Hi everyone,
In this post we will be talking about biblical commands and practices that are often ignored in the professing Church in America today. We will look at street preaching, head covering, washing of feet, the holy kiss, and maybe more. I know I have written about some of these in the past, but I believe that they are still important, and still largely ignored in the professing American Church
Street Preaching:
We will start first with street preaching. Is it biblical? Is it still supposed to be practiced today? I highly suggest “Dear Christian” by Ryan Denton. It is a pamphlet which provides verses of Scripture in response to opposition to open air preaching.
Please do not misunderstand me in thinking that I believe all men should be preaching on the street and if you are not preaching on the street you are in disobedience to a biblical command, that is not what I am saying. All Christians are commanded to make disciples, and all Christians must proclaim the Gospel, but that does not mean that all Christians have to street preach. Having said that, open air preaching is a biblical practice and should not be condemned by professing Christians. It is absolutely biblical. You may ask if it is effective. A man of God who is faithfully proclaiming the true and complete Gospel is absolutely effective, because the Word of God does not return void but will accomplish all that God intends it to accomplish. A man of God who is preaching the full and complete Gospel leads everyone who he talks to towards Christ. It is not up to men to save, that is the work of God alone. The Christian leads them to Christ, God chooses whom He will save.
As we consider open preaching let us think about some of the examples we have in the New Testament. John the Baptist preached in the open air. He was in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, (Luke 3:3). Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, on… a mountain. In Mark 2:13 Jesus was teaching the people beside the sea. In Mark 4:1 it says, “Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.” In Acts 17:17 Paul was reasoning in the marketplace with those that happened to be there.
Street preaching has been used as a biblical principle for proclamation of the Gospel throughout the history of the Church and it should continue to be practiced today. Praise God that there are some men who are faithful to proclaiming the Gospel in the open air. May God raise up many more who will do the same.
Head Covering:
For those of you who do not know what the web address of my blog means, “Katakalypto” is the greek word for head covering. If you have read my other posts on this issue, or seen pictures of me, you may have realized that I believe in the modern practice of head covering.
I suggest the work of Jeremy Gardiner in “Headcovering: A Forgotten Christian Practice For Modern Times” although I do disagree with him on the matter of head coverings only being for meetings of the Church. I do not see that established in Scripture and understand that women should cover their heads, and men should uncover their heads, when praying or prophesying anywhere, not only in Church services. However, apart from this disagreement, I believe Mr. Gardiner provides a solid argument for why head covering should be practiced today. This post will not be as exhaustive as Mr. Gardiner’s work, it will merely be a fairly short explanation that will hopefully provide some insight into why this is a biblical command for women today.
Please read 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 and think about what Paul is saying.
As we look at this passage let us remember who Paul is writing to, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:” 1 Corinthians 1:2. This is written to all Christians, not just those in Corinth at the time that Paul wrote this.
Now that we have established who he is writing to, please look back at 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. Paul is looking at the the structure that is put in place by God. This passage is not teaching that women are lesser than men, but that the husband is the head of the wife. They are equal in value and dignity but have different roles established by God. Christ is not in any way lesser than God the Father and yet this passage says, “and the head of Christ is God.” it would be heresy to say that Jesus is lesser than God the Father. God is the head of Jesus in the established order, but Jesus is not inferior to the Father. Woman is not inferior to man but man is the head of his wife in the established order.
The issue of head covering is not a cultural command given to first century Christians in Corinth. While it is not a salvation issue, it is an issue of the glory of God. Man is the image and glory of God and woman is the glory of man, (verse 7). When we are proclaiming the words of God to men and when we are speaking to and worshipping God, we want the glory of God to be seen and the glory of man to be covered. Thus, a woman covers her head, to cover the glory of man, and a man uncovers his head to show the glory of God.
Head covering does not just apply to women, it applies to men equally in the fact that a woman is commanded to have her head covered, a man is commanded to have his head uncovered. A man who prays or prophesies with his head covered is just as much in opposition to this command as a woman who does so with her head uncovered.
Realize that Paul appeals to the created order, and not to a cultural practice of woman covering their heads to show that they were married. There is no indication in the text to show that this is cultural.
Please also realize that this covering that Paul is commanding woman to cover their heads with is not long hair, as some may like to argue. If you take that position it makes verse 6 read very strange. It would make it say that “For if a wife will not have long hair, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her have long hair.” That does not make much sense. However if Paul is talking about a piece of cloth that is removable when he says “let her cover her head.” that verse makes much more sense.
Look at verse 10. “That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” Now I may not exactly understand this verse fully, however, it does refer to a head covering as a symbol of authority. Women are to be in submission to their husbands as to the Lord. Head covering is a visible sign of a woman’s submission to God’s created order.
I know that this position is not held to by the majority of the professing Christians in America, however there is no reason from the text to say that it is not applicable to us today. We sometimes like to ignore or explain away commands because we do not wish to follow them. May we not be guilty of doing this. If we say we are willing to die for Christ, are we not willing to cover or uncover our heads in obedience to the commands of God?
Washing of Feet:
Please read John 13:1-17.
Jesus loved his disciples to the end and washed their feet. In verse 14 Jesus says, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Again in this passage, there is nothing that points to this being cultural. The command was never rescinded. Washing someone’s feet is a very good way to show love and honor for brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a very humble task, and I believe it should still be practiced today.
This is sadly another very neglected practice in the American Church. As an example, there was a man who had been involved in full time ministry for about 8 years or so, no one had ever washed his feet. That is sad.
Holy Kiss:
I know I hold a lot of beliefs that are unpopular in the American Church, these are not salvation issues, but I believe that they are biblical and should be discussed.
The holy kiss or the kiss of love is commanded 5 times in the New Testament. Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26, 1 Peter 5:14. Again, there is nothing in the text that says that this is cultural. A friend once pointed out that a kiss used to be a sign of submission. In Ephesians 5:21 we are commanded to submit “to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Not that that is the only reason that we should practice the holy kiss, but that is something interesting to think about.
In our culture today a lot of things are over sexualized. A kiss is not something that is inherently inappropriate; even between men and women. I practice a holy kiss on the cheek but I do not believe it is sinful to greet each other with a kiss on the lips if that is your choice. It should be done in purity, (consider 1 Timothy 5:1-2).
There are a lot of things that are biblical but make us uncomfortable in our present day and culture. Let us return to Scripture and what God has said. Let us not take our opinions to the Scriptures and try to make them fit our view. May God and His word be our standard in all matters of faith and practice.
I know that I have mentioned a lot of unpopular beliefs in this article. I ask that if you disagree with any of these beliefs, you would point me to the Scriptures that have convinced you otherwise. I am not above correction and want to have a biblical view. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
By the way, on the topic of unpopular beliefs that I hold, I am reformed, but that's another blog post.
With love in the Lord,
Virginia
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