1. Can We Serve Church “Cafeteria Style”? Lesson 4: Are There Barnacles on the Bottom of Our Boat?

2. I.Introduction A.Church history is often a mystery B.We assume that contemporary church practice is rooted in the New Testament when much of it is not C.Our approach in this lesson 1.A brief review of four critical periods in church history 2.Some barnacles on our boat – examples of departure from Scripture 3.The good, the bad, and the ugly: three kinds of tradition 4.Conclusion

3. II.Church history: four critical periods in the history of the church A.The period of the church fathers (ca. 100-324) 1.We owe them a great deal 2.They defended the faith by defining sound doctrine 3.They did not have apostolic authority 4.They began to depart from the New Testament church as we see it in Scripture

4. B.The reign of Constantine (died 337) 1.From a persecuted church to a privileged church (e.g. exemptions from taxes) 2.Sunday declared a holiday* 3.Worship became professional, dramatic, and ceremonial* 4.Large church buildings constructed, often on the tombs of martyrs* 5.A separate class of priests 6.The Eucharist was a re-sacrificing of Christ *Viola and Barna, Pagan Christianity?

5. C.The Reformation (1517ff.) 1.Greatest emphasis on Scripture, salvation, grace, the glory of God 2.Some evils of the Catholic church corrected (see following slide) 3.Others evils perpetuated, but perhaps with new labels 4.The preeminence of the “sermon” 5.Much error pertaining to the church was left unchallenged

6. “In sum, the major enduring changes that Luther made to the Catholic Mass were as follows: (1) he performed the Mass in the language of the people rather than in Latin, (2) he gave the sermon a central place in the gathering, (3) he introduced congregational singing, (4) he abolished the idea that the Mass was a sacrifice of Christ, and (5) he allowed the congregation to partake of the bread and cup (rather than just the priest, as was the Catholic practice). Other than these differences, Luther kept the same order of worship as found in the Catholic Mass.” (Viola and Barna, p. 55)

7. D.The Revivalist Era (Methodists, Whitfield, Finney, Moody -- ca. 1700-1800) 1.Emphasis on evangelizing the lost 2.Emphasis on the individual 3.Emphasis on the emotions (music) 4.Emphasis on techniques -- pragmatism

8. III.Departures from Scripture A.From the priesthood of all believers to a distinction between laity and clergy B.From the headship of Christ to human orchestration C.From plurality leadership to singular leadership D.From an informal participatory gathering to a highly structured and regulated service E.From edifying believers to evangelizing the lost F.From a corporate (body) focus to an individualistic focus G.From a scriptural basis to pragmatism

9. IV.Traditions: the good, the bad, and the ugly (out of order) A.The bad – traditions that set aside God’s commands (Mark 7:1-23) 6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’ 8 Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition” (Mark 7:6-8).

10. B.The ugly – biblical traditions which are observed for the wrong reasons 1.Alms, prayer, fasting – performed for men’s praise (Matthew 6:1-18) 2.Rituals performed by rote, without a heart for God or obedience to His other commands (Isaiah 29:13)

11. C.The good – biblical traditions observed in spirit and in truth I praise you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you (1 Corinthians 11:2). Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter (2 Thessalonians 2:15). See also: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; John 4:24

12. V.Conclusion A.Much of what we think of as “church” is tradition based upon history (perhaps even pagan practice), and not upon Scripture B.How CBC started – a deliberate effort to evaluate our traditions C.Revelation 2:5 – we should remember from where we have fallen D.Beware of taking pride (or finding our security) in our traditions E.Barnacles continue to grow on our... boat

13. Copyright © 2008 by Robert L. Deffinbaugh. This is the edited PowerPoint presentation of Lesson 4 in the series, Can We Serve Church Cafeteria Style?, prepared by Robert L. Deffinbaugh for February 24, 2008. Anyone is at liberty to use this lesson for educational purposes only, with or without credit.