“Holy Kiss”

Friday, May 08, 2015

Paul told the first century christians in Rome, Corinth, and Thessalonica to greet each other with a “holy kiss” (Rom 16:16, 1 Cor 16:20, 2 Cor 13:12, 1 Thess 5:26).  Is this a command applicable to all christians in all eras?  I don’t see anyone observing this practice today.

When studying God’s word, how do we differentiate among commands, suggestions, traditions, and cultural issues that don’t apply to us today?

Sincerely, Never Been (Holy) Kissed

Dear Never Been (Holy) Kissed,

Your radar is correct in thinking that the ‘kiss’ part of the command is cultural. Just like modern Europeans, a kiss upon the cheek was a normal greeting for the people of the East. The key is that Paul was instructing them to greet one another with a HOLY kiss. Holy means ‘pure’, ‘sanctified’, ‘godly’. Their greetings to one another were to be pure and sincere… a greeting for brothers and friends. This is why the command for a holy kiss is preceded by Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians to be of one mind and to live in peace with each other (2 Cor 13:11-12). A modern equivalent would be to tell the christians to greet one another with a holy handshake or a holy hug – those being the typical greetings of our modern American era.

The bigger issue that you bring up is how to differentiate among cultural traditions, suggestions, and commands of God. In general, context becomes the guide for this.

A suggestion will be stated as a suggestion, like when Paul explained the pros and cons of marriage (1 Cor 7:32-38). If in doubt, treat Bible teachings as commands unless they are explicitly stated as matters of suggestion or opinion.

Cultural traditions typically stand out by the context as well – although having a historical perspective tends to help. Some examples of cultural issues are:

1. Kissing as a greeting
2. The church meeting in the upper room (all houses were designed with a large upstairs open-air porch)
3. Washing of feet (a gesture of service done to guests as they entered a house because their feet were dirty from wearing sandals)

All three of these examples can be placed under the category of culture and not command. An understanding of the first century world helps to illuminate what was and wasn’t commanded by God. If the practice was a common one for all people of the day (i.e. kissing, feet washing, large groups meeting upstairs), then it makes sense that God wasn’t commanding them to do something that everyone already did!

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