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Written by Dr Phillip Kayser
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Thursday, 15 July 2010 |
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57  |
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 One myth is that there is no relationship between the outward man and the inward heart of a Christian. This is the most frequent objection that I hear: “I am of the opinion that God looks at your heart and not the clothes you wear.” If you mean by such a statement that clothes do not make the person, I agree. If you mean that clothes are utterly unimportant, all I have to do is put you into a debate with so-called “Evangelical Nudists” like Elton Robb and you will change your tune.
A person’s outward appearance communicates (and often miscommunicates) very loudly. In fact, this disjunction between the inward and the outward is what leads to many marriage squabbles. This is why I have felt it necessary to train my children in the Biblical practice of body language. If our body language conveys disinterest, it does not matter how much we protest to the contrary, people will think we are disinterested. Our body must be disciplined to communicate consistently with our verbal communication. The same is true of clothing. It would be tacky to go to a wedding in “mourning apparel” ( 2 Sam. 14:2), just as it would be inappropriate to go to a construction job in a tuxedo. And don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating wearing tuxedos to church. That too would miscommunicate our intentions. My point is that just as there is body language that communicates (and miscommunicates), there are clothing issues that communicate (or miscommunicate).
When a woman is “dressed like a prostitute” ( Prov. 7:10), don’t be surprised when men misunderstand and treat her like a prostitute. Our clothing is important according to the Bible. And in this book I want to at least get people to think about what it would mean to “worship the Lord in holy attire” (1 Chron. 16:29).
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Written by Mr. Trev McCallum
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 |
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56 |
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 The Mercury, Hobart's major local newspaper, reported that "Harmeet Singh, 34, sexually assaulted the 18-year-old after picking her up in his taxi." Singh's original story was that he did not assault this young lady but that she offered him sexual favours to pay for her taxi fare. "However he pleaded guilty in the court today to one count of sexual assault." There is a lot wrong with this story. Why was this girl out getting drunk and not helping within the home environment? This young lady's father abdicated his responsibility to protect his daughter. Much more could be said. When we read about such things as Christians we automatically think on a Biblical worldview. What we need to understand is that those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness ( Romans 1) do not see the world through the same lens as we do. The church is the salt of the earth, she is to transform and then preserve society in the Word/Law of God. This is part and parcel of her Great Commission, to disciple the nations in the Scriptures and immerse them in the Word - teaching all to be faithful to God. Today the Australian church in general believes evangelism and individual salvation are the chief and end of her duty. In this paradigm society can and at times should be governed by a word other than that which proceeds from the mouth of God. As the church moves away from discipling the nation of Australia in God's Word/Law, towards subjective individualism, we find society crumbling. Don't get me wrong, all of heaven rejoices at the repentance of an individual sinner. I'm not implicating otherwise. What I am suggesting is that the church is stuck in first gear. Once a sinner repents the journey of sanctified obedience to the Law/Word of God should begin. Individuals and churches should be moving from milk to solid food. This highlights the Biblical flow of death to life. Often the godly go through death like experiences and then "resurrect" to a greater life of glorifying God. We can see this easily in the life of Joseph. He symbolically "died" as his brothers sold him into slavery and when he was unjustly thrown into prison. However, Joseph was obedient to the Word of God and was "resurrected" into a position of great influence at the right hand of Pharaoh. He was then used to protect and aid the people of God. Throughout history we read about how faithful people of God die first and then are "resurrected" or raised up to advance the kingdom. What has this to do with our cabbi?
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Written by Dr Phillip Kayser
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Monday, 12 July 2010 |
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110 |
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 Wow! I feel like a radical bucking tradition! I visited a church some time ago with my family and noticed that we got the same attention that men with piercings got ten years ago! Tattoos are so yesterday! Let me tell you a secret: if you want to stand out in a crowd, dress up for church. You’ll instantly satisfy your craving to be different, to buck conformity and to stand strong in the face of criticism. You may end up irritating a few people in the process by not fitting in, but isn’t that the point? The in-thing changes so rapidly today that you may not have noticed that you are not with-it. Get with the program and dress up for church!
The New Legalism
This tongue-in-cheek introduction was intended to highlight the pressure many people feel to conform to a standard of “nonconformity” and to legalistically call dressing up for church legalism. Actually, I hadn’t intended to write an article on “dressing up,” but I thought that this subject was sure to give the purveyors of the new grace and the new legalism a spiritual wedgie. I can see them getting uncomfortable already. What could be more legalistic than writing about a dress code for church!?! But honestly, it’s not about the clothes. It’s a test to see if I can make the “Scandalous Freedom” crowd get curiously testy, and to come up with rules why I should not have rules. And by the way, what is legalism? That term always gets me. It seems to be a term that is thrown around as loosely as “Racist!”, “Nazi!”, and “Chauvinist!” The abortionist down the street calls me a legalist, but so does the nice Christian across town. In the last month they must have been listening to the same tapes.
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