Worship

• What is worship ?
  • 'to worship' means 'to ascribe worth'.
  • in the Bible worshipping God is the same as serving God, as countless verses show :- Matt 4 vs 10, Exodus 3 vs 12, Deut 11 vs 16, 2 Tim 1 vs 3 etc...
  • ie. because I ascribe worth to God in my heart, I do His will.
  • worship and activism are not opposites - they go hand-in-hand.
• WHO is to be worshipped?
  • God alone!! Matt 4 vs 10 , John 5 vs 23.
  • NOT - anything else Deut 11 vs 16, Rom 1 vs 25.
  • images Exodus 20 vs 3-5.
  • angels Col 2 vs 18, Rev 19 vs 10, 22 vs 8-9.
  • saints Acts 14 vs 14-15, 10 vs 25-26.
• WHY is God to be worshipped ?
  • Look at -
    • Deut 10 vs 12-22, Psalm 95 vs 1-7a,
    • Psalm 100 Dan 6 vs 25-27,
    • Rev 4 vs 8-11, 5 vs 9-14.
  • We see that God is to be worshipped because of
    • Who He is.
    • What He has done - creation, providence, redemption, judgement.
• HOW is God to be worshipped ?
  • In the way He has said.
  • we may not worship Him as we please.
  • He Himself has instituted the way in which He is to be worshipped.
  • we may introduce nothing into the worship of God without the clear warrant of His Word (The regulative principle).
  • see Deut 12 vs 32, Matt 15 vs 9.
  • Exod 20 vs 4-6, Deut 4 vs 15-20, Col 2 vs 18-23.
  • not forgetting John 4 vs 24!!
• And this is what He has said :-
  • He is to be approached only through the Mediator that He has appointed John 14 vs 6, 1 Tim 2 vs 5, Eph 2 vs 13-18, hence Col 3 vs 17.
  • The ONLY Biblically permitted ingredients are :-
    • prayer Matt 6 vs 9-13 etc...
    • the ministry of the Word Acts 2 vs 42, 1 Tim 4 vs 12-16, 2 Tim 2 vs 2, 4 vs 1-2.
    • baptism and the Lord's table Acts 2 vs 41-42, 20 vs 1, 1 Cor 11 vs 23-34.
    • congregational singing 1 Cor 14 vs 26, Col 3 vs 16, Eph 5 vs 19, James 5 vs 13.

ANYTHING ELSE is an addition to what God has revealed, and is therefore illegitimate.

What else needs to be said?

* As long as worship is in the spirit and in truth, it does not matter where it takes place. John 4 vs 21.
* Both private and family worship are commanded in the Word of God, but the emphasis is on communal worship in the fellowship of the church Acts 2 vs 42, Heb 10 vs 25 .....
* It may be daily (Acts 2 vs 46) or on other occasions (Acts 4 vs 23, 12 vs 12), but is always to be on the Lord's Day (Acts 20 vs 4, Rev 1 vs 10)