Q 60: How do the redeemed of the Lord keep themselves from pagan devotions?

A 60: The redeemed keep themselves from pagan devotions by refusing to incorporate in their worship anything not explicitly taught in the Word of God and by maintaining their worship pure of all pagan influences. (Deut. 12.29-31; Deut. 12.2-4; Ex. 23.24; Deut. 18.9-13)

This is a challenge for believers in any day, but especially our own, when the forms of pop culture have infested and pervaded all aspects of life. The worship of God is not immune from the allure of pop paganism, especially when worship leaders lose sight of the primary objective of worship and consider that worship is, first of all, an opportunity for attracting and pleasing worshipers.

In our day the forms of contemporary culture pipe the tunes, so to speak, of Christian worship. Culture has in every age informed and shaped worship, and this is not necessarily to be avoided at all costs. But in our own day worship has become the servant of “outreach” or “fellowship” or “community,” rather than the worship of God, and so the forms and “styles” most familiar to worshipers have become, in effect, the new “regulative principle of worship.” Can this be pleasing to God?

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