On Worship

I think I've just about run down the Col 3:16 theme. Some are getting tired of it, and I can see why. I feel like it's time to move on.
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It's interesting that Paul told the Roman Christians to give their bodies as a living sacrifice as an act ... of worship (Rom 12:1). Now, hang on, Paul. We're American Christians. We know worship. That's the singing part of a church service. Okay, maybe a little more. I've heard people claim that the sermon is part, but I've also heard pastors argue that it's not. No, no, worship is just, primarily, a glad heart toward God. So what does this "present your bodies as a living sacrifice" thing have to do with feeling good about God?

I think we have an oddly modern, American view of "worship." Worship is, in essence, applying worth -- "worth-ship" if you will. Christian worship is applying the utmost value to God. And, as long as we're in this physical life, we're going to be in conflict with that very concept. Paul said, "No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it" (Eph 5:29). We are, in fact, deeply in love with ourselves. So if worship is assigning to God the highest value, we'd have to give to Him that which we consider most valuable. In its most basic form, that's our own bodies. If we can offer to God that which we value most, that's worship.

Many of us are going to "houses of worship" today. It's only partly accurate, isn't it? Because, if "worship" is assigning the utmost value to God, then worship occurs anywhere. Anywhere that people assign to God the highest value, people are worshiping. In church, in the parking lot, at home, anywhere. We should, I believe, all be in the business of sacrificing self on the altar as an act of worship to our God ... as a good starting point for worship.

What Does Our Music Tell Us About Our Beliefs?

Paul wrote,

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col 3:16)

I've been in churches all over the country for my entire life, and in my experience very few have connected "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" with either "let the word of Christ richly dwell within you" or "teaching and admonishing one another." Oh, there have been some, but not a lot. Why is that? I'm not sure, but I think the kind of worship music a church uses can tell us a lot about their theology.

A lot of churches have shifted to contemporary songs because they find the older ones "boring." Now, I'm not at all suggesting that "contemporary songs" are the equivalent of "bad theology." Not at all. There are some outstanding contemporary worship songs. It's just that so many are not. The most popular theme, of course, is "God loves me." Too many are what is termed "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs that speak vaguely enough about that love that it could be sung as a secular relationship song. And, of course, there's the ongoing communication problem where we hear "God loves me," run "love" through our modern lexicon, and come away with "God has deeply warm affection for me." (This is an anomaly, but one "church" I heard about in California incorporated sex acts in their services because "God is love" and "Love is sex." You see what I mean.) If not the "God is love" theme, the general sense of most modern worship music is to engender warm feelings toward God. They use music as an appeal to the emotions largely because music itself has the capacity to bypass the brain and engage with emotions. So if "worship" is "happy feelings toward God," then that's good music for church. But that's not worship and that's not what Scripture calls for.

These mistakes and others would be avoided if the aim of worship music was to incorporate Scripture into our lives and to teach and admonish through music. If the worship leadership was aiming at teaching and admonishing in music, I think we'd see some real changes in our churches. Of course, it wouldn't appeal to those who come for the entertainment. But ... is that a bad thing? Is our worship music declaring that our good feelings are paramount, or are we being turned to God and His Word? I think the answer speaks to our basic theology.

Reasonable Worship

The first verse of Romans 12 has a "therefore." What is it there for? It is, perhaps, one of the biggest "therefores" in Scripture. It refers to Romans 1:16-17 where Paul says that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe because it reveals God's righteousness. It refers to Romans 1:2-3:20 as he lays out God's righteousness revealed in His wrath toward sin. It refers to the grand "good news" in God's gift of "justified by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 3:21-26) where God is both just and justifier. It refers to the grand truths of chapters 4 and 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9 and 10 and 11. It particularly refers to the end of chapter 11 where Paul writes of God as "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things" (Rom 11:36). In light of all this, Paul urges his readers, by God's many mercies, to "present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1). Paul says this is your logikan latrian. Now, older translations say something like "your reasonable service of worship" while newer ones tend more toward "your spiritual service of worship." That's because logikan has its roots in "logos" which is the true expression of something and "reasonable" or "spiritual" would both fit. So what is worship?

We know what worship is. It's that singing we do in church on Sunday just before the sermon. Well, yes ... and no. Worship is the ascribing of worth -- "worth-ship" if you will. It is recognizing the value of something. It is most often used in terms of deity, but we commonly use it for other things, too. Anything we value. But we tend to think of a "worship service" as that 20 minutes of singing we do before someone preaches at us on Sunday. Maybe the more enlightened among us recognize that the preaching of God's Word is also worship, where we ascribe worth to God speaking. Good! Now we're up to an hour or maybe an hour and a half. We have worshiped God. We have ascribed worth to God. But is that it? A generous hour and a half on the so-called Lord's Day (by which we mean "He gets an hour and a half and I get the rest")? Paul says, "No." Paul says that reasonable worship -- true spiritual worship -- requires ... all. Self as a living and holy sacrifice. It is the right expression of true worship.

If worship is the expression of God's worth to us, surely an hour and a half on Sunday morning is ... a good start. If we recognize God's worth as He truly is, an hour and a half on Sunday morning means you only have 166.5 hours of worship left to do before you start again. This worship would include the preparations for church, the afternoon and evening after church, what you do at work, at home, at play, how you think, how you feel, what you choose to do at any given moment, how you interact with family and friends, believers and unbelievers, everything. It would include where your mind dwells (Php 4:8) and how you respond to trials (James 1:2-3) and how much you rejoice (1 Thess 5:16), pray (1 Thess 5:17), and give thanks (1 Thess 5:18). Everything. If you're in church today, it's a good start. But worship -- ascribing worth to God -- is a full-time occupation, a life lived on our knees before the Lord of lords and King of kings, and if it is not, I suspect you (and I) are missing something.

Is There a Problem Here?

Back in the late '60's the standard hymns of church music began to be augmented with more contemporary music. They called them simply "praise songs." That was then; this is now. What was once augmention for worship singing has turned to domination. In most churches contemporary worship music rules. I've been told by pastors, in fact, that if they did not use that music, they wouldn't be able to draw people into church.

So what's the difference, really? Is it significant? Or is it simply style? We know that congregations in, say, Africa don't worship in the same style we do. Does that make it bad or just normal? Is there a problem here or not?

There has been a surge in recent years in contemporary musicians writing old hymns anew. That is, they alter the music, perhaps, or, at least, jazz it up a bit or they write new music with the same lyrics. Quite popular is the mix version, where they write a contemporary worship song with some traditional lyrics mixed in. At that point, given the scarcity of hymns, most people don't even know they've been suckered into singing words from a --yuck! -- hymn. So to varying degrees, they're keeping hymns without actually keeping the hymns. Is that a problem?

The truth is there is nothing "sacred" about hymns. They are not "God breathed." (Well, some of the lyrics are from Scripture, but you know what I mean.) We don't have music from on high we're supposed to use for worship. So it's hard to say there is any problem with it despite the folks (like me) who think there is. Still ...

I've become aware that there is indeed a fundamental difference between classic hymns and modern worship music. I think it might be an issue. The problem with hymns in the eyes of modern church-goers is that "We can't connect with them." Hymns are too old, too stuffy, not catchy enough. "They don't move me." Maybe, but I think we're missing the point. Modern music is a performance. There is no getting around it. It's what we do. There is a band, performers, lead singers, all the trappings of secular music. Bad ones make it an outright performance. "Look at me! Ain't I singing pretty?" Good ones try to worship, leading by example. But in all modern worship music, it remains a performance. Modern music doesn't take into account a congregation; it takes into account a select group of singers. So there will be runs and deviations, bridges and musical pauses, singers "soloizing" their parts ... either as performance or in "personal worship." Hymns, on the other hand, aren't sung that way. Historically there might have been a choir or an organ (or both) and a single leader, but all of these were not done for show; they were done to lead. It was hard to make much of that a performance. (You don't, for instance, say afterward, "Didn't Sally sing a great alto part in that choir?") It's not conducive to individual attention. Traditional hymn singing doesn't lend itself to "look at me" in any sense. Nor is it aimed at being either entertaining or moving. It is aimed entirely at "You sing to God." It is aimed at directing the congregation (the performers in this event) to sing to God (the audience in this event). it is a different animal than modern music.

There is a sense that whatever moves us to worship should be used to move us to worship. We know, however, that this isn't actually true. That is, if you came from a culture that sacrificed babies to their deity, you wouldn't say, "Well, that moves me to worship, so I'll do that." If you came from a church that practiced orgies as worship, you wouldn't be able to port that over to worship of God just because "It moves me to worship." Why? Because worship isn't about what moves me. Worship is about what God wants to hear. Worship isn't intended to please us; it's intended to please God. So are we right in finding our worship in what pleases us? Is God more pleased when we set aside our "look at me" tendencies and pay more attention to Him? Is there a problem here? Not in style, but in attitude and motivation? I have to wonder if we've gone so far off the path for so long that we can't even see it anymore.

Worship?

"Worship," they tell me, "is that part of the church service when you sing songs to God." Well, of course, they don't really mean that. When you sing, I guess, but sometimes they're songs to yourself about God. Okay. Songs to or about God. Or thereabouts. "No, no," others tell me, "it includes the offering, where you give of what God has given you back to God." Okay, fine, so we have singing and giving. A pastor told me, "Yes, those are components, but the real worship takes place in the preaching of the Word." And then they'll argue back and forth about that. So ... what is it?

The dictionary defines it as "reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred." Worship in its simplest form is when you apply "worth-ship" to someone (or something). In fact, the Middle English from which we get our word, worship, is worthssipe. You can see, then, that worship can involve God or it can involve anything or anyone to whom you apply worth. For instance, Scripture clearly condemns false worship. It is worship, but it's wrong.

Jesus told the woman at the well, "The God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). So true worship involves spiritual worship. And it involves truth. Paul says that to be a living sacrifice is our spiritual service of worship (Rom 12:1). In Scripture, the Hebrew word refers to prostrating yourself. The Greek word refers to kissing the hand, prostrating yourself, or kneeling. From the language in both cases, then, you would understand that the proper attitude of worship is submission.

With this view of worship it becomes hard to think of it as that which pleases me, but we do. We want something that appeals to us, that makes us feel good. Oh, feel good toward God, sure, but it's about us and our feelings. That's why most of us are taken aback a little when the pastor says "It's in the preaching of the Word." But if you understand worship to be our prostrating ourselves before God in spirit and in truth, then you come to a completely different place. It's not about us. It isn't limited to singing or even giving. It isn't even limited to Sunday. You come to the place that worship, properly understood, would be aimed at that which pleases the Master, not us. That is a line of thinking, even an attitude, worth pursuing.

Does God Care?

We are in the midst of what some have termed "worship wars". "Traditional" or "contemporary"? Do we sing hymns or do we "jazz it up" (although I would suspect "jazz it up" betrays my more traditional thinking -- not hip enough)? A pulpit? A stage? Oh, does anyone remember those elevated pulpits where the preacher had to climb at least a few steps to get up into it? Yeah ... those are almost entirely gone. Now there is more lighting, staging, "performance space". We're live-streaming and preaching from PowerPoint. You might not even have to bring your Bible to church. If they don't supply you with one in the back of the chair in front of you, they may just put something on the screen ... or skip it entirely.

On one hand, many of us are baffled by the whole thing. I mean, how can this even be a question? What is worship besides our warm feelings toward God? So whatever engenders warmth toward God is worship, right? If that is your stodgey old hymns, so be it. For most of us that more current, "with it", emotionally satisfying, stuff is better. You might have a band, an orchestra, a choir (although not so much anymore), a guitar, a piano, or, in some case, pure a capella singing. It just doesn't matter -- whatever makes you feel warmly towards God. So the whole thing is a non-issue ... right? Thus my question, "Does God care?" Is worship "warm feelings toward God" or does God have something else in mind? Does God care how we worship Him?

The first issue appears to be that we don't know what worship is. We're likely to think, "That singing portion of a church service," but Paul says that sacrificing your body is worship (Rom 12:1). Conversely, Scripture says that we're supposed to use music for teaching and admonishing (Col 3:16). (Interestingly, a large portion of the Old Testament prophets' messages were done in song.) The dictionary defines worship as "the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity." Worship, then, is not about "me". It is about God. Worship is a lifestyle, from doing good works in such a way that God gets the glory (Matt 5:16) to giving God priority in everything (1 Cor 10:31). Worship includes singing, of course, but far beyond that it encompasses the preaching and teaching of His Word, the giving of our time and resources to His work, the prayers we offer in and out of church -- every aspect of everything we do as believers. So the question is "Does God care about how we do that?"

The general perspective seems to be, "No, He doesn't care how. He just cares that we do." And I would suggest that Uzzah might disagree (2 Sam 6:1-7). What was Uzzah doing? He was making sure that the holy Ark of the Covenant didn't fall into the dirt. God struck him dead. I would argue that Nadab and Abihu might offer a different perspective than "He just cares that we do." (Lev 10:13) What were they doing? They were serving God in the tabernacle. Their sin? They offered "unauthorized fire." Seriously? What is that? "Strange fire"? What does that even mean? How bad could that be? "Fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them." That's how bad.

It is true that the life of the believer ought to be an all-encompassing act of worship. It is true that it is not limited to Sundays, let alone to just the singing portion of a church service. But I think it is unwise, even dangerous to assume that God doesn't really care how it is done. If the good intentions of a Levite got him killed and the "strange fire" of a couple of priests cost them their lives, perhaps we ought to be asking more carefully, "What does God want in our worship?" rather than our commonly cavalier "whatever makes me feel good about God" approach.

Psalm 69

I've been spending a lot of time in the Psalms lately. I came across this one. Let's look at Psalm 69.

Have you ever felt this way?

Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God (Psa. 69:1-3).

I think all of us have experienced the sense of being up to our necks in trouble. I also think all of us have experienced the feeling that God isn't listening. This is David's feeling at the time. Read the Psalm; it's interesting.

One of the things that makes it interesting is that David spews venom at his adversaries. It's not likely the kind of prayer you'll find coming from the pulpit during the Sunday prayer time.

Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let Your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents (Psa. 69:22-25).

Aw, David, where's the love? Where's the compassion? I mean, do you really want to ask God to make it so not one of them lives? Well, David felt that way and he told God about it. It's called an "imprecatory prayer" and you'll almost never find it in "good Christian" circles. It is a cry for God's justice. The problem, of course, is that most of us wouldn't be able to stand in the face of God's justice. That's not why we don't hear it anymore. We don't hear it because it's not nice, and Christians, like God, are supposed to be nice. I, of course, don't believe that, but most people do. I find it fascinating that God decided that this should be kept as inspired Scripture. So while it needs to be used with caution, I would caution others not to rule it out entirely.

David expresses a fascinating concern in the midst of this psalm:

Let not those who hope in You be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek You be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel (Psa. 69:6).

There are many times (more and more, it seems) that I wish people would think of this before they speak on behalf of God or His people. "Don't let me bring dishonor on those who trust in You, O God." We do it so often. We speak without thinking. We act without thinking. We cut people off on the road and leave them with a Jesus sticker to see as the last reminder of who we are. When we suffer, we suffer too often as if God has failed or cannot be trusted. I don't know about you, but I need to concern myself far more often than I do with this: "Let not those who seek You be brought to dishonor through me, O God."

One of the most interesting parts of this psalm, like so many others like it, is the end. There is moaning and groaning about his condition. There is venom toward his enemies. There is repentance for sin. But no matter what David goes through, here is where he always seems to wind up:

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His own people who are prisoners. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them (Psa. 69:30-34).

No matter what you're feeling, you can express it to God. No matter what you're enduring, you can talk to God about it. No matter what you're suffering, you can bring it to Him. One thing, in the midst of the feelings and sufferings, to remember is this: God will always do what's best. He will always do what's right. He will always be glorified, which cannot be anything but the right and the best. Express yourself to God by all means, but always remember to praise Him. It's a good place to end up.

Wired for Worship

Let's face it. Human beings are wired for worship. We do it by nature. We cannot not worship. It's just what we do.

We normally think of worship as "reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage", and that is reasonable. But we know it's much more. It is not strange for us to hear of a man who loves a woman, "He worships the ground she walks on." And that has nothing to do with God or "a sacred personage". Thus, worship is, more broadly, "adoring reverence or regard" of anyone or anything. (So isn't it strange that some people hear the word "worship" and think "the singing we do just before the sermon"?)

John Calvin wrote, "The human heart is a factory of idols." We're good at it. We worship by nature and it might be the true God or it might be any other substitute, but we will worship. We laugh at the ancient pagans who cut up a piece of wood into the figure of their favorite god and then worshiped it, but we're not too far from that ourselves. We make money and worship it. We strive for the power we worship. We make fast cars and worship them. Maybe it's "Mr. Right", a model of a man who in all likelihood doesn't actually exist or maybe it's the woman of your dreams. In almost all cases, theists or atheists, it includes self. Theists add in God and atheists idolize materialism. We all worship.

What we worship has serious ramifications. Paul wrote,

²⁰ Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen (Rom 1:20-25).

In this passage, we understand the problem. Man, in his sin nature, serves the creature rather than the Creator. The result is a foolish heart and a surrender to "the lusts of their hearts to impurity." The final outcome is death (Rom 6:23). Nadab and Abihu were priests of God. They offered "strange fire" and God instantly killed them for it (Lev 10:1-2). Worship of that which is not God or the wrong worship of that which is God has serious consequences.

On the other hand,

⁹ We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. ¹³ For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything (Col 1:9-18).

Recognizing, then, that "in Him all things hold together" -- nothing exists without Him -- and "all things have been created through Him and for Him" -- recognizing ultimately that "He Himself will come to have first place in everything" -- changes how you live. "You will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light."

The rightly offered worship of God who alone deserves it has great benefits. It changes how you walk. It changes your aims. It bears fruit, increases knowledge of God, strengthens, and causes joy and gratitude. Who wouldn't want all that? We are wired to worship. Let's do it right for the One who deserves it, the one "who is blessed forever. Amen."

In Spirit and in Truth

Jesus told the woman at the well, "God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

What spirit?

Jesus said, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me" (Matt 15:8). Worship, then, is from the heart. Prayer, praise, confessions, and sermons without heart are vain. Valid worship is a heart issue.

"God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Worship is from humility, not pride. Humility is the universal response and the natural human response of those who come into the presence of the Living God. Isaiah was "undone" (Isa 6:5). Peter begged for distance (Luke 5:8). It made the disciples "very much afraid" (Mark 4:41).

What truth?

The truth is that Jesus wanted to get across the nature of God. "God is Spirit." The first truth required in valid worship, then, is the real God. Not some version you drum up. Not some unbiblical God who promises you only pleasantness or prosperity. Not some kindly old gentleman who would never intervene or some remote God who isn't concerned about sin. Not any God of our own making, but the One revealed in Scripture. Since God is Spirit, the truth is that we must worship Him as He is.

Genuine worship comes from a spirit inspired by the true nature of God. Worship fueled by a heart impassioned for God by God is true worship. This is a product of knowing who God is truly and in responding to His Spirit within us.

And true worship is contagious.

Biblical Worship

The primary word is shachah: To prostrate. In Exodus, Israel was commanded not to approach the mountain, but to "worship from afar" (Exo 24:1). (Thus it isn't a matter of proximity.) Oddly, one section describes them as rising up and worshiping at their tent doors (Exo 33:10). It's odd because they rose up and prostrated themselves. Getting past the odd image, what we can see is that this kind of worship is clearly intentional. They didn't simply fall where they were. They went to a particular location and worshiped.

There is a repeated theme in the Old Testament to avoid worshiping other gods. Often they are told not to "serve and worship them" (Deu 8:19; 30:17; 1 Kings 9:6). That "worship" is shachah, and the "serve" there is another common Hebrew word for worship, abad. It means (as indicated) to serve. Thus, serving God is worship.

The New Testament Greek has a couple of terms as well. Very common is proskuneo. It means, literally, to "kiss toward". The image is that of a dog licking its master's hand. It is a fawning. The idea here is basically the same as the Hebrew shachah, with the additional sense of affection. When Jesus quotes the Old Testament warning to Satan -- "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve" (Matt 4:10) -- the word there is proskuneo.

If you've ever read Rom 12:1 in various translations, you will find something a little strange. The ESV speaks of "spiritual worship". The King James says it is "reasonable service". The NAS calls it "service of worship". And so it goes. So ... what is it? Well the word is latreia (or some derivative) and is a reference to service. Thus, the Greek latreia would be the equivalent of the Hebrew abad. This word is used quite often for "worship". In both cases, serving God is classified as worship.

The Greek actually has a couple more versions of the concept. In Colossians 2:18, for instance, the word threskeia is used. It refers to ceremonial observance. Another, sebasma, refers to adoration (e.g., Matt 15:9; 2 Thess 2:4).

In summary, then, both Old and New Testament imagine that worship is first and foremost a position of humility, of prostration. Both also include service to God in the concept of worship. Other components would include adoration and even ceremony. These are all tied up in the biblical concept of worship.

We, of course, know much better today. We understand that worship is singing some rousing songs to feel warmly about our God. Perhaps the Catholics do some kneeling, but most of us aren't going to be found on our knees, let alone on our faces. We are perfectly willing to go to church, but actually serving is an option most often reserved for the special few. Oh, and, of course we like that "adoration" thing. What do you think we're trying to accomplish with our singing?

Sadly, I think we've come a long way from biblical worship. Prostration, submission, service, these things are not typically in our minds when we think of worship. Perhaps they ought to be. The story is told of a boy who was misbehaving in class and was sent to sit in the corner for punishment. He told the teacher, "I'm sitting on the outside, but I'm standing on the inside." We're not likely to be going to a church that encourages prostration or serious submission. Service is always optional. It shouldn't be. But as genuine followers of Christ, perhaps we ought to be the reverse of that boy. "I may be sitting or standing on the outside, but inside I'm prostrated before my Lord and Savior." At least it's a start.

Worship as a Gift

I love my wife. She may not be "God's gift to mankind", but there is no doubt that she is God's gift to me. She is suited to me. We talk about just about everything, enjoy each other's company, share with each other, appreciate each other. We don't seem to suffer from the same maladies that so many others endure like conflict over finances or sex. We are just right for each other. I love her dearly.

Sometimes when I'm away from her I'll find myself pining for her. Perhaps that's not the right word, but that's how it feels. I long to be with her. I just want to be in her presence. I want to touch her hand and tell her that I love her. It engrosses my thoughts, almost mandating that I do so. You see, my love for my wife is not complete, not fulfilled, until it is expressed. I need to let her know that I love her to satisfy a necessary part of my love for her. And it's not that she doesn't know if I don't tell her or show her. It's not "news". It is something in me that requires it. I have to tell her.

God demands that His creation praise Him. To many, that sounds like egomania. Even believers sometimes struggle with this idea that God demands worship. At least we, as believers, do worship Him, but there can be this nagging question in the back of our heads, "Why does God demand worship? Isn't it some sort of megalomania? Is God really the ultimate egomaniac?" According to the dictionary, megalomania is a mental illness marked by delusions of grandeur. Egomania is an obsessive love for oneself and regard for one's own needs. God, then, cannot be a megalomaniac because, well, His grandeur is no delusion. He is an egomaniac in a sense because His love for Himself is well documented. That is, God is indeed self-centered because He is the center of all that is. We are not, so we must not be. He is, so He must be. We are to be God-centered because He is the center. So in Him and in Him alone is egomania accurate and correct.

But I don't think that's the end of the story. If we are His creatures created to bring Him glory, then isn't it in our best interest that we ... bring Him glory? If He is rightly God-centered, ought not we also to be God-centered? And if, as in the example of loving my wife, I am not fully satisfied until I express my love, is it not in my best interest to do so? As such, isn't our act of worship, commanded by God, an act of satisfaction for us? Isn't that command, then, a loving command to give us the best? Doesn't that make the worship of God a gift to us as well as to Him? Well, I'll tell you what. Try that out in church today. See if worshiping God doesn't bring you a deep sense of joy. Then you think about these questions.

Worship

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24)

It's such a simple verse. You may even have it memorized. It's a "nice" verse. It feels warm. It simply says that worshiping God must be done "in spirit and truth". Not much to it, is there?

Of course, that's only if you don't consider the ramifications. We often tend to interpret passages in terms of how they feel. But what is this one saying? I suspect, if you think about it, this one gets a little sticky. I mean exactly what is meant by worshiping God "in spirit" and "in truth"?

What does it mean to worship God "in spirit"? Many will tell you that you have to be in the right "spirit" to worship God. That's the idea behind "in spirit", right? You have to be "moved", to have an emotional response, to "sense God", and on and on. Of course, the Bible doesn't use the term "spirit" in that sense, so that's off base somehow. No, the Bible uses the term either in reference to the Holy Spirit or in reference to the human spirit, that innermost part of us, almost indistinguishable from the soul. It is always distinct from "the flesh", that sin nature of ours.

So can we conclude from this? It would seem that the proper worship of God must originate in the Spirit of God and then proceed from our spirits as a proper response to the Spirit of God. It would seem obvious (although I suspect we often miss it) that true worship must avoid carnality. It must avoid an appeal to the flesh. It must avoid worldly perceptions of God, human-oriented worship approaches, and a focus on us. But, you see, isn't that so often exactly the focus? So often worship in church is aimed at producing feelings in the worshipers, to make us "feel warmly" toward God. It is a very subtle shift, but it is a shift nonetheless, to go from God as the aim of worship to how I feel about God as the aim of worship. The Bible says that we don't even know how to pray (Rom 8:26). It should be mandatory, then, that worship begin with God and end with God. He is the originator and the point.

What does it mean to worship God "in truth"? That seems less confusing, I suspect. It means that worship must be based on truth -- a true image of God. It should not be with hypocrisy. It should not be with insincerity. It should be in integrity. Worship for show, as an example, would not be worship "in truth". What else? Most Christians really like worshiping God. You know ... that upbeat, happy, warm reflection on God. Thinking about how wonderful He is. Good. But one of the key components of a relationship with God includes, as the Bible so often repeats, the truth about our condition. It is called repentance. It entails confession of sin. And as an accurate reflection of the holiness of God, it is a necessary component. How often is that part of our worship? Is it excluded because it doesn't make us feel good? Another aspect of worshiping God "in truth" is the accurate reflection on the nature of God. We're really good with the "love" and "grace" and "mercy" aspects. "Good, good! Keep it coming!" What about the wrath and displeasure He has toward sin? "No, no ... let's not go there." It is part of the accurate reflection on the nature of God, and the Bible expresses it as a valid, true, and praiseworthy aspect of His character.

God is spirit. Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Worship, if it is to align with Jesus's teaching here, must originate from God and reflect back to God. It must have integrity, including both a valid representation of His character and an accurate admission of our flaws. Genuine worship must suit His character and concur with His will. This is true in singing, in the hearing of the Word, and in the everyday living sacrifice that is our true worship. Sundays make for good practice.

A Psalm for the Sabbath

The Psalms have been a part of worship for true believers for centuries. There was a time in the Church when the only allowable songs were the Psalms. Isaac Watts changed all that. As a youth he told his father, "These psalms we sing in church every Sunday are boring." His father told him, "If you think you can do better, write some songs." And he did. He rewrote Psalms and introduced non-biblical hymns to the Church. During his lifetime he wrote over 600 hymns and poems. I'm not suggesting it was a bad thing. After all, the Scriptures say to teach one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. But in our haste to move to new stuff, it's dangerous, I think, to forget about the original worship songs. After all, these are God breathed.

With that in mind, then, today's entry will be a psalm. Maybe you can keep it with you today and savor it while you worship the Lord. Without further comment, then, here is Psalm 92.

¹ It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
² To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,
³ With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre.
⁴ For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
⁵ How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.
⁶ A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this:
⁷ That when the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.
⁸ But You, O LORD, are on high forever.
⁹ For, behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered.
¹⁰ But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
¹¹ And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
¹² The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,
¹⁵ To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Thanks Be To God!

Thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:17-18).

Sometimes we become complacent about the grace given us. Sometimes we think that Christianity is an "add on", something we can tack onto our lives and it will be ... better. This kind of thinking, I suspect, is one of the reasons that so many people can claim, "Yeah, I'm a Christian, but it doesn't really have an impact on how I live." Paul, here, disagrees.

Paul describes a transaction that has taken place in those who belong to Christ. It takes place, at the beginning of the chapter, when "We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4). This "newness of life" is not trivial. He already described us as "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Rom 3:10-12). He already claimed "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). He will go on to say in Romans 8 that the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. And in this 6th chapter he describes the condition of Natural Man as "slaves to sin". There is a lot that has to be overcome.

Yet, here he describes the Regenerate Man in starkly different terms. He uses phrases like "obedient from the heart" and "slaves of righteousness". This is not the same person described elsewhere as Natural Man. And this, indeed, is something for which to thank God.

We are more blessed than we normally realize. We aren't becoming merely obedient. He changed our hearts and we become obedient from the heart, a radical change from attempts at mere mechanical obedience. We aren't merely declared righteous. We become slaves of righteousness. Doing what pleases God is a driving factor. We really want that. It is a fundamental change in the human heart and it is wrought by God and we are the beneficiaries.

Thanks be to God!

Contagious Worship

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).

Justice, kindness, and humility. That's what God wants. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Yes, we know. God desires obedience.

According to Paul, this is worship. He says, "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable worship" (Rom. 12:1). That "living sacrifice" is carried out by not conforming to the world, but renewing the mind (Rom. 12:2).

We like to think of worship is as singing, and singing can be worship. The "more spiritual" among us might point out that worship includes preaching the Word, and genuine preaching the Word is worship. But the reasonable thing for us to do in worship is to set self aside and obey. In so doing, not only do we glorify God, but so do others (Matt. 5:16). Contagious worship ... now that's a good thing!

Today's Worship

What is worship? Besides that wonderful origin -- "worth-ship" -- Christian worship is a rather large concept. Some of it is familiar to us. Some isn't quite as clear.

We all know that Christian worship includes singing songs to God. Everyone knows that. Unfortunately, most people think that the aim of these songs is to encourage warm feelings towards God, while the truth is that the real purpose of worship singing is to ascribe to God the worth He has. The confusion lies in the fact that when we rightly ascribe to God His worth, we generally feel good toward God. So sometimes we reverse it. That's a mistake.

Most people know that there is more to worship than a songfest. Worship is part of the gathering of the saints. It includes prayer. Prayer includes such things as adoration and confession, which are worship in and of themselves. We also assign worth-ship to God when we confess our sins to Him and even when we present our supplications to Him. It's all worship.

Many people know that the sacraments entail worship as well. Baptism and, particularly, Communion are acts of worship. They remind us of His grace and mercy. They point us to Him. Pointing us to Him is a good thing. Anything you can do to move your attention from you to Him is a good thing. So the sacraments definitely are part of worship.

A good number of people know that worship also includes the preaching of the Word. For some reason, some people aren't aware of this. It is, in fact, a major portion of worship. Preaching the Word (please note that I didn't just say "preaching" -- it must be the Word) again turns our attention to God. It serves as a Mt. Sinai moment for Christians. It lets us hear God speak. It tells us what God wants us to hear. We all know that when we listen to someone, we attribute a great deal of worth to them. The preaching of the Word is exactly that. It begs the question, of course. What about those churches that don't preach the Word? What about those preachers who preach the topic? Well, I'll let you decide on that. More importantly, however, is the corollary question. What about those congregations that cannot bear the preaching of the Word? What about those who complain, "The sermons are too long"? What does it say about us when we cannot stand more than 20 minutes of listening to God?

Fewer still recognize that all of Christian living is worship. We die daily as an act of worship. We surrender our lives because of His unending worth. We lay down our bodies as living sacrifices because it is reasonable worship. Every day is worship to the true believer, and every godly act or thought is worship to the true believer.

Sunday is our "day of worship". That is good and fitting. It gives us a chance to celebrate weekly the Resurrection of our Savior. It gives us a day to gather with all the saints to turn our uninterrupted attention to God. Every day is worship, but Sunday is special. As we sing and we pray and we share in Communion and listen to God's Word, let's celebrate with all the saints the magnificent worth of our Savior.

Psalm 150

Try as I might (or not), I can't really improve on this:

Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty heavens!
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with lute and harp!
Praise Him with tambourine and dance;
Praise Him with strings and pipe!
Praise Him with sounding cymbals;
Praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! (Psa. 150)

Worship

Worship ... what is it? The dictionary is helpful: "The activity of worshipping." Thanks. That clears things up. But, seriously, what is it? Generally, worship is reverence, love, and honor. Technically it can be offered to anyone we care to reverence, love, and honor. A sappy guy may worship at the feet of his beloved girl. An idolater may worship anything at all. But biblical, Christian worship is focused solely on God. God alone is authorized in Scripture to receive that reverence, love, and honor that we refer to as "worship."

The word originally comes from the Old English term, "weorthscipe". Maybe, if you pronounce that, you can see its intended thought: "worth-ship." That's right, worship is intended to apply worth to the recipient. And for Christians, that "worth-ship" is supposed to be applied to God alone. The term for this is "latria," defined as "that worship which is given to God alone." Now, take that term, "latria," and stick it at the end of other terms and you'll find something interesting. "Idol"+"latria" gives us "idolatry" -- worship that is intended for God alone, but given to idols instead. Interestingly, the term has lots of English offsprings. "Autolatry" is the worship of self. "Astrolatry" is the worship of stars. "Demonolatry" is the worship of demons. "Arborolatry" is the worship of trees. "Hagiolatry" is the worship of saints and "heliolatry" is the worship of the Sun. What's my point? My point is that it is so incredibly easy for us to shift away from "latria" -- worship fo God alone -- to just about any other thing.

We are pitiful worshipers, actually. We can worship God, which is great, but we can also worship idols of all sorts. We can worship cars or women or money or sex or power or ... the list is endless, it seems. We all have our varieties of idols that we worship. The top of every list, however, is "self." We are, by nature, worshipers of our own desires, our own selves. The problem, unfortunately, is that we tend to inject just about anything at all in that space we refer to as "worship", even when we're trying to worship God. Instead of a sole focus on the Creator of the Universe, the Lord of lords, the God of gods, the Alpha and Omega ... we're paying attention to the praise band or the fine-sounding choir. With one eye on God, we have the other on the trappings, the sound, the feel. We forget that worship is assigning worth to God and begin to think that it's "feeling good" toward God ... which is simply self-worship -- How do I feel?

It is a confusing thing for us. I understand that. You see, when we draw near to God, He draws near to us. When we turn our eyes upon Jesus, it definitely affects our perceptions and feelings. When we turn our focus on the magnificence and glory of the Almighty, it cannot but change our emotions. But before long we seek that change in emotions rather than the glory of God itself and substitute the creature for the Creator.

When you worship today, keep that in mind. It's not about you. It's about Him. It's not about the music or the trappings. It's about Him. It's not about how you feel toward God. It's about God. Don't substitute idolatry for worship. Truly worship. He has sufficient glory and worth to demand it. To God be the glory!

The Regulative Principle of Worship

One of the points in Reformed theology that is often overlooked is the idea called "the Regulative Principle of Worship". The principle is set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and does good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture (WCF XXI:I).

While most of our behavior and living principles are viewed in terms of Christian liberty, the idea for worship is that it is highly regulated by God. In other words, the two -- Christian living and Christian worship -- are viewed in opposite terms. Christian living is viewed as "That which is not forbidden is allowed" while Christian worship is "That which is not commanded is forbidden."

There are reasons for this distinction. In Leviticus 10 we read the story of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons. They brought "strange fire" to offer to God. As a result, they were consumed by fire from God. Their crime, it seems was that they "offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them" (Lev. 10:1). Aaron was horrified and complained to Moses. Moses's response was this: "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be regarded as holy, and before all the people I will be honored'" (Lev. 10:3). The answer made Aaron keep silent. From events like these it becomes clear that God has specific requirements in worshiping Him that are not for all people or all circumstances. The more popular passage that is quoted to support the Regulative Principle of Worship is God's words in Deut. 12:32 -- "Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it." The prevalent view is that to offer to God any other worship than that which He has commanded is idolatry.

I think the principle has merit. (I wrote a series of blogs on it back in July, 2006, beginning with this post and ending with this one.) On the other hand there are problems with the principle. First, how do you apply it consistently? You see, there are no commands in Scripture for, as an example, churches. There was a Tabernacle followed by a Temple, sure, but no churches. God didn't have His people build places of worship in each town. No such command is offered. They did it, but it's not in there. If you look at the Westminster Confession, they list very few things for worship. There is prayer with thanksgiving (WCF XXI:IV). Then it includes this:

The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear, the sound preaching and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith and reverence, singing of psalms with grace in the heart; as also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ, are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: beside religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special occasions, which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner (WCF XXI:V).

That's it, folks. Not only is your praise band excluded, but so is your contemporary Christian songs. But don't lose heart. So is the organ, the piano, and the traditional hymnal. Musical instruments are not allowed, and the only songs that may be sung are from the Psalms. The sacraments are in, but the offering is out. Fasting is in, but those announcements about what is going on at church are out. Preaching is definitely in, but those video screens some of you use or the dance or drama groups ... definitely out. And you know all those special gatherings some of you like to have? Out, certainly out. No Wednesday night prayer meeting. It's not commanded. You ought not do it. Some churches have Saturday services. Certainly not allowed.

And so it goes. This principle, if installed and followed to the letter, would result in a radical change in our churches. It would first require that our churches be consolidated. One in each city, I suppose, since we can find New Testament examples. Certainly not two, let alone hundreds. The "megachurch" concept would be a given in any large city because there would only be one in each city. Instruments would be gone. While many would cheer the end of the "seeker sensitive service", they would be surprised by the removal of all hymnals, pianos and organs. There would be no Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, or any other service other than Sunday mornings. (I suppose you could stretch it to all day Sunday.) There would certainly be no Evolution Sunday, to be sure, but along with that we'd need to toss out all the other things we recognize such as pro-life or anti-racism days. I don't know how they do it, but those that argue for the Regulative Principle seem to comfortably ignore many of the rest of the Old Testament commands God gave regarding worship. They don't observe Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread or the Festival of Booths or ... well, you get the idea. These are all God-given commands for His worship, but they've conveniently decided that God ... well ... changed His mind about them.

I don't know. I have a great deal of respect for the principle, but I have a real problem with the application. Just as people can easily abuse the principle of Christian liberty, I fear that it is real easy to abuse the Regulative Principle of Worship. Unfortunately, when I make that suggestion, I sound like, "Did God say?" and will be ignored by those who hold to it. Too bad. I wish we could figure this thing out better. I think there's something there, but not necessarily what I'm being offered as "it".

The House of God

I'm enjoying the Psalms immensely. There is so much good stuff in there. The psalmists praise and complain. They rejoice and cry. They thank God and pray. They run the gamut of emotions, but always -- always -- they glorify God.

One thing I have found interesting as I've been going through the Psalms is the many references to the house of God. Some might argue, "God is everywhere; we don't have to go to some physical place to be in His presence." And that would be technically true. Still, there is an amazing perspective offered on the house of God in the Psalms:

I, through the abundance of Your steadfast love, will enter Your house. I will bow down toward Your holy temple in the fear of You (Psa. 5:7).

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Psa. 23:6).

O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells (Psa. 26:8).

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple (Psa. 27:4).

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light (Psa. 36:7-9).

Blessed is the one You choose and bring near, to dwell in Your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple (Psa. 65:4)!

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing Your praise (Psa. 84:4)!

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness (Psa. 84:10).

What a deep longing we find in the Psalms to be in the house of God. You've heard the unbeliever say, for instance, that it's better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven. The sons of Korah would beg to differ. "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God," they proclaim. In the house of God there is steadfast love. In the house of God there is light and life. In the house of God His glory dwells.

In the early days of America, towns were built in an interesting fashion. The town center was always the same: a church. The focal point of the town was God's house. Today we generally have economic centers at the core of our cities. It bespeaks the shift in our nation's emphasis. I pray that, while the nation shifts, believers recall the wonders of being in the house of the Lord. That is where true abundance and satisfaction can be found.