Jesus was the Master at getting to the heart of a matter. His pointed statement to the young ruler, to sell all that he had and follow Him, got beyond any superficial problems that the young man may have had (Matt. 19:16ff). It can be somewhat difficult, but getting to the real issues in the various questions we face is a challenge worth considering. This means looking beyond the superficial; it means thinking things out and thinking things through. Consequently, I’ve tried to revise my approach to several matters. A few examples follow.

Attending the worship services of a local church is vital to a Christian’s growth, in addition to the fact that God instructs us to do it (Heb. 10:23-25). When attendance begins to drop, the temptation is to stand up and preach a roaring lesson on attendance and then wonder why more people don’t show up more consistently. After all, we’ve preached on it. But we ought to realize that lack of attendance is really a surface problem when compared to the deeper one. The real problem is a lack of love for God and His people. Lack of attendance is a symptom of that problem. So, perhaps more ought to be said about what it means to love the Lord with all our hearts (Matt. 22:37ff). If that problem were solved, attendance would take care of itself. Not that nothing is ever said about attendance. But we can pound attendance until we bruise our hands, and that, in itself, won’t solve the problem if people don’t learn to love the Lord. Go to the heart of the matter (love for God), and the peripheral issue will also be solved. Don’t treat just the symptom; treat the illness.

Then there are the sermons that blast such things as "mixed bathing" and "dancing." Once again, it is easy to make sweeping statements that just condemn these kinds of things (usually in a list of various other evils); but when we have done that, have we really gone to the heart of the issues involved? Or have we just generalized without specifically dealing with the actual sins involved? What’s wrong with "mixed swimming"? Is it just that people of opposite gender are in water at the same time? Where is that condemned in scripture? Wouldn’t that negate a man being able to baptize a woman? Well, you know that’s silly. So, is the issue really "mixed swimming" per se? I think not. The issue is one of modesty and appropriate behavior. So why not address that issue? If one involves himself in a situation where inappropriate dress and behavior are practiced, then it is wrong whether it entails getting in water or not.

"Dancing" is one of those loaded words, too. Let me ask, where does the Bible condemn "dancing" in the broad sense? It doesn’t. In fact, there are places that speak of "dancing" in a positive way. How can there be "a time to dance" (Eccl. 3) if all dancing is wrong? Is "dancing," per se, the real problem we are trying to address? No, not really. It might be a conduit through which evil is practiced, but what needs to be addressed is the evil itself. The real problem is engaging in behavior that is lascivious, carnal, and inappropriate for Christians. If a particular dance lends itself to that (as many modern dances do), then it is wrong. Of course, it doesn’t have to just be a "dance." It could be any kind of sinful behavior, whether it is put to music or not. But again, the important issue has to do with the violation of godliness, not with "dancing" in and of itself. (If we’re not careful we can become like the man who learned that dancing was wrong, period; so he warned another Christian that a man shouldn’t even dance with his own wife because it might lead to something.)

I’m not saying that we should never specifically mention these matters as possible problems or avenues through which sinful activity can occur. But I am saying that just naming these off in some list of sinful practices, without some explanation as to why they would be mentioned, is, I think, missing the point. We may be tempted to think that it is just the safer thing to do – condemn all dancing, for example, so that people won’t engage in the sinful dances at all; and then they’ll stay away from those places that Christians ought to avoid. But this is building fences where God didn’t build them; and any faithful preacher should be careful about doing that, also. How much better to explain, get to the heart of the problems, so that we can take these principles and apply them to all situations we face, whether they involve music, water, or just regular, everyday activities. Otherwise, one might think, "dancing is wrong, and I can’t do that," but then violate the principles concerning lasciviousness in another activity because he hasn’t learned the real problem. The challenge of maturity is to take the principles of God’s word and apply them to every situation, to properly discern good and evil in every area of activity (Heb. 5:14). That’s not always easy. But it is a chief ability of the child of God who has brought every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Doy Moyer