Unclean! Unclean!!

by Mike Ratliff

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 ESV)

When the Carrie Prejean, Miss California, controversy began several weeks ago with the outrage over her comment about marriage being between a man and a woman I really did not focus on her in this. Instead, I was intrigued with the reaction from the media, the libertine lobby, and the various powers that be with something to say about it. It was as if she had no right to state what she said. I had intended to pray, research, and write about that aspect of this, but that was about the same time that several crises arose in my family. Now it seems that the controversy has deepened tremendously with the exposure of Miss Prejean’s semi-nude pictures and breast augmentation surgery. When the push began to elevate Miss Prejean to that of a great example of godliness in the Church et cetera, I had a nagging doubt about that. It reminded me somewhat of the push to make George W. Bush into a godly near-saint during his first election run. Then articles started appearing from what many derisively refer to as ODMs. Their stance over this issue has solidified into an agreement that this whole thing is a fallacy.

Continue reading here.

P.S. – I left the comment below in Mike’s combox:

Mike I’ve been absolutely stunned by some in the Christian blogosphere who are falling all over themselves lately crying, “grace, peace, charity, humility!!!” in defense of Ms. Prejean’s unfortunate and indefensible self-made quandary supposedly because she has made verbal professions for Christ, even as they simultaneously excoriate, pillory, denigrate and impute scurrilous, sinful self-righteous motivations to other professing believers who are abstaining from their impromptu Miss America Love Feast, and who dare to discuss the glaring incongruence of her lifestyle in the light of infallible scripture.

What love is this?

How is it that some otherwise solid, godly believers seem to have succumbed to the siren song of a false, external, temporal “unity of spirit in the bond of peace”, even if the foundation thereof is built on the shifting sands of worldliness and disobedience to Christ’s commands?

How is it that some otherwise solid, godly believers can so easily castigate and criticize fellow believers, accusing them of being “self-righteous” and “unloving” for examining the walk as well as the talk (testing the spirits), and holding fast to the admonition that we shall know those of the true household of faith by their fruits, (the conversation of their lives) as they simultaneously use their own personal interpretations of grace, charity, peace and humility as a spiritual stick with which they bludgeon those who dare to disagree with them?

Frankly it’s appalling, yet it’s also very telling and I believe you absolutely hit the nail on the head with these two astute observations: “Could God be using this to reveal the filthy under layer of what calls itself Evangelical Christianity? Have the standards for morality been downgraded so far in it that it is perfectly acceptable for a spokesperson for the Gospel and Christianity to be involved in pornography and other forms of immorality?”

And again:

“I do not know what plans God has for Miss Prejean, but I do believe that He is using this to expose those who profess to be Christians, but who also indulge their flesh with what is forbidden by our Lord. Examine yourselves my brethren and I pray that all reading this will do so honestly and prayerfully then repent of what God shows them.”

This is it, Mike. This is what I’ve been trying to put my own finger on and to put in my own words, but I’ve been unable to do so up to now.

Please understand that it isn’t my intent to be harsh, or unloving, or to “pile on” to what must be an excruciating and fiery trial for Carrie Prejean, but this young woman is an object lesson in a context much broader than just a vanity pageant, or bickering between the political left and the right, or petty disagreements involving the parsing of scripture within the Christian blogosphere.

I think your keen insights here have put it into perspective for me, Mike; to wit this entire sorry episode which has variously been called the “Miss America Controversy” or the “Miss America Flap” is strikingly similar in many ways to an Old Testament type. What is Miss America supposed stand for?

In theory Miss America is to represent and project all that is wholesome and good about American femininity encompassing such virtues poise, beauty, intellect and talent. As such she acts as a role model for other young people to aspire to emulate, especially young women.

In the case of Carrie Prejean, being a professing believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, she “carries” the much more serious responsibility and great privilege to represent the Risen King of Glory, God the Son, the Second Person of the Triune One True and Living God as an ambassador of His Kingdom above all else.

Ms. Prejean’s relationship to the world became hostile enmity the day she counted the cost to daily take up her cross to follow after Him. If he is a professing believer then it’s woefully clear that her father completely abdicated his spiritual responsibility to raise her in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and the same holds true for her mother.

It’s also painfully clear that her pastor, the elders, deacons, and mature women of her local church have also jettisoned their spiritual responsibility to teach poor Carrie that friendship with the world is enmity with God and that a believer cannot serve two masters for he (or she) will hate the one and hold to the other.

I’ve not viewed the oft reported “pics” of Ms. Prejean, nor do I have any desire to do so because the descriptions alone are enough to turn the mind of a corrupted mass of sin like myself towards uncleanness. Yet it’s amazing to me to hear reports of professing believers who have viewed these photos and pronounce them as “not being porn”. I’m sorry Mike but one must wonder what these people are viewing to consider an image of a practically nude young woman who is not his wife from any angle as being unobjectionable in the light of scripture.

The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life fills the broader professing church, and professing believers are too quick to wink at it and poo-poo it away by comparing themselves with themselves and saying “it’s not so bad.” Sin is no light thing, it’s absolutely evil and believers ought to treat it like the deadly poison that it truly is, fleeing from it and towards the cross the moment we become aware of its malignant presence.

But too often this simply isn’t the case among professing believers.

“Everyone does it” they say.

“My sins were forgiven at the cross” they say.

“Are you telling me YOU’VE never sinned? YOU go ahead and cast the first rock you self-righteous Pharisee!” they say.

“Who made you a judge over us?” they ask.

This is madness and is shocking presumption upon God’s grace and tender mercy Mike, but worse than this is shameful and it dishonors the Name above all Names. It stains the purity and compromises the separateness and holiness of His church, His bride for whom He shed His perfect and sinless blood.

I’m not bashing Carrie Prejean, Mike. It’s more than obvious that she’s a badly misguided and poorly taught young girl who has become, in a very sudden, public, and sad way, a type – a poster child if you will – of the bitter fruit of the last days harlot apostate church.

She draws close to the Lord with her lips, but her actions belie a love for the world.

She looks good on the outside, but by her actions she demonstrates that she is unclean on the inside.

She says things that sound good and right, but by her actions she proves the motivation of her heart is self-aggrandizement, self-gain, and the admiration of the world in pursuit of an earthly crown.

I think there are many who realize this in their heart of hearts, and they are pricked by the Spirit’s conviction of this truth, but rather than confess and repent they blindly lash out at those who shine the light of scripture on the evil spirit of this age, because they love the darkness and their pet sins, therefore they flee from the Father of Lights, lest they be reproved.

But God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and He will harden who He will harden for He is the potter and we are but clay.

May He have mercy on those who are called by His Holy Name and show us the more perfect way by the illumination of His Holy Spirit and out of His boundless oceans of real and genuine pity, grace, and love and deliver us from those who desire to redefine and corrupt the Biblical meaning of these words to salve their own seared consciences, and tickle the itching ears of their spiritually blinded followers.

This may sound shocking but the days are coming when men will murder people who stand unwaveringly upon the Rock of Jesus Christ, and they’ll believe in doing so they are doing a kindness and rendering a service unto the Lord.

Maranatha Lord Jesus!

In Christ,
CD