THE LURE OF THE NEW

The whims of fashion govern not only what we eat and how we dress but also what we venerate and how we worship.  But as trends come and go will the church survive the fickle tastes of her worldly members?

Our parents and grandparents grew up in a day when truth, institutions and values from the past were appreciated, respected, venerated, and cherished. By the 1960s that appreciation for the past began to fade. Today there are many people who are so addicted to that which is new and different that they despise anything that is old...no matter how sacred it may have been to their predecessors.  This unpleasant change is evident in patriotic, political,  social and  cultural fields, but most noticeably in the area of religion.

Those obsessed with changing things operate under the mistaken notion that the new is always better than the old.  The patriotism of the average young America is not equal to much less superior to that of his grandparents.  Contemporary political behavior is certainly no better than that of 50 years ago. Modern schools pale beside the schools our parents attended.  The social virtues and values of modern America do not compare favorably with those of generations past.  Contemporary art and entertainment is but a shadow of that which was produced in days past.

The "lure of the new" is especially dangerous and destructive in the area of Christianity. The God of Christianity is timeless. He is also perfect. A thousand or even ten thousand years of human progress does not mean that God must change.  He changes not (Mal. 3:6). Christ lived and died two thousand years ago.  But he is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). Like his Father, he changes not. He does not need to be updated. The New Testament is upwards of two thousand years old. It is the word of Christ and will never pass away (Matt. 24:35).  It is truth (John 17:17). It is timeless, as meaningful and applicable today as when first written. We are forbidden to try to change it (Rev. 22:18-19).  We can only obey or disobey its precepts.

The church purchased by the blood of Christ and established on the grand truth that He is the Christ, the son of the Living God is likewise two thousand years old.  But being the creation of God the Son, its eternal aspects cannot be changed. Those who lay profane hands on the bride of Christ will answer to him for their brazen effort. We can change our time of worship, our place for meeting, the decor of our meeting houses, but we cannot touch the way we worship, the way God organized his church, the way converts are added to the church or the doctrines of the faith.  Those things were ordained by the founder and must be held in sacred respect and unalterable.

Enjoy your new car or home. Accept new hair  styles and dress. Benefit from new drugs and medical, procedures but don't presume to change that which God has established for his kingdom.  To do so will place one in jeopardy of the same consequences that befell Nadab and Abihu, Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and Uzzah and Ahio.  In religion the lure of the new may prove to be as dangerous as the new lure is to the trout in the lake. The new ways promoted by our change agents may be pretty, flashy, intriguing and exciting but hidden within is the deadly hook that leads to destruction.