Conservative or Sound?
by Steve Dewhirst
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993
All humans are forced to communicate by the medium of words. Words convey ideas and concepts; they are tools for expressing our thoughts to others. But words are frequently imprecise, and we are sometimes careless in saying exactly what we mean. Frequently, we assume the other fellow understands. Then, too, we sometimes use words interchangeably, although they may not be synonyms at all. Such is the case with "conservative" and "sound."
New Testament Christians frequently use these two terms to describe local churches. The terms conservative and sound are used in contradistinction to digressive or liberal. Generally, our two adjectives in question are used synonymously, even though they have no real connection in origin or definition.
Conservative means, "tending to preserve established institutions and methods and to resist or oppose any changes in these; moderate, prudent, safe." Indeed, the spirit of conservatism is appropriate for disciples of Christ if we are genuinely interested in conserving biblical truth and practice.
Sound is defined as "free from defect, damage, or decay; normal and healthy; based on valid reasoning, sensible." As used in Scripture, this term points to that which gives spiritual life and vitality. For example, Paul exhorts Timothy to hold fast to "sound words" and "sound doctrine" (II Timothy 1:13; 4:3). That which is sound is based on the authority of Jesus Christ. Soundness, when used of a local church, implies that the group is actively practicing the word of God and thus bearing fruit.
Conservative should not be confused with sound. Given our druthers, we should choose to be sound over conservative—and here’s why. To be truly sound will necessarily guarantee that we are also conservative in our handling of truth, but a conservative church may not necessarily be sound. In fact, some churches are so conservative that they are easily mistaken for dead.
If we are conservative with a view toward preserving "our way" of doing things, we’re no more sound than the Pharisees of Jesus day. They confused the distinction between God’s Law and their own traditions (Matthew 15:1-9). Are we not sometimes guilty of the same? Like the Pharisees, do we not often seek to justify ourselves based on what we don’t do (Luke 18:11)?
Should we be described as a conservative church? Let’s see. We don’t use musical instruments in our worship. We don’t support missionary societies or human institutions from the church treasury. We don’t practice church-sponsored recreation or entertainment. We don’t allow women to serve as song leaders or preachers. And we don’t tolerate folks who willfully forsake the assembling of saints. Yeah, we could call ourselves conservative, alright. But being conservative isn’t enough! What we should really ask is if we are truly sound.
Soundness cannot be judged on the sole basis of what we don’t do; the issue is whether or not we’re actively pursuing Scripture’s agenda for local churches. Is our worship both God-honoring and edifying to the brethren (I Corinthians 14:26), or is it just meaningless ritual? Is our teaching and preaching both doctrinally pure and sin-challenging (II Timothy 4:1-4), or is it dry fluff that echoes the party line? Are we sincere in seeing to the benevolent needs of the brethren, or have we adopted the "be warmed and filled" mentality (James 2:15-16)? Are we zealous for evangelism, both with our time and money (Philippians 4:15-17), or would we just as soon see the pesky little pagans go on to hell? Are we serious about discipleship, or are we merely paying lip service to the concept? Churches that do not actively pursue the will of God to the best of their abilities cannot be deemed sound.
Haven’t we all heard of churches that keep a five- or six-figure bank account while refusing to support their preacher adequately? Is that soundness? Or when the same-type church refuses to support gospel preaching in other locations, despite both their ability and an adequate knowledge of the men requesting support, is that soundness? How about a church that needed to change its mid-week Bible study from Wednesday to Tuesday to accommodate a large number of local saints, but refused to do so because it was deemed untraditional? Is that sound?
Don’t confuse conservatism with soundness. Soundness will rightly consider conservative principles of truth, but will then seek a way to faithfully carry out every Scriptural work, even if it appears new or different. Conservatism by itself seeks only to maintain the status quo; soundness will demand the doing of God’s will in every lawful way. Conservatism can sometimes serve as a cloak for congregational laziness; soundness will demand zeal and fervor.
The next time you're traveling and searching for a local church, don't just inquire about a conservative group; ask for a sound one. Likely, the person you ask won’t readily recognize the difference in the two terms, but you’ll know.
