Why does it matter?

There have been a number of people who have recently asked me, 'why does it matter'? That is, why does it matter if someone is a Calvinist or an Arminian, a Cessationist or a Non-Cessationist, an adherent to Covenant theology or Dispensational theology, a Pre-millennialist or an Amillennialist, etc., and the list certainly goes on from there.

If we're all Christians, then why does it matter? Who cares what you believe if you are saved? Will we ever all agree anyway? Do you just like to argue? Haven’t people argued about these things for hundreds of years? Do you just like to think you are right? Don’t you believe in ‘secondary’ doctrines, so why don’t you leave it alone? Do you just like to lift yourself up as knowing the terminology better than others? Do you just like to be divisive? Do you just like to take ease in the superficial reading of books and the ‘splitting hairs’ method of studying scripture?

Undoubtedly, my answer to all the questions above is simply one thing: Worship.


We must know God to truly worship Him. To know Him in a shallow way will produce shallow worship. To know Him in an incorrect way will produce erroneous worship. To know Him in but a common way (as is common with most professing Christians) will produce common, bland, and boring worship. To know Him in a fickle way will produce empty worship. Truth be known, the less we understand about God the less we will worship period!

The only way to transcend the cultural substitutes for 'worship' is with a deep knowledge of God and His word.

It's not all about evangelism, as some would have you believe, though evangelism is a form of worship.


It's not about feeling good, though good feelings can be a benefit of true worship.

It's not about having fun, though having fun isn't an evil in itself.

It's not about dotting our theological 'i's and crossing our theological 't's, though true, sound, pure, and precise doctrine is the foundation of all true worship.

It's not all about winning the argument, though defending truth even when accused of being divisive and prideful is also an element of worship.

Do you want to know someone's real character? Look at their worship. Do you want to know a church's level of commitment to the scriptures? Examine their worship. Do you wonder if someone you are close to is saved or lost? Pay attention to their worship. Without fail, the lack of worship or questionable methods of worship will always accompany empty and defeated lives.

Let us just get one thing straight: pure and holy communion with Christ in this life should be our highest goal. Everything else flows down from this fountain. Thus, to pursue this above all else should be the most important endeavor of our daily lives. Let us strive and pray that all of our theological musings do nothing less than point people back to the scriptures so that they may run to and cling to a sound, pure, and radically deep knowledge of Jesus Christ.