I. The Great Necktie Controversy; Sunday, May 18, 2014 (Sunnyslope) Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. A. Good morning, church! B. I d like to start off the sermon today with something quite exciting: a nugget, a lesson, and vignette from church history 1. Now you might be thinking, Church history? That s going to be boring, Gryphon! a) Well, actually, not so much b) Because in the very early Church of God movement, there were quite a number of controversies 2. It was a rather chaotic time a) Some of the stories of the early church are extremely informative b) And most will seem rather peculiar to our contemporary ears 3. The specific story I d like to share with you is called The Great Necktie Controversy C. The Church of God originally was not a denomination at all but rather a movement of folks who believed that a major problem with Christianity at the time was the over-influence of denominations 1. Church of God was formed as a response to denominationalism a) Denominations had hierarchies of authority 1 of 1
b) And too easily the folks at the tops of these hierarchies could pollute and pervert an entire denomination with their own personal heretical beliefs 2. Early Church of God folk believed that the only true gospel was the Gospel, the words actually written in the Bible a) They believed God would reveal His Wisdom to individuals if they would read the Bible and pray b) rather than to a small number of leaders at the top of a bureaucratic autocracy 3. Early Church of God folk believed that there should be no formal authority beyond Scripture a) They believed there should therefore be no Church of God creed (1) because a creed was a human invention (2) a watering-down of the full message of the Bible (3) and therefore prone to overemphasis some things and ignore others b) Likewise, there should be no church leadership hierarchy, no central human authority 4. To promote these ideas (which were quite radical for the time), the early church founders published a newspaper called the Gospel Trumpet a) The newspaper attracted many b) And over time, these folks formed into groups (and called themselves churches) c) And thus was how the Church of God movement was created 2 of 2
5. Some who were attracted to the movement were attracted less by what the Church of God stood for a) and more for what the Church of God stood against b) Because the Church of God was part of the holiness movement of the time (1) many within the CoG believed in striving daily for personal purity and holiness (2) Certainly good pursuits (3) But many stumbled into trying to define to specifically what holiness meant from an actions perspective c) There were quite a number of folks who became what I would call rules lawyers (1) They would build up elaborate lists of do-s and don t-s (2) Most of the items on these lists were things which only at the time were considered culturally distasteful (3) Very rarely would any of the dos or don t-s actually come directly from the Bible d) I ll give you a handful of examples e) At the very first general assembly of the Church of God (wherein folks from several states gathered together for a camp meeting) (1) some rules lawyers made quite a fuss and disrupted the assembly to such an extent that it had to be moved and eventually called off after a couple days 3 of 3
(2) Their great concerns were to ensure the members of the assembly restrain themselves from: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Eyewear Coffee, tea Theaters Reading novels (fiction) And neckties 6. Now, bowties were completely acceptable; one could be holy and wear a bowtie a) But a necktie was ostentatious b) A necktie was vein c) Wearing a necktie was sinful 7. Not everyone in the Church of God believed this a) In fact, the majority believed that the rules lawyers were going too far b) Folks at the Gospel Trumpet believed that the rules lawyers were inventing a new gospel, one of their own making 8. But the controversy would not go away; instead, it grew and threatened to schism the movement 9. Fortunately, the writers and editors at the Gospel Trumpet were able, through their writing and publishing, to convince the primary leader of no neckties contingent that he should recant 4 of 4
II. The rules lawyers of that age were wrong; they were creating their own gospel, a gospel of works, not of faith A. And the rules lawyers of this day are equally wrong, misguided, and pulling folks away from a true faith and life of holiness B. But rules lawyers are nothing new; they existed in the early days of the Christian church C. Paul spoke out against rules lawyers in his letter to the Galatians Galatians 3:1-5 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? 4 Did you experience so many things in vain? if it really is in vain. 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 1. Paul knew and preached that rules lawyers were using explicit rules of content, these do-s and don t-s, as a substitute for salvation through faith in Christ by grace 2. Salvation that comes from faith in Christ by grace means that when we stumble, when we sin, when we fall short (as we will from time to time), we are not separated from the love of God The logical conclusion of believing that salvation comes from keeping a set of laws means that we are ultimately doomed, since we are incapable of being perfect when measured against the fullness of the law 5 of 5
Galatians 3:10-14 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for He who through faith is righteous shall live ; 12 but the law does not rest on faith, for He who does them shall live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us for it is written, Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree 14 that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. III. I d like to share my core point, my primary thesis with you: We humans will naturally try to invent all sorts of creative alternatives to get to heaven that have nothing to do with how to actually get to heaven A. This seems to be the pattern often spoken of in the Bible 1. In the Old Testament, we have the story of the Tower of Babel a) Wherein humanity tried to reach heaven by way of a very tall building b) Instead of through faithful obedience to God 2. In the New Testament, we have story after story of folks inventing rules that were not given by God B. And of course today, even in our modern, contemporary Christian lives, we have countless examples of folks who invent different ways to get to heaven 1. There are, as I ve mentioned already, the rules lawyers who invent lists of things to do and things to avoid 2. There are those that believe that to reach heaven they must go on quests, on missions, on crusades 6 of 6
3. There are folks who will accept selectively some parts of the Bible but not all, picking and choosing which parts to believe in and follow and ignoring the parts which contradict how they want to see the world 4. There are those that believe in the anything goes as long as you re nice a) In other words, be nice, be a good person to others (generally speaking) b) and you can pretty much avoid having to read the Bible in much depth, you can avoid having a routine prayerful relationship with God c) You can do more or less whatever you want, provided you re a nice, good person 5. And there are those that believe in being saved by faith through grace, but that once saved always saved a) Meaning we can, once thus being saved, abandon God, abandon the church, and abandon any meaningful life-changes being filled with the Holy Spirit might bring b) Because once being saved, we can do whatever we want with impunity C. But of course all these things are heresies, they are false beliefs, they are invalid 1. The truth is as simple as it is elegant and profound: a) We are saved by faith through grace alone b) And that saving grace necessitates fruit c) Fruit of two varieties: (1) One, an inward walk with God, which changes our thoughts and attitudes from self-focused to God-focused 7 of 7
(2) And two, an outward perspective of love to others, which changes us from thinking about what we want to thinking about what others need D. Those false gospels I spoke about, the rules lawyers, the anything goes as long as I m nice folks, the once saved always saved have invented a gospel that the Apostle Paul would of flesh (meaning it was invented by humanity, not God) 1. And in Galatians, Paul instructs us to walk by the Spirit, not by what humanity has invented Galatians 5:16-18 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. IV. I d like to share with you a mini-thesis, something that can help instruct us when it comes to this lesson s applicability to ourselves A. And of course, that s really the point, isn t it? That we not just listen to this lesson, but instead apply it to ourselves B. Here is my mini-thesis: 1. That we humans will tend to think we re doing alright if we do some number of things that exist on a list of good things (even if we fail at a few of them) 2. Equally, we will think we re doing alright if we don t do some number of things that exist on a list of bad things (even if we fail and do a few of them) C. In other words, we re really good at convincing ourselves that we re doing alright 1. because we can look at lists of do-s and don t-s and spot several do-s we re doing and several don t-s we re not doing 8 of 8
2. But we ll overlook quite easily the one or two do-s we don t do and don t-s we do do D. To help illustrate this point: Let s look to the only authority, the Bible, for a sample list of do-s and don t-s Galatians 5:19-23 19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. 1. Looking at these two lists 2. It s very easy to say: a) I m doing alright because I don t practice sorcery, I don t engage in fornication and drunkenness b) and yet fail to realize that anger, selfishness, or envy continue to be unresolved spiritual problems 3. It s very easy to say: a) I m doing alright because I have a lot of joy, I have a lot of goodness, and I share love with many b) and yet fail to realize that impatience is an unresolved spiritual problem c) or that a lack of self-control is an unresolved spiritual problem E. Given that as humans we are too easily able to forget what we re failing at and remember too well what we are successful at 1. how can we possibly hope to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow? 9 of 9
2. Some believe they can do this themselves a) Some believe they can do it just between a husband and wife or a single family b) But they are deluding themselves 3. I believe one of the only ways we can keep ourselves on the straight and narrow is to seek after church discipline a) What I mean by this is that we need to seek out brothers and sisters in Christ who can hold us accountable (1) Too often I worry that when we use the phrases church discipline or Christian accountability, we are thinking of someone (maybe a pastor or an elder board) imposing accountability and discipline on a Christian (2) I worry that such a form of accountability won t be well received (3) Imposition of discipline too often results in judgmentalism (and that can lead to divisiveness and schisms) b) What I think is better and what we should strive for us our individually seeking after accountability from our brothers and sisters in Christ (1) Seeking accountability results in compassionate correcting (2) And if we seek it, we are more likely to accept it V. Do not invent a means by which you and others can get to heaven A. Don t be a rules lawyer, determining what is acceptable and unacceptable codes of conduct 10 of 10
B. Don t fall into the trap of thinking that salvation comes through quests, missions, or crusades C. Examine and accept the whole of the Bible, not only the bits and pieces that align with what you already believe or already desire to be true D. And recognize that salvation is not a license to do whatever we feel is right, provided it s nice E. Instead, seek out God s wisdom directly through the consistent and continual reading of the Bible and through routine and regular private prayer F. We should each measure our lives by the fruits of the spirit G. The truth is as simple as it is elegant and profound: 1. We are saved by faith through grace alone 2. And that saving grace necessitates fruit 3. Fruit of two varieties: a) One, an inward walk with God, which changes our thoughts and attitudes from self-focused to God-focused b) And two, an outward perspective of love to others, which changes us from thinking about what we want to thinking about what others need H. We should therefore measure ourselves daily, taking account of the fruit of the spirit that comes from us I. Ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to hold us accountable to the whole Gospel J. And seek always to subordinate ourselves to the will of God K. Amen 11 of 11