Psalms 37 - Three Years Later

[JohnHurt]

A couple thoughts -

1) Regarding friendship with the world - Jesus was accused by religious people of being a 'friend of sinners' because He dwelt among them and for example, went to tea with Zacchaeus. Being a friend of the world, as I understand it, is joining in with the world (unsaved people) in how they regard God and His ways. Some regard the verse to 'come out from among them and be ye separate' in a way that isolates them from the world but Jesus did not do this. Jesus was very much involved with sinners of all sorts to bring them the truth and the way. Just saying that we can be removed from the world in the way that the Pharisees were and not in the way that Jesus was.

2) Regarding being persecuted by the world - I believe we can live in what we may think is being godly and draws some form of persecution but do the persecutors persecute us as being a Christ follower or are they persecuting us for our religious ways. Ways that Christ did not teach and demonstrate and cannot be explicitly found in NT scripture. For example, when dressing modestly becomes a unique dress code that causes some Christ followers to be very distinct from other believers. I question that this kind of persecution is the kind that gets great reward in heaven. Am I being persecuted for Christ's sake and the Gospel or persecuted for other reasons. Again, the Pharisees focused much on outward apparel and had little concern for the Salvation of others.

1. I think James was talking about the "world system", or "worldly people". I would see the religious system of the Pharisees as also part of "the world" that Christ avoided.

And yes, you will have to walk through this "world" to reach those that are "stuck" in the "world". Christ was a friend of sinners, but not of the Pharisees.

2. When I go to the store in Cookeville, TN, I will see some of the Mennonites from Muddy Pond there, dressed with blue shirts and suspenders, a straw hat, and the women with bonnets. I have never seen anyone persecuting them for their dress. They live in a separate reality from the rest of us.

When I was in high school and college, if you dressed "straight" or "normal", then you might get picked on by the more "rowdy" bunch.
The way you dress, it separates you from some, and conforms you to others. It is an outward sign of what you are inside.

The idea of wearing a "blue fringe" on your garment (Numbers 15:38-39) also separates you from others, and helps you remember that you follow the commandments, and that you are "different" from other people.

I have seen some of my Messianic friends clip on a small blue fringe to their coats to comply with this, but they are missing the point. It is a principle, not a practice. Dressing differently from the "world" helps keep you separate from the world.

One Mennonite person told me that all of the things that they do differently from the world - these are like "guard rails" on a road. They help to keep you from going off the edge. So dressing distinctively to conform to a Godly group of people, I see that as a good thing.

I don't think I would trust a Christian riding a motorcycle and wearing a "Hell's Angels" jacket. I would rather talk to the guy with suspenders and a straw hat.

[Sudsy]

Thanks John for sharing your perspective.

Regarding Christ not being a friend of the Pharisees, I would suggest that He was a friend but they were a group He had to speak to quite harshly as the righteousness that they were displaying was one of outward appearance when in their hearts they were not that righteous. It seems to me that Jesus was pointing out to them that what they were on the outside was not reflective of what they were on the inside. That is why He called them hypocrites.

When it comes to outward appearance the NT does speak about what God is most concerned about and it seems to me it is our good deeds and sharing the Gospel and not the way we attract attention by our adorning of our bodies. Jesus focused on our heart attitude toward God and others and how this is shown by His example.

I agree that 'guard rails' can be a good thing but if they are 'stumbling blocks' to others believing in Christ, then I think this is a problem. I don't read that Jesus or His disciples wore certain things to remind them to be godly but perhaps I missed this somewhere. Perhaps it is a matter of OT practises versus NT practises and what we regard as carryovers ?

[Josh]

FYI, I don't think any plain people wear blue out of religious conviction they need to because of something in the OT.

[RZehr]

FYI, I don't think any plain people wear blue out of religious conviction they need to because of something in the OT.

So that's not where blue jeans come from?

[Josh]

FYI, I don't think any plain people wear blue out of religious conviction they need to because of something in the OT.

So that's not where blue jeans come from?

Well, more conservative groups don't wear them at all. (Less conservative groups wear them almost like a uniform.)

[steve-in-kville]

FYI, I don't think any plain people wear blue out of religious conviction they need to because of something in the OT.

So that's not where blue jeans come from?

Well, more conservative groups don't wear them at all. (Less conservative groups wear them almost like a uniform.)

I have heard it preached against, something along the lines of it being part of the "cowboy culture." That said, I wear cargo pants more often than not due to my work requirements. Baggier and more storage.