Non-Salvific Issues
The Shrinking Is Growing
With this entire month being dedicated to the study of soteriology, the topic of salvific issues is one that I believe needs to be addressed. Earlier this week we discussed what issues and topics a church must discuss and agree on in order to be scripturally sound when it comes to salvation. If a church or pastor is teaching or believing something that is against salvation, then it doesn’t matter what else you learn from this man, you will not be led to that path that leads to heaven. With all of this being said, we talked about the issues where leaving a church is actually justified. To look at the other side of the coin, however, we are going to look today at some of the top issues that people leave a church that aren’t over salvific matters at all, and not really justified. Just as much as we should be cautious and know when to divide ourselves from a local body, we must also know when to be humble and stay unified to the body, even when we don’t agree with them 100%. As Tiffany Johnson says, “In a world offering a multiplicity of viewpoints, there is one place that people can find truth. The church is a lighthouse in an ethical fog.” With this in mind, let’s look at some of the top reasons people leave the church or leave the faith altogether, that scripture never justifies.
Practice Makes Excuses
To begin, let’s look at some statistics. The Pew Research Center reveals to us some very disheartening and yet real statistics that we must address. In 2007, about 78% of people in the U.S. considered themselves Christians. Fast forward to 2020, that number has plummeted to 65% and continues to fall. Why is that? Are all of these falling outs due to salvific issues? Not likely. According to another recent study by the PRC, one of the top reasons that people do not attend church anymore is because they practice their faith in other ways. This being the top answer for Christians in the U.S. today is just downright depressing. What do you think Paul would have to say about this who addressed most issues regarding the church in the New Testament? Do you really think that the local church was made just as a way to ‘practice’ out your faith in public? Look at what Paul says about the Church in Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’shousehold, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” The Church was never meant to be a place where we just practice our faith for an hour a week and then leave. The Church is quite literally a body of believers that God Himself has intended to worship Him, learn about His Word, and grow as believers together in one place. The practicing of our faith, therefore, is outside of the church as we apply what we learned inside! Not only is practicing our faith in other ways not even a salvific issue, but it’s not even an issue in general. The House of God is not meant for practice. Paul has made it clear that we are to worship the Lord, study His Word, and grow to be more like Christ as we gather as the body He has designed.
Minor Doctrine
Another statistic of this study that shows why people don’t go to church is because they haven’t found a church that they like. This is the reason for 23% of people who don’t attend church currently. I know this is a very broad reason, but I want to ask you again…do you really think the reason people don’t like some churches is always because of salvific reasons? Highly unlikely. Now before I dive into this, I want to start by saying I am not opposed to going to different churches and seeing which ones you align with best. I think this is actually a very wise thing to do. My frustration and issue I have is what I believe makes up the majority of this 23%. That of course being, that most people avoid church altogether for unimportant reasons. The amount of times that I have heard people avoid church altogether because they don’t like the music, the service was too long, people dressed too nice, or because the pastor didn’t say what they wanted to hear, has been way too often. The social and cultural acceptability of the church should be so far down your standards list when it comes to finding a church. Look at what the Church looked like in Acts when it first kicked off after Christ ascended. Acts 2:42 says, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Does this sound like a church wondering how long service is going to be? Or a church that is concerned about how the preaching will make them feel? Far from it. The impact that society has had on the church is undeniable and just downright sad because of how little it has to do with salvific issues. If we choose to leave a church or pastor, I pray that it would be because of a biblically supported reason, and not some popular, cultural opinion.
Lastly, I want to mention an aspect of division that really encapsulates all of these issues in one. That issue of course, is minor doctrinal issues. I know what we just mentioned would be considered minor, but this issue is one that is a disagreement on scripture itself. If we disagree on infant baptism, or the consumption of alcohol, or even the amount of services our churches have all because of how we interpret the text, we must remember that minor doctrinal issues are those that do not impact salvation whatsoever. We can have these disagreements with brothers and sisters in Christ, and still be their brothers and sisters. Regardless of what the disagreement is, one thing that both parties should be able to agree on, is that the Bible has the final say. So despite however you may practice your faith or what impact culture has on your church, I hope and pray that as we study the text, we would realize that minor doctrinal issues are not worth dividing the body of Christ over. I hope and pray that as you grow to be more like Christ, you will know when to unify for His glory and when to divide for His name sake.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Johnson, T. (2023, October 6). Why should I go to church? Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-should-i-go-to-church
[3] Mitchell, T., & Mitchell, T. (2024, April 14). In U.S., decline of Christianity continues at rapid pace. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
[4] Author, N., & Author, N. (2024b, April 14). Why Americans go (and don’t go) to religious services. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/08/01/why-americans-go-to-religious-services/
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