Whoever takes up any novelty outside the scriptures, which might lead to heresy, shall be sent away.

  - Cummean, Penitential (Irish, 7th century)

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your beneift, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written...

  - 1 Corinthians 4.20

I love these old Irish guys. They were very serious about the Word of God. For them, orthodoxy was a life or death matter. Men like Cummean understood that the revival, of which they were the heirs, had begun in Patrick's bold and uncompromised preaching of the Word of God. It had continued and been sustained on the orthodox preaching and teaching of Colum Cille and Columbanus and others like them.

They understood that real life in Christ comes through hearing and obeying God's Word. They had no time for preachers or teachers who "experimented" with the Word to make it fit the temper of the times. If your teaching even looked like it might stray from the plain teaching of Scripture, you were gone. Banished. So long.

Today our pulpits are filled with men who have lots of neat and popular ideas about how to get lots of folks to keep coming to church. They don't preach like the Fathers of long ago, and many of them don't regard the Scriptures or orthodox teaching with anything like the reverence of previous generations. They have neat ideas about "Love winning" and "prosperity in Jesus" and cool stuff like that - stuff the people love to hear.

Those folks would be drifting in curraghs off the west coast of Ireland in Cummean's day, in the hope that a little time away from the pulpit, on their own with the Lord, might straighten out their false teaching.

People who call themselves Christians are drifting away from historic orthodoxy faster than you and I are leading new people to Christ. A new Barna book tells the sad tale, that, when it comes to what it means to be a Christian today, people are making it up as they go along.

And they're learning this new "freedom" from their pastors.

You may not be able to banish your pastor when he begins to stray into the postmodern silliness that passes for preaching today, but you can confront him with sincere questions, and insist that he provide Biblical answers.

And if that fails, banish yourself to another church. If enough of us do, maybe the cool preachers will start to pay attention.

And if that straying spirit ever raises its head in your breast - the one that says, "What's the big deal about all this doctrine, anyway?" or "Man, you don't have time to read and meditate in the Word every day", stuff like that - when it appears, banish it quickly and get yourself to the Lord to find grace to help in your time of need.

The world needs orthodox, committed, faithful, and bold Christians today more than ever. Let's banish the compromisers and return to the form of teaching that, over and over, has turned the Church and the world upside down for Jesus Christ.

Pursue orthodoxy, beloved. Everything else will ultimately let you down.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.