After reading
this article about an atheist “Sunday Assembly”,
it got me to thinking about what makes a Sunday Assembly truly Christian. Is it
style? Format? Order of service? Liturgy? Giving? Personal reflection? Friendliness?
If all of those things can happen in both an atheist and a Christian assembly,
then how are our church services any different from atheists who desire to
assemble together?
We sing songs, they sing songs. Is it the style and
instrumentation of the songs that make them Christian or atheist? Of course
not, it’s the content and the audience.
If an atheist can copy the format and order of a Christian
church service, then there must be nothing inherently Christian about it. Format
and order are evidently religiously neutral.
Of course the readings differ. There is no way a good
atheist would tolerate contextual Bible readings. The act of public reading is religiously
neutral. It is the reading material which makes it either Christian or atheist.
Apparently the congregants of the atheist assembly are
challenged, “to think about living better, helping often and wondering more.”
Public exhortation to live morally can be present in both atheistic and
Christian services. So if a sermon is moral and encouraging in nature, it is
not necessarily Christian. Once again, it comes down to content—but rather than
the nature of the content, it is the basis of the content that determines
whether it is Christian or atheist. Atheistic
sermon content can only be morality based on human achievement. Christian
sermon content is solely based on the achievement of God in Christ as told in
the Bible.
As you go to church this Sunday, think about the things that
make your service different than an atheistic Sunday Assembly. Would an
unchurched person be able to tell the difference? How? It is those (and only
those) differences that are non-negotiable elements of Christian corporate
worship. We must not confuse non-negotiables with things that can (and should)
change with time and culture.
Atheists can print bulletins, sing moving songs, extend warm
greetings, drop money in a collection plate, read inspiring quotes, quietly bow
their heads, and give motivational sermons. But they can’t worship the one true
God in spirit and truth. They can’t fellowship in the furtherance of the Gospel. They can’t sacrificially give out of the
abundance of God’s goodness to them. They
can’t explain, encourage and exhort from the very Word of God Himself. They can’t pour out their emotional adoration
in worship to the One who created, saved and sustains them. They can’t boldly
come together before the Almighty’s throne of grace in prayer. They can’t publicly read the very words of
God Himself as His Spirit opens their mind, breaks their heart and bends their
will to Him.
The style, trappings, format and environment of an atheist
Sunday Assembly might be similar to many of our church services. But those
things that are similar are the flexible, cultural things. We should be willing
and eager to change those things as the culture around us changes. The things
we can never change are the things that make our services distinctly Christian.
Passionate corporate worship, sacrificial giving, richly deep fellowship, fervent
corporate prayer, celebration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s
Supper, and systematic exposition of God’s Word.
Then they will know the difference.
1 Corinthians 14:25
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