Today we see Paul affirming that he believes the historic faith, that delivered to the people of Israel from the beginning, that faith which finds its fulfillment in Christ the perfect Lamb of God, living a sinless life and dying on behalf of sinful man. Paul boldly affirms that he has taken on no new beliefs. He has simply followed the fulfillment of what God had promised beforehand.
What do we say in our day and age when people offer a new experience of worship? What about those promises that this new church won't be like your grandfather's church? How about the church one block from my house which has said from the start that they planned to "do church like it's never been done before"? Since Christians started taking attitudes like that we have seen a decline in the Church's influence on culture. We have seen fewer people remain committed to Christian doctrine throughout their lives. We have seen the family being redefined. We have seen human life devalued. Are we in the process of setting up new practices that go beyond the walls of the church and permeate the culture? Are we in the process of recreating the church to follow after the culture's ideals?
Let's rather affirm what Paul does. We will follow the historic faith. We will hold to the truth that God has delivered to us. We will be the distinctive body of Christ, different from the culture at large. We will not see a need to change so as to reflect our culture. We will stand for God, whether his word directs us the same way our culture would or in a different way.
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