Do Not Get Naked

I was reminded of a couple of instances where two hyper-Charismatics told women they needed to get naked before the Lord. One was an older man and while the lady knew it was wrong she complied out of respect for the "prophet." The other one told two ladies they had to get naked before the Lord to receive the anointing. Jim Jones had a woman that was in love with him stand naked before the board and asked if she looked like someone he could be in love with and even worse things are going on in Africa.

That there are crazy people taking things out of context and twisting scripture is no surprise, but why people fall for it is another matter. If I had a female "prophetess" tell me to get naked I would be out of there so fast that you would think I was related to Superman.

There is a passage about Isaiah and one about King Saul being naked, but they were not totally nude. They had removed their outer garment and under that was a garment that might be considered a night shirt in our day. Everything was covered.

There was a time when your buttocks being exposed was called nudity and you could be arrested for public nudity or indecency and the same for a woman's breasts. Saying you showed you buttocks or getting caught with your pants down was denoting an embarrassing or shameful situation. Now it is a fashion statement and women in thongs are clamoring for the right to go topless while at the same time decry ogling.

One of my grandchildren used to run around in their diaper saying, "I'm naked! I'm naked!" There are degrees of nudity. In the biblical cultures removing the top layer in the wrong environment was a form or nudity. That does not mean if some pastor or "prophet" tells you to strip to your underwear it is OK since you are not completely nude. All of that nonsense is extremely twisted.

We have a form or what might be called situational nudity. I saw a cartoon many years ago where a young lady was walking down a beach in a suit made of three patches held together by tooth floss. She walked into a changing room on the beach and forgot to lock the door. The next frame shows a man stepping in and she is panicked even though her underwear covered far more than her swimsuit. I understand the privacy and startled factor, but I believe they were making a point about the attire.

Hebrews 4:13

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Nakedness is a revealing of body parts that should not be revealed except to a spouse or medical personnel as necessary. Naked makes you vulnerable as your natural inclination is to hide. Being naked before the Lord means you are not attempting to hide anything in your heart from Him. You are pouring out everything and allowing Him into every chamber of your soul.

The passage indicates that God sees it all anyway. Nothing is hidden from Him be it actions or thoughts. Indeed, the Word of God, like a surgical knife, cuts through the chase to the thoughts and intents of the heart. He wrote the Word so how much more intense would a face-to-face interview would bring out all of the issues that need to be addressed and possibly cut out?

While we are to respect pastor-teachers, we are also to study the Word and ask for discernment to keep us from the con artists, the crazy and the false prophets. Do not let a "charismatic" personality equate to holiness or anointing. Even the devil and his demons can appear as angels of light performing "miracles."

I once had a deacon tell me that if the pastor told him the white wall was black he would believe him. I asked him what flavor Koo-Aid would he like with his cyanide and if he had bought plane tickets to Guyana. I understand his loyalty as he had come from a rough background and that pastor had led him to the Lord. Still, all of us are human and can fall or if we are not careful get off the track of exegesis and start using eisegesis to make the passage say something it does not say. That same pastor ordained me, but there came a time when I had to leave because he could not be questioned and he was making the Gospel odious by his actions to the people of the town.

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.