work out all things for our good enables us to endure and make sense out our suffering. I am not saying this to make light of the suffering of the Christian people in New Zealand or the Middle East but rather to try and encourage them that their suffering is not pointless, is not the product of simple bad luck but rather has been ordained by a sovereign God, who works all things together for the good of His people.

All this may leave us with one question, why doesnt God just wrap the whole thing up? If he is as powerful and in control as I say he is why doesnt he just put the world to an end? Which leads on to our fourth reason, God wants us all to come to know him and put our trust in Him. The bible tells us that God is patient with us, wanting us to repent and not wanting any of us to perish. Naturally we are all enemies of God and we all deserve God's punishment but God sent his son to die in our place, so that if we put our trust in Christ then we can experience this new heavens and new earth, which will be perfect. God is giving us opportunites to repent and come to know him for the mean time we live in this sinful fallen world waiting for our new eternal home...

Happiness in Every Stitch

On Friday my wife and I went shopping in Belfast. There are two types of shopping as far as I am concerned, there is the type of shopping that involves looking for something in particular and buying it. And then there is the other type of shopping that involves looking for nothing in particular and spending quite a long time doing it.


On Friday we were doing the second type of shopping, my wife knows that I can only tolerate this second type of shopping for around an hour and after that I begin to get grumpy (or grumpier). So we set off around Victoria Square and Holister, most likely the darkest shop in the world and had a look around. Then we came to a shop that has just opened recently, White Stuff.


The shop itself is not really my style (if i have one) but my wife enjoys looking round the shop and so I did the loving husband thing and went in with her. Now the motto of the shop, something that is engraved on every hanger is the phrase "happiness in every stitch."


To me this perfectly summed up the consumer society that we live in. The society says that if we buy enough clothes, if we wear the right brand of clothes then we will be happy, if we eat the right food and drink the right drinks then that is how we will be truly happy. If only we have that pair of jeans, that shirt, then we will be truly happy. But the thing is that we know that's not the case, because we we get something the happiness and buzz we get off it lasts for a little while but then eventually it wears off and we are left no happier but just financially poorer.

Paul addresses this issue of happiness in his letter to the Philippians, he tells them:

"I rejoiced in the LORD greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for i have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

For Paul he had learned the secret of being truly happy, the secret of being truly content and it was not being well fed, it was not being clad in all the latest designer gear but was rather about trusting in Jesus Christ. This is how we can be truly happy and content, this is the only contentment that will last forever. Happiness does not come in every stitch but comes from knowing God, from having a right relationship with him through his Son.

My soul finds rest in God alone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHNEexLL3R8
Hey guys just a sneaky wee video but an awesome song that I have just discovered, a paraphrase of Psalm 62:

For God alone my soul waits in silence;from him comes my salvation.2 He only is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3 How long will all of you attack a man to batter him,like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.They take pleasure in falsehood.They bless with their mouths,but inwardly they curse.

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,for my hope is from him.6 He only is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be shaken.7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;pour out your heart before him;God is a refuge for us.

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;those of high estate are a delusion;in the balances they go up;they are together lighter than a breath.10 Put no trust in extortion;set no vain hopes on robbery;if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;twice have I heard this:that power belongs to God,12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.For you will render to a man according to his work.

Enjoy our rest in God alone