IS IT OKAY FOR CHRISTIANS TO GO TO THE CLUB?

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III

GREETING

Psalm 134:1-2

1 Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Thank you! MMEJ Leadership Conference

2. Blow Your Trumpet and Pentecostal Temple

LESSON PURPOSE

Anyone would be naïve to think that Christians are not going to clubs; at almost the same rate as the unchurched. While there are some that make the distinction of being a saint (literally "holy one") versus a Christian; the meaning of Christian is to be a "Christ follower." So being a Christian denotes some type of level of consecration. Even people in "the sanctified church," can be found in the clubs on a regular basis. We hear that it is wrong. But is it really wrong? And why? Let's study further and get some answers from THE WORD.

I. WHAT DO PEOPLE DO AT A CLUB? Why do they go?

A. To unwind after a long stressful week.

B. To have some drinks.

C. To dance.

D. To go out on a date.

E. To find someone to "sleep" with.

F. To buy or use narcotics.

G. To "hang out" with friends.

H. To be among people that affirm your lifestyle (e.g. "Gay" clubs).

I. To listen to some music.

J. To meet new people.

K. To show someone a "good time" (e.g. A person new to town, or one that has gone through a traumatic event and needs to "get out" of the house).

L. To cheat.

II. WERE THERE CLUBS IN BIBLE DAYS? Not necessarily in our modern day sense of a "club." However, all of the activity listed above was exhibited in the worship of idol gods. In other words all of the activity listed above, was what you did to worship foreign gods. This is why it was so hard for God to break Israel's addiction from worshiping the idol gods; because were ship of those guards was basically a big sex orgy and party. Whereas the worship of Yahweh was much much more restrictive and "holy." It took at least 1000 years to get that spirit of idolatry out of God's people.

A. Idol gods were worshipped with sex orgies.

Exodus 32:6 Good News Translation. Early the next morning they brought some animals to burn as sacrifices and others to eat as fellowship offerings. The people sat down to a feast, which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex. https://www.biblehub.com/exodus/32-6.htm

Exodus 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

(Note it is probable that the goddess Aphrodite was worshipped in her temple at Corinth - by people being able to "give" to her by patronizing upwards of 1,000 "sacred" prostitutes. Perhaps this is one thing Paul had in mind, when he offered the following add mold mission to his church members at Corinth). 

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

B. You worshipped idol gods by partying and having sex (with anyone) as if the world was coming to an end.

Leviticus 18:1-30 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

1 The Lord told Moses 2 to tell the people of Israel:

I am the Lord your God! 3 So don’t follow the customs of Egypt where you used to live or those of Canaan where I am bringing you. 4 I am the Lord your God, and you must obey my teachings. 5 Obey them and you will live. I am the Lord.

6 Don’t have sex with any of your close relatives, 7 especially your own mother. This would disgrace your father. 8 And don’t disgrace him by having sex with any of his other wives. 9 Don’t have sex with your sister or stepsister, whether you grew up together or not. 10 Don’t disgrace yourself by having sex with your granddaughter 11 or half sister 12-13 or a sister of your father or mother. 14 Don’t disgrace your uncle by having sex with his wife. 15 Don’t have sex with your daughter-in-law 16 or sister-in-law. 17 And don’t have sex with the daughter or granddaughter of any woman that you have earlier had sex with. You may be having sex with a relative, and that would make you unclean. 18 As long as your wife is alive, don’t cause trouble for her by taking one of her sisters as a second wife.

19 When a woman is having her monthly period, she is unclean, so don’t have sex with her.

20 Don’t have sex with another man’s wife—that would make you unclean.

21 Don’t sacrifice your children on the altar fires to the god Molech. I am the Lord your God, and that would disgrace me.

22 It is disgusting for a man to have sex with another man.

23 Anyone who has sex with an animal is unclean.

24 Don’t make yourselves unclean by any of these disgusting practices of those nations that I am forcing out of the land for you. They made themselves 25 and the land so unclean, that I punished the land because of their sins, and I made it vomit them up. 26-27 Now don’t do these sickening things that make the land filthy. Instead, obey my laws and teachings. 28 Then the land won’t become sick of you and vomit you up, just as it did them. 29-30 If any of you do these vulgar, disgusting things, you will be unclean and no longer belong to my people. I am the Lord your God, and I forbid you to follow their sickening way of life.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+18&version=CEV

Exodus 32:17-19 17When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "There is the sound of war in the camp." 18Moses replied: "It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear." 19When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.

C. When Israel had feasts (e.g. Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles) there was a LOT of drinking, dancing and hanging out. You could probably call it a "party" atmosphere; but a more accurate description would be "hanging out" with friends and family on a sacred "holiday."

1. Research "WHY" Jesus' disciples were so sleepy:

Matthew 26:40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.

Mark 14:37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Couldn't you keep watch for one hour?

Mark 14:40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

2. At the feast of Pentecost, the text alludes to the fact that alcohol was readily available and people got drunk. From Peter's response - apparently people got drunk later in the day - not in the morning hours.

Acts 2:13-15 13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." 14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!

III. WOULD JESUS HAVE GONE TO A PLACE LIKE THIS?

A. While there were not "clubs" in Jesus day; he definitely went to what could be considered "parties."

Matthew 11:19 CEV. 

But the Son of Man goes around eating and drinking, and you say, "That man eats and drinks too much! He is even a friend of tax collectors and sinners." Yet Wisdom is shown to be right by what it does. https://www.biblehub.com/matthew/11-19.htm

Matthew 11:19 NET.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." 

https://www.biblehub.com/matthew/11-19.htm

John 2:1-11.

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

B. Apparently Jesus went to these places to win converts. (Take note, while the Bible does refer to Jesus "drinking" there is no evidence in Scripture AT ALL of Jesus indulging in any sexual activity).

Luke 7:36-48 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with him, and He went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.

37 And behold, a woman of the town who was an especially wicked sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment (perfume).

38 And standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with [her] tears; and she wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet [affectionately] and anointed them with the ointment (perfume).

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, he said to himself, If this Man were a prophet, He would surely know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him—for she is a notorious sinner (a social outcast, devoted to sin).

40 And Jesus, replying, said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, Teacher, say it.

41 A certain lender of money [at interest] had two debtors: one owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

42 When they had no means of paying, he freely forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?

43 Simon answered, The one, I take it, for whom he forgave and cancelled more. And Jesus said to him, You have decided correctly.

44 Then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

45 You gave Me no kiss, but she from the moment I came in has not ceased [intermittently] to kiss My feet tenderly and caressingly.

46 You did not anoint My head with [cheap, ordinary] oil, but she has anointed My feet with [costly, rare] perfume.

47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, many [as they are], are forgiven her—because she has loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.

48 And He said to her, Your sins are forgiven!

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+7%3A36-48&version=AMPC

Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Matthew 9:11-12 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

C. Disclaimer. We CANNOT use this example as an excuse to indulge our appetites and party like a wild animal. Jesus is Jesus. We are not. He is God incarnate. We are not. He came seeking to save. He also gave the following admonition that we should follow as well:

Matthew 26:29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

IV. CONCLUSION: SHOULD YOU OR SHOULD YOU NOT GO TO THE CLUB? You can answer that question by considering the following.

A.      How can you win someone over to Christ; if you are doing the same thing they are doing and going to the same places they are going?

Romans 2:17-24 17Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth- 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

B. Unchurched people are looking for examples; Christians that do everything that sinners do are a joke to the unchurched.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

C. All things are lawful; all things are not expedient.

1 Corinthians 10:23 "I have the right to do anything," you say-but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"-but not everything is constructive.

D. You don't want your good to be spoken of as evil.

Romans 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

E. Evil communication corrupts good  manners.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

F. THE BIBLE SAYS come out from among them.

2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the LORD, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

G. THE BIBLE SAYS that people will scorn you, because you no longer do what you used to

Ephesians 5:1-15 New International Version (NIV)

 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

    rise from the dead,

    and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,

H. THE BIBLE SAYS you are in the world; but not of the world. 

John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

John 17:14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

I. THE BIBLE SAYS to not love the things of the world.

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

J. THE BIBLE SAYS to not be conformed to the world.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.