What happens when we substitute pragmatism in place of scriptural commands and principles?

Geoff Botkin explains in this video that people in America generally conduct their life in a largely pragmatic manner. But, in order to understand something like holiness, we cannot learn about holiness without first going to Scripture. Our understanding of holiness must be based on the true standards of holiness. This is where we find God’s standard of holiness. That is what we must default to.

But, the American church has drifted so far from Scripture. We may be champions of pragmatism, but our first priority must always be to look to Scripture. We must look at everything around us and ask whether it is lawful, according to Scripture. If there is something that is contrary to the Scripture or it is a tradition of man, we must replace it with what we find in Scripture and then actually practice what Scripture says on the matter.

Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) – “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

As I've traveled around the world and then come back home to my homeland, the United States of America, I've noticed that we are such a pragmatic people that we tend to approach everything pragmatically. The way we raise our family, the way that we set about our vocations and earn our money and save our money and we get our ducks in a row. We're good at that. But we cannot approach the issues of holiness with the same kind of pragmatism because it's so easy to look at. We have this 400 year period of history of Christianity in our country, and it's easy to default to the superficial elements of that and think that we're holy.

We have to go first to Scripture to find the standard of holiness, and this is how we need to go into the 21st century. It has to be based on the true standards of righteousness listed to us. That's the richness of the law. This is where we find God's standard of holiness, and we need to repair to that. We need to default to that as a habit instead of the pragmatic solutions that we see.

And the American church has drifted so far away from that because we are champions of pragmatism. And we are champions of loyalty to certain traditions that we may have inherited. But our first loyalty must be to Scripture. And so I think really good rallying cries for the young people who are going into the 21st century must be to look at everything around them and say, is that lawful? And then ask themselves, can I defend that from Scripture?

And then say, is this the standard of holiness that the Lord would want in the way that I'm educating my children? Or in the way that we've structured our church and our church government and the judicial rulings that we make? Are we truly following the Lord's expectations and standards of holiness that He demands? And the only way to answer that question is to go deeply into Scripture. And anything that we've inherited, and as I speak to young people I say, your parents love you, but they want you to go beyond them.

So everything that you've inherited, hold up against Scripture. And if there's something that you've inherited that is counter biblical or extra biblical or is a tradition of men, you need to respectfully erase that and replace that with what you find in Scripture and then practice it. You have to know it, you have to teach it, and as Ezra discovered, You must practice it yourself.