Should Christians Change with the Times?
Are churches to accommodate each generation that comes, or did God already give us the pattern to respond to this concern? The questions asked below may cultivate deeper reflection on the subject and lead us into a more biblically sound perspective on this issue.
What are Christians?
Whatever generation they may be, Christians are a called-out group of people following Christ (Romans 1:6) who have been granted grace, forgiveness, and everlasting life by faith in Jesus Christ. That is the fruit of the Gospel. The fruit does not change from generation to generation. As such, why would Christians change with the times?
Does the message need to change?
If we change the message, we lose the foundational doctrine of the church: The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of the sinless Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, on our behalf (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Since we are all born into sin (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12), we need a Saviour to save us from the wrath of God to come (Colossians 3:6). This is the same message Christ preached from the beginning (Mark 1:15).
Does the Bible need to change?
As we are told in 2 Timothy 3:15-17 (KJV): “all scripture is given by inspiration of God." Therefore, to alter the words of God means we revert to everyone saying what they think. If we change the Bible, we lose what God said, and our messages become nothing more than hearsay.
Do church traditions need to change?
If we change church traditions, then we contradict what has been laid out for us by the Apostle Paul in his epistles to the churches (1 Corinthians 11:1-2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15). There are certain features of church that are timeless such as gathering once per week, fellowship, prayer, giving, and teaching of the word of God.
Do the ordinances of the church need to be changed?
Activities such as believer’s baptism and the Lord’s supper are ordinances handed down to the churches from Christ (Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:24-26). If we disobey the Lord’s commands, how can we say that we are Christ followers?
What makes the new generation different than the old?
Why not accommodate the older Christians instead? Chasing generations of Christians leads to pursuing people instead of following Christ. In Acts chapter 2, we see the early church following Christ, and the Lord adding to their numbers. Perhaps we should keep our eyes on Christ (Hebrews 12:2), walk in the Spirit, live as Christ, and let Him draw people to Himself.
Are not Christians the same throughout time?
In other words, we are called to trust Christ for forgiveness of sins (Acts 16:31) and called to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:15). Every Christian, young, old, new, or experienced has the same calling. Regardless of the times, this remains unchanged.
Does the music need to change?
Amidst the demands for music that makes “me” feel good, or that “I” like, have we ever stopped to ask the more important question, what does God like? Instead of seeking to change music for the times, why not stay true to Christ when it comes to music in the church. That is, what music does the Lord want for His church? Better yet, what music has He prescribed for the church? I wrote a book on that called "Music in the Church," a discussion of that very question, with exhausting effort to stay true to the exercise of exegesis of the scriptures that dives deeper into this subject.
Lastly ...
The older generation is supposed to raise the younger, “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). The new generation is supposed to be influenced by the previous generation. That means, if we must accommodate, perhaps we should be seeking to accommodate the older generations instead.
Nevertheless, Christ is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Christianity, the message, the Bible, church traditions, the ordinances, the music, and commands of Christ are without expiration dates. So, what message would Christians be sending if they changed any one of these to accommodate each new generation?
END
______________
Author: Jerry S., Pastor, OLBC
Author Bio: Jerry is a bi-vocational missionary pastor-teacher and an avid writer on practical theology currently residing in the Philippines. He has a wide range of experience and education from bachelor to doctorate degrees in various fields and writes articles, blogs, devotions, e-books, academic papers, and more.
Photo by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash
