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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
"Now it is Different?"
I am as aware as others in regard to a need to change with the times. We realize we cannot live in the past. We know that many things can and should be changed for the better. But we also know that some think there are no limits to changes that can and should be made. To that view, I must offer resistance.
In the religious world there is a mindset that thrives on change. For some it is foolish to look to the past for any direction in today’s beliefs. In Hiscox’s Standard Manual for Baptist Churches, we find the following in chapter 4, page 22: It is most likely that in the Apostolic age when there was but “one Lord, one faith, and one baptism," and no differing denominations existed, the baptism of a convert by that very act constituted him a member of the church, and at once endowed him with all the rights and privileges of full membership. In that sense, “baptism was the door into the church.” Now it is different.
Note: “Now it is different.” They are saying that by the passing of time, the change of mind by man and the intrusion of the various denominations, that which God said in the New Testament is no longer applicable: We have changed it.
Some questions deserve, yea demand to be put forth. By whose authority is it “now…different”? Who made it different? Is God’s will for me modified by the changing of my mind? The author of the quoted material gives his reason for it being “now…different”, but that “reason” is based on man’s preferences, not the desires and demands of God.
Sincerity of purpose is insufficient reason to say God’s way can be changed. The very existence of the doctrines of man is unauthorized in the Bible, not to mention the right to modify God’s ways. You do not have to be resistant to change to know that man can’t change what God has said, John 10:35. Note some of man’s changes.
God’s redemptive plan
When Christ’s church was born, the Holy Spirit gave the terms of entrance to “holy men of God” (see Acts 2, 2 Peter 1:21, John 14). Paul did not instruct Timothy to “preach what men want,” but warned against that very thing, 2 Timothy 4:1-5. We hear about the “sinner’s prayer,” and read from men who say “accept Jesus as your personal Savior.” But we also find many that want to eliminate some things God told His preachers to say (see Mark 16:15-16).
Who told man he could change whatever he wants? It may have been some convention, seminary or “official.” But God and His will are still the same, notwithstanding.
God’s worship plan
The simplicity of worship in the early church is easily seen, even in documents of man’s origin. God’s Word gives simple, clear instruction for that worship: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,” John 4:24. The word “must” should be sufficient for man to refrain from attempting changes just for his own pleasure.
The object of worship is God. The purpose is to praise and exalt Him, not to please man. A by-product of such “spirit and in truth” worship is that man is edified, strengthened and encouraged to do as Paul did, to finish our course and to keep the faith (see 2 Timothy 4:6-8). Attempting to change God’s plan is to reject His authority and to deny the faith.
God’s organization plan
We realize that any institution must have a plan, an organized means of accomplishing its purpose. God was aware of that without our input, and He gave instructions for the church to be “set in order” (see Titus1:5, Acts 14:23, Philippians 1:1).
In God’s plan, seen in Philippians 1:1, the organization is described in the following terms: “Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.”
Note: saints; bishops; deacons. Other passages flesh out these terms (see 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 5), giving us all the instruction needed to follow God’s plan.
It was not God but man who established such offices as arch-bishop, reverend, pope, clergy, cardinal, etc. It is likely that man thought such offices were needed in the church, but God’s plan had no need for any of them.
Others
Other changes that arose as time passed [unlimited fellowship, changes in the role of women and in the Lord’s Supper, in what constitutes worship, the work of the Spirit, etc.], lack credibility with God, and therefore illegitimate.
Change is not a bad thing, for the very principle of conversion is change. But change just for the sake of change is not only folly but it defies the authority of God.
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“All change is not growth,”
“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for change.”
“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.”
“My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change,”
“Undoubtedly a man is to labor to better his condition, but first to better himself,”
“There is nothing as permanent as change,”
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Adornment of Women
(Conclusion)
A person is immodest in the Bible sense when he acts, talks, dresses or lives in a way that calls undue attention to himself. What would be immodest in one circumstance would not be so in another. Persons who want to display their sexuality may do so in various ways. One might do so by wearing skimpy clothing, or any other kind that was designed to call attention to the person. Another might be the way one dresses the hair. Another might be the type of jewelry one wears. Any time one dresses or acts in a way that is reasonably certain to cause others to have lewd or impure thoughts or emotions, that is immodest. One may respond, “I cannot tell exactly when that is, and it is not my fault is someone gets sexually excited when they look at me.” That may be true, but does not change the principle. You cannot tell exactly when a person eats too much and becomes a glutton either, but we still need to warn about gluttony.
One cannot tell while he is blowing up a balloon, when it will reach the point that it will explode. The general principle is, “Do not blow that much.” The more I study God’s Word, the more I am convinced that God is far more concerned with the attitude, motive, and direction a person is facing than he is with where the person is in many cases. The principle Paul taught about eating meat in I Corinthians 8:13 illustrates the present thought. It was not the eating or refusing to eat that was important of itself, but the attitude of the eater as he considered his brother.
If you are a woman and you know that the clothes you wear or the way you wear them causes men who see you to lust after you, or even to feel that you are indicating a desire for them to lust after you, if you have the proper Christian attitude, you will try to change that situation. Of course you can reply, “I am not responsible for what some idiot or sex maniac assumes. Some psychopath who might be sexually excited by looking at a Sears catalog is not going to determine what I wear.” There are probably cases of rape where the judge or jury wrongfully blamed the victim, saying, “It was your fault for acting so that his passions were inflamed.” The truth of the matter is that even if the victim is guilty of wearing clothing, or acting in such a manner as to create lust, that in no way excuses the crime of rape. The point of Paul’s admonition is that women should adorn themselves in such a fashion that they are not guilty of immodest or improper conduct, despite what other persons do.
When Paul says, “With shamefacedness (ASV,, shamefastness) and sobriety” he is not referring to having a look of shame on the face or not being drunk. Looking sheepish does nothing to increase spirituality. The word “aidos” has to do with what is seemly, proper, thoughtful, and is translated “reverence” in Hebrews 12:28. Of course, if a person is drunk, he is not sober, but the word “sophron” has reference to soundness of mind, thoughtfulness and self-control or restraint.
As we read verse 10 to see the negative of the admonition, we can summarize his thought in this paraphrase: Women, do not dress in such a way, or conduct yourself in such a way as to call undue attention to your physical attractiveness. This is true whether we think of the kind of clothing you wear, the way you fix your hair, the jewelry you wear, of the way you act. You should be known and remembered not for anything that makes you physically attractive, but for the things that make you spiritually attractive.
So the word “adornment” refers to that which attracts people to you. Make sure it is your modesty, humility, spirituality and good works that make you appealing.
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