The above line was uttered by a character in a 1967 episode of The Andy Griffith Show that centered on how to spend an unexpected donation to the town church. At the time, such an idea was considered outlandish enough for script writers to call for other characters to react with a look of disgust and to invoke laughter from the studio audience. But four decades later, such a suggestion in certain religious circles is hardly treated with disdain. Consider the following quote from an official of the Grace Episcopal Church of Sheffield in the 2/12/08 edition of the Florence Times Daily.

This quote is from a story that discussed various efforts that some Shoals area churches had conducted to attract teens. It also cited the efforts of another church in that area, Highland Park Baptist which holds Thursday and Friday Bible studies that consist of a “short lesson, pool tables, table tennis and snacks”.  

Years ago, few churches would have dared to consider delving into these practices.  But they have gradually become to be accepted. So what happened? Perhaps the seeds for modern religious thought were sown years ago when many religious people allowed emotional considerations rather than scriptures to guide their practices and convictions on Bible doctrines such as baptism, saving faith, worship, benevolence, the possibility of apostasy, etc. Several generations were raised hearing the phrase “if you are sincere in what you believe, God will accept you”. As a result, modern religious thought has grown to become almost completely man centered rather than God centered. If a practice seems like a good thing to do (i.e. we may get a bigger turnout), then many religious people assume God must approve of it. So In essence, much of modern religious thought has become a sort of “Good Intentions Religion”.

As this type of thought has gained momentum, knowledge of the scriptures has diminished. The concept of needing divine authority for religious practices has become foreign in our society. Some religious groups now relegate events such as the Flood or the story of Jonah to legend status. Some now consider much of the Bible outdated and heavily influenced by the culture of the times in which it was written.

This has resulted in a proliferation of church sponsored activities, designed to cater to a variety of man’s physical and emotional desires. Here are a few activities sponsored by churches in our local area: Upward Basketball, Baseball for Christ, Special Holiday programs, Scrapbooking, Financial Planning, Drama Clubs, Field Trips, Family Life Center programs (often in a gymnasium built by the church), Dinners, Mother’s day out programs, Fine Arts Academies, preschools, elementary and high schools. Sadly, many of these activities can be even found in churches that claim to have restored New Testament Christianity. Even sadder is that some of these churches have members who once attended congregations opposed to such practices.

It should come as no surprise that several denominations now “ordain” women as preachers. Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian churches are struggling with how to deal with those who practice homosexuality. Some denominational groups have recently become open to the idea that people can be saved without faith in Christ. 

A number of lessons can be gleaned from observing popular religious thought and practices in our society. Here are a few to consider:

Failure to study and learn the scriptures leaves us vulnerable to the emotional appeals of human centered religion. Consider how easily the Jewish leaders were able to provoke the people of Jerusalem to call for Christ’s crucifixion to the Roman authorities. Had these people known the prophecies concerning Christ and the evidence presented to prove He truly was the Son of God, would they would have participated in such a deed? Today, if we fail to know all that the scriptures reveal concerning a particular subject, we too may be susceptible to the emotional appeals of false teachers.

Our religion must not be comprised merely of what seems best to us, but must be strictly ordered in accordance with the commands of God. Despite witnessing the mighty works God had wrought before them, the Israelites murmured when confronted with a lack of food and water in the wilderness. They favorably recalled a life of slavery in Egypt because a variety of foods were available. By centering their concerns on what seemed best at the time, they failed to recognize that God was able to sustain them and bring them to the promised land. Another example may be seen in Jeroboam, King of Israel. Motivated by the fear that his people might return to the King of Judah when they went to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam erected golden calves at Dan and Bethel for worship. He justified it by saying “it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem”. He also made priests from tribes other than Levi and instituted his own feast days. These sins were accepted and perpetuated by the kings of Israel who succeeded him and ultimately led to the collapse of that kingdom. 

We must remember that just because a thing seems good doesn’t necessarily mean God approves of it. 2 Samuel 6 and I Chronicles 13-15 tell the story of King David’s efforts to move the Ark of God to Jerusalem.  Rather than follow God’s command to use the Levite family of Kohath (Numbers 4:2-15), David followed the example of the Philistines and tried to move the Ark with a new cart. Despite good intentions, the results were disastrous as Uzzah lost his life. David then recognized their error saying to the Levites, “….for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance” (I Chron. 15:13). Good intentions do not constitute Divine approval.

We cannot assume our children will absorb proper Biblical convictions simply by growing up attending a faithful church. The generation led by Joshua saw the mighty works of God and served Him faithfully. Yet they failed to instill those same convictions in the generation that followed (Judges 2:7-15). This resulted in a return to idol worship and punishment by God. It illustrates that we must actively teach our children God’s will and not merely assume they will grow up to embrace our convictions.

God expects men to follow patterns He gives them. God gave Noah specific instructions for building and preparing the ark (Gen. 6, 7) for the Flood. In several instances, the Bible makes the point Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. God gave Moses a pattern for building the tabernacle and its furniture (Ex. 25:9,40) and clearly expected him to follow it (Heb. 8:5). Moses did as he was commanded. God is no different today.  He has clearly set forth a pattern for men to serve and worship Him collectively in local churches and we have every reason to believe He expects men to follow it completely, just as He did of Noah and Moses.

By Scott Abernathy

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