Have you ever read the Statement of Faith of the church you are attending? If your answer is “No” my question is “Why?”. The Bible describes the church as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15) and every church should have a clear declaration of it’s beliefs–beware of the church that doesn’t.
I raise this issue because many folks are attending a church whose teachings are contrary to the Bible and in some cases contrary to what they church believe, or professed to have believed at one time. I am not only shocked, I’m also saddened by this. Why would you to that? Have you failed to read what the church believes? Have you changed your beliefs? Do you know what the Bible teaches about the matter? Do you feel that the truth is unimportant? Of course you don’t have to answer me, but you do have to answer to God. It is your duty to discover the truth.
One of the main causes of this is that people often attend a certain church because they like something about it– even though there are things God doesn’t like about it. They base their decision on something that attracts them– a surer-cool pastor, an awesome praise team, a talented choir, an exciting youth program, a beautiful building, etc., rather than the doctrinal soundness of the church. That is a big mistake! I’ve often said, ” Don’t ever believe something is true just because I, or some other preachers, say so”. Open your Bible, search the scriptures and find out for yourself.
How can you not care about the doctrine of a church? Every Christian should be greatly concerned about what a church stands for and against. Truth isn’t negotiable! The truth isn’t for us to decide, but to discover, and it is declared in God’s Word. No doubt you can find something good about any church or religious organization, but that doesn’t give you the right to ignore their false doctrine. The old idea about “attending the church of your choice” is nonsense and dangerous! Selecting a church is serious business. It should be done after careful examination and much prayer. As believers we ought to treasure the truth and refuse to compromise. Keep yourself safe by walking in the truth and don’t allow anyone or anything to turn you aside. Don’t be guilty of leading someone who is following you to a place where neither of you should be. It does make a difference what you believe!–HDS
