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“Is it
right to wear jewellery?” This question - about a
decades-old-practice among Keralite Pentecostals, of
renouncing jewellery - has been beaten to death long
ago. Discussions in Pentecostal newspapers, magazines,
websites, and youth camps/conferences have never been
complete without a heated debate about jewellery. These
discussions have yielded precious little in terms of
tangible results. Neither have these discussions
reformed Kerala Pentecostal churches nor has it resulted
in a mass exodus of dissidents from these churches into
the so-called “new generation” churches.
Why
doesn’t a discussion about jewellery yield any positive
result – either way – in Kerala or among Kerala
Pentecostals? The answer is simple: Ask the wrong
questions and you will get wrong answers! We should for
a while refrain from raising the question “Is it right
to wear jewellery?” (By the way, “ornaments” is not the
proper word here.) Instead, we should ask the following
questions:
1. Is it right for the
church to deny baptism to a repentant believer just
because he or she wears jewellery?
2. Is
it right for the church to deny someone fellowship at
the Lord’s Table just because he or she wears jewellery?
It is
a recognised fact that most Pentecostals of Kerala deny
water baptism and fellowship at the Lord’s Table to
believers who wear jewellery. After finding answers to
the above questions, we may examine the Biblical
passages that deal with the wearing of jewellery with
utmost care in interpretation.
PART 1
First things first! Is the group of Pentecostal
churches of Kerala origin (spread out all over the
globe) justified in denying water baptism to a believer
who wears jewelery?
Baptism and Holy Communion are ordinances in the Church
that were established by the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact,
these are the only two ordinances recognized by
Pentecostals in general. Therefore, it is all the more
important that we pay great attention to the way we
administer these ordinances. An error in matters related
to these ordinances is an affront to the Lord Jesus
Christ and a threat to the very essence of the gospel.
It can invite the wrath of God, as we shall soon see.
Water
baptism is the ordinance that officially admits a
repentant believer into the Body of Christ, the Church.
Baptism inaugurates a Christian’s walk with Christ in
the newness of life. The old sinful self is considered
to be buried with Christ and the person comes out of the
waters of baptism to live a new life in Christ just as
Christ rose from the dead. The only condition that
Scripture lays down for administering baptism is a
genuine confession of faith in the risen Lord Jesus
Christ and in his atoning death.
When a
person becomes a Christian, he or she should be baptised
at the earliest. Unless someone in the Church offers
baptism, this person cannot take baptism! A believer
cannot baptise himself or herself! If the believer
understands the importance of water baptism, his or her
anguish at the denial of baptism is great indeed.
Therefore, first, just by considering the pain caused by
the denial, it may be said that a denial of water
baptism without a due biblical reason is an abuse of
authority or privilege.
Christians who deny water baptism to new converts are
like watchmen who stand at the entrance of a city
denying entrance to refugees who seek an asylum. And
yet, Kerala Pentecostals have been like these wicked
watchmen. For several decades, Pentecostals and Brethren
churches in Kerala denied baptism to converts just
because the latter insisted on wearing jewellery. Are
Pentecostals justified in imposing such conditions on
new converts? The New Testament is exceptionally kind to
those who seek membership in the Church. In his landmark
verdict at the first Jerusalem Council, apostle Peter
made this principle abundantly clear to everyone:
no
restrictions may be imposed on new converts who seek
entrance to the Church except the few restrictions
mentioned in Acts 15: 28-29.
“For
it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no
greater burden on you than these requirements: You must
abstain from eating food offered to idols, from
consuming blood or eating the meat of strangled animals,
and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do
well. Farewell.”
New
converts were asked to abstain just from:
1. Participation in idol worship
2. Eating of blood or the meat of animals whose blood
was not drained off as mentioned in Genesis 9:4 and Deut
12:24
3. Sexual immorality
If the Holy Spirit and
the early apostles felt that no greater “burden” be laid
on new converts, who are we to impose other burdens?
Kerala’s Pentecostals are like the Judaizers of the
first century who told Gentile converts: “Unless you get
circumcised, you cannot be a Christian.” In other words,
Gentile Christians had to become Jews before they could
get salvation from a Jewish Messiah! Getting circumcised
is the first step towards become a Jew. Converts to
Judaism had to observe the Sabbath and all the Law of
Moses. Therefore, circumcision was not the only issue of
that time. In all of Paul’s letters and in the Judaizers’
teachings, the mention of circum-cision was a short way
of referring to one’s conversion to Judaism. Just
imagine! Those Judaizers believed that Gentiles can get
salvation only if they first became Jews! What would be
our reaction if someone said that to us today? We would
vehemently oppose such a teaching.
The
apostle Paul did just that through his epistle to Romans
and Galatians. He believed that Gentiles can be a part
of the Church without first becoming Jews. To prove that
point, he wrote at length about the importance of faith
in receiving God’s salvation. He even said that anyone
who imposes Judaism on new converts is preaching a
different gospel – a crime that deserved a curse.
“I
marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called
you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which
is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and
would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed. (Galatians 1:6-8)
And
yet, Kerala Pentecostals commit the very same sin that
the Judaizers of first century Church! They say, “Unless
you become like us and stop wearing jewellery, you
cannot gain entrance into the Body of Christ; we will
not baptize you.” How outrageous! Remember, Peter’s list
of restrictions to be imposed on new converts does not
include a ban on jewellery or the other things that we
commonly talk about. I know Pentecostals who refuse to
baptise new converts who sport a mustache or a beard!
Are we greater than the Holy Spirit or the apostle Peter
to impose new restrictions on new converts and to deny
them water baptism?
I have
heard all the excuses that Kerala Pentecostals put
forward to defend their position. The most ludicrous
argument goes like this: “We are following a good
tradition.” Tradition? Since when did tradition become a
source of authority for Pentecostals? Didn’t these
Pentecostals make fun of Roman Catholics and members of
other Episcopal churches for taking refuge in
traditions?
And
there are others who say that jewellery falls under the
category of idol worship which is mentioned in Peter’s
list. According to them, all jewellery is rooted in
idolatry. It is true that certain items of jewellery are
linked to idols. We know that Indians generally wear
images of their gods or goddesses on their necklaces or
rings. Some jewellery is worn after the performance of
idolatrous rituals. However, it is foolish to say that
all jewellery is rooted in idol worship.
Finally, returning to our first question, is it right
for the Pentecostals in Kerala to deny baptism to
believers who wear jewellery? By all means, no! This is
not only a mistake but also a sin. This denial has no
biblical precedent. It distorts the simplicity of the
gospel and challenges the authority of Jesus Christ.
This practice of forcing on old tradition – a mere
tradition – on new converts is a classic case of
spiritual abuse and misuse of a privilege.
PART 2
Now, to the second question: Is it right for Kerala
Pentecostals to deny fellowship in the Lord’s Table to
baptized believers who wear jewellery?
Consider this situation. A Pentecostal family - members
of an international Pentecostal denomination in
Bangalore – is visiting with your “Kerala” church. Your
pastor lets the man partake in the Lord’s Table but asks
the woman to stay away from it. What might be the reason
for this discrimination? The woman was denied access to
the Lord’s Table just because she wore jewellery! If the
woman should later question the pastor about this
exclusion, the best possible answer he might give is,
“This is our age-old practice, a valued tradition.”
The situation I described
is not a rarity in Kerala Pentecostal churches. Week
after week, month after month, such scenes are repeated
in these churches. Preachers from overseas are loved and
respected for their excellent teaching from the Bible.
They are also seen as birds that lay golden eggs! But
when it comes to the Lord’s Table, even they are
excluded! Born-again, baptised Christians who regularly
partake in the Lord’s Table in their own churches are
denied such fellowship in Kerala Pentecostal churches.
This is very similar to what happened in the early
church. I shall explain.
The
Apostle Paul and Peter were dining with a group of
Gentile Christians in Antioch. Just then, some “staunch”
Jewish Christians arrived there. In order to avoid
offending these Judaizers, Peter quickly rose from the
table and walked away. When he saw the Jews, he wanted
them to know that he too was a strict Jew who wouldn’t
eat with Gentiles. Other Jewish Christians, including
Barnabas, imitated Peter and quickly distanced
themselves from the Gentile brethren at the table. The
Gentile Christians were suddenly lowered to the level of
“untouchables” – as if they did not belong to the Body
of Christ. When Paul saw Peter’s double standards, he
quickly confronted him in order to protect the “truth of
the gospel” (See Galatians 2:11f) .
The
heart of the matter here is that these Jewish Christians
believed that only Jews belonged to the “people of God”
or the “body of Christ.” Until and unless Gentiles
became a part of this “people of God” they couldn’t be a
part of the Church. And until then, these Judaizers
wouldn’t even eat with these Gentiles. Therefore the
dining table became a place where their definition of
the “Church” was made visible. Those whom they
considered to be a part of the “Church” or “people of
God” were allowed to eat with them and those whom they
considered as aliens to the “Church” were excluded from
the table fellowship.
This
was nothing short of a heresy. It went against the grain
of the gospel which said that God was saving Jewish
sinners and Gentile sinners to create a new body called
“the Church.” This heresy also proclaimed that salvation
was only for Jews. “First become a Jew and then become a
member of the Church,” said these Jewish Christians to
the Gentiles. (In Kerala, Pentecostals say something
similar to this: “First become a Malayali, and then take
baptism and join the church.”)
When
one chooses to be a Jew (that is, to be circumcised in
the case of males) he or she has to obey all of the Law
(See Galatians 5:3). And by choosing to be under the
Law, this person decides to reject God’s free offer of
grace. He/she rejects Jesus Christ and His work on the
cross (See Galatians 5:2, 4). This is what Paul refers
to as a “fall from grace.” When a person falls into sin,
he doesn’t fall from grace. He continues to receive
God’s grace (Rom 5:20b). However, if he relies on his
Jewish religious identity to find acceptance before God
(instead of coming to God as a poor sinner who has
nothing to boast about), he ends up rejecting God’s free
grace for helpless sinners. Thus, he “falls from grace.”
To reject God’s grace is to reject the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
The
wonderful thing about the gospel is that it creates a
new body of “God’s people” called the “Church”. Ethnic
identity, family history, traditions, gender and race do
not determine whether one is a member of this “Body” of
Christ. Any one who believes in Jesus Christ and is
baptised in water gains an official, public entry into
this Body. The Holy Communion or the Lord’s Table is one
definitive way in which this group of “God’s people”
celebrate their relationship with Jesus and with one
another. A person who is not a member of the Church
(including excommunicated people) is not permitted to
partake of this sacred meal. Therefore, to know who is
“in” or “out” of the Church, just watch who partakes of
the Lord’s Table!
If a
person who is a genuine member of the Church is denied
fellowship at the Lord’s Table, the pastors or leaders
behind this denial are guilty of making a false
judgement. It is the Lord’s Table, not their’s. It is
the Lord who should decide whether someone is in or out
of his church. The Church can excommunicate a member on
valid grounds. Wearing jewellery is NOT a valid ground
for excommunication.
Now do
you realize what it means to exclude someone from the
Lord’s Table? It is equivalent to excommunicating a
person from the Church, which is the “Body of Christ.”
Pentecostal churches of Kerla origin have virtually
excommunicated all of the global church from their
fellowship! Any Christian who wears jewellery is
considered as being a stranger to the Body of Christ.
They have created a fenced territory within God’s larger
territory and have called this small area “the Church.”
They have excluded people whom God has included in His
fold. How strange! And how dangerous!
The
passage that they read during the Communion clearly says
that anyone who eats or drinks at the Lord’s Table in an
unworthy manner – without discerning the Lord’s body –
is eating and drinking condemnation. What does it mean
to discern the Lord’s body? It is to recognize that the
bread used in the Communion is not just another piece of
bread. It is to recognize that it symbolises the body of
Christ that was broken for us; it symbolises the Body of
Christ, which is the Church. When we eat it, we declare
that we have fellowship with Christ and membership in
His Church. Discerning the Lord’s body also requires us
to recognize a brother or sister in the Lord as part of
the Church. If we misjudge a genuine member of the
Lord’s Church and deny him/her communion at the Lord’s
Table, we are failing to discern the extent of the
Lord’s body. We fail to recognize the Lord’s body. The
Pentecostal churches of Kerala origin that regularly
misjudge genuine Christians and deny them access to the
Lord’s Table are guilty of misjudging the Lord’s body.
And therefore, these leaders and pastors are eating and
drinking judgement.
Almost
all the things that Paul talks about Judaizers are
applicable to these leaders and to their followers to
live to please them! Look at the strong words that Paul
uses to describe Judaizers:
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They are “false brethren” who always are
uncomfortable with the liberty that Gentile
Christians enjoyed (Galatians 2:4). Similarly, these
Kerala Pentecostals are uncomfortable with
Christians who take full advantage of their liberty
in Christ. They make fun of these new generation
churches and brand them as “necklace Pentecostals”
or “golden Pentecostals.” They sit in judgement and
condemn others as those who lack “holiness” and
“separation” – concepts that they themselves do not
understand well.
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“They only want you to be circumcised so they can
brag about it” (Gal 6:13). Kerala Pentecostalism is
all about bragging about one’s “holiness” and
“separation.” Preachers brag about their success in
getting a woman to renounce her jewellery than in
rejoicing that a sinner was saved by grace. They
despise any Christian who wears jewellery. Even a
colourful dress or a nice hairdo can raise their
eyebrows and set their tongues wagging. White
clothes that have yellowed over the years, a clean
shaven face, shirt that is not tucked in, simple
chappals that expose dirty toes are all marks of
godliness and “separation.” In the case of women,
it’s worse. Untrimmed and dishevelled hair that
dangles like an animal’s tail make a Malayali
Pentecostal woman stand out in the crowd in Metro
cities. And all this, when their men walk about in
wearing silk ties and suits. There is no shortage of
boasting about “holiness.”
Let me
take the liberty to adapt Paul’s words for this debate
(Gal 6:14-15) :
As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything
except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of
that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and
the world’s interest in me is also long dead. It doesn’t
make any difference now whether we have renounced
jewellery or not. What counts is whether we really have
been changed into new and different people.
By
focussing on their great “sacrifice” of renouncing
jewellery, these Pentecostals have shifted their
attention from “boasting in the cross.” How can we boast
in the “cross” if we have other things to boast about in
the presence of God? Only those who do not have anything
to boast about will take refuge in what Christ did for
them on the cross.
PART 3
Now that we have seen how serious an offence it is
to deny water baptism or the Holy Communion to people
just because they wore jewellery, we shall now examine
whether the Bible prohibits the wearing of jewellery.
Instead of a blanket prohibition, does the Bible at
least suggest that Christians should not wear jewellery?
Those
who engage in lengthy debates quote several scripture
portions from the Bible. Many of these cited passages
are not at all relevant for this discussion. Such misuse
or abuse of scriptures is an indication of how shallow
our knowledge of the Bible is. For example, Acts 3:6
does not have anything to do with jewellery. Peter and
John were just saying that they did not have any money
(coins) to offer to the beggar. Instead they had
something that would help the beggar to stand on his own
feet (literally too!) and to make money for himself!
Similarly, the “gold or silver” mentioned in 1 Peter
1:18 too refers to money. God did not redeem us by
paying money as ransom as was done in those days (and
even today, to gain release of hostages).
A verse
from the Parable of the Prodigal Son is also widely
misused for defending the use of jewellery (See Luke
15:22). It is just a parable. The mention of a father
asking for a ring for his son has no instructional value
for Christians today. Jesus did not say: “Go and get
yourself a ring because the prodigal son was given one.”
A similar passage is Psalm 45:9. That too is a
description of Solomon’s bride and her attire; it is not
an instruction or exhortation.
Jacob
instructed his family to get rid of all idols (Genesis
35:2). One of his wives had stolen her father’s idols.
Jacob wanted his entire family to get ready to worship
the One True God. As a part of the preparation, he
wanted them to bathe and change their clothes. His
family handed over to him all their idols and earrings.
Why earrings? Obviously, these too were contaminated by
idolatry in some way or the other. This passage does not
suggest that Jacob’s family got rid of all their
jewellery. Therefore it is foolish to use this passage
to strengthen the Kerala Pentecostal argument to force
renunciation of jewellery on all who wish to be a part
of the Church.
Let me
turn to the verses that have some bearing on the church
today. The first of these is 1 Timothy 2:8ff which
demands a certain kind of behaviour from men and women.
Men are supposed avoid all anger and quarrelling in
order to be able pray in a way acceptable to God. Women
should not strive to draw attention to themselves
through outward decorations such as exotic hair
arrangements, gold jewellery, pearls or expensive
clothes.
And I
want women to be modest in their appearance. They should
wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw
attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or
by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For
women who claim to be devoted to God should make
themselves attractive by the good things they do. (v. 9,
10)
The key
thing in this verse 9 is not “gold” or “pearls” or
“expensive clothes.” The key thing is that women should
not work hard to make heads turn to themselves. Whatever
a woman does with an intention to make heads turn or to
catch someone’s attention is sinful. (Now, for that
matter, this applies for men too!)
This
instruction in Scripture does not mean that a woman
should let her hair remain in a dishevelled state. They
have to fix their hair in a way that is suited to them.
It is “the way they fix their hair” that matters. Paul
does not prescribe a particular style of hairdo for
Christian women. He gives Christian women the freedom to
decide the details! He leaves it to their conscience.
Each woman should ask herself, “Am I overdoing my hair
to stand out in a crowd and thus to attract attention to
myself?”
Similarly, the restriction on “gold or pearls” is NOT a
ban on jewellery! Unfortunately, Pentecostals of Kerala
do not know how to differentiate between gold and
jewellery. They are unable to think of jewellery other
than jewellery made of gold. When this passage was
written, that is, in the first century, people wore
jewellery made of several materials – gold, silver,
wood, animal bones including ivory, precious stones,
pearls, etc. Of these, the costliest must have been
jewellery made of gold or pearls.
Paul
did not want godly women to have lopsided priorities—to
spend their hard earned money on the costliest of
jewellery. Instead, he advised Christian women to
decorate themselves with good works. Strange enough, we
do not hear much about this aspect in Kerala. Women do
not receive much encouragement to do anything let alone
good works. The negative is emphasized and stretched
beyond its dimensions while the positive is left out!
Paul’s command to Christian women to “make themselves
attractive by the good things they do” does not mean
that godly women should remain outwardly unattractive.
All godly people must bring glory to God by their
personal cleanliness and tasteful appearance. Dressing
“up” for the glory of God is a sacred duty. Dressing
“down” is certainly not a mark of godliness. In India,
the land of many religions that glorify asceticism, it
is easy to be caught up by teachings that glorify the
practice of religious “dressing down.”
Paul’s
instruction to avoid “expensive clothes” is obviously
not a ban on clothes! He just wants godly people to
avoid spending a fortune on clothes. What is expensive
is indeed a subjective matter. What is expensive and
luxurious for an ordinary person may be an item of
necessity for another. Here too, Paul leaves a lot of
room for people to decide for themselves. (It may be
profitable here to mention that the cost of clothing is
not the amount of money that you spend on a dress. The
actual cost of an item you wear is the amount spent on
it divided by the number of times you wore it. Thus, a
cheap shirt that lasted just for three months is more
expensive than a costly shirt that lasts for three
years.) More than the cost of a dress, or a piece of jewellery, or a pair of shoes, it is the owner’s
intention that matters before God.
I must
mention here that the Pentecostal community of Kerala is
very unfair to women in many ways.
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The
men who travel abroad or appear for interviews spend
a lot of money on expensive suits, ties and footwear
especially as a part of their career strategy. The
women, on the other hand, are not allowed to look as
attractive as their competitors in the job market.
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Paul asks the men to avoid anger and quarrelling
(1Timothy 2: 8). However, this is not seen as a
condition for baptism or for partaking in the Lord’s
Table. No Malayali pastor has ever told a man, “Get
rid of your anger and then I will baptize you.” We
see church leaders who take pride in their short
temper and rush off to court to sue their brothers
in Christ! However, these leaders misinterpret verse
9 and prohibit women (it’s mostly women who wish to
wear jewellery) from taking baptism with their
jewellery.
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Unfortunately, Pentecostals of Kerala do not know how
to differentiate between gold and jewellery. They are
unable
to think of jewellery other than jewellery made of gold.
When this passage was written, that is, in the first
century,
people wore jewellery made of several materials –
gold, silver, wood, animal bones including
ivory, precious stones, pearls, etc.
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It
should also be mentioned that there are Pentecostal
women who crave after expensive and extravagant clothes
even after renouncing jewellery. And there are
Pentecostal men and women in Kerala who wear expensive
golden watches and still discriminate against foreigners
who wear a wedding ring.
If we understand 1 Timothy 2:8-9 in the proper way, it
is easy to understand 1 Peter 3:3-4:
Do not
let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the
hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel — rather
let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the
incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which
is very precious in the sight of God. (NKJV)
It is
obvious that Peter is not instructing Christian women
(whose husbands are yet to believe) to shun clothing or
apparel. His focus too, like Apostle Paul’s, is on
extravagance and overspending on outward adornment. It
is not clothes that we should avoid; we need to shun
expensive clothes. Similarly, it is not jewellery that
we should shun; we must shun the costliest of jewellery—whether
it is gold or pearls or platinum. The most expensive
jewellery of modern times is not gold or pearls; they
are made of platinum and diamonds.
A Christian woman may
arrange her hair nicely; she is allowed to wear modest
jewellery and appropriate clothes. However, she
shouldn’t be noticed for these outward adornments. She
should get distinguished by the overwhelming charm of
her inner beauty—that of a gentle and quite spirit. The
ungodly world today does not appreciate or highlight the
need for gentle and quite women! They want women to be
loud and bold (read ‘shameless’). Bold clothes are
clothes that reveal more of your skin! I don’t
understand why people need boldness to be naked or
scantily dressed! They want women to shout and fight for
their rights!
Conclusion:
The Bible does not prohibit the use of jewellery. The
use of jewellery is not a valid ground for the denial of
baptism or fellowship at the Lord’s Table. People who
deny water baptism on the grounds of jewellery or
exclude genuine believers from the Lord’s Table are
guilty of desecrating the Church’s ordinances and of
abuse of authority. The Bible does not want men to argue
and fight – whether it is about women’s jewellery or
about other matters. At the same time, the Bible wants
women to be modest – in clothing, jewellery and hair
arrangement. They should not strive to get undue
attention from others by going for the most attractive
clothes and expensive jewellery. Godly women must focus
on decorating themselves with good works of charity and
in cultivating a gentle and quite spirit.
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