A newspaper article by Lloyd Streeter
There is a poem which contains the words “After all, old things are best.” No doubt, it is not always true. Some things about the “good old days” were not so good. I, for one, am all in favor of modern conveniences, modern transportation and modern health care.
However, I am not ready to throw away everything that is old. I am not ready to part with the old just for the sake of change. In many cases “old things are best.”
This is especially true in religion. We should not be quick to change the time-honored, tried and proven beliefs and practices which have sustained God’s people through centuries past. There are plenty of new items—new beliefs, new cults, new music, new morality, new doctrines, and new versions of the Bible. There also is a lot of new irreverence to go along with these items.
Just because something is new does not mean it is better. It means only that it is different; and usually in religious matters the new is deleterious. I’m reminded of what a well-known Bible teacher said (back in the good old days) about new doctrines. He rightly said, “If a doctrine is new, it is not true; and if it is true it is not new.”
Here at First Baptist Church of LaSalle, we still like the old music, the old hymns. We are not ready, and don’t expect to ever be ready, for the new irreverent cabaret night club sound in church music. We don’t have “soft rock” (much less “hard rock”), contemporary Christian music. Reason—the old music is far better. We still sing out of a good hymnal—hymns such as Charles Wesley’s “Arise, My Soul, Arise!”
Arise, my soul, arise! Shake off thy guilty fears;
Thy bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears,
Before the throne my Surety stands
My name is written on His hands
Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me;
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”
Yes, we love to sing the great old hymns, such as “O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth;” “A Mighty Fortress is Our God;” “Be Thou Exalted;” “Nothing But the Blood;” “The Lily of the Valley;” and “Amazing Grace.”
These old hymns are filled with good theology, true to the Bible. They help to teach us the love of God, the salvation of God and perfections of our Savior. They are so much better than the new man-centered, fleshly, worldly songs. The old hymns are best.
Here at First Baptist Church of LaSalle, we still love the old King James Version of the Bible. No one has ever improved on this old A.D. 1611 Bible. It is the clearest, the most accurate and the easiest to read. So, we read from it at every service. We preach from it. We do not correct it, because it is our final authority. It is the Word of God.
Some teachers of religion are saying that on the basis of two or three newly discovered manuscripts of the Bible that the new versions of the Bible are better. This is a relatively new theory, less than 120 years old. And it is a false theory, proven false by more than 5,000 ancient manuscripts.
The King James Version is the best because it does not add to the Word of God, subtract from the Word of God, nor change the Word of God as new versions do.
The Old Book and the Old Faith are the Rock on which I stand!
The Old Book and the Old Faith are the bulwark of the land!
Thro’ storm and stress they stand the test.
In every clime and nation blest;
The Old Book and the Old Faith are the hope of every land!
Here at First Baptist Church of LaSalle, we still love the old Gospel message. We reject all new “gospels” such as the social gospel, the gospel of good works, and the gospel which says that none is lost and that everyone is going to heaven. These new gospels will save no one. The old Gospel message of the Bible is that until we come to know Christ, we are sinners, lost, and condemned. But Jesus loves us and died for us, shedding his blood to pay the penalty for our sins. He was buried, but after three days and three nights, He rose again from the dead. This is the true Gospel. Those who believe upon Jesus become the children of God, have forgiveness of sin, and are saved for eternity.
We preach and teach this Gospel. It is the old message of the Bible. It is good for all people, no matter what their religious background, race, or station in life. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).
My sin was old-fashioned, my guilt was old-fashioned,
God’s love was old-fashioned, I know:
And the way I was saved was the old-fashioned way,
Thro’ the blood that makes whiter than snow.