Articles
Not Indistinct
We human beings are hard to figure sometimes. At times, we like to stand out and be identified only for who we are, rather than as merely one of a group; at other times, we absolutely do not want to stand out or be perceived as ‘different.’ We often dislike having to wear uniforms or be restricted in what we wear, but then we don’t want to be so different everyone looks at us like we just disembarked from a flying saucer. We don’t want to drive a car that ‘everyone else’ is driving, but then we want to drive that car ‘everyone else’ is driving. Go figure.
Our confusing desire for independence and a sometimes-simultaneous desire to be included in someone’s circle reaches into religious matters and our religious beliefs, too. As a result, we now have a confusing menagerie of professing believers and a collection of strange and eclectic beliefs, which has further led to an explosion of the number of religious denominations, all trumpeting their ‘different’ beliefs and practices they hope will draw the crowds.
We Americans generally identify as ‘Christian’ because, well, that’s what it means to be an American; at the same time, while a slight majority still identify as ‘Christian,’ a deeper dig into what those same professing believers actually believe shows that it is not actually ‘Christian,’ but a conglomeration of our personal beliefs, the beliefs of multiple religious denominations and/or teachers, and sometimes a belief that cannot be traced to any outside origin. What many Americans who identify as ‘Christian’ actually believe is whatever they think or desire, and sometimes simply a matter of following what their parents and their grandparents believed and/or practiced. The number of professing believers who point to the Scriptures as the basis for what they believe is so small in the polls that it doesn’t even register in the results.
For the disciple of Jesus Christ — that is, one who believes all the Bible teaches about Him and who strives to do His will in all things and in every aspect of life — we accept that we are, on one hand, to be identifiably different than the world. The apostle Peter wrote by the inspiration of God to the disciples of the first century and reminded them, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Pet. 2:9). The Greek word translated into our English word “special” [peculiar, KJV] does not carry with it the meaning we sometimes assign it; it simply means Christians are recognized as God’s possession. While it might make a good argument or be the basis for a good sermon to say Peter was emphasizing the need for us to be different [than the world], that is not his point or meaning here.
But the Scriptures do emphasize the need for Christians to be different than the world, and even different from who they used to be. Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus they were to “no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk,” but were to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:17-24). Clearly, disciples must be distinct from the world in regards to our conduct. It is this distinction, Peter would also say, that would give critics reason instead to glorify God when they see that we are living what we say we believe (1st Pet. 2:11, 12).
While many in this country want to, as some say, “Go along to get along,” disciples cannot seek to please the world even as they profess to be living to please God. James did not beat around the bush when he wrote, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” (Jas. 4:4). Paul would also show the impossibility of trying to please both man and God when he wrote, “For do I now persuade [lit., ‘make friends of’] men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). The writers both agree that making friends with the world puts us on the wrong side of God. There must be a clear line of distinction in who we seek to please, and for whom we live. Trying to blur the lines between the two and riding the proverbial fence do not identify us ‘neutral’; there is no such thing. Jesus said plainly, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matt. 12:30).
The problem with this popular attempt at choosing the ‘middle ground’ of indistinct living is that it is merely a manifestation of one trying to serve two masters — something Jesus clearly said cannot be done. It was He who said plainly, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matt. 6:24; NASB). If we profess Jesus to be our Master, then our lives must be distinctly different than the way the world lives; or, as John wrote, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).
The additional problem of indistinct living is that, by definition, it is only confusing to the observer of such a life; one cannot know if we are truly a Christian, or just a somewhat palatable version of a worldly person! A common synonym for indistinct is the word ambiguous, which itself means ‘of doubtful or uncertain nature; difficult to comprehend, distinguish, or classify; lacking clearness or definiteness.’ While ‘blurred lines’ and ‘gray areas’ may be popular with those who do not want to choose sides, those things have no place in the lives of true disciples, and there is nothing in that definition that should be descriptive of one who follows Jesus Christ! If anything, there should be no question in the minds of anyone who observes our lives that it is for Jesus we live, for the next world we live, and that it is heaven we seek!
Indistinct living is, without a doubt, a result of intellectual compromise; a man is trying to please both sides. That, again, cannot be done. Paul put it this way: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another” (Gal. 5:17). A desire to fulfill fleshly desires will always be in conflict with the desire to fulfill God’s will; Peter noted “fleshly lusts…war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). It is when we try to please both that we end up in a mental and spiritual tug-of-war that cannot be won until we choose one side and surrender the other. Remaining in that state of confusion and ambiguity will only destroy us and waste precious time that could be better spent in service to the Lord. Additionally, those who observe will be repulsed — if not frightened — by the continual battle within our own lives and minds. We will appear to some as merely hypocrites, to others a confused mess, and to some a deranged madman who wavers between righteousness and worldliness as if it was completely acceptable and normal.
Paul admonished the Roman Christians, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). Don’t conform; be transformed! Indistinct disciples are unacceptable to God. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15).
Stand up for Jesus by being light in a world of darkness. — Steven Harper
