One of my great concerns in Fundamental Baptist churches today is the tendency to accept a particular person or persons with bad doctrine or practice because they “mean well”. This is particularly true in the area of church music today.
A very powerful and poignant story in the Old Testament sheds some light on this particular attitude concerning “good motives”. The account is found in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13. It is the story of David bringing back the Ark of the Covenant to the City of God, Jerusalem.
The Bible tells us that:
1) David wanted to do a good thing (bring back the ark)
2) He did it for the right reasons, I believe. Read 1 Chron. 13:1-3
3) But, he did it the wrong way or method.
We are often told by (I believe them to be well-meaning with good motives) brethren that the message hasn’t changed, just the method. Well, all David changed was the method, and it cost a man his life. Methods are not necessarily sacred, unless they are spelled out in God’s Word. The manner in which the ark was to be transported was meticulously given in Numbers chapter 4.
So, David was doing a good thing with a good motive, but the wrong way. Well, 2 out of 3 is okay, isn’t it? No, not to God it is not. It is so easy to deviate from Scriptural practices in the guise of “the culture”. Let us strive to change the culture, not adapt to it. Romans 12:1-2.
In my following posts I will try to reason how David got himself into this mess and see how he fixed it. I pray that God will use His Word to guide us in the “right way.”
In Christ,
Pastor Art Dunham
Grace Baptist Church of Woodstock, VA
