The Old Truth Of Christ Alone Is Everlasting

How do you respond to change? Are you one of those people who is naturally excited by change and always ready to embrace modern improvements? One of the hardest things to change in the church is the attitude of people who say, “This is the way we have always done things.” The counter part to this, however, is that some people love to change things just for the sake of change or to put their personal imprint on their job. We have all heard criticism of some of the new ways people are doing church. New movements such as “the emergent/emerging church” and “sonship theology” have certainly earned their share of critics. Some very notable theologians have warned us about efforts to turn the sanctuary into a theater. These new movements often neglect the preaching of the Word as they try to appeal to the emotions of the unchurched with an upbeat style of music. This approach is more focused on how we feel rather than God-centered worship.

We cannot simply dismiss these orthodox theologians with that tired saying, “We must make the Church relevant to modern culture.” Instead, we must heed the wisdom which tells us that Christianity is to reform the culture; not vice versa. The older, wiser, and most orthodox of Christian theologians are not simply naysayers to the new methodologies; they are here to warn us if we are straying from the true path. They help us to identify false teaching and to avoid violating the Word of God. It is clearly pride that makes us leap ahead where Angels fear to tread.

Charles Spurgeon teaches here a valuable lesson. “We preach today what was preached 1800 years ago, and wherein others make alterations they create deformities, and not improvements. We are not ashamed to avow that the old truth of Christ alone is everlasting; all else has gone or shall go, but the gospel towers above the wrecks of time.”