THE OLD TIME RELIGION

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to
write unto you of the common salvation,
it was needful for me to write unto you,
and exhort you that ye should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once
delivered unto the saints.
Jude 3

I can recall when a young girl in our Baptist Church, sometimes singing “Give Me that Old Time Religion.” We would sing the verses “It was good for our mothers....It was good for our fathers...it was good for our grandmas”...and I guess you get the picture. I never even questioned what the old time religion was. It wasn't a “was” but then was “is.” There weren't any theological charlatans around then that I remember trying to tear up the things of Scripture. The most I ever heard discussed was the method of baptism that differed in some churches. Obedience to the Scriptures was something else. There were the same expectations of obeying the Word of God whether you heard it from the pulpit or in youth group that met Sunday evening prior to the church service.

Playing with God's Word as we are seeing it today for instance is cause for concern. Folks at the very risk of God's judgment have off and on through centuries revised, translated and changed Scripture to their own liking. Jude spoke in centuries past of such problems and it's just as real in our day as well.

Jude, Jesus' half brother, who wrote the 65^th book of the Bible, wrote completely from concern and urgency. He had heard of what was going on in a specific place learning of false teachers who were creeping into its fellowship. He said in verse 4:

For there are certain men crept in
unawares, who were before of old
ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of
God into lasciviousness, and
denying the only Lord God, and
our Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice, those false teachers, ordained men who had gone rogue regarding the Scriptures were now sneaking into fellowships to teach their twisted philosophies of the Word. Jude in the introductory verse encouraged the people to fight for the faith.

One of the problems for us when we come across false teaching is that we may often not recognize what is perverted. The problem for the average Christian is that he or she may not know enough about the Scriptures to know what is what is false teaching when it is heard. It is our responsibility to know the Scripture, not just from a pulpit or Bible study group. The Holy Spirit is more than anxious to interpret His Word to our hearts. He is the author of this wonderful Book and Who better to explain it to us than the Author.

At my age, I can't help but do some looking back. I miss the simplicity, but accuracy of preachers who weren't necessarily educated to the gills. The preachers I knew were known by Reverend, not Doctor. The music was simple and special music was with the heart even though the voice may not have been up to par. Bibles in the services were all the same translation so everyone was on the same page for the preaching. The preaching was to the point...right was right and wrong was wrong. We are are told our children can choose their own gender and then change what they are if they don't like it. Gay rights are as evil as can be and our preachers of old would have called it out. Old time preaching protected us as just about all preachers agreed on preaching the true Word of God.

The old days are gone and won't return. These days must be our “good old days” for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Our responsibility for now is to be in the Word, even singing to ourselves the familiar songs that bless us, making prayer a way of life with the comforting thought that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Word is truth no matter what the world tells us. Yes, the old time religion should be good enough for all of us.

Thank You Father for being our never-changing God. Thank You for the consistency you teach us. Give us the wisdom we need in today's world to navigate through all the uncomfortable areas of today's world. Keep us faithful to You and Your Word. In Jesus' name....Amen