Lured away by liturgical worship

"Shiny objects of deception"

Q: Many who claim to be Christian have decided, not after detailed research from biblical Christianity [protestantism] nor after a class &/or talks with their pastor, have on their own, through subtle doctrine of demons, been lured by "shiny objects" away from Christianity and into the apostate false religions of liturgical forms of worship found in Roman Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism or Orthodox religions. Just as many others have been decieved by Satan who can appear as an angel of light. Those who follow that path into apostasy and idolatry prove they themselves (if claiming to be learned) are apostates or false converts, but my hope is there are many who were duped into thinking these religions were Christian just as many naive were likewise conned and duped by Mormons to think theyre Christian too. May God quickly reveal these false religions to them and call them out of it, and back into true Christianity. As to the apostate, theres no hope for them. 

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This is to point in you in the direction of a helpful resource on a timely subject. But I need to set some context first.  

From time to time, so-called evangelicals, usually in the realm of academics, will get 15 minutes of fame. They announce that they are leaving their prior associations for the liturgical forms of worship found in Anglicanism or Roman Catholicism. They'll say things in the spirit of "I'm embracing the way Christians have always worshipped since the time of Christ." (Heavy implication: "Since I am a scholar, I have access to secret information and so I am obviously right.")

Alongside that, I have seen recent reports of "revival" among young people. That would be wonderful if true. But I also read that this so-called revival has many streaming into the Catholic church. Speaking with much restraint, "true revival" and "Catholic Church" are mutually exclusive terms. At the very least, I counsel caution about drawing early conclusions.  

The common thread to the academic defections and the reported surge in religious interest is liturgical worship--the use of set forms and standard prayers with external ceremony with a priest or a priest-like dignitary presiding.  

In a short post like this, I can't list all the reasons that you should flee from such things. I can't warn you strongly enough about the doctrinal error and arrogance that will quickly engulf your soul and lead you astray, even to eternal perdition.

But I can point you to a resource that will blow away much of the fog and sloppy thinking that leads people toward liturgy. The book is readily accessible, but this particular content is so buried that it would be easily overlooked.   

⭐️In his Banner of Truth commentary on Romans 12, Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines liturgy in light of church history (Chapter 21; pp. 301-316) and in light of Scripture (Chapter 22; pp. 317-330). He persuasively shows why liturgical worship is contrary to the simplicity of worship found in the New Testament. Those pages are worth their weight in gold for the perspective and discernment that they provide.  

A necessary word of qualification. The great Doctor's teaching on spiritual gifts (which is the context of those two chapters) is sometimes confusing and must itself be sifted carefully. He makes normative statements from the book of Acts which I would not embrace. Those are not insignificant matters.  

That said, we live in an age where external ceremony is, and will become more so, attractive to disaffected people. The celebrity and conference culture in Reformed circles, the superficial nature of social media influencers in others, and the political bent of still others, necessarily breed a deep, long-term dissatisfaction in the souls of thoughtful people. That discontent is a spiritual force to be reckoned with. The circles I list in this paragraph are not equipped or fit to deal with it. We have serious long-term vulnerabilities.

Liturgy is a shiny object that can attract. We need to know why it is not the answer. The Doctor did a great service to the church when he preached these messages some 60 years ago, which were posthumously put into print in 2000 by Banner of Truth. The content has real flaws. But it is an important start if you have never been exposed to the issues.

A grasp of the principles he taught will help you, and it will help you help others. Pastors particularly, please take note.

-Don Greene

Related 

●On true Worship 

●True Church History 

●What biblical prerequisite determines if a church/Church or person is Christian

●Errors of works based religions 

Resources for Growing Christians