SCRIPTURAL WORSHIP
One of these ways has been the “worship wars” of the last few decades. For what it’s worth, I completely disagree with the compromisers and adapters. It’s a little complex, but the opposite is closer to the truth. The future success and survival of the church doesn’t depend on compromising with worldliness in any way. Scripture calls us to be separate from the world (2 Cor 6:14–18). Church worship is as it should be when it is Scriptural. Church leaders ought not to ask world leaders for advice about anything. We should all look to the Bible, especially the New Testament, to tell us what God is looking for in Christian worship.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t incidental aspects of church worship that can and will change from era to era. There are some ways “style” ought to change, at least in the sense that each generation’s contribution should be embraced into the “style” of the church, as is appropriate in a family, but not in the sense of any kind of war in which one generation attempts to make its “style” law, and another tries to defeat the “old style” and entirely replace it with its “new style.” That’s ridiculous, and anyone participating in anything like that isn’t acting like a Christian. Ultimately, the “style” issue is only incidentally a worship issue. It’s primarily an issue of pride vs love. That’s a heart issue.
But this doesn’t mean there aren’t biblical essentials about worship that are deal-breaker “fellowship issues.” There are. In my last post, I reasoned through John 4 to the conclusion that worship must be offered in spirit and truth to be pleasing to God and that, at the very least, that means it must be in obedient response to the Bible’s teachings. The Spirit may lead us however He chooses so long as He doesn’t violate His own proclamations in Scripture. It’s impossible for God to lie, and when He has spoken officially, or with an oath, He does not change His mind (Num 23:19; Mal 3:6; Titus 1:2; Heb 6:18). No one puts shackles on God. He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3). Nothing is impossible for Him (Luke 1:37), except for what He has promised not to do. He has officially affirmed He cannot and will not lie. So, God has set His own boundaries. And it is by means of the Holy Spirit that we know any of this at all. What the written word says the Spirit inspired. Scripture is the work of the Holy Spirit through the prophets and apostles, and it cannot be broken (John 10:35; 2 Tim 3:16–17; 2 Pet 1:20–21). God the Spirit will not lead people to worship in a way that violates the written word. If you feel led in a certain direction for which there’s no Scriptural support, that leading cannot be from the Holy Spirit.
1 John 4:1-6 is very important.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (ESV)
The Holy Spirit confesses that Jesus is the Lord God who has come in the flesh, does not speak from the world's point of view, and always leads people to listen to the commandments of the apostles. It’s a threefold test of the spirits. Sometimes interpreters get to the “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ...” part and stop there thinking a confession is all there is to it. Consider Mark 3:11! It’s not legitimate to presume to bring an element into the worship of the church and say, “I feel the Spirit’s leading me to offer worship this way,” and then confess, “Christ is Lord,” as if that, alone, proves the Holy Spirit is actually leading. “Confessing” Jesus is the Son of God means more than mouthing words (Matt 7:21). If a spirit, including human ones, truly confesses loyalty to Christ, that loyalty will be manifested by that spirit’s words and deeds, including the words of saying what Scripture says (1 Per 4:11) and doing what Scripture says (James 1:22). This is proven right by the way the passage develops. “Whoever knows God listens to us” (“us” means the apostles and apostolic prophets who wrote the books of the New Testament) is as clear a statement as anything in the passage. Think about it. There’s no such thing as legitimately following the Holy Spirit’s lead while violating Scripture. By worshipping as and only as Scripture authorizes, we are confessing Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In previous posts, I’ve already pointed out Christ’s example of perfect obedience to God’s word (see John 8:28–29). We’re called to imitate Christ (1 Cor 11:1). There’s no justification for the church worshipping in any way for which there is no clear22 biblical authority.
So, where’s all the fire, blood, and vapor of smoke? In the Old Testament, we read about authorized fire, the blood of animal sacrifices, and holy incense. Why doesn’t the church still sacrifice animals and perform all the duties of Tabernacle and Temple worship as commanded by Moses in the Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)? The answer is that we no longer live under the Law of Moses. This doesn’t mean we no longer believe in the Old Testament, as some mistakenly say. First, not all the Old Testament is the Law of Moses. Some Old Testament texts precede the Law, and some, like the Wisdom Literature in the Bible (Job–Song of Solomon), were given alongside it. Jesus fulfilled the Law in His death, burial, and resurrection, the core truths of the gospel. He abolished the Law’s claims on all who trust in Him (Eph 2:15). It still teaches in principle but not in precept. Worship offered according to the Law is no longer consistent with God’s will. His plan has progressed beyond the youthful state in which it was made known through the Law (Gal 3:23–4:7). Now it is known in the grace and truth that came through Christ (John 1:17).
SPIRITUAL & TRUE WORSHIP IS NOW & FOREVER BY CHRIST’S WILL & EXAMPLE
Jesus was born, lived, and died under the Law of Moses (Gal 4:4). His life and death fulfilled the Law (Matt 5:17), abolishing its preceptive authority (Eph 2:15). All who have lived since and live now are subject to the authority of Christ, Whose will came into full effect when He died (Heb 9:11–10:10) and is authoritative over all people everywhere whether they realize or accept it or not (Matt 28:18, Heb 1:1–3). God the Father gave Jesus perfect knowledge of His will (John 3:31–36). Jesus shared it through the Holy Spirit, Who, just as He had formerly inspired the Old Testament prophets, led the apostles and Christian prophets to write the New Testament, which, as the fulfillment of the Old, is the complete revealed will of God (John 14:15–16, 25–26, 15:26–27, 16:4–15). To follow Christ’s will and example is to live by the teachings of the whole Bible as fulfilled in Christ as explained by the New Testament. To worship God in spirit and truth, which means faithfully, which means acceptably, is to worship according to the New Testament. Whatever spirits, frames of mind, worship styles, opinions, desires, and practices not found in the New Testament have no place in the church’s worship.
This is why in the churches of Christ, we:
– Assemble on Sunday, “the Lord’s Day,” specifically, to worship and commune together in the Lord’s Supper and give of our means as we’ve been blessed (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1–2; Rev 1:10). Worshipping God every day is essential, and churches can assemble as many times in the week as they want as long as they observe the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day and assemble to partake of the Lord’s Supper on that day.
– Pray together, the brothers alone leading the public prayers (1 Tim 2:8). Scriptural churches maintain the principle of the leadership of men in the sacred assemblies. We’re not concerned that the world would prefer the church embrace androgenizing egalitarianism. We’re going to obey the Lord, not the world. 20th-Century liberalism has done tremendous damage to families, churches, and whole communities and cannot be fixed by anything other than a return to the biblical way. Men and women are equal in value, not design or role. We’re different, the differences are good, and the role boundaries that come with them are good for us all.
– Sing hymns in praise to God for the dual purpose of teaching and admonishing each other vocally with no musical instruments. Other than in the Book of Revelation, there is no mention of worshipping God with musical instruments under the New Testament system (that is, after Christ’s resurrection). There are commands to sing but not to play or dance. There are places for playing instruments and dancing in life, just not in the Christian worship assemblies. The texts in Revelation are symbols. The harps represent singing, just as the bowls of incense represent the prayers of the saints. The harps in Revelation do not form clear enough authorization for the church to employ them in corporate worship. Church history bears witness to the fact that the apostle-led churches did not use instruments in Christian worship. Christians maintained this practice as proper for nearly 1,000 years before presuming to bring them into the assemblies. Scriptural singing in church is a cappella.
– Read the Bible together and consider the word preached by capable men of God (1 Tim 2:11–12).
We sincerely commend our ways to all who would sink into union with the Way Jesus made known by the Holy Spirit through the apostles and ancient Christian prophets. We’re committed to the ancient order. It is older than Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. It’s the authentic, original, biblical way to worship God.
---JLP
Image by cgrape via Pixabay.
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