I think most Baptists have Romans 7 totally wrong

Friend, I offend someone in Christ when I use plastic bags at the grocery store, or when I use paper bags instead of cloth. I offend someone in Christ when I buy a Japanese car, and I offend someone else when I buy an American car. You have got a totally wrong view of how Christians are supposed to live in their community. Totally wrong. And someone needs to tell you this... I love you, so it might as well be me.

Some Christians have told me to remove the words for "garbage dump" and "excrement" from my website because they "offend" some people. Such people need to learn that Scripture never commands us to abstain from anything and everything that might offend someone somewhere in the culture. Yes, Romans 14 says, "It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. (Romans 14:21) However, this is another verse a lot of Christians are misunderstanding. They need to read the context to understand what Paul was saying.

Many think that means that it is best to abstain from wine (or cussing) because there are people out there somewhere that are somehow offended by it. That is not at all what Paul is saying. In fact, Paul doesn't limit this to alcohol (he includes meat "or anything else" that offends). That means the many Christians that avoid alcohol or cussing "because it offends people" should also be avoiding desserts, T.V., expensive cars, junkie cars, Japanese cars, American cars, plastic bottles, plastic bags, paper bags, poodles, and everything in the world that offends anyone at all.

No, that is not what Paul is saying. Paul's point has to do with when we *know*, specifically, about a specific person in our presence. If we know that specific brother of ours has told us He thinks drinking (or anything else) is a sin we should abstain in front of him. But that is not all we should do. Most importantly (and the part many Christians leave out) is that, in these types of situations, we are to correct our mistaken brother.

In Romans 14 Paul clearly says that such brother's faiths are "weak." Yes. Sorry if that offends you. However, when a you think something is a sin that is not a sin, that means you have a weak faith. Read Romans 14. That is what it says. If we love our brother, we should strengthen him in the faith. For instance, Paul says "let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths." (Colossians 2:16) We correct our our brothers when we see a weakness in their faith because we love them, just as God loves and corrects us.

What Paul is saying is that if our brother refuses our correction (he still thinks whatever is a sin), and we still do it in front of him, then we are encouraging him to sin. This is because "if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean." (Romans 14:14) If, in his heart, our brother sincerely thought doing the thing is a sin against God, then if he did anyway he would be doing something out of hate for God, not out of love for God.

Therefore, if a brother tells us he thinks something pure is a sin, we are not to flaunt it in front of him... but, most importantly, we are instead supposed to correct Him. The way I think of my website is how I think of my own house. I will speak freely, as I am, in my own house. I will use the full extent of the English language to make my points. If non-religious uses of slang words for excrement and garbage dumps offend you, don't go to my website.

Also, know that you are wrong... those words are not in any way, shape, or form inherently "sinful."

Some Christians think Colossians 3:8 (which instructs Christians to not use "filthy language" or "unwholesome talk") means we must not say words that offend some people. That is a complete misunderstanding of that verse. First of all, many experts interpret the original greek word translated as "unwholesome talk" or "filthy language" in some Bibles to actually mean "false doctrines." Others interpret to mean "slanderous language, lying words, insults, that which harms others." Either way, what language exactly is "unwholesome" is not specified in the passage.

The word for 'filthy language' in Col. 3:8 is made up of two Greek words: aischros (meaning 'disgraceful, shameful, dishonest,') and logia (meaning 'oracles') In every use in the NT, lovgia (logia) refers to 'oracles', or the revealed message from God. It is not like the word "logos", which can refer to actual words themselves (Matt 12:36), or a message (Matt 13:19), or speech in general (Matt 5:37). So, it appears that Paul is actually forbidding false prophesying in Col. 3:8, not "cussing."

The interpretation that the original greek word there means "those words that some in a culture find offensive" is most likely *not* accurate. For starters, even in one culture (this one for instance), different different words have many different groups of people that are offended by them. We can all think of words that one group of people might be okay with, and other words that another group might not be okay with. Indeed, there are some cultures that get offended if you *don't* use the word for "garbage dump" (hell) outside of the context of religion when they do, because they'll think you're being condescending and judging them.

Paul used a slang word for "fecal excrement" in one of his letters to the church, a letter explaining theology and the Savior. It is in Philippians 3:8, when Paul says all he had gained before was "fecal excrement" compared to the knowledge of Christ. Many translations translate the word as "dung" or "rubbish", but the original Greek word (skubalon) was probably more of a slang term, like "crap" or the infamous "s-word" (Oh NO!). Paul was making an extremely strong point with his language, and many modern English translations have attempted (and have succeeded) at toning down the very point he was trying to make.

If you think it is not possible that "filthy language" is perhaps somewhat mistranslated in many English Bible's, may I direct your attention to another verse where English translators have intentionally "toned down" the most accurate translation in order to not "offend" anyone with God's Words. See Isaiah 64:6. In many English Bibles the word there is intentionally mistranslated "filthy rags" because the word actually means, get this, "menstrual rags". I'm not kidding. Look it up for yourself. The Hebrew is "ed." Translators are totally unreliable. Many are governed by their own traditional rules of etiquette and beliefs instead of being governed by a desire to be as faithful to the original language as possible. We've got to read Scripture in the original language, or find someone who is able to and seek to learn from them. That is the only way to truly analyze Scripture to find the Truth.

Many "conservative" Christians have long been known for shunning all sorts of behavior considered by others to be morally neutral or enjoyable. Whether it’s drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation, playing cards, going to movie theaters, dancing, or even drinking coffee, many Christians have often put forth an image of a God to the world Who is a white-clad, frowning, 'Cosmic Killjoy.' Nothing could be further from the truth.

God's peace to you,

 

I did indeed invite you to my house. There was no need for you to be taken aback, as I just explained in the post above. Christians need to learn these truths because it greatly effects how the world views us and our God.

Many "conservative" Christians have long been known for shunning all sorts of behavior considered by others to be morally neutral or enjoyable. Whether it’s the use of "strong language", playing cards, going to movie theaters, dancing, the drinking of alcoholic beverages in moderation, or even drinking coffee, many Christians have often put forth an image of a God to the world Who is a white-clad, frowning, 'Cosmic Killjoy.' Nothing could be further from the truth... and we need to teach Christians to stop acting as if that is our God. It isn't. That is tradition alone.

Anyway, you are welcome back to my "house" anytime you want. Or come visit me in Raleigh NC for real if you're ever in town. God bless you.

 

Obey the two commandments... love God and your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40) It is hard. It is not impossible. For instance, see what Christ did while they killed him. He said, "Father, forgive them." He looked forward to their forgiveness as they were killing him! That is real love. That is the love we all *must* have. "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6.

If you think that kind of love is only possible from Christ since Christians "sin all the time", then you have been deceived. If you think that kind of love is impossible for a mere man to have, then look at Stephen, the martyr in the book of Acts, chapter 6. He called the men who were about to kill him his "brothers" and "fathers." He asked God for the same thing Christ did as they were killing him... "Father, forgive them"..... "do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 6:60) That is what it means to love someone as you love yourself. Love them as you would your own children if your children were mislead. No... love them as you would want *yourself* to be loved if you were being mislead. Love others as God loved you.

We can do this. We must do this.

A very important part of walking as Christ walked, especially for tradition-bound Christians (like Baptist's and many others, and I can say that since I was Baptist for 15 years), is that you you need to realize that all these rules and regulations Baptists or whoever else place on you are not sin. Sin is only what God calls sin, not what man calls sin. If you try to follow man's rules, you will probably eventually stumble... man's rules are a burden no man can carry.

See my post at the top of this page (pg 9). Read it if you haven't. Seriously. Those "sins" (the sins of 'cussing' and of 'doing something that might possibly offend someone somewhere in the world') are just man-made traditions. They are just traditions that ultra-religious people use to call others unclean. They are no different then the rules the Pharisees used in order to call Christ "unclean" according to their traditions.

Many in the church have been deceived into thinking those things (and many other things) are "sin" when they really are not sin. This is probably the work of Satan who masquerades as an angel of light (see 2 Cor. 11:14). That means the light you see and the light I see everyday. This is of course spiritual light, not physical light. Satan and his demons are real, and they try very hard to trick believers (or anyone who is looking for God's light). (see 1 Timothy 4:1). They are extremely good at it, with thousands if not billions of years of practice.

One thing they do is to accuse. They try to get people to think they "always sin". All these man-made rules serve that purpose, to get people to think they are sinning. When someone sees himself as a continual sinner, then that helps him eventually excuse *real* sin.

Real sin is when you hate your brother or your God (Matthew 22:34-40). When you commit adultery or lust after another person's spouse... When you are not only angry (for even God get's angry), but when you lash out in anger and insult your brother... When you see your brother in Christ in need, without food or clothes, when he asks for help and you have the time and money to help him but you refuse to because you love money more than your brother.

These are sins. And we can avoid these things. Indeed, we *must* avoid them. After being forgiven, we must "walk as Christ did." Stephen did it. So can we.

After reading my post at the top of this page (page 9), see the lady (Amy G) that responded on the same page by saying, essentially, that "cuss words" are what the Bible means by "course language" and that we need to never do anything that might offend someone somewhere. She totally missed what I wrote. She is totally misunderstanding that passage about 'course language', and she is completely deceived in that matter and is bound up in tradition. Read the post at the top of this page and you'll see what I mean. Her reasoning can't possibly be right because Scripture doesn't forbid cussing. The passage she is referring to forbids "false, misleading prophesying"... "filthy language" is not what Grandma calls filthy, it is what God calls filthy). Nonetheless, she cares more about Grandma's traditional definitions of what language is "filthy" then God's definitions of what language is "filthy!

Also, Scripture doesn't call us to never do anything that might offend someone somewhere... otherwise we'd never do anything at all! It calls us to not flaunt something in front of someone *specific* if that specific person tells us they think it is a sin. That is the reason why I am not cussing here on this forum... people here have told me they think it is a sin.

Don't be surprised that Amy and many, many others will refuse this truth. Tradition is so so so very hard to leave. The lady above is not going to change her mind any time soon, I almost guarantee it. But she'll have to eventually, either before she falls asleep or after, because I speak the truth.

I'm telling you the Truth in love because I walk in the Truth and I know the Truth. I love you all, and I sincerely wish all of God's abundant peace and mercy on you and all of us, God's children.

peace,

Jason