What's the limit?

[Sara]

I decided to go on a quest to go to as many Christian web sites to look at all of the “Christian accessories” that are sold today. Here are a few of my findings…

Tee shirts sold on popular Christian web sites...

This first one without mention is just bad Theology. Typical pop church. But in addition to that what in the world does Fender have to do with Jesus Christ?

Candy bars for Jesus. Now one might laugh at seeing this but I mean really do we have to sell Jesus with candy?

Another example of bad Theology. Easy... Where in Scripture does it say that Christians have an easy life?

Now for another example... what in the world does Elvis have to do with Christianity?

Now the big questions...

So whats the limit?
Does any of this bring glory to our Holy God?
Do we really think that the Gospel is so weak that we have to sell it with pop culture?
Do we really think we have to market Christianity to gain converts?

These are serious questions to ponder. This is something that I have personally been convicted of more and more.

What are your thoughts?

~Sara

[Elaine]

Sara, Jesus is not a commodity to be sold. Sickens me, personally.

[Sara]

Elaine. I would agree. Yet sadly this type of thing is among much of the modern church today.

[Mike]

Man is forever looking for easy ways to do what God requires. Scripture says that if you are a Christian then you are a redeemed soul, and if you are truly redeemed then God wants you to say so to the world around you. ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy!” [Psa 107:2]. But the Scriptures leave no doubt as to how He wants you to ‘say so’.

(1) By testifying with our mouths. “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” etc. Again, “Whosoever confesses Me before men, him will I confess before the Father. [Mt10:32]
(2) By our deeds and actions. “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven!” [Mt 5:16].

Now, both of these require a certain amount of sacrifice on the one who is witnessing. In fact it is impossible to do either of these without the help of the Holy Spirit. This is one reason that the Master commanded the Disciples to tarry for the Spirit. Because, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me to the uttermost part of the earth. [Act 1:8].

But now along comes the dead nominal preacher and tells his church members that there is an easier way to witness. Give your wardrobe to Christ and at least one day in a week go around wearing a ‘Christian T-shirt’. “They may not read a Bible, but they will sure read your T-Shirt, and your shirt is read 3000 times in its lifetime blah blah blah!”

Beloved, God has ordained men to be saved by the foolishness of preaching not by looking at some message printed on some shirt or hat! ‘How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? [Rom 10:14]. The Ethiopian Eunuch with the Scriptures in hand, did not understand a word of what he read, and confessed he needed someone to guide him and explain what he read. [see Act 8:30,31]

Given the fact that most churches are filled with nominal ‘Christians’ who do not have the Spirit, walking around with a ‘Christian’ shirt does more harm than good to the cause of Christ.

Even if a message on a shirt could be a witness for Christ, what is the kind of messages that we see printed on these shirts? Are they the plain Word of God?! Rarely ever. On the contrary, they display a message that has nothing to do either with the Christ of the Bible or His Gospel. Messages like – ‘I’m a Jesus freak!’ ‘Try Jesus’ ‘The ball’s in your court’ etc are really blasphemous if not unchristian.

“Oh we have to reach people on their level. Didn’t Paul say he became all things to all men to ‘win’ them?” Yeah, sure! But whatever he meant when he said this he did not mean, “'to the druggy I became a druggy, to the pimps I became a pimp, and to the rappers I became a rapper.' Absurd!

But we ought not to be surprised, beloved. As the days draw near to the Lord’s coming, we shall see more of this counterfeit Christianity. Men will continue to turn the Lord’s house into a den of thieves and make merchandise of the Word of God [2Cor 2;17].

Let us who are of the Day, test all things and hold fast to that which is good! [1Thes 5:21]. Amen!

[elected]

I have seen tattoos, jewelry, bumper stickers and under this heading there is one that really irks me..."God is my co-pilot." I feel that those that have an outward showing are saying, "Look, I am a Christian," moreso than making an effort to witness to others.

[Scott Price]

Gotta watch those crazy people with the tattoos.

The Jesus Reese Cup thing is not helping my diet right now. I was sorta resolved to drop about 20 and suddenly I have an urge to go to the vending machine here at work for a Reese. Thanks Sara, that one is your fault.

All joking aside. God is not revered in the general public anymore. It is a sad thing to me, I say this knowing that most people on this site think I am a bit to intolerant of Arminianism, but it is sad to see the low view of what people consider to be God. They worship an idol, BILLIONS of people in the world currently do.

"You thought I was altogether like unto yourselves" God said to the idolators

Scott

[Michael]

I don't see this as a disease so much as I see it as a symptom of a disease--rot in the pulpit. For lack of true shepherds, the every increasing shallowness of biblical teaching if not outright apostacy, and a disdain for orthodoxy, so many wander in the desert. And so we find ourselves with Christian T-Shirts, and spiritualization of Elvis Presley and Thomas Kinkaid. I personally think this is the inevitable result of Dispensationalism and Arminian thinking, and the grandchild of Charles Finney's mode of evangelism. We could point out so many other factors, such as the mega-church and church growth movements, but in the end, it comes down to what is taught. I don't mean to place all the blame on the pastors, as I realize that many are hired to preach what the congregation wants to hear.

[robert]

There seems to be no limit to the unregenerate. Unfortunately we live in a -POP Culture- world were everything is at an easy access and people feed on it like swines at a pig troph. Can someone say - Acquiesce.

[youngwarrior]

If we don't preach Christ, whatever distracts us has won the day.

[Justin Andrusk]

Limit? There is no limit until the LORD returns. Just check out the site below and you'll see what I mean:

http://www.alittleleaven.com/

[Timothy R. Smith]

I think all of the merchandise shown here is sacrilegious at best; probably blasphemous in regards to the fourth command. It seems to blatantly violate the principle that Jesus taught us in the cleansing of the Temple. The Old Testament place of worship was the Temple. Even though that place had become a place of false religion, it's name still stood for something. In the same way, the names "Christian" and "Church" still stand for something. The same blind religion of Christ's day pervades God's modern-day house, and instead of being a house of prayer, we have been reduced to a house of robbers.

"And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city. (Mark 11:15-19, ESV)

Now, my question to compound Sara's is what about the "Reformed" merchandise we see on some of our favorite sites. (Calvin is my homeboy, et al). I don't know where the line is to be drawn, but perhaps this should enter into our discussion as well?

[Sara]

Hey Tim,

Good question. In my opinion I think saying "Calvin is my homeboy" is very disrespectful to Calvin and on top of that pretty stupid considering Calvin cant be anyone's "homeboy" cause he's dead and with the Lord. So I would also say that commercialism can come across the board as going way to far with many denominations.

I don't ever want to put myself in a place of dishonor of the Lord or dishonor to the men/women God has used down through the ages as His tool for His purpose.

Can any of us honestly say that if Calvin, Luther, Bunyan or any of the other men and women that were used of God through the years; if they were standing in front of us would any of us really have the nerve to call them our "homeboys." I think not.

~Sara

Ps. Good to have you back on Tim. You have been missed. :-)

[Justin Andrusk]

Calvin did say that humans by nature are, "Idol Factories" and he wouldn't be surprised even if he was turned into an idol.