When we
express to the heavenly Father the adoration, praise and homage that is
in our hearts, it should be beneficial to us and pleasing to God. To
accomplish this two-fold purpose, such worship must be both spontaneous
and scripturally directed. That is, our expressions must be made
voluntarily and even enthusiastically; at the same time, such
expressions must be made in response to Divine directions we have
learned from the Word.
In jubilant,
exuberant enthusiasm we may stamp our feet, clap our hands, scream in
delirious delight, shout, cry and laugh, all of which may bring joy to
our hearts and peace to our minds, and yet find no favor with God.
Conversely, we may sing beautiful words of praise, pray eloquently, give
generously and partake of the bread and fruit of the vine, doing all of
these just because God directs such, but doing so without sincerity,
humility and spiritual discernment, and still find no favor with God.
Definitions
Worship: What
is it? It is the offering of homage and praise to someone or something.
Pattern: What do we mean by pattern? It is not merely an example but,
rather, the total teaching of the Bible on the subject being considered.
God desires
and expects to be worshiped (Jn. 4:23), and He asks that we
worship "in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24). But He has not left
us to grope or to wonder what will please Him. He has very explicitly
revealed that way. God knows what He wants us to do to express our
worship and He knows that we are incapable of discerning His desires
except as He reveals them to us. Consequently, He has given the written
Word and in it He has given an absolute pattern for our worship today.
He said, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways
higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9).
Paul wrote that men could not know the mind of God by human mentality
and, for that very reason, God has revealed such to us: ". . . so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God:
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1
Cor. 2:9-12).
In every age,
God has revealed His desires regarding worship. He has always hated
presumptuousness. Thus, God has not only revealed to every generation
what He wants, but by such revelation He has set a limitation. He has
never been pleased with those who have taken the matter into their own
hands and have followed human wisdom - either their own wisdom or that
of other men.
Examples
Though we do
not have the details of God's instruction to Cain and Abel, we know such
instruction had been given (Gen. 4:4-7). Cain's error in worship
was presumptuousness! We cannot be sure whether Cain offered the wrong
item or if he merely offered an inferior item of the correct kind. We do
know that God was very displeased with his lack of subjectiveness in the
matter.
Saul lost his
kingdom because he "forced himself" in making a sacrificial offering in
violation of God's commandment (1 Sam. 13:8-14). God rejected and
condemned those who "worship the work of their own hands" (Isa. 2:8;
Jer. 1:16; Psa. 115:1-8). Of course this refers to idolatry - to the
worship of images the people made but it would surely include any
worship that is essentially a man-made system. We must face the reality
that there is surely very little difference in worshiping a false god or
in worshiping the true God in unauthorized ways! All such worship is of
human wisdom, not of God's revelation.
Nadab and
Abihu "offered strange fire before the Lord" and God destroyed them for
disobedience (Lev. 10:1, 2). It was a very simple case of
presumptuousness! From all such examples, we must surely learn that God
has revealed His will and His way; we must not, dare not, disobey His
Word and/or follow the way of men - either the way of our own wisdom or
that of famous theologians.
We actually
know very little about acceptable worship in the age of the patriarchs.
We do know that such worship included sacrifice (Gen. 4:314; 8:20,
21; 13:18; 22:5, 13). It is significant, however, that God obviously
revealed what sacrifices should be made, as we can necessarily infer
from the story of the sacrifices made by Cain and Abel and by Noah after
the flood. Actually, I believe correctness of the worship by the
patriarchs depended mostly upon the sincerity and subjectiveness of the
individual.
But we know
much more about the worship of the Jews. Theirs includes sacrifice and
various certain items were specified - animals of certain kinds and
quality as well as grain, oil, wine and birds, etc. (see Num. 18:8-19).
Indeed, the Jewish worship was significantly ceremonial. Favor with God
seemed to depend principally on the rigid observance of the rituals and
rites.
Rejected
Patterns
In the Old Testament dispensation, the Jews frequently
neglected or rejected the God-given arrangement for their worship. For
instance, some certain worship was to be done in Jerusalem (see Deut.
12:5, 11, 13; 1 Kings 9:1-3). But the ten tribes, under the
leadership of Jeroboam, changed the place to Bethel and Dan (1 Kings
12:28-30).
Of course, in
studying the reference given above, one will notice that idolatry is
involved. That is, in addition to changing the authorized place for
certain worship, they also set up images, etc. So we see the natural
turn of events - one departure - one deviation from the pattern will
inevitably lead to other departures! This was significantly true of the
worship of the Jews, when one item of authorized action was violated,
this usually led to other violations. One false step led to other wrong
actions also. In this case, they made images, established "high places"
of their own making and even changed the priesthood (see 1 Kings
12:13).
Jesus teaches
us that it has never been possible to compensate for disobedience by
substituting enthusiasm in worship. He quoted from Isaiah who said,
"This people honoreth me with their lips but their heart is far from me"
(Isa. 29:13). So Jesus emphasizes, "In vain do they worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mt. 15:9). This
was not a new principle; it was an age-old principle that was always
true and always will be true. A classic example is David, who, with the
people, worshipped enthusiastically but disobeyed, so much so that David
was forced to conclude that, ". . . our Lord made a breach upon us, for
that we sought him not after the due order" (1 Chron. 13:7-10; 15:13).
The New
Testament Pattern
Several
features of the Jewish worship are completely eliminated in the doctrine
of Christ. For instance: (1) There is no significance regarding any
geographical location for any of our worship (Jn. 4:21); (2) The
Sabbath day worship was repealed (Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:1-11, etc.);
(3) The use of instrumental music in worship was eliminated in that it
was not included in the New Testament pattern for praise (Eph. 5:19;
Col. 3:16, etc.); (4) The significant ceremonial aspect of Jewish
worship was replaced by that which is "in spirit and in truth" (Jn.
4:24); (5) The sacrifices that were permitted and even required
under the Old Testament patterns were eliminated because of the supreme
sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, once for all (Heb. 10:10-14)
and because of the superior sacrifice which we are to offer, that is,
"the sacrifice of praise to God . . . the fruit of our lips . . ."
(Heb. 13:15).
The New
Testament pattern is very simple and uncomplicated. It involves the
worshipper in direct communion with God. If we respect the positive Word
of the Lord, we will find that we may express the worship that is in our
hearts by singing (Eph. 5:19), by praying, teaching, giving and
observing the Lord's supper (Acts 2:42). Furthermore, we find the
following demanding characteristics of this simple means of worship.
1. We may
express our worship in singing, prayer and study of the Word at any
time, anywhere, alone or together (see Acts 16:25; Eph. 5:19, etc.).
2. We must
express our worship in the Lord's supper and in giving on the first day
of the week when brethren gather together for that purpose (Acts
20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1, 2).
3. Thus, we
may, on the Lord's day, when we will have come together for giving and
for the Lord's supper, also sing, pray and study, since these latter
three may be done any time.
4. If we fail
not to have the Lord's supper and to give in the "togetherness" of the
Lord's Day worship, we may then, on that same day, or at any other time
on any other day, worship by singing, praying and/or studying. In other
words, the Lord's supper and giving are specifically patterned for the
first day of the week, but singing, praying and studying are patterned
without regard to date, time or place.
Conclusion
All that we do
must be done "as unto the Lord" (Col. 3:23). Indeed, it must be
done "in the name of the Lord" (Col. 3:17), which simply means
that we must conduct all of our worship by the authority of Christ
(Jn. 14:6). He has fully revealed His will to us in the written Word
(2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:3, etc.). We must determine to be
content with what is written - with the revealed pattern. The traditions
of men, the customs of our fore-fathers or the desires of the people
today are of no consequence in determining what we must do. In fact, we
have no right to decide what we will do. We have only to discern what
God has decided! Without wavering with regard to scriptural principles,
we must worship God with correct attitudes and in authorized
expressions. Today, let us have the honesty to examine every feature of
our worship in the light of the revealed Word and then determine to
worship in complete accord with the Bible pattern.
QUESTIONS
1. What is
worship and what is meant by a pattern for such?
2. Is sincere
worship always acceptable to God?
3. Who may
decide what is done in worship?
4. What
scriptures show God's desires for worship today?
What is God's attitude toward worship of idols?
5. What were
the main qualities necessary for worship in the
Patriarchal age?
6. What seems
to have been the main emphasis in the
Jewish age?
7. What is
the chief emphasis to determine quality of N.T.
worship?
8. In what
activities may we scripturally engage as we
worship God today?
9. Can you
find a N.T. pattern for your worship - for what you
do and how you do it and for the circumstances involved?
-
Truth Magazine -May 8, 1980
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Jesus and the Written Word