Christianity Versus Churchianity

John Clardy

Mark 7:6-9

6          He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7          Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8          For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9          And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

As Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions."

If we are not careful, God's answer to the church in one generation can become a problem in following generations. In the Old Testament God instructed Moses to set up a bronze serpent on a stick, so that whoever looked at it was healed of a snake-bite during their wanderings in the desert. But then, years later, King Hezekiah broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made because the Israelites had started to worship it!

If we knew how Peter "gave the invitation for people to come to Christ" on the Day of Pentecost when 5,000 people were converted, we would cling to this method religiously and tenaciously. We would even fight over it and allow it to split churches. Fortunately, the New Testament is almost totally silent on methodology. What God is concerned about is our heart--not our methods! As E.M. Bounds said, "Men are looking for better methods. God is looking for better men and women."

God isn't concerned with our method of worship, be it contemporary, traditional or whatever, but He is concerned with the spirit of our worship--the attitude of our hearts. As Jesus said to the woman at the well when she mentioned the "proper" place to worship, "God is a spirit, and anyone who worshipers Him must worship in spirit and in truth."

John 4:19-24

19         The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

20         Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

21         Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22         Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23         But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24         God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Like the brass serpent, when" traditions" become the focus of our worship, we may be going through the motions, but totally missing the point--and missing out on God!  That is not Christianity – it is Churchianity!

We must guard against getting bogged down in traditions that are no longer relevant or scriptural.  We must strive to be real and open to the work of the Spirit in our hearts and lives.  Then and only then will those around us be affected by our Christianity!