Prelude
Learning
the history of Presbyterianism and purpose behind our practices in depth has
opened my eyes to see the importance of every detail in the Christian Doctrine
that we preach. Focusing on the greatest and most precious gift that God has
given us, The Word, is an essential step to understanding God’s heart, upon the
Holy Spirit’s guidance. As the Presbyterian doctrine is truly centred on God
and driven by the Word, our practices and the way we conduct our bible study
sessions to Sunday services, it is all supported by Scripture. With that, I
believe that the reformation of the church has helped us to focus on our
personal relationship with God and to worship him together as one church (be it
self or as a kingdom). However, there is an alarming danger that the universal
church would face, in time to come.
Taking the Bible out
of context
Upon
reflecting over the lessons on theology and the church visits, I feel that the
clarity of the Christian doctrine is crucial. When there is misunderstanding of
The Word, it would lead to much conflict and even, incur doubt in our faith. Take
For example, The Lord’s prayer, Matthew 6:10 says ‘ And lead us not into
temptation.’ If the word temptation is misinterpreted as difficulties and
challenges, there would be the misperception that Christians would not undergo
testing which means we are free from challenges and difficult lives.
However, this is false as Hebrews 12: 7 -11
justifies
Endure hardship as discipline; God is
treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by
their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes
discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers
who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit
to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as
they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may
share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time,
but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been
trained by it.
God
teaches us through suffering. During trials and tribulations in life, he disciplines
us so that we can share in his holiness and thereafter, reap a harvest of
righteous and peace. He builds our level of tenacity and perseverance. In
addition, ‘lead us not into temptation’ is only the first half of the verse.
What about the second half? The second half says ‘but deliver us from evil.’
This further enhances the concept that as believers of Christ, we do not escape
challenges in life but God is there to guide and bring us through it. If it is
not learnt in accordance to the context, this misunderstanding of the Word
might be so deeply seated in the heart. Upon realisation, it would stir much
distraught and confusion internally. Some might not be able to accept this
realisation and stray away from God. They could feel cheated and betrayed by
God due to learning it wrongly. Externally, there would be much debates and
potential unhappiness, even damage the unity of the church. Also, if the Word
is taken out of context, the Prosperity Gospel which exists would continue to
flourish leading to corruption and chaos. The church would not be a community
but a corporation. A frightening thought would be how the Prosperity Gospel
could create the church to be a profit driven organisation which is led by
misguided shepherds and lost sheep. I personally feel that preaching the gospel
and evangelising occurs concurrently to understanding and continuously striving
for a deeper relationship with God daily.
Superstition
Consequently, if the Word is not understood
the way God intends it to be and none has the desire to understand God’s heart,
many of our practices and methods would be fuelled from the wrong
understanding. I confess that I have little or close to no knowledge on the
roots of the history of the church and understanding of the Word. Coming to
church on Sunday nearly became habitual and just a reminder for me that I have
a God to look to for help and guidance. I could not feel the true depth of
God’s love through the sacrifice on the cross. Being in the congregation during
the Holy Communion felt like an ordinary worship service. Only after learning
the reformation of the church, Sacramental Theology and the theology of
worship, I was then touched by God’s love for me. The sacrifice became personal
to me. If the generations to come do not understand that as the core of Christianity,
their commitment would lie in the practice(such as opening the bible to ‘drive’
demons away or partaking the wine and bread to be healed and gain immunity)but
not in the teaching. They would only to receiving grace and treat God like a
deity. How different would Christianity be different from idolatry? Victor J
Zammit’s lists of superstitions by the traditional Christians are still
applicable to the Christian practices today. Superstitions such as pouring water over your head in Baptism
removes ‘original sin’ might sound absurd but if we think it through why would
Christians today place their belief in this practice? This lies in their lack
of understanding of the gospel and the meaning of Jesus’s death on the cross
was to save us from sin. There is no logic in naming original and consequent
sin. Men are born sinful and it is only in Christ, we are saved and can repent
from our sins. Another superstition for
discussion would be the confession of one’s ‘sins’ (taken from a Roman
pre-Christian era ritual) to a priest and ALL your ‘sins are forever forgiven’.
If the church truly believes that God is the only way to receive redemption of
sins, proclaiming that Christ is our saviour, why are Christians still looking
to church leaders for redemption of sins. This superstitious act contradicts
their form of worship and proclamation to God. The lack of true understanding
of the Word leads to acts fuelled from insecurity and doubt. The message on
Superstition from Life B-P church with regard to Infant baptism argues the
reasons behind parents bringing their children for baptism which is to ensure
their child is blessed and protected from God. The purpose of Infant Baptism is
the commitment that the parent takes on bringing their child to walk this path
of faith. With all this misconceptions, it brings disbelief to both current and
non-believers towards God’s unconditional love for us which is an issue that
would break God’s heart.
Is the primary goal
to expand the kingdom of God?
Both Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15 states
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit,
15 He said to them,
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
These verses signify
a direct call from God to go out and share the good news about Christ to the
world. This command isn’t subtle or vague, but rather Jesus explicitly tells
his disciples, and all of us that follow him, to go and tell others that God
loves them. Therefore, we are called to evangelize individuals as well as
nations for the Kingdom of God. However, do we place all importance on
increasing the size of congregation (quantity) or on developing and walking
closely with the pre and new believers, ensuring that they truly understand the
love of God first? The term Jovial Calvinism has brought much controversy. John
Piper states ‘This service is for secure believers to have fun and for
unbelievers to see them have fun; so they will know Christianity is fun. And
“fun” has become the most common word among pastors to describe their happiness
in ministry. ‘. This statement has brought me much discomfort. I strongly
believe that our beloved God welcomes all forms of worship – be it singing,
praying – as long as it comes from the heart. Why is there a need to construct
our service and worship to be appealing and ‘fun’ to men when worship is for
God? Quoting John Piper, ‘our main work is, by the Spirit of God, with the word
of God, to portray the glories of God as more beautiful and more satisfying
than anything in the world’. Why do we focus on the portrayal and image we
create in our worship? God has created all forms of music; HE created hip hop,
rapping and classical music and all music can bring glory to his name. However,
the worry lies in the indulgence in music and the need for the ambience to be
set in order to bring praise and glory to God. Should we create the image of
the church service to be a concert in order to attract people to come to
church? If we were really to focus on that, the purpose of worship to each
individual would vary and it could also bring much distraction to the
congregation’s worship to God. Amidst all these distractions in worship, it
would then lead to the issues of understanding God’s heart and those mentioned
above. Also, after an attractive praise session and a fiery sermon preached,
newcomers and pre-believers might come to accept Christ as the saviour which is
good news. However, will there be any follow up sessions for them, a community
where they can learn and verify their understanding of the Word together. In
several churches today, there are only services conducted with no sessions to
learn and understand the Word in detail. The only platform to ask questions
about the Word that New and pre-believers know of would be through service.
They will not be able to clarify their doubts and seek answers for their
questions. In the long run, they would either relent and accept the existence
of God but not deepen the relationship with God or stray away from God. Hence,
we have to be very cautious and precise in the way that we evangelise. As much as we provide a platform for existing
and new followers of Christ to feel the intimacy between them and God, without
time taken to help them nurture their relationship with God, all would be
superficial. We would not have the relationship that God desires to have with
us.
All in all, after discussing the possible
dangers that the Church would face, the biggest question that I have for both
myself and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: Is Christianity the way of
life or life itself? Being aware of the dangers is good but we have to take
action. In doing so, we have to first
learn and understand the Word deeply then take action accordance to God’s will.
This would take much time, dedication, love and sincerity. It is a lifetime
commitment. Do we place our earthly responsibilities over our duties to Christ?
The answer is clear but taking action upon it is tough. Posing this question to
any Christian would be a risk but is essential. They would flee at the thought
of the dedication or to really reflect on their relationship with God. His love
for us is unconditional, loving us even with all our flaws. If the future
generations have yet to reflect and ask themselves this questions, the church
would be in danger of separation. Not understanding the purpose behind our
practices (such as keeping the Holy Sacrament as something very precious and
sacred, how can our worship truly glorify God) would be part of a routine. It
could become acts and practices that was passed down from the previous generations.
Believers of Christ would be Sunday
Christians – not aspiring to live like Christ daily. Christians would have the
mindset of service in church in exchange for salvation. The misconception of
doing good deeds equating to salvation would rise. As God’s beloved people, we
have to continue to commit, rededicate and renew our lives to him. The Word
proclaims that God wants to have a relationship with us where there is mutual
love and desire. He wants us to always seek and yearn for him with different methods,
but in all matters, it must come from the heart.
Amidst
the various forms of danger that the church faces, there might be much fear and
worry for the future but I cling on to the fact that God’s sovereignty reigns.
Though there might be a lot of tensions in our faith, we still have the amazing
grace of God. Looking back at the old and new testament, there was so much sin
and taint in the world but with God’s love poured out as he sent his one and
only Son to save us, we are assured that HE is here with us to the end.
Ultimately, HE is our creator and we are his creation. When God sets out his
purpose and will for this Earth, it will be done. Through the process of it
might be unclear to us, but I am affirmed and assured that God’s purpose will
truly be fulfilled. We, as his beloved, have to do our best for him: really
learn and understand his heart, preach and make known the precious gift of God
that he has given to all of us which is HIS LOVE AND WORD. Though one’s effort
might be small and seemingly insignificant, I take heart in
1
Corinthians 12:12-14
12 Just as a body, though one, has many
parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form
one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one
Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but
of many.
As a body of
Christ and the love for God, I will strive to learn the Word deeply, challenge
myself with unconventional questions so as to seek and truly understand his
heart.
Quote:
When life is tough, have a heart of thanksgiving
Bibliography:
Dangers
of a consumer church:
Superstitious
Christians :
Selling
that the church is ‘fun’ :
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