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Grammys, Gays, and Grace: An unlikely trio
By Vinnie MacIsaac
[This is a re-blog of commentary on the 2014 Grammys and the selective public outcry.]
If Christ was not too holy for the worst sinners of His generation who do we think we are standing in judgment of our generation? What part of Christ like are we Christians missing?
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. NLT Romans 12:2
I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. NLT John 17:15-16
I am not a huge fan of the Grammy’s. I guess I was at one point in time but at the moment life has been focused in other areas, yet it cannot be denied that the event is a huge cultural mega circus of our world. With 28.5 million viewers this year [2014] how can an event like this not impact the world we all live in? It is one thing to not be tuned in to the cultural events of this world, and yet it is a whole other thing to become a public spectacle because of them.
We as Christians living in difficult times cannot ignore the culture around us. The question we face almost daily is how to live in a world that is not our home nor of our making. How do you live in a world devoid of God, passing away, saturated with moral messages we cannot adhere with and yet be those recorded in Jude 23 & 24? And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 1:22-23 ESV)
Jude, the brother of James and ergo the brother of Jesus, says we are to live in this world with the type of mercy that extends to those who doubt God, who live contrary to God, who’s sin is like a stained garments yet while hating sin we are at the same time we seek to snatch them out of the fire to come.
Culture Wars are dividing God’s people into an all-new American Civil War and Christians are the big losers.
Excuse me if I step on any toes here but we can’t snatch people from the fire by heating up the flames of hell under their feet. Why are Christians at war with the entertainment industry rather than seeking to bring God’s Grace to it? Is the power of the Cross that weak in our minds and hearts that we don’t believe our God atones for all sin in all places at all levels? The problem is not always with those who live contrary to the Gospel in the world but it is sometimes with those who refuse to extend and proclaim the Gospel to those in this world. Do we think we are so holy, so far removed from that level of sin, that we have no need to sink to that level to preach the Word to sinners such as them?
Think about it; 28.5 Million viewers watched the Grammys. Did we have even one Christian there who took to the stage to use the platform to even say one word of Grace to this generation? Well, we did have Christians there, and they did make a huge impact and splash, not snatching people from the fire but condemning them in it. One walked out and then took to Twitter to slam the sinful behavior of the performers. The other took to Facebook to slam them while promoting his own work as the solution to their sin. And so, 28.5 million people saw no Grace but they are all abuzz about the judgmental nature of Christians now not because of the sin of the Grammy’s but because we walk not like Christ. Wow, is this the message we want to leave the world with?
Don’t get me wrong, many sinful actions took place at this event. Gay marriages were performed on stage, people danced around half-naked, and one performer (a former Christian herself) even performed as a Witch surrounding herself with demonic figures and this is all great sin and I do not excuse it; but what did we expect of the world? Did we think they’d be serving Communion crackers at the Grammy’s?
I don’t have a solution. I don’t know how to live in the world and not part take in its sin. What I do
know is this; Christ hung out and made best friends with harlots, hookers, extortionists, addicts, blasphemers, liars, and thief’s and He not only did not sin but He extended His Grace to them in non-judgmental ways. He even went as far as to build His church on them! If Christ was not too holy for the worst sinners of His generation who do we think we are standing in judgment of our generation? What part of Christ-like are we Christians missing?
We don’t have to approve of sin, in order to lover sinners. You don’t have to be a second “Holy Spirit” for it is who He convicts the world of sin, not you! But you do need to share the love of God to all those who need to be snatch from the fire. I pray for the day when we send Christians to Hollywood not to judge it, but to love it, pray for it, minister to it, and become heaven ordained missionaries to it. And the first rule all missionaries must learn; is to learn the local culture so you can communicate in it, rather than be excommunicated from it.
I am firmly convinced the Bible presents marriage as between opposite sexes only. Marriage was meant by God to be between a man and a woman. Likewise, the Bible forbids Witchcraft in any manner. As a Christian, I have to accept there are limits on my actions when I accept Christ. While I can sympathize with people of faith who were insulted by the ungodly behavior I also need to remind them that the people performing such actions at the Grammy’s where representing pop culture, not Biblical culture. We’d have reason to be upset if they were claiming that this was a Biblical mandate but the venue is not the church, but the media and we need to accept they are not the same thing. Paul’s culture and the shared culture of all the New Testament writers were clad with all kinds of behaviors they were not permitted for Christians; like homosexuality, Idolatry, and foods offered to idols. Paul spent zero percent of his time seeking to get Rome to change by passing laws and reforming cultural norms. He preached Jesus. Only when people accept Jesus do we have the right to expect them to conform to the mandates of Jesus.
Paul and the Apostles sought to reform Rome by the preaching of the Gospel of Grace not nationalism clad in religion.
“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then he bade them, ‘Follow Me.’”
Ministry of Healing, p.143
Sources About The 2014 Grammy’s Controversy
- Huff Post Reports: Kirk Cameron Thinks Grammys’ Gay Marriages Were An ‘Assault On The Traditional Family’
- BCN Reports Christian Singer Walks Out On Grammy’s
- CNN Reports: Grammy Awards attracted 28.5 million
- Youtube Katy Perry Performs at 2014 Grammy’s
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