Standards for Church Life

Read 1 Peter 2:1-12 The University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball team has won ten NCAA titles, under Geno Aureimma who is in his thirtieth year as head coach. His team has the longest winning streak of any college team in Division 1 basketball history having won ninety straight games from 2008 to 2010. In addition, on two occasions the Huskies have won championships for three consecutive years. I am not a big fan of Auriemma and his Huskies, but I do respect their accomplishments. What has made these accomplishments possible? It is easy to say that it is because Geno is the best coach and he always gets the best players. While this may be true, there have been many occasions where a more talented team has lost to a less talented team. More often than not when this happens it is because the more talented team plays down to the level of the team that scores the upset victory. Many sports commentators, analysts, and coaches credit the success of the Huskies to their determination to uphold their own standards of play for the entire forty minutes of the game. Thus, it is often the case that the Huskies win their games by 20-40 points. I want to use the example of the Huskies and coach Auriemma to make a few points that may explain reasons why in many instances the church is ineffective in being a good model for its individual members and society as a whole. The writer of 1 Peter writes to tell his audience whose they are, who they are, and their purpose in life. He describes them by saying, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5, NASB). Did you get that? They are not like the people of the world and God’s purpose in choosing them is so that they can live for God by God’s standards, and for His purposes (v. 5). Before we go further let us look and the word standard. The word standard means a level of quality or attainment established by law or some authority or general consent. It is the basis by which we make comparisons, evaluations, and judgments. Standards are used or accepted to determine what is normal or average. Human societies develop standards of living based upon what it believes to be the best course of actions to take for the well-being of the people. It is true that often social structures are formed in which certain groups are favored over others, but this is believed to be necessary for the good of the society as a whole. For example, the rich and influential persons are punished less than others and their shortcomings are tolerated because it is believed that they have the capacity to help maintain the good of the society more than others. This brings me to my purpose for writing this article. Let me make a statement that I believe deserves consideration by the church and Christians in America today. The church has lowered its standards for holy living in the sight of God. This lowering of Godly standards is leading to a more mean and violent society. While I believe that racism is an obvious observable cause of police violence especially against Black men and other men of color, I also believe that racism that leads to violence, poverty, and social injustice exist increasingly because the church in America has lowered the standards for right living in a God oriented society. The white church is slow to condemn the violence of white police officers against Black men. At the same time the Black church fails to instill principles of Godly behavior that helps to prevent their confrontation with white police officers. You can place blame whomever you want, but here is a truth that many of us learned as a child. “Two wrongs won’t make a right.” I believe that God has given the church the responsibility to hold up a standard for society as a whole. The church is to be both salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16) in a corrupt world marked by an ignorance of who God is and God’s design for human living first determined by God in His creation of the world from the beginning (Gen. 1-3). The church is to serve as a model of Jesus Christ demonstrating to the world that God’s commands are standards to live by that will bring about an orderly and just society. God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandment (Exod. 20:1-17), and we find the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mountain (Matt. 5-7) and throughout the Gospels. So, Peter restates the standards that God has established for those living in the kingdom of God. He says, “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD , A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9, NASB). I want to inspire discussions on three ways that the church has lowered the standards for church life and Christian living. First, I believe that the church has deemphasized or in some cases denied that their existence is the result of their having been chosen by God. Many people believe that God does not exist. If God exist it was not that God chose them; instead it was their choice to choose God. God has no real authority over their life. The God of yesteryears cannot be a sufficient God for today’s world. So, God must change how He interacts with people today. Since people change God must necessarily change. It is believed by many in increasing numbers that God changes in how he relates to different people at different times. As such, all religions are valid approaches to the same God. Jesus is no longer the sole means by which we can find our way to God. This belief is held strongly even though those who hold such views cannot explain why these different, yet valid, approaches to God do not lead the peoples of the world into peaceful and cooperative living relationships. Instead, we live in a world in which people of different faith perspectives often seek to destroy those whose faith perspectives are different from that of their own. Secondly, the church has lowered the standards for moral and ethical beliefs and practices that people are to live by. Since truth, is relative and God changes, morals and ethics must change. I agree that morals change and ethics change because morals are rules for living based on given agreed and accepted standards determined by the people affected. Ethics are right practices that people determine will bring about the best good for the people based on their own understanding of their situations and circumstances. Thus, what was considered immoral behavior 20-40 years ago is now accepted as normal behavior for living in the world today. For example, many people work hard to bring about social justice, yet in spite of the meetings of those who are called experts problems continue to increase with no real solutions in sight. You can make your own list of the problems in the world today. While there may seem to be temporary improvements, there are no lasting solutions found. For example teen violence continues to be a problem in our cities in spite of task forces that seek to resolve the problem. The church does not help because it too calls on God to help solve the problems, but at the same time the church rejects what God says about Himself and His ways for living. We falsely believe that lowering the standards will result in a better world. Although it is true that all of us sin, this does not give us reason to lower the standards. A light must be set on the hill so that all can see the possibilities of that which is good. Finally, Peter tells his audience that they are God’s possession chosen to proclaim the excellencies of God (v. 9. Jesus tells His disciples that they must not seek to live in harmony and agreement with the world, but they are to seek first the kingdom of God and His ways which alone declare His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Today, too many churches change because they want to be seen in a favorable light by the world. The church gladly makes known its social ministries in the community, but she can only stand by and watch its membership decrease in numbers and their record for persuading people to give their life to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin is nothing to brag about. The church fails to teach the people to cultivate a relationship with Christ. The people know nothing about the power of the Holy Spirit that leads people into a more productive and peaceful life. Jesus calls His disciples to know the truth because it is the truth of Jesus that makes His disciples free from the world with all of its corruptions. We have been chosen by God to be different and to live differently with people who are also disciples of Jesus Christ. This is a final illustration. I am a retired Registered Nurse (RN). As I nurse I made some good decisions and some bad decisions. Regardless of the decisions that I made, the standards of care did not change. We must struggle to try to live up to God’s standards. We may lower the standards, but God will never lower His standards.