Persecuted for being a Goody Two Shoes?

I'm writing about something that I've written about before, but it never hurts to repeat certain things! Persecution. I'll first say that I know that persecution takes many forms, and people around the world are persecuted for various reasons, from political to religious to intolerance to... all sorts of reasons.

But I'm writing here about a specific type of persecution. It's the persecution that the Apostle Paul and the other apostles and people in the early church dealt with. In fact, before becoming a Christian, Paul himself dealt out this type of persecution towards the church.

Now, the church today has become a place in which we think we're being persecuted in Christ's name if someone makes fun of us for being a goody two shoes - for "standing up for 'moral behavior.'" But here's the thing. When Paul was going around persecuting the church, HE was the one who was standing up for moral, lawful behavior! But when Jesus took hold of him, lovingly and gracefully, Paul found out that all his moral law-keeping was DUNG (see Philippians 3:1-11), and he turned from that to trusting in a righteousness that has nothing to do with his own morals or law-keeping, but rather is a righteousness that is imputed as a gift!

Paul himself then became part of those who were persecuted by the religious do-gooders. His life became a matter of "standing up" for this gift of righteousness that came by the grace of God. When he wrote these words to the Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ," he was saying this not in the face of anyone who was putting him down for being a goody two shoes, but rather in the face of those who were persecuting him for rejecting the law and embracing the good news of God's righteousness being received by faith, not works.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ" was a very bold statement for Paul to make, and the message of grace that he went on to share in the rest of the epistle was as bold as bold could be! There were those who vehemently opposed the gospel message of salvation by grace alone through faith, and Paul was bravely and unashamedly giving himself over in reckless abandonment to this good news message! He was essentially saying, "Who cares what the legalists think! This is God's message of love and grace, and I'm not gonna be shy about proclaiming it!"


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All that said, I'm partially ashamed to say that I'm going to use this post as an excuse to post a video by my all time favorite artist. ;) I've been an "Ant Person" since the late 70's, when I was a boy in England and this band, Adam and the Ants, broke into the punk/pop scene with their own "brand" of music (Antmusic). Adam Ant went solo a few years later, and while he didn't make it big in the United States, I continued to follow and enjoy his music. This is the only Top 40 hit he had here in the States, as far as I know. It hit Number 10 on Billboard's charts.

Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes


Don't drink, don't smoke - what do you do?
Don't drink, don't smoke - what do you do?
Subtle innuendos follow
Must be something inside he's hiding

What people are saying about "church"

Wow...

I don't know why it is, but I seem to be reading and hearing a whole lot lately about "the church," and how it's not an institution or a building, but it's the people. I got to thinking that perhaps I could compile some of these resources together, and so you'll find a list below.

This is by no means an "anti-church" list. :) That is, I'm not attempting to make any points about what anyone should or shouldn't do in regards to how they view "church." I am, however, making a strong suggestion that many of us have perhaps simply gone along with the modern cultural view of "church," and perhaps there is a place for many of us to rethink things, or at least take a look at what God is doing in and through other people in regards to "church."

Throughout my Christian life, I've heard many people give lip service to phrases such as "the church is the people, not the building," but below I think you will find people who are truly following through with this idea in their hearts and in the ways they go about living life. I don't necessarily follow along with every single thought expressed in every single link, but in my mind they are all related to one common idea.

There would be a lot of reading/viewing involved if you were to click on each link so if any of this interests you, perhaps bookmark this particular blog post and come back to it from time to time. Also, feel free to provide other links if you have any.

In no particular order:

Three of Bino's recent posts:
Rethinking 'Church'
Rethinking 'Community'
Rethinking 'Worship'

Aida: Jesus is building His church

Grace in Flood: A Grace Church

Meeting of one: God's Perspective on the Church

Nicole's Godblog: What is Church?

Nightwatch: The Church - Relationship

Steve McVey
Lie #31 You Should Go To Church
Lie #36 Attending Church Will Keep You From Growing Spiritually Cold

The Assembling of the Church - Alan Knox
(the most comprehensive blog that I follow on this subject)
House Church Workshop series (six posts all linked together)
Should we use the word "church"?
The ekklesia and the kuriakon
The ekklesia of Josephus
The ekklesia in context
Ecclesiology FAQ (here Alan lists many of his posts on his study of the church)

Jake Colsen's book: So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore

Wayne Jacobsen: Why I Don't Go to Church Anymore!