The Heart of Worship - Part 2

Obedience in Worship

When it comes to life, God actually has comparatively little to say about day-to-day experience. What kind of car should I drive? How much TV should I or should I not watch? What type of music is “good” or “bad”? Many have attempted to create rules on these issues, but Scripture is clear on these:

Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God (Col. 2:16-19).

We are told “whatever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23), but beyond that the rules begin to diminish. There are givens, such as not murdering, committing adultery, stealing, or committing fornication. Very clearly God has “opinions” (and God’s “opinions” are not like Man’s “opinions” – His need to be heeded) on such matters as homosexuality and witchcraft. We certainly have Ten Commandments. I don’t mean to imply in the least that God had nothing to say about daily living. However, the biblical principle is this: If God does not expressly command or forbid it, we recognize Christian liberty.

Worship, on the other hand, falls in a different category. Look at some of the examples in the Old Testament. The first incident of unacceptable worship is found in Gen. 4:4-5, when Abel’s offering was accepted, but Cain’s was not. Hebrews 11:4 indicates that the difference was not in content, but in the heart. Abel offered his sacrifice in faith; Cain did not.

When God first ordered the worship process, we have the strange account of Nadab and Abihu, who offered “strange fire”. No one is really clear what that means. Yet God struck them dead on the spot with this simple explanation:

"By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored." (Lev. 10:3)

Nadab and Abihu weren’t alone in this. God was irate with the children of Israel when they had Aaron make a golden calf for them. Now Aaron’s intent was only to make worship relevant (Exo. 32:4), but it cost 3,000 lives (Exo. 32:28). Uzzah was doing the noble task of returning the Ark of the Covenant to Israel, but when he reached up to steady it, God struck Him dead (2 Sam. 6:1-8). Touching the Ark for whatever reason was forbidden.

There are multiple examples of this in Scripture. When it comes to non-essentials, liberty. However, it would appear that God considered the method of worship to be among the essentials, and, as such, not open for modification. He ordained worship to be of a certain type, and a violation of that type was deemed worthy of death.

This concept is called “The Regulative Principle of Worship”. It applies only to worship, and it states essentially the opposite of the biblical principle concerning living. In life, we are allowed to consider that which is not expressly commanded or forbidden. In worship, however, we are allowed to only include that which is expressly commanded. Now, admittedly, some have taken this principle to extremes. They have categorically ruled out musical instruments and hymns, opting only for a cappella Psalms. They use this to determine the architecture and decorations of a church. They use it to take matters to unsupportable excess. This misuse of the principle, however, does not negate the validity of the principle. It merely demonstrates Man’s failure to fully comprehend.

What type of things, then, does God command for His worship? First and foremost, as we have already seen, He commands obedience. Beyond that, worship in the house of God is clearly ordained by God. It includes purification and singing (Neh. 12:44-46). There is certainly a need for reverence (Psa. 2:11). It is described in Psalm 29:2 as ascribing the glory due His Name. It should go without saying, but Scripture is absolutely clear that worship is reserved for God alone (Luke 4:8).