Patriotic Church Services
Today is the 4th of July and many Churches this Sunday will have a patriotic service. The question that I want people to think about is simple, should a church do this?
I found this great article which is posted on the Reformed Baptist Fellowship blog
The 4th of July is near, and it’s time for cookouts, barbecue, fireworks, and - so it seems - patriotic worship services. At least in my neck of the woods, these are often called “God and country” services. A typical patriotic service might include a presentation of the American flag, singing of patriotic hymns, and a message centered around the Christian roots of the United States and a call to return to them. Are these services God-honoring? Are they wise? These questions strike close to home for me. My sons have been asked more than once to present the flag with their Boy Scout troop during the patriotic service at a local Baptist church. I’ve been in services like this myself while visiting family over the 4th of July. As an elder in a local church, I must provide guidance for our own flock as well. This whole issue calls for wisdom and charity.
The first question we should be asking is what God wants. God has gone to great lengths to tell us how he wants to be worshiped. Therefore, He may not be worshiped in ways that we invent. Isn’t that the problem with idolatry - attempting to worship the true God under a form that he hasn’t revealed? Worshiping according to his revelation focuses our energies on those activities we know that God has called us to. Think what confidence this gives us in approaching God when we know he has called us to do the very thing we’re doing!
Most importantly, in worship we focus on God. “My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:11) We do not honor God when we seek to honor anything else alongside him. The name “God and country” itself raises a concern. It seems to put country on the same level as God. Of course, we should give thanks to God for all kinds of things, including his blessings on our country. And I think this is what most churches intend to do. But the form and content of these services often seems to communicate that country has been elevated more than is intended. A quick look at “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” will show that it is a very nice hymn to express patriotic feelings toward our country. However, it is only incidentally about God. It may be a perfectly fine song to sing at an Independence Day rally. But it has no more place in a worship service than a love song that thanks God at the end for providing the lover. Patriotism and worship are two different things; we don’t want to confuse them in our hearts or our lips.
We know that God has called us to preaching, singing, prayer and thanksgiving, and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But as we search the Scriptures, we find no other ceremonies instituted for the gathered new covenant community. If not, then extra-biblical ceremonies like a flag presentation or reciting the pledge of allegiance have no place in gathered worship. God has not said that he is pleased by such things.
Patriotic services create another problem. The body of Christ is a united body - neither Jew nor Greek nor barbarian nor Cythian (Col. 3:11). We are told that heavenly worship is conducted by those “ransomed people…from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Rev. 5:9) Why would we focus an entire worship service on a theme that only a very small part of the body of Christ in a very specific time in history could appreciate? Could those who are not U.S. citizens enter into such worship, particularly those who may have different political views or whose ancestors have suffered at the hands of ungodly policies in our nation’s history? These themes raise great difficulties for enacting the unity in life and worship to which we are called as God’s people.
In some respects, patriotic services reflect solid biblical instincts. We are to pray and give thanks for kings and authorities, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Tim. 2:1-2) There is a place-an important one-for praying for and giving thanks for our government that allows us such freedoms. Praise God for these blessings! We ought to be lifting up our country, our political leaders, and our soldiers for both prayer and thanksgiving on a regular basis. But these blessings are lower than the blessing of God himself. The glory of Christ is the gospel of Christ, and this ought to be our focus:
Your mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue.
Why are we tempted to put our country on a pedestal where only God belongs? I believe there are at least two reasons. The first is probably natural; the second is theological. Naturally, we want to believe that God accepts and blesses our country and our family. But this natural desire often causes us to forget that we live in a fallen world. Every institution and every individual is corrupted by sin. Only the grace of God can redeem us. While God may and does work through nations and families, his redemptive work happens as each individual is born again and is transformed by the gospel. We can find encouragement that God is and has been at work in our nation. However, our standing with God doesn’t depend on this. Our national citizenship does not make us any more or less acceptable to God.
Theologically, many evangelicals have bought into a doctrine one might call “Christian America.” This view seems to hold that God has uniquely owned this country and is singularly at work here; furthermore, it is held as a matter of high principle that the Founding Fathers were largely influenced by Christian principles. But note that these are historical questions, not theological ones. Since the Bible says nothing about America in particular (unless you believe some of today’s prophecy “experts”), we can’t treat this question as though a biblical principle is at stake. The growth of the kingdom is not tied to the recovery of an earlier Christianized culture in the United States. The kingdom of God is primarily manifested in the church across all nations in the present age. The church embraces the rule of Christ now (Col. 1:13); the church exercises the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:19); the church is entrusted with the proclamation of the message of the kingdom and is the instrument of the kingdom (Luke 8:1). The hope of the gospel is not tied to the fortunes - past or present - of America.
Is it a sin to have a patriotic worship service? I suppose there are ways of handling such a service that would meet the biblical requirements of being God-centered and of focusing on prayer and thanksgiving. At the same time, our hearts so easily turn good things into idols. We can so easily elevate our country above its true significance. And we so easily think small thoughts of God. Putting God and country together in a worship service may very well feed on both these tendencies. So let’s do our barbecue, our fireworks, and our patriotic songs with friends and family to celebrate the history and the place where God has put us. But when we worship on the Lord’s Day, “together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus,” let us worship the one who will be exalted among all nations.
Stan Reeves, Elder
6 Comments:
No, we shouldn't have patriotic services. What's worse, our church has canceled evening services altogether. We did the same for the superbowl. Really shows where your priorities are.
If this be the case, then no Christmas Services, Resurrection memorials, baby dedications, missionary presentations, children's plays of any sort, decorations of any sort or Sunday School since that is not mentioned anywhere in scripture either except in the context of instruction only, but any banner of Sunday School should be banned.
Anonymous,
It all depends on how you define and describe certain things:
How do you define a Christian service?
Meeting together as a church to hear the scriptures that deal with the incarnation clearly expounded cannot be condemned. It is simply the teaching of God’s word to remember a biblical event.
The same is true of a service in which you remember the biblical event of the resurrection.
These are biblical events. In fact the entire reason the early church begin to meet on Sunday was because of the resurrection.
I would avoid children’s plays in my church and would never have a baby dedication
Sunday school is simply a group of young people who meet together for instruction in God’s word. We could refer to it as bible study hour.
No missionary presentations?
Acts 14:27 Paul meets with the church to give them a report of what had occurred during is missionary journey. I could give other examples.
All the thing mentioned above deal with the teaching of God’s word.
"All the thing mentioned above deal with the teaching of God’s word"
So do AWANA groups and other para church programs designed to lure the youth. Adult cell groups which meet in homes mostly also are based on some teaching of God's word, although in many cases these teaching or "talks" are usually not directly under the pastor's supervision and often can lead to false teachings.
If you look back the idea of Sunday School became a form of idolatry for Jack Hyles, he was always bragging about having the world's largest Sunday School. That, in my opinion was sin
Our music can also become a stumbling block both in and out of the context of a service.
Worldly music with Christian words is still worldly.
Vacation Bible School has little to do with the Bible and its teachings and more to do with games and competitions.
Missionary presentations can include little of progress reports and more about having the missionary family entertain the church body followed by a sermon centered around giving to missions
Wouldn't you agree that they should be limited only to the biblical example?
It is much easier to list what "is" acceptable verses what is not in a New Testament Church and when it comes down to it teaching/preaching either from the pastor or directly under him, Baptisms and Communion are about it. Anything else must be examined very closely
I would agree with most of your comments. Just that you know where I am coming from let me share the following:
I would never have an AWANA program in my church
We do not have cell groups
I have never been a fan of Jack Hyles and his theology or lack thereof!
Put 10 Christians in a room and have them define what worldly music is and when you are done you will have 10 different opinions
My problem is with Christians who are not consistent in their view of music.
They condemn the listening to world music outside of the church but have no problem watching secular TV programs, isn’t that worldly?
I would never have a vacation bible school in my church.
I would never have a missionary family entertain my church.
I understand how many churches operate today is far different then how my church operates.
Thanks again for the comments and for visiting the blog. Please continue to post comments and to continue to challenge me.
Pastor
Hammack
and I certainly would not suggest you would allow those things in your church. I only mentioned them because of the reason you have this blog to start with - to expose heresy and apostasy.
We therefore choose what we point out as error hopefully using sound biblical discernment and by default accept what we choose to allow.
Being a patriot, for example I would hope should be acceptable for someone in your profession. Having voluntarily sworn an oath to defend the Constitution.
But in the context of worship, I can see your point of what God has told us He accepts.
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