Matthew 9:11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 15 And Jesus said unto them".... 16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
[The Great Controversy pp. 289] The English reformers, while renouncing the doctrines of Romanism, had retained many of its forms. Thus though the authority and the creed of Rome were rejected, not a few of her customs and ceremonies were incorporated into the worship of the Church of England. It was claimed that these things were not matters of conscience; that though they were not commanded in Scripture, and hence were non-essential, yet not being forbidden, they were not intrinsically evil. Their observance tended to narrow the gulf which separated the reformed churches from Rome, and it was urged that they would promote the acceptance of the Protestant faith by Romanists.
To the conservative and compromising, these arguments seemed conclusive. But there was another class that did not so judge. The fact that these customs tended to bridge the chasm between Rome and the Reformation, was in their view a conclusive argument against retaining them. They looked upon them as badges of the slavery from which they had been delivered, and to which they had no disposition to return. They reasoned that God has in his Word established the regulations governing his worship, and that men are not at liberty to add to these or to detract from them.
The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement the authority of God by that of the church. Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what he had explicitly enjoined.
This same problem was also observed in a host of traditions and binding rules that were laid upon the Jewish people by their spiritual leaders, which ended up placing a galling yoke about the necks of the people. The sum total of these actions was that serving God became more of a burden than a joy, and as a direct result, cold formalism which concentrates one's religion on mere externals, became the norm. This is the reason why Christ had to breathe new life into the old systems of Jewish religion, by stating that new wine cannot be put into old bottles, or else the old bottles would be torn.
The same situation has also obtained in our day, where millions of Catholics and protestants have become sticklers for form and ritual, while the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit seems to be strangely absent. And as we near the close of time, we need to guard against the inroads of cold formalism, which produces a joyless brand of Christianity, where we may end up doing the right thing for the wrong reason. In the following passages, The Lord speaks to us eloquently of the only type of service and worship that is acceptable in His sight, and if as Christians we are reduced to the point of serving and praising God with a heavy heart or with sadness, then our religion becomes vain and empty, which would then cause us to become, of all men, most miserable. Let's read:
Psalm 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
It's therefore imperative that we avoid the mistakes of the English reformers, but let us rather seek to be led by The Spirit of God, who will enable us to serve The Lord with gladness. We therefore end with a caution against a joyless form of religion, and it is the will of God that our service and praise come from hearts that have been made glad by the emancipation Christ has wrought out for us on Calvary. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 28:45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee".... "because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. 47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things.
May God add His blessing to the study and understanding of His word. "Good night" and God bless!