On October 22, 2017 Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas Texas, invited Fox News political commentator Sean Hannity to his church. Sean Hannity wasn\u2019t there to participate in worship of the one true God. He was there to be interviewed in the time slot where the Lord Jesus Christ was to be worshipped. It was a weak political stunt in which Hannity talked about his Roman Catholic upbringing and how he now considers himself \u201csort of born again,\u201d while Jeffress shamelessly plugged Hannity\u2019s new upcoming film. I hate to throw the word around, but was this not blasphemous? The way the congregation roared and rose to their feet when Hannity was being introduced made my stomach turn. It felt like idol worship.<\/p>\n
I have no problem with Christians being politically active. But I have a problem with the desecration of the Lord\u2019s Day. Instead of feeding his sheep, Robert Jeffress decided to give his congregation more of the same politics that they get every other day of the week. Granted, the way the crowd drooled over Sean Hannity tells us they have itching ears and they were getting what they wanted. But how dare a man call himself a minister of the gospel and give his people Hannity instead of Christ.<\/p>\n
This whole ordeal is merely the working out of a major underlying problem in the state of American Evangelicalism today. Most people and churches believe that they can worship God any way that they want, so long as it is not forbidden within Scripture. The belief is that worship is our individual preference and that anything we do with good intentions is acceptable to God. But many things that go on within the corporate worship setting of our churches would be called blasphemous by the hosts of heaven gathered around the throne of God who sing \u201choly, holy, holy\u201d without end. God does not simply want to be worshiped, and however we want to express that is cool with him. God has specific instructions on how he is to be worshiped by his specific people on his specific day. Interviewing a political talk show host and plugging a movie is not listed in those instructions. We are not to worship God however we want, we are to worship God as He wants to be worshiped.<\/p>\n
Why has this principle or doctrine been so neglected, forgotten, and smitten today? Partly because of itching ears, and partly because we have abandoned the historical confessions of the Christian faith. Christian orthodoxy has a rich history of believers who have fought many battles of doctrine and church practice and have left documents for us hammering out very clear summations of the teaching of Scripture. There are several great confessions of faith that we have had handed down to us from those who came before us (I will let you do your own homework on them. I personally hold mostly to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession), and we would do well to listen to them. Christianity is not a new religion, and it is not a mutable one. If these confessions summarize the truth of Scripture in the 17th<\/sup> century, then they summarize the truth of Scripture in the 21st<\/sup>.<\/p>\n If the modern church wasn\u2019t too arrogant or so ignorant of the great confessions of faith, we would not have problems like First Baptist, Dallas. The principle that says that we are not to worship God however we see fit, but rather we are to worship God as He sees fit, is clearly laid out for us in most of the great confessions of the Christian faith. This principle is not just an opinion or a preference, it is the summation of a principle truth of Scripture. That is what the confession writers believed, and that is what I believe.<\/p>\n I will close by quoting a portion of chapter 22 (Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day) from the 1689 London Baptist Confession:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures\u2026 Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creatures; and since the fall, not without a mediator, nor in the mediation of any other but Christ alone\u2026 The reading of the Scriptures, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord; as also the administration of baptism, and the Lord\u2019s supper, are all parts of religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience to him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear; moreover, solemn humiliation, with fastings, and thanksgivings, upon special occasions, ought to be used in an holy and religious manner\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On October 22, 2017 Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas Texas, invited Fox News political commentator Sean Hannity to his church. Sean Hannity wasn\u2019t there to participate in worship of the one true God. He was there to be interviewed in the time slot where the Lord Jesus Christ was to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":3445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,32],"tags":[43,173,205,274,281,311,312,322,339,350,501,557,584,658,676,678,679,699,762,766,948,983,1014,1035,1051,1056,1063,1101,1108,1153,1230,1367],"class_list":{"0":"post-3441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-theology","9":"tag-43","10":"tag-baptist","11":"tag-bible","12":"tag-christ","13":"tag-church","14":"tag-confession","15":"tag-confessions","16":"tag-corporate","17":"tag-dallas","18":"tag-day","19":"tag-first","20":"tag-god","21":"tag-hannity","22":"tag-interview","23":"tag-jeffress","24":"tag-jenkins","25":"tag-jesus","26":"tag-joshua","27":"tag-london","28":"tag-lords","29":"tag-plea","30":"tag-principle","31":"tag-rags","32":"tag-regulatvie","33":"tag-return","34":"tag-riches","35":"tag-robert","36":"tag-sbc","37":"tag-sean","38":"tag-small","39":"tag-texas","40":"tag-worship","41":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/10\/confession-oldcover-overlay-e1508811556650.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4357,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/christianity-as-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":3441,"position":0},"title":"Christianity as Religion","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"February 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Christianity is in fact a religion. Indeed it is the one true religion. The effort to trade in the timeless structure and order of the Church for \"it's just a relationship\" goo is part to blame for where we are. You can't build civilizations on goo. You need a firm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Church History"","block_context":{"text":"Church History","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/church-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/02\/churchbuilding.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/02\/churchbuilding.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/02\/churchbuilding.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/02\/churchbuilding.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3767,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/jesus-cleanses-the-temple-john-213-22\/","url_meta":{"origin":3441,"position":1},"title":"Jesus Cleanses the Temple, John 2:13-22","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Before we focus exclusively on our passage, I want to consider the wedding at Cana and the temple cleansing together, and why they might have been placed side by side in chapter 2. The gospel writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, placed these two accounts next\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/jesus-cleansing-the-temple.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/jesus-cleansing-the-temple.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/jesus-cleansing-the-temple.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3522,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/an-analysis-of-john-420-24-worshiping-in-spirit-and-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":3441,"position":2},"title":"An Analysis of John 4:20-24 – Worshiping in Spirit and Truth","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"April 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"INTRODUCTION The purpose of all creation is to worship the true and living God in a way that he has commanded. The New Testament makes it clear that God is seeking worshippers who will worship him \u201cin spirit and truth\u201d (John 4:24) \u2013 \u00a0but what does that mean? This paper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gospel"","block_context":{"text":"Gospel","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/gospel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/first_congregational_portland_window_-_balcony_west-c_0.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/first_congregational_portland_window_-_balcony_west-c_0.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/first_congregational_portland_window_-_balcony_west-c_0.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/first_congregational_portland_window_-_balcony_west-c_0.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4628,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/fill-the-organs-with-cement\/","url_meta":{"origin":3441,"position":3},"title":"Fill the Organs with Cement","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction Here we are on the final Lord\u2019s Day of October, the year of our Lord 2021, and God has been very good to us. We have received grace upon grace through the Lord Jesus and for that, we give thanks. As you know, we have been preaching on Exclusive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Church History"","block_context":{"text":"Church History","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/church-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/hezekiah.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3728,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/on-the-lords-day-fellowship-meal\/","url_meta":{"origin":3441,"position":4},"title":"On the Lord’s Day Fellowship Meal","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At\u00a0our church\u00a0we have a fellowship meal twice a month (1st and 3rd Sundays), following our corporate worship gathering. Many churches do the same, to varying degrees. I would highly advise all Christian churches to do the same. I mainly write this post for Christians who have a regular fellowship meal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"baptist\"","block_context":{"text":"baptist","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/tag\/baptist\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/03\/5vmv2nc1i1v.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/03\/5vmv2nc1i1v.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/03\/5vmv2nc1i1v.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/03\/5vmv2nc1i1v.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/03\/5vmv2nc1i1v.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3094,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/two-reasons-for-congregational-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":3441,"position":5},"title":"Two Reasons for Congregational Singing","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite things about my church is our congregational singing. It does me good to hear and participate in worship with people who sing the gospel from their bellies. We may not have hundreds of voices but we've got some good ones and loud ones. 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