Can anything good come from Nazareth?

Shortly after the ministry of Jesus Christ began we read where the Lord calls Philip and Nathanael. In John 1:45-46, it says, “Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.” We don't know what made Nathanael stereotype Jesus for being from Nazareth, but it is clear that his opinion of Nazarenes was not high. It is an unfortunate fact of life that we have prejudice. Racial, economic, cultural, religious, and social prejudice are a few of the stereotypes we use against each other. It was no different in the first century. While it is no surprise to see this type of prejudice from the world, it is disheartening to see it in the Church. Christians find many ways to look down on each other. The list is endless, but a few of the ways we do it are as follows:

Lone Ranger Christian

A Lone Ranger Christian is said to be "a Christian who avoids fellowship with other believers or avoids going to church and being a part of a local body of believers." The fact that this term exists and there is a definition for it is evidence of the lack of love within the body of Christ. I can't say they don't exist, but I have never heard anybody proclaim themselves to be a Lone Ranger Christian, much less profess they are actively avoiding fellowship or going to church because they don't need anybody in their lives. But, I do know of people who have left churches or avoided fellowship with other Christians because of the Christians in those groups. Nobody who labels another believer as a Lone Ranger Christian seems inclined to ask the person they are referring to why they are avoiding fellowship or left a church. Furthermore, do they look inward and ask themselves, "What beliefs do we hold that may be a problem for others?" or "Are we demonstrating the love of God to our fellow Christians?" It is easy to just dismiss another Christian as the problem rather than first looking at ourselves to see if we are to blame. If you believe someone is a Lone Ranger Christian, don't dismiss them, but remember that "You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:14)." Wouldn't you want someone to come to you if they had a problem with how you were acting? Give them the benefit you would want to be given to you by others. 

Antinomian

It is said that in Christianity an "antinomian takes the principle of salvation by faith and divine grace to the point of asserting that the saved are not bound to follow the law of Moses." In other words, they believe that if you are not living a life of obedience and repentance to the law, then you are giving people a license to sin. Therefore, you are dismissed as an outlier to the faith, someone to be avoided, and who needs to be reigned back into the faith. In all honesty, however, the true antinomians are those who believe that the law of Moses, any law for that matter, plays a role in the life of a Christian. The Bible says, "Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith (Galatians 3:11).” Clearly, as the verse states, Christians live by faith not by the law. Therefore, the ones who are the real antinomians are those who believe that a Christian, the saved, is bound to follow the law of Moses. Furthermore, we are told that "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." Who is giving people a license to sin? Is it the person living by faith in God to live His life through them, or the one trying to live by laws designed to modify their flesh? If the righteous live by faith then it must be the unrighteous who live by the law. Do not let yourselves be pigeon-holed into accepting a label that in truth belongs to the ones doing the labeling. 

Two-Timers

They are called Two-Timers, Cultural Christians, Convenient Christians, Chreasters, C&E Christians, Pointsettia & Lily Christians, CEOs, and on and on. They are Christians who only attend Church sparingly, on holidays, or twice a year on Christmas and Easter. Some of these terms I have never heard of before. Similar to Lone Ranger Christians, these so-called Two-Timers, are Christians who are put down for only attending church on special occasions. The idea behind the labeling is that these are not true Christians, but they only give God recognition on religious holy days, but the rest of the year they have nothing to do with God. Again, like with the Lone Ranger Christians, there may be people who do this. But, again, do those participating in the unloving act of name-calling ever look inward and examine themselves? Why would a person only come to church on holidays? Could it be that they can only tolerate the Christians and the teachings at the church they attend on holidays? If the people at these churches are coming up with all these condemning labels, perhaps that is just the tip of the iceberg with what goes on inside the walls of these churches. I wonder if what is being taught is the law. The law makes you mean. The law makes you judge others. The law makes you miserable and misery loves company. Who was it that Jesus Christ came down the hardest on? It was the religious leaders. Speaking to the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).” Notice that He says they neglect justice, mercy, and faithfulness. If someone is only attending church on holidays, and it bothers you, go them in love, expressing justice, mercy, and faithfulness to them. You may win your brother or sister or discover something about yourself and your church that needs addressing. 

I chose to discuss the labels of Lone Ranger Christian, Antinomian, and Two-Timer because of personal experience. These are labels that have been placed on me because of judgmental Christians who did not understand the things I believe about the faith or were too close-minded to listen to what I believe. There was a time early in my faith when I didn't attend church regularly for a few years. From the outside, this could appear to be me acting like a Lone Ranger Christian or a Two-Timer. It was me having difficulty finding a church that was teaching the grace of God to my satisfaction. Therefore, I chose not to attend a local church because I didn't want to expose myself to teaching I disagreed with for the sake of fellowship with people who didn't believe like me. Is that fellowship? Nobody asked me why I left and when people discovered I wasn't attending church, the labels were applied. I desired fellowship and found it online. But, that doesn't count for those who considered me an outcast. The first time I was labeled an antinomian was by a local pastor whose church I attended. During a conversation outside of church on the subject of water baptism, he labeled me an antinomian because I don't believe water baptism is necessary for salvation or the first act of obedience after salvation. When you can't convince somebody with scripture, putting a label on them is supposed to qualify as winning an argument. Unfortunately, people would rather try and win an argument and lose their brother. Nathanael labeled Jesus with his sarcastic question, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" He soon found out that the only thing that we can say is good came from Nazareth. Do not let fellow Christians look at you like a Nazarene because they don't take the time to find out who you are and what motivates you. In Christ, you are a child of God, who is not alone, not under the law, and who is a member of the Church. Grace and Peace.