Less than a mile from my house there stands a church. Well, actually, there are about a dozen churches within that radius, but this tale is about one in particular. I will leave the exact name/affiliation of this church undisclosed, but, let me assure you, it is one of those churches with a very interesting name that belongs to an extremely obscure denomination. This small church would hardly be noticeable if not for its controversial sign, which reads, "Church after God's Own Heart." That, my friends, is quite a claim! This claim would seem to indicate that they view their worship and polity as, for lack of a better word, perfect. It carries with it the implication that they view all other churches as not after God's own heart. You can almost see the pride oozing out of the sign. I can respect the desire to shape your church as closely as possible to God's design for Christ's body, but it's hard to swallow the claim that one has actually achieved this goal!
The fact of the matter is that, as regards church worship and polity, none of us are absolutely practicing "Sola Scriptura." It is not my intention to minimize the importance of that doctrine. Rather, I simply mean that the way that individual congregations function is often based upon preferences, whether cultural, local, or personal. Sometimes this is a good thing. After all, the Bible leaves much to our liberty and there is nothing wrong with finding creative and wise ways to execute the details that are not prescribed explicitly by God. Other times, however, this is not such a good thing. Here are a few times when guiding a church by preferences is not a good thing:
1) In the essentials. The Gospel is non-negotiable, as are the fundamental doctrines of which it is comprised. The Trinity, the Word of God, and the Atonement are among those doctrines that must be held fast, even if division results. On these issues we must never allow preference to guide us away from the orthodox interpretation of the Word of God. We must pass down this faith that has been handed down to us from generation to generation for two millennia. Personal preferences have no place here.
2) At the expense of fellowship and edification. Many times the practices of a local congregation will assume the personality of her pastor and/or influential congregants. This is not necessarily wrong. Take the Lord's Supper as an example. Our church has always observed the Lord's Supper by having representatives of each family come to the table to gather the elements that are then dispensed to each family member. We have found this to be a convenient and enjoyable method of observing the Table, but that doesn't mean that this is the only correct way. Churches that have all participants come to the front observe the Table just as truly as we do, as do those who have everyone remain seated while the elders bring the elements to the congregation. We can all follow our preferences on this matter, but when our preferences begin to cause contention, then we have a problem. If I were to leave a church because of the ritualistic manner in which they celebrate the Table, or if for this reason I refused to observe the Table at a church I were visiting, I would be sinning. I would be needlessly allowing my preferences to disturb the communion of the saints. When we prefer our preferences to Christian fellowship and the edification of our brethren, we have gone too far.
3) When they're presented as equivalent to God's Word. Have you ever talked to a person with perfect doctrine? Every single belief he has is founded upon his completely infallible interpretation of God's Word. You know that guy. Don't be that guy. No one likes that guy. We are called to study God's Word and form convictions, both individually and within the context of the Body, but this doesn't mean that we should place our convictions, even those founded upon God's Word, at the same level as God's Word. We must never conflate our interpretation of God's Word with God's Word itself. Our interpretation is not infallible. Once again, some things are vital and should be held firmly. Many of our beliefs, however, are necessarily based upon Biblical implications and logical deductions, or, as the Westminster Divines would have it, "good and necessary consequence." Nevertheless, our logical deductions from God's Word are not as authoritative as God's Word. The way that we apply God's Word to our lives is not the standard by which others must apply it to their lives. Even pastors have no right to hold other Christians to their personal interpretations of the Bible.
Sometimes it is difficult to discern our preferences and deductions from those principles that need to be held fast. "Thou shalt not kill," is pretty straightforward, but Church government is much less clear. We must be graciously willing to accept that other people are not as convinced on an issue as we are, and we need to remember that that doesn't make them second-class Christians or less pious than our church. As with all of the Christian life, humility must be the cornerstone of the life of the Church.
So, is that church down the road really the "Church after God's Own Heart"? Maybe it is, but you know what? Maybe my church is, too, and, as different as your church is from ours, maybe your church is, too. Unity is not the same thing as uniformity. As the old saying goes, we must have unity in the essentials, liberty in the non-essentials, and in all things, charity.
The fact of the matter is that, as regards church worship and polity, none of us are absolutely practicing "Sola Scriptura." It is not my intention to minimize the importance of that doctrine. Rather, I simply mean that the way that individual congregations function is often based upon preferences, whether cultural, local, or personal. Sometimes this is a good thing. After all, the Bible leaves much to our liberty and there is nothing wrong with finding creative and wise ways to execute the details that are not prescribed explicitly by God. Other times, however, this is not such a good thing. Here are a few times when guiding a church by preferences is not a good thing:
1) In the essentials. The Gospel is non-negotiable, as are the fundamental doctrines of which it is comprised. The Trinity, the Word of God, and the Atonement are among those doctrines that must be held fast, even if division results. On these issues we must never allow preference to guide us away from the orthodox interpretation of the Word of God. We must pass down this faith that has been handed down to us from generation to generation for two millennia. Personal preferences have no place here.
2) At the expense of fellowship and edification. Many times the practices of a local congregation will assume the personality of her pastor and/or influential congregants. This is not necessarily wrong. Take the Lord's Supper as an example. Our church has always observed the Lord's Supper by having representatives of each family come to the table to gather the elements that are then dispensed to each family member. We have found this to be a convenient and enjoyable method of observing the Table, but that doesn't mean that this is the only correct way. Churches that have all participants come to the front observe the Table just as truly as we do, as do those who have everyone remain seated while the elders bring the elements to the congregation. We can all follow our preferences on this matter, but when our preferences begin to cause contention, then we have a problem. If I were to leave a church because of the ritualistic manner in which they celebrate the Table, or if for this reason I refused to observe the Table at a church I were visiting, I would be sinning. I would be needlessly allowing my preferences to disturb the communion of the saints. When we prefer our preferences to Christian fellowship and the edification of our brethren, we have gone too far.
3) When they're presented as equivalent to God's Word. Have you ever talked to a person with perfect doctrine? Every single belief he has is founded upon his completely infallible interpretation of God's Word. You know that guy. Don't be that guy. No one likes that guy. We are called to study God's Word and form convictions, both individually and within the context of the Body, but this doesn't mean that we should place our convictions, even those founded upon God's Word, at the same level as God's Word. We must never conflate our interpretation of God's Word with God's Word itself. Our interpretation is not infallible. Once again, some things are vital and should be held firmly. Many of our beliefs, however, are necessarily based upon Biblical implications and logical deductions, or, as the Westminster Divines would have it, "good and necessary consequence." Nevertheless, our logical deductions from God's Word are not as authoritative as God's Word. The way that we apply God's Word to our lives is not the standard by which others must apply it to their lives. Even pastors have no right to hold other Christians to their personal interpretations of the Bible.
Sometimes it is difficult to discern our preferences and deductions from those principles that need to be held fast. "Thou shalt not kill," is pretty straightforward, but Church government is much less clear. We must be graciously willing to accept that other people are not as convinced on an issue as we are, and we need to remember that that doesn't make them second-class Christians or less pious than our church. As with all of the Christian life, humility must be the cornerstone of the life of the Church.
So, is that church down the road really the "Church after God's Own Heart"? Maybe it is, but you know what? Maybe my church is, too, and, as different as your church is from ours, maybe your church is, too. Unity is not the same thing as uniformity. As the old saying goes, we must have unity in the essentials, liberty in the non-essentials, and in all things, charity.
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