09. Part III. Our Authority For Worship -- "False Concepts"
CHAPTER NINE III. OUR AUTHORITY FOR WORSHIP
Having discussed the meaning and importance of worship, let us now occupy ourselves with a consideration of our authority for it. By this we mean the source of our information on the subject. How are we to know whom, when, how, where and when to worship? The answer to all these questions is found in the word of God.
Just as the way of salvation, together with all the other great doctrines of Christianity, must have their foundation, explanation and final authorization in the holy Scriptures, so also in this vital matter of the believers’ worship. It will surely be admitted that we are living in days of confusion regarding this subject of worship. Christendom has become a babel of conflicting voices.
Various rival religious organizations, all claiming to be right, are seeking, with a great deal of zealous and costly propaganda, to gain adherents to their particular beliefs. In view of this confused state of affairs, how is the believer to know what God’s desire is for him in regard to worship?
Isaiah’s words, in view of a somewhat similar situation, should come with force to the soul of every true Christian: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:19-20). The word of God, and this alone, must be the sole court of appeal on all matters regarding any doctrine. Only a “thus saith the Lord” should carry conviction with the believer.
- We shall first consider some false conceptions of worship.
- Secondly, we shall then examine some wrong estimates of it.
- Finally, we shall seek to show the all sufficiency and authority of holy writ in regard to the matter of our worship.
1. Some False Conceptions of Worship The present confusion in Christendom can be traced to many causes. We shall name and examine four of these. (1) Human tradition. (2) Man-made expediency. (3) The voice of the Church. (4) The dictates of one’s own conscience.
Let us look at these in the order named. (1) Human tradition “And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6-9) “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered, and many such like things do ye” (Mark 7:9-13) It is a well known fact that history has a habit of repeating itself. We have already looked into Israel’s history and discovered that it is God’s picture book for the instruction of each Christian, for we are told: “Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we, though patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
One of the purposes for which God chose Israel as a nation was that they might be both the recipients, guardians and witnesses of the Divinely-inspired revelation of His word, as found in the holy Scriptures. At the time Christ came to earth the authority of the Scriptures, as the sole court of appeal, had been largely superseded by the imposing array of Jewish traditions.
These, in some cases, were actually allowed to take precedence, as an authority, over the word of God.
These humanly-devised traditions, compiled over a long period of years by their learned teachers, or Rabbis, were gathered together in a book called “the Talmud.” This, in turn, was in two main sections, the “Mishna,” or the “Oral Doctrine,” and the “Gemara,” or the “Matter that is learned.” Little by little, as time went on, this collection of writings and interpretations increased both in size and prestige, until it came to be accepted by the Jews as being of equal authority with the Scriptures; and, in some cases was actually allowed to supersede them. This was the situation Christ faced, and which He roundly condemned, in the plainest of terms, before the Jewish leaders of His day. An instance of this is found in Mark 7:9-13. Christ, addressing the scribes and Pharisees said, “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother, and whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death.’ But ye say: ‘If a man shall say to his father or mother: It is corban... he shall be free.’ And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father and mother; making the word of God of none effect through your traditions, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” This instance was but one of many such. This is the situation.
Here was a son whose parents were badly in need of his money for their support. The law of God commanded this son to honor his parents, and thus supply their need with a gift of money. In order to avoid his plain responsibility in this matter, this son took the money, which should have been used to provide for his parents, and designated it as “Corban,” or a gift to the Temple. The religious leaders of the Jews excused this deliberate violation of the direct command of God, because their tradition affirmed such an act was permissible. Christ’s significant words in this connection demand our most serious consideration: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7; Matthew 15:9). The most scathing words of fiery denunciation that ever fell from the lips of the Son of God were directed against the religious leaders of Israel. In Matthew 23, He used the phrase: “Woe unto you,” eight times and concluded: “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of hell?”
Christ’s appeal was always to the Scriptures. When a lawyer asked Him: “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ answered him: “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” (Luke 10:25-26). He affirmed again that: “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). In His sermon on the mount He said: “Think not that I am come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17).
Christ “magnified the law” in His life and, by fulfilling it, “made it honorable” (Isaiah 42:21).
He fulfilled, to the minutest detail, all its prophecies regarding His first advent, was obedient to all its precepts, quoted it constantly and loved it with all His heart. He never allowed the traditions of men any place whatever in His life.
Now let us see how history has repeated itself. As in Christ’s day, tradition had been allowed to supersede the word of God as to the sole and final authority in Israel; so today, in Christendom, the same thing, in large measure, has been allowed to take place. By Christendom we mean the sum total of all those religious systems and organizations that name the name of Christ, whether they be good, bad or indifferent. We must ever distinguish between Christendom and Christianity. The former centers itself with a system of belief; the latter is centered in a Person, the Son of God.
There is one great religious system that has practically substituted the Breviary for the Bible, and its clergy would gladly suppress, for obvious reasons, the publication, reading and study of the Bible by the so called “laity.”
Even Protestantism has also been adversely affected by tradition. In some of its denominations the prayer book, with its order of service, is more often seen and used than the Bible. By some, the voluminous writings of the early fathers, who lived immediately after the apostles, are given almost equal authority with the word of God.
It did not take long, in those post-apostolic days, for a mode of procedure to develop into a custom. This, in turn, became a tradition until, gradually, it was allowed to supersede the word of God as the sole basis of authority for both doctrine and life.
Through the years, customs, rules and regulations were introduced, that lost nothing in the repeating and the observing, until the dark mists of traditionalism descended upon the Church and obscured the shining light of Holy Scripture. In view of this condition of affairs, our Lord’s words, addressed to Israel, should come with peculiar emphasis to every believer’s heart: “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” As early as A.D. 107, one of these early fathers named Ignatius wrote: “Let us take heed that we do not set ourselves against the bishop... It is evident that we ought to look upon the bishop, even as we do upon the Lord Himself.” (Epistle to Ephesus). This was the danger that Paul foresaw and concerning which he wrote to the Corinthian assembly: “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). A certain bishop, when speaking to a believer about the many innovations which had been introduced into the ritual of his denomination said: “This is all part of the development of the church since New Testament times.” The believer replied: “We call it by a different name, departure!” The tendency of men’s traditions is to transform what was originally a simple Scriptural ordinance into a complicated and ornate ritual, until its primary purpose is completely lost sight of in a host of innovations the Bible knows nothing at all about.
Once the thin end of the wedge of tradition is allowed to enter, there is practically no limit to the extent it can develop until, at last, the tradition usurps the place of the Divinely-inspired Scriptures as the believer’s authority and final court of appeal. The beautiful simplicity of the Lord’s supper has degenerated, through the traditions of men, into the sacrifice of the mass.
What Christ intended to be a simple and beautiful memorial of Himself, has become so encrusted with the accretions of traditionalism, that its original purpose is lost sight of entirely. The old fable of the camel and the Arab’stent is well known. We can surely learn from this that once the camel of tradition is allowed to put its nose into thetent of Scriptural authority, it will soon occupy the wholetent and leave no place for the word of God!
Bunyan, in his allegory: “The Holy War,” illustrates this point well. When Shaddai’s (God’s) army under Captain Boanerges, first attacked the rebellious city of Monsoul, three soldiers of this army (who had volunteered while the army was enroute) were captured. Their names were Mr. Tradition, Mr. Human-Invention and Mr. Human-Wisdom. On being brought before Diabolus (the Devil), they were asked whether they would serve him, or be killed. They replied, “We live not so much by the sense of right, as by the fortunes of war. If you will give us our wages, we will serve you as we once served SHADDAI.” Accordingly, they were enlisted in Diabolus’ army, and materially helped Mansoul to continue its rebellion against Shaddai! The application is clear.
Before the word of God was given in writing, tradition served the useful purpose of orally handing down, from father to son, the account of creation, the fall, the deluge, etc. Once the Divinely inspired and authoritative written word of God came into existence, tradition was no longer necessary. But alas, the Devil has now enlisted tradition on his side, not only to blind people to the truth of Scripture, but to substitute it for the word of God itself.
However scripturally a company of believers may seek to assemble themselves together, they will need to be continually on the alert, lest long established modes of procedure, gradually come to be looked upon as though they had scriptural authority for their existence. No assembly of Christians is immune from this danger. The confusion which developed in Israel and, later on, in Christendom because of tradition, began by a gradual process. Because it was allowed to continue unchecked, it gathered momentum with the years, until the apostasy set in. We can see its evil fruit today in modernism on one hand and sacerdotalism on the other. Paul’s word to the saints in Colosse are pertinent in this connection: “Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). (2) Man-made Expediency “Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. “And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day” (2 Samuel 6:1-8) Another false concept of worship is due to this. Instead of following the Divine directions regarding worship, as found in the Scripture, men imagine themselves to be wiser than the word of God, and seek to introduce various embellishments, which they fondly imagine are an improvement on the Divine pattern. Such an instance is that which is recorded in 2 Samuel 6:18.
David had the laudable desire of bringing the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, in Gibeah, to a place he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. The ark, as we have already seen, was the central object connected with Israel’s worship, for it was the place where God had declared He would meet and commune with His redeemed people. Thus it stood for God’s presence in the midst of Israel.
Instead of consulting the Scriptures, which gave explicit instructions as to how the ark should be moved from one place to another, David ignored God’s directions and followed the example set by the Philistines some time before, when they sent back the ark to Israel.
“And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. “And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us. And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh” (1 Samuel 6:1-12) Had he searched the word of God, he would have discovered that plain directions had been given therein as to how the ark should be moved.
God had indicated that it was to be born on the shoulders of the Levites, and was not to be touched by any save the sons of Aaron, the priests: “And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation... But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders” (Numbers 4:15; Numbers 7:9) The resultant disaster awakened David to his folly.
It was not until three months later that David followed the Divine directions as to how the ark should be moved.
It was then safely carried to the place he had prepared for it, with great rejoicing: “And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household. And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet” (II Samuel 6:11-15).
We must be careful, of course, not to push this illustration of David’s resort to human expediency beyond its proper limits. Articles frequently appear in religious magazines in which the writers solemnly assert that anything introduced into an assembly’s activities in the Gospel that does not have a definite “thus saith the Lord” for it, is on the same plane as the new cart on which David placed the ark! For instance, it has often been asserted that the use of a musical instrument to give the correct pitch, tune and time to a gospel hymn, is on aparwith David’s act in putting the ark on a new cart! It is hardly necessary to point out that this is sheer nonsense. David, by his act, disobeyed a distinct and definite “thus saith the Lord;” but we have no Scripture, eitherproor con, regarding the use of a musical instrument.
It will be a great help, in deciding any matters of this kind, if we keep three terms distinct in our minds, - The scriptural, by “scriptural” we mean that which has a definite “thus saith the Lord” for it.
Under this heading would come the preaching of the Gospel; the gathering together of believers in assembly fellowship, in the name of the Lord Jesus, etc.
- The unscriptural, by “unscriptural,” we mean that which the word of God distinctly prohibits and condemns. Under this classification would come the unequal yoke of a believer with an unbeliever, etc.
- The non-scriptural. by “non-scriptural” we mean that for which we have no definite scriptural authority, but which does not violate any principle laid down in the word of God. Under this heading would come the use of a worship hymn book, a Gospel hymn book, a Gospel chapel, Gospel tracts, Sunday Schools, a musical instrument, the use of lantern slides, flannelgraph, object talks, the use of Bible charts, correspondence courses, to give believers a better knowledge of the word of God, Bible schools, Bible conferences, etc.
Much time, paper, energy, tempers and money would have been saved, if this simple distinction had been kept in mind.
Often such discussions go to prove the truth expressed by a well known Bible teacher who once remarked: “It is possible, on certain occasions, for believers to appear to be most solemn when, in reality, they are merely being most silly!”
Let us now return to this act of David, in which he mimicked the worldly-wise strategy of the Philistines, the enemy of God’s people, instead of consulting the Scriptures to see what God had to say on the subject. By this introduction of human expediency, God’s judgment fell on Uzzah, the worship of God’s people was hindered, and David himself was filled with fear. No worship ascended from the heart of David that day.
Instead, there was a sense of distance from God and a dread of God, for we read: “And David was afraid of the Lord that day” (2 Samuel 6:9). Not only so, but by this resort to human expediency, God was robbed of His portion from His people, and His holy word slighted. It was a most unprofitable business, from every point of view.
What a welcome change is recorded three months later!
David had learned his lesson. He now allowed the word of the Lord to be his guide in his worship of the Lord!
We are told: “David, and all the houses of Israel, brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet... And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:12-19). Not only so, but David wrote, by Divine inspiration, a beautiful Psalm to be sung on this occasion in which these words occur: “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (2 Chronicles 16:29; See also Psalm 96).
We have discussed the effect of Jewish tradition in Israel. In this instance of human expediency, history has again repeated itself in Christendom. The simple and scriptural form of assembly gatherings, as pictured in the Acts and the Epistles, has largely given place, because of its resort to human expediency, to complex and highly organized systems of religious belief, all claiming to be Christian in their composition. It is difficult, in many of these systems, to recognize any traces of the scriptural pattern revealed in the New Testament. As a direct consequence, there is a dearth of spiritual life which, in turn, is evidenced by a great lack of real spiritual worship. This condition of affairs, as in the case of tradition, was not the work of a moment -- error seldom is -- but was the result of a gradual accumulation of various human expediencies over a considerable period of years, beginning in the early part of the second century.
It would be well if every Christian would make himself acquainted with these facts by reading a good book on “Church History.” Broadbent’s “The Pilgrim Church,” would be a good start in this direction. The first of these departures from the word of God, was the formation of a special caste amongst Christians, who were designated “the clergy.” Gradually, those believers who had been gifted by the Lord to either preach, teach or guide, began to assume a superior air, and claim for themselves a special position, or caste, with exclusive privileges distinct from the rest of the believers. This, in turn, resulted in rivalry amongst this special caste, as each sought to gain the place of chief leader. Ultimately, elections were held, at which the most popular of this class was chosen by a show of hands. He was then formally ordained and placed in charge of the assembly and became “the clergyman.”
There were not wanting those who oppressed this departure from the Divine pattern, but gradually this opposition gave way to toleration and, finally, this new order came to be accepted by the various assemblies of believers.
Thus the scriptural truth of the priesthood of all believers was substituted for the mediation and rule of the clergy: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light, Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:5-10) and “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6). The gifts of Christ to the members of His body for their mutual edification were now limited, in their expression in the assembly, to one man (1 Corinthians 12:1-14:40). In this way, the evil of professionalism was introduced into the church of God, and what havoc it has wrought through the centuries which have followed! By this distinct departure from God’s word, the way was opened for still more innovations, by which to strengthen the hold of the “clergy” over the “laity.” In due course came the rise of the episcopacy, or the rule of one bishop over an assembly.
Later, this was extended to the rule of the bishop over a number of assemblies in a district, and thus originated the “diocesan bishop.” Rivalry arose amongst these diocesan bishops until finally, around the fourth century, the bishop of Constantinople gave himself the title of “universal bishop” over all the churches on earth! Thus we see that David’s innovation in putting the ark on a new cart has not lacked for imitators. His act is a typical example of what has happened in Christendom, the evils of which we can see with our own eyes.
[Alfred P. Gibbs, the author of this work, was a member of the “brethren” congregation, and as such - did not believe in the office of the Pastor - but rather, that all men of the church share equally in the office. Without doubt, I would disagree with his belief in this area and wish to state that for our visitors. What he says, pertaining to the abuses of the ministry, however, cannot be denied. The office of the pastorate, or undershepherd of the flock, is a Scriptural office with it’s own qualifications (which every man in the church is not likely to meet) and definite responsibilities -- but like all that is good from the hand of God, Satan has found a way to defile and counterfeit. Without a doubt, also, some men that hold the office of pastor are simply not fit for that position - but that is to the local church to decide, if not the conscience of the one holding the office that “appertaineth not unto him.” So, in this area, I would find myself in disagreement with the author -- and still thoroughly enjoying his studies on the great subject of worship! -- BBB] Another invention of human expediency, which has contributed much to the spiritual dearth, and consequent lack of worship, is the false theory that infants, when sprinkled with a few drops of water by a clergyman, are then regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and thus made “children of God, and members of the body of Christ!”
This, of course, is a flat denial of the scriptural teaching that baptism, by immersion, is only for those who have already been born again through their belief in the Gospel message and acceptance of Christ as their personal Saviour: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13) and “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16) and “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:1920) and “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” (Acts 10:47) and “And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (Acts 18:8) et al. The effect of such a departure from the plain teaching of Scripture is the existence of a vast army of people, who call themselves Christians, but who know nothing whatever of the regenerating power of the Spirit of God in their lives. Lacking spiritual life, they are therefore “dead in their trespasses and sins.”
While in this condition, they are both unable to understand or impart spiritual truth, to please God, or to render to Him the worship that is His due. As in the case of David’s act of putting the ark on a new cart, this evil doctrine of “baptismal regeneration,” has resulted in a spiritual tragedy of the worst description. We could cite many other instances of such innovations introduced through man-made expediency, but these two should suffice. One has only to go to certain so-called “places of worship” to see the baneful and tragic effects of such inventions and additions to the pristine glory that once marked the scriptural simplicity of the assemblies of the saints.
One may well ask when attending such a meeting for “public worship”: Whence came all these, - Gaudy vestments; - Tinkling bells; - Burning candles; - Smoking incense; - Crosses; - A sanctuary, reserved only for the clergy; - Bloodless altar; - Ornate ritual, with the sing-song intonation of its ready-made prayers, - Ordered responses of the congregation; - Unholy distinction between clergy and laity? By what authority have all these things been introduced? Have they a Divine origin and a scriptural foundation?” The answer is an emphatic negative. They are the results of man-made expediency, which has substituted the inventions of men for the scriptural and spiritual worship which God’s word so clear enjoins.
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