Ecclesia-olatry?

2 Peter 1:16-17

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Reading the verse to the right, I am struck with the simplicity of the early evangelistic efforts. When the apostles and other believers first began sharing the gospel message—the good news of Christ's life, atoning death, and resurrection—they "did not follow cunningly devised fables" but simply told folks what they had seen ("[we] were eyewitnesses of His majesty").

How different that seems from what we now proclaim. I think our reverence of the man-made traditions that we have incorporated into our church structure over the years approaches worship. In other words, idolatry. Or, ecclesia-olatry.

Somehow, I don't think the apostles proclaimed a specific musical genre as being the proper form of church music. I don't think they mandated a particular bible translation and I'm sure they didn't demonize the other translations (of course, they benefitted from not actually having multiple translations with which to separate the brethren). I don't think they set up the appropriate dress code for those who would be followers of Christ. I don't think they turned people away from the gospel proclamation because they were deemed too worldly, too tattoed, or too pierced (or, on the other hand, too stodgy, too pretentiously dressed, or too formal).

2 Peter 1:20-21

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The worship wars, the fight between modernistic thought and postmodernism, the demand for certain types of behaviors, the restrictions of what foods and beverages must be consumed or avoided ... none of these should exist in the Church of Jesus Christ. They are an indication that we have lost our focus—proclaiming what we have heard and seen.

People aren't confused by the gospel; they're confused by us. Jesus is the only way to God, but we are not the only way to Jesus. This world doesn't need my tie, my hoodie, my denomination, or my translation of the Bible. They just need Jesus.

We can be passionate about what we believe, but we can't strap ourselves to the gospel because we're slowing it down. Jesus is going to save the world, but maybe the best thing we can do ... is just get out of the way.

Casting Crowns

 

Today's Bible Reading	Ezekiel 1-4
I'm also reading:
Family Driven Faith	Voddie Baucham, Jr.
Solomon Among the Postmoderns	Peter J. Leithart