Articles of Faith is a new series on the 11 doctrines of The Salvation Army.

The doctrines of The Salvation Army, while often viewed as our theological distinctives, deeply root us in the broader historic Christian faith. The Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed—two of the most widely affirmed statements of belief in the church—both begin with a declaration of God that closely echoes the second doctrine of The Salvation Army: “We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.”

As the church, we believe that our world came into being not by accident, but thoughtfully and intentionally created by the one true God. We believe that this creator God, having created the world, did not vacate his creation, but rather continues to be present in it, preserving and directing it according to his will and purposes. As such, we believe he also carries the role of governor—the one who has ultimate power, authority and control over all created beings.

In light of who this doctrine confesses God to be, it closes by reminding us of the only proper response to him: undivided worship. It’s here that we are naturally confronted with a question: Is God the only object of my worship?

It’s interesting that the first law given to Moses and the Israelites—“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3)—is the law that God’s people struggled most to follow. If there’s anything that the Old Testament shows us, it’s that there’s something in the human condition that causes us to elevate things over God, or that redirects our worship from the Creator to created things. The Bible calls this idolatry, and it directly violates the call of our second doctrine: to worship God and God alone.

As the German theologian Martin Luther put it, idols are anything we look to more than we look to Christ for our sense of acceptability, joy, significance, hope and security. American pastor and author Tim Keller famously defined idols as “good things [i.e., family, achievement, work and career, romance, talent] made ultimate things.” The sin here is not the “thing” itself, but our attachment to the “thing,” whereby our heart’s desire, adoration and worship is directed more toward “the thing” than to “the giver” of all good things (see James 1:17). And so, we must ask ourselves: Is God the only object of my worship? Is there something that holds a place in my heart that only God deserves? Might he be inviting me to surrender something to him, and trust that he himself is greater than anything he could give me?

Idolatry is a universal struggle for all followers of Jesus, and it requires continual repentance. Idolatry, however, is not just the sin of an individual, but often the sin of a community. In the Bible, God’s people typically fall into idolatry together, which means the question that comes out of our second doctrine is not just a question to ask of ourselves, but also of our church and denomination: Is God the only object of our worship?

As a church seeking to live out God’s mission in the world, our worship of God can easily shift to a worship of his mission or, even worse, a worship of the method by which we carry out his mission. Our worship is to be directed toward him, not toward what he calls us to do or how we’ve traditionally chosen to live out what he’s called us to do. And so, it’s here we find the invitation to reflect: Is our worship solely directed toward God? Are we more interested in love and good deeds than the God to whom our love and good deeds are meant to bear witness? Are there distinctive Salvation Army practices that have become idols—things in which we find our acceptance, joy, significance, hope and security, rather than in Christ himself? Can we honestly say that all our worship is directed toward its proper place in God?

As we seek to be a people who not only declare doctrine, but live as if it’s true, may we assume the posture of King David in Psalm 139, when he prays: “Search [us], God, and know [our] hearts; test [us] and know [our] anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in [us] and lead [us] in the way everlasting.”

JACOB PEARO is the pastor of discipleship and spiritual formation at Northridge Community Church in Aurora, Ont.

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