False Doctrine By Omission

Reflecting on Don Williams' article and still reeling from Joe Horness, I've simulated a lot of conversations with guys like these about church music. They typically follow the same pattern that simulated or actual conversations with "youth pastorey" types use. When asked to point out exactly where they err, it is difficult to build a hard case.

But the danger in what they say is not actually in what they say. It is false doctrine by omission. This is bound to happen whenever one ignores church history or biblical context. This is why we need the whole canon of Scripture. This is why we need the early creeds. This is why we need the confessions and catechisms. This is why we need a systematic theology. And this is why we need songs that span the greater portion of the church's life and development. We must seek to define and understand Christianity, God, worship, depravity, (everything!) in the is the same way our predecessors did - or least have explicit biblical warrant for doing otherwise - lest we invent a new system of beliefs (aka religion) and supplant historic Christianity. We most hold to what we have received and fight against false doctrine by omission.