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THE
SITUATION IS GRAVE - ARE YOU? Click to go to our Home Page
THE SITUATION IS GRAVE - ARE YOU? By Paul Proctor “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put
away childish things.” – 1st Corinthians
13:11 There’s an interesting word used in the New
Testament several times by the Apostle Paul on the proper conduct for
Christians that starkly contrasts what is prevalent in the Church today. From
what I can ascertain, it’s found only in versions of the Bible published on
or before 1901. And, judging from the rapidly changing and declining 21st
Century Church here in America, I dare say its teaching and practice would
probably be offensive to many if not most contemporary churchgoers –
especially those still desperately trying to be more “relevant” to the
culture than to the Christ they claim. The word is “grave.” Now, the first thing that comes to mind with
this word is, of course, a burial plot. But, that’s obviously not what the
three verses containing this word in Titus and in 1st Timothy are referring
to, though I am not so sure one’s mortality isn’t applicable here considering
the seriousness of sin and its “wages” with respect to the sinner. Nevertheless, consider these three verses
where the word “grave” appears: “But speak thou the things which become
sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith,
in charity, in patience.” – Titus 2:1-2 “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of
filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” – 1st Timothy 3:8-9 “Even so must their wives be grave, not
slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.” –
1st Timothy 3:11 It stands out, doesn’t it? If you check some of the synonyms for the
word “grave” you’ll find words like, “serious,” “severe,” “weighty,” “momentous,”
“crucial,” “vital,” “important,” “somber” and
“solemn.” A couple of the more modern translations of
the Bible use the word “serious” instead of “grave,” but I’m not convinced
“serious” is strong enough to accurately convey the message Paul intended.
After all, if someone’s medical condition is said to be “serious,” that’s
much better than if it were “critical” – and “critical” is considerably
healthier than “grave.” You see, when someone’s condition is reported to be
“grave,” that suggests they are at death’s door – that the next report you
receive on them will probably be an obituary.
The situation was grave back then and so
were they. But, frankly, I don’t see “grave” in the
Church today. In fact, I see more revelry than repentance; and since today’s
best-selling Christian authors and experts aren’t very “grave” in their
presentations and publications, it only stands to reason that “grave” would
be absent in the pulpit and classroom as well, seeing as that’s where most of
our theology comes from these days. I would reiterate that none of the modern
Bible versions I checked used the word “grave” in the above mentioned verses
or, as far as I can tell, any suitable synonym as a replacement. It’s as if
this particular command was edited out of scripture. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on The Bible had
this to say about the word “grave” in reference to the verse from Titus 2: “Grave: levity is unbecoming in any,
but especially in the aged; they should be composed and stayed, grave in
habit, speech and behavior; gaudiness in dress, levity and vanity in the
behavior, how unbeseeming in their years!” And for deacons in the Church, Henry wrote
this about the verses I cited from 1st Timothy: “They must be grave. Gravity becomes all
Christians, but especially those who are in the office in the church.” And about the wives of deacons, he had this
to say in later verses: “Their wives likewise must have a good
character; they must be of a grave behavior… All who are related to ministers
must double their care to walk as becomes the gospel of Christ, lest, if they
in any thing walk disorderly the ministry be
blamed.” A burial site is, without a doubt, a very
serious, if not somber place. Let’s face it,
there’s not much to laugh about in a cemetery. And, if you think about
someone taking up their cross to faithfully follow the Lord through a world
full of lost souls, what better word could be used to describe their mission
of mercy than “grave?” If we visited a terminally ill friend or
acquaintance in the hospital with only a few days to live who had never heard
the gospel, should we enter their room laughing and telling jokes to try a
cheer them up before their final departure into eternity or should we
acknowledge and share the seriousness of their situation with the appropriate
attitude and witness? After all, is their condition not grave? Now consider a world full of terminally ill
sinners who don’t know the gravity of their spiritual condition. Shall
we act silly, entertain them, tell jokes, sing songs, play games and boost
their self-esteem with hugs, flattery and charming chitchat before they die
or do we honestly and courageously give them the grave news regarding their
spiritual condition and eternal destiny that they might gratefully and joyously
receive the good news of Jesus Christ and be saved? How can we expect anyone
to appreciate the good news without hearing the bad news first? And is it not
the bad news of Hell that makes Heaven such good news? Could it be the number of baptisms and church
memberships are down because the lost and dying don’t really know they’re
lost and dying – because there’s nothing “grave” in today’s Christian
witness? Have we, the Church, turned the Great
Commission and even Christianity itself into an amusement – a recreational
lifestyle of carefree indulgence and entertainment instead of a rescue
mission of grave importance? I’ll never forget the little church my wife
and I visited several years ago that held a foreign missions fund raising
contest where they challenged church members to raise $3000 for the Lottie
Moon Christmas Offering. If they were successful, the pastor and deacons
agreed to sing a song in front of the church on Sunday morning wearing big
and brightly colored ladies hats. Long story short,
they did and it got a lot of laughs even though they were reminded beforehand
by yours truly what the Bible had to say about men wearing women’s clothing: “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's
garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” – Deuteronomy 22:5 Just how does this work out one’s own
salvation “with fear and trembling?” (Philippians 2:12) Is it not the gravity
of our sinful condition before the Throne of Grace that causes that fear and
trembling? And do we not ignore the Bible’s call to be “grave” in our conduct
and character when we resort to such foolishness in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ? If Christians don’t take Him or His Word seriously in worship, how
can we expect the lost to take us seriously out in the world? But when crisis comes, everything changes,
doesn’t it? Nothing affects our conduct quite like
calamity. When tragedy strikes, it’s amazing how quickly and dramatically our
demeanor is altered. Could it be the Lord allows crises to come
along, both individually and collectively, to sober us up and force us to face
the fragility of our flesh and fallen world? My hope is that when crisis comes to America
and to the world, which I believe is very near, Christians will once again
embrace the duty and disposition we were called to and forego the foolishness
and frivolity that has kept us from our spiritual rescue mission –
recognizing with grave concern the urgency of the hour. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to
mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:8-10 |