No, you didn’t read that wrong. Allow me to explain. The word profane has certain connotations associated with it, as well it should, but the original meaning of the Latin word may help us in understanding what I’m advocating here.
Profane comes from the Latin profanus, stemming from pro fano, meaning “outside or in front of the temple.” What I’m saying is not, we should be worldly Christians, but rather, we need to function as Christians out in the world.1 Far too often, we get the idea that there are all of these people out in the world seeking after Christ. They are looking for God, and so our goal is to draw those people into church where we can evangelize them, and “get them saved.” However, the Scriptures make it clear, there is no one seeking God.2 There is no one out there who seeks Jesus Christ. His Gospel is an offense to the unbeliever. More often than not, what is really happening in the world is that there are a lot of lost, hurting, and confused individuals. These are people looking for things: comfort, love, acceptance, forgiveness, security, meaning, etc. And we, as Christians, know Jesus is the answer to receiving all of these things. At this point, we make the logical jump,…these people must be looking for Christ. He is the only authentic answer to the fallen state of mankind, and yet, mankind is running in the opposite direction.3
And so, we are presented with the following dilemma.
- Share the Gospel
- Unbelievers seeking answers, but not seeking God
- Church services built almost exclusively around evangelical messages, rather than the edification of the saints.
The commission that Christ gave us was to go to the world.4 Not to sit and wait for the world to come to us. We must take our Christianity “outside of the temple.” We must be men and women of integrity, joy, hope, and sacrificial love.
In 1 Peter 3:15, it says to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks for the hope that is within you. Are you living your life out in the world, in such a way that it would actually prompt a question from someone? This goes WAY beyond abstaining from different things. All kinds of people abstain from smoking, and drinking, listening to certain music, and watching certain movies. I hazard to say, abstaining from those things will never prompt a single question about the hope that is within you. (Although, not abstaining from some of these might prompt questions, but of a negative ilk.) What the world lacks is honour, honesty, self-sacrificial love, speech seasoned with salt;5 we need to live our faith, “outside of the temple.” So, to borrow an example from the world, perhaps the Benedictions we issue at the end our church services should better resemble the call of a bartender when he witnesses a fight between his patrons.
“Take it outside fellas.”
Share your thoughts on the Call To Be Profane Christians and getting outside of the four walls.
- This plea is nothing new. It was first issued by Martin Luther, and has since been sounded by many evangelicals, like Dr. R.C. Sproul in his 1986 book, Lifeviews. There, he states, “he was echoing the plea of Martin Luther that the church be “profane.” What Luther meant by a profane church was not that the church should indulge in uttering obscenities or use gutter language. Rather, Luther was playing with the Latin roots for the word profane. Profane originally meant simply “outside of the temple.” In Luther’s terms a profane church is one that moves out of the temple and into the world.” ?
- (Romans 3:11-12) ?
- (1 Corinthians 2:14) ?
- (Matthew 28:19) ?
- (Colossians 4:6) ?
