Choosing a church, or looking for a place to worship can be challenging. It is important to know that what we are doing is approved of by God, but really…how do we know what is right?
Jesus Christ prayed for unity among those who would believe in him (John 17:20-23). There are certainly many differences between those who identify as Christians. One recent study shows there are over 45,000 Christian denominations in the world today. We claim to believe in the Bible, but if we are all following the same inspired Word, why is this number so big? We read in 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” Having this many different Christian religions sounds rather confusing. Where did this confusion come from?
How can we go about reducing this confusion and start building up unity? It seems logical that in humility we should re-examine what we believe and what we are doing, to determine if it is right.
There are many standards of right and wrong people use, reasons why we choose where we worship and why we do what we do. Following the multitude of people, or “majority rule” can be one of those reasons. What if Noah had gone with majority rule? He would have perished with the rest of humanity if he had gone with the crowd. Thankfully he followed God instead and was saved from the flood. Jesus Himself acknowledged that majority rule is not the pathway to Heaven when He said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it” (Matthew 7:13).
Many of us follow family, or friends, or choose a place with lots of activities for kids as our place of worship. This is common, but perhaps we should study with those family or friends and look to scripture together to determine if our worship is pleasing to God. Worship is more important than feeling happy with those around us or feeling good about a great service. We need to love and please God more than anything or anyone in the world. We need to consider Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:37 concerning where we put Him in our priorities when we choose to approach God in our worship.
A popular practice today is to follow one’s conscience or feelings. After all, these are internal guides to help determine if we are doing something right or wrong. We can learn a lot from the example of the Apostle Paul who, before he became a Christian, was extremely zealous and dedicated to persecuting Christians. He indicated in Acts 23:1 that he had done so with a clean conscience, showing us that this important tool we have can be mis-programmed and tell us something is good (or bad) when it is actually the opposite. Solely depending on the conscience, emotions, or feelings can be untrustworthy.
Relying on highly respected teachers, pastors, evangelists or those really knowledgeable in the Bible should not be our only, or even primary source of faith. Being a minister, this point is extremely important for me to communicate. Opening the Bible and learning what God wants is essential because none of us are immune to error. We can read that the Apostle Peter (Galatians 11:11-14) and an early gifted minister named Apollos (Acts 18:24-26) were men who spoke about Christ, but were in error and had to be corrected. Man’s ideas are not always in accord with the Bible and sometimes this results in creeds or doctrines not quite in line with scripture. There are many passages showing how complete the Word of God is, and we are warned not to add to it or take anything away from it (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:19).
But back to the question we all need to ask ourselves; how do we know what we are doing is right? Careful examination of the Bible is important to understanding truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Before we do or choose anything, we should pray. We need to ask God for help understanding what is written. Once we are studying and trying to understand biblical writings, we should consider the context of what we are reading. Who is writing? Who is the audience? What is the subject matter? When was it written? What was going on at the time of this writing? Does the passage apply to us today? For instance, in the Old Law God had specific directions for ancient Israel on how to worship Him, but these are not what He requires of us today as Christians.
God’s word is consistent and one verse can’t undo another. Consider all the passages on the subject you are studying and make sure the conclusion taken away from one verse doesn’t conflict with any of the others. Many of the religious differences out there today exist because this simple tool isn’t used. In humility, we need to accept that we could be wrong, have an open mind as we study, and let Him speak.
Choosing how and where you worship does matter to God. How we praise Him is important to Him and can help us on our path to biblical service. Pray meaningfully and seek the word of God for the answers, answers that are in unity with the entire message of the Bible. Perhaps we can help others lessen the confusion out there and get back to His way. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)
Contact us with any questions or comments, and as always, we welcome you to join us for worship and classes.
Jeff Mullen
Minister for the Blanco Hills Church of Christ
Worship: Sunday 11 am
Class: Sunday 10 am, Wednesday 3:30 pm
blancohillschurch.com
830-554-0701