Walking in the Light, January 11, 2009

Walking in the Light

We have a problem with authority today. It seems that more and more children are rebelling at home and at school. Turn on the evening news and you will hear story after story about individuals who ignore civil authority and commit all sorts of crimes. Simple respect, by and large, is a rare commodity. You don’t hear people say, “Yes mam” or “No sir” much anymore. A basic acknowledgement of authority is becoming a thing of the past.

Because a lack of respect for authority is so common nowadays, it’s easy to see why so many in our society reject the authority of the scriptures. Some reject authority through the life they live. They know what the scriptures say, but they choose to behave differently. Others, who are critics of the bible, reject the authoritative nature of scripture altogether; stating that the bible was written by man and, therefore, must be flawed. They also claim that the scriptures contain numerous contradictions that render it meaningless as a standard of authority. Then there are those who consider themselves devout Christians, who want to serve God with sincerity, who seek His favor, and who regard the bible as His inspired word. However, they do not see His word as binding or authoritative when it comes to worship.

There are many individuals who attend church every Sunday prepared to worship the Father, but their worship is anything but scriptural. They choose what is pleasing to them. They exalt personal tastes and emotional flair over what is set forth in the bible. In short, they ignore scriptural authority. When the issue of authority becomes a non-issue in the mind of the worshipper then anything goes. The door is opened to all sorts of practices that the Lord has not sanctioned.

There needs to be an intense desire within all of us to be the church that Jesus Christ established in the New Testament. If that is our mission, then we will follow His direction and seek His will above all else. We will let His word be our guide, and we will not attempt to go beyond that which is written.

Next Sunday evening we will begin a series entitled, Singing and the Lord’s Church. The goal of this series is to better understand the reasons for a cappella singing in worship, as opposed the playing of the instrument. This series will examine the biblical and extra-biblical evidence in an effort to reach our goal. Ultimately, as we will see, authorization exists for only one side.

This series is not intended to be demeaning or condescending but, rather, it is intended to be informative and instructional. It is vitally important for us to understand, as members of the Lord’s church, why we sing and why we do so without the accompaniment of the instrument.

Chris McCurley