SATAN IS ENTERTAINED AS AN HONORED GUEST

A : Brother Mark, this next passage feels almost like a counter-balance to last time. It says we're not supposed to seclude ourselves from others, that we should follow Christ's example of linking himself with the interests of humanity. >> 

Saudara Mark, bagian selanjutnya ini terasa hampir seperti penyeimbang dari pembahasan sebelumnya. Dikatakan di sini bahwa kita tidak seharusnya mengasingkan diri dari orang lain, melainkan harus mengikuti teladan Kristus yang melibatkan diri-Nya dengan kepentingan umat manusia. 

B : Right, and that's an important corrective. Some people hear be separate from the world and think that means isolating themselves completely. But the passage says truth isn't only shared from the pulpit. It reaches people in the home of the lowly and in the mansion of the great, at the hospitable board and in gatherings for innocent social enjoyment. >> 

B: Benar, dan itu merupakan koreksi yang penting. Sebagian orang mendengar ungkapan "terpisah dari dunia" lalu mengiranya sebagai tindakan mengisolasi diri sepenuhnya. Namun, bagian tersebut menyatakan bahwa kebenaran tidak hanya disampaikan dari mimbar. Kebenaran itu menjangkau orang-orang, baik di rumah kaum sederhana maupun di kediaman orang-orang terpandang, di meja perjamuan yang penuh keramahan, maupun dalam pertemuan-pertemuan untuk menikmati kebersamaan sosial yang wajar. 

A : So, social life itself isn't the problem? >>

Jadi, kehidupan sosial itu sendiri bukanlah masalahnya?

B : Not at all. In fact, it calls social connection a mission field. Humbler it may be, but fully as promising as preaching. >> >> 

Sama sekali tidak. Bahkan, hal itu menyebut hubungan sosial sebagai ladang misi. Mungkin terlihat lebih sederhana, namun memiliki potensi yang sama besarnya dengan berkhotbah.

A : The issue is motive and company, not the gathering itself. >> 

Masalahnya terletak pada motif dan pihak yang terlibat, bukan pada pertemuan itu sendiri.

B : That's where it draws the line, though. It says we shouldn't mingle with the world from a mere love of pleasure to unite with them in folly. And that we should never sanction sin by our words or our deeds, our silence or our presence. >> 

A : That's a high bar. Even silence can be a kind of sanction? 

That's a high bar. Even silence can be a kind of sanction? 

B : Exactly. If you're present somewhere and your silence reads as approval, that's still a compromise. Wherever we go, we're supposed to carry Jesus with us and reveal him to others. That's the whole point of social power sanctified by the grace of Christ. 

Tepat sekali. Jika Anda berada di suatu tempat dan sikap diam Anda dianggap sebagai persetujuan, itu tetaplah sebuah kompromi. Ke mana pun kita pergi, kita seharusnya membawa Yesus bersama kita dan menyatakan Dia kepada orang lain. Itulah inti dari kuasa sosial yang telah dikuduskan oleh kasih karunia Kristus.

A : Then it shifts into something much more pointed, this example from Battle Creek. Parties of pleasure that had become, in the writer's words, a disgrace to our institutions and to the church. 

Kemudian, situasinya beralih menjadi sesuatu yang jauh lebih tajam—seperti contoh dari Battle Creek ini: berbagai acara hiburan yang, menurut penulisnya, telah menjadi aib bagi institusi kita maupun bagi gereja.

B : What made those different from ordinary socializing? The description is pretty vivid. Pride of dress, self-gratification, coarse laughter, a kind of artificial enthusiasm. The writer even describes a vision of one gathering with music so troubling it was said to make the watching angels weep. The point being drawn is that the joy in that room wasn't wholesome. It was something Satan only is able to create. Satan is entertained as an honored guest and he takes possession of those who patronize these gatherings. >> That's a strong claim to make about what sounds like just a party. >> It is, but the concern isn't really about music or laughter themselves. It's about what the gathering was forming in people, unholy thought and action. Interestingly, it even notes that some who took part later regretted it. And then there's this idea of decoys, superficial Christians who draw sincere ones into these things. That part strikes me as the real warning. It's not outsiders pulling believers away, it's other professed Christians, ones described as superficial in character, who are always ready for the gatherings for pleasure or sport. Their influence is what pulls young believers in. >> And those who get drawn in don't even realize what's happening. It says they did not prayerfully consult the divine standard. >> Right. They skip the step of actually checking it against Christ's own fruit, what he taught and modeled. Instead, they just go along because they don't want to be thought singular, different from everyone else. >> So the real danger isn't the party itself, it's conforming without ever asking the question in the first place. >> That's exactly it. The passage calls those entertainments Satan's banquet, designed to keep souls from the wedding supper of the lamb. Not because enjoyment is wrong, but because it's being used to erode conviction quietly, one unexamined compromise at a time. >> So the real takeaway is still consistency. Carry Christ into every room, but never let the room change who you are in it. >> Well put, Lauren. That's the balance the whole passage is reaching for. >> Thank you.