Let me Clarify...

Perhaps after reading my last Rant, some may be curious as to why I "went off" about someone questioning my preferences in music. Perhaps you might also be curious about what I meant by describing myself as "very legalistic" in the past. I've decided to give you a list of things I was once very legalistic about before the Holy Spirit showed me the errors of my flawed theology and legalistic ways. Brace yourself!

• Any so-called Christian music besides Southern Gospel or Gospel Bluegrass was an abomination and a seductive work of Satan. No exceptions.


• Wearing jewelry was sinful, even wedding bands were prohibited.


• Women wearing cosmetics was sinful and a sure sign of the "spirit of Jezebell".


• Women wearing pants. Men wearing shorts: both an abomination.


• King James Only, all other translations were corrupt Catholic versions aimed at destroying Christendom. If you didn't preach KJV, I wasn't listening!


• If the church sign didn't say Church of God of Prophecy, it was probably apostate.


• Baptists were all a bunch of beer drinking, cigarette smoking, foul-mouthed, antinomians that didn't believe in "the real Holy Ghost".


• No tongues = Not the slightest work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
  
• Divorced and Remarried? = ticket straight to Hell. No exceptions! Didn't matter why.


• Very long hair neccesary for women to be truly holy.


• Even questioning the questionable manifestations within the Pentecostal movement was nigh unto committing the unpardonable sin!

As surprising as some of the preceding things may be, these are some of the actual ideas I have previously held. Some of them were things I came up with on my own and some were things I was taught by others. Now I look back with a lot of shame that I used to think like that. I now know that my motivation was prideful arrogance, not Christian charity or a desire to be Scriptural.

One of the sweetest Christian women I know of will not wear nail polish. She does not believe she should and she once promised the Lord she would not. She wants to honor her vow. I have no problem with that. It is her sincere conviction. The difference is that she doesn't take her personal conviction and make it "canon law" for all other Christian women. There are many Christians who could learn a lesson from her good example!