HOW CAN I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION?

There was an article in our local paper recently entitled, “Should I or shouldn’t I? How to make decisions.” It caught my attention because we all struggle with this question almost on a daily basis.

We make decisions all the time, sometimes even without thinking about it. We decide what time to get up, what to wear, what we will do during our day, what we will have for meals, and the list goes on and on.

Some people have no problem with making decisions, but some people struggle. When they just can’t get make up their minds, they might just decide not to do anything. Unfortunately, those people often let others make their decisions for them.

This can be dangerous, especially when it comes to making a decision about how to worship God. Some people just go to any church. Some people go where their parents or grandparents went. Some people want to go to large churches, and some go to small churches. They may base their decision on where they “feel good”. Some people don’t go to worship at all. They think it is a waste of time. Since worshiping God is a command, we need to try to find the church Jesus built.

Let’s pretend you are looking for a church home. Let’s determine that we are going to use the Bible as our guide. What are the criteria for determining which church is the right church?

I know that Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church. So I know right from the start that I want to belong to the church Jesus built.

I know that Paul told the Ephesians in chapter 4:4-6 that there is one faith not many. So once again, I want to belong to the one faith. But how can I know when there are so many “faiths” in my city?

I must compare the teaching of each of these so-called faiths to determine which is the right one. Paul says in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: One Lord, one faith, on baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” If there is one faith as Paul says, I must compare the teaching of these churches to the scripture to find that one faith.

Since the church Jesus built would surely carry His name, I can eliminate any church that carries the name of a man. I can also eliminate the churches that cannot be identified with Christ or Jesus because their names refer to a community or some other identity.

Now I want to look at what the worship is like and whether it meets the standards of the New Testament. If the worship service does not meet the criteria established in the New Testament, then I will know that is not the church that belongs to Jesus.

God gives a pattern for our worship. Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” God does not allow us to set our own standards for worship. He gives us examples in every aspect of our worship, and He expects us to follow His instructions.

We can turn to the book of Acts and Paul’s letters written to various congregations of the first century church to find the design for church worship. This is how the first century church worshiped, and we will want to worship as they did.

Over the next few days, we will look at the various aspects of worship to help us find the true church, the one that Jesus built.

Sandra Oliver