by Pastor Art Kohl
Faith Bible Baptist Church, January 14, 2005
Churchgoers often hear these newer terms: Contemporary Worship, Traditional Worship, Worship leaders, Worship bands, Worship teams, Worship Director, Worship choruses, Worship songs, Worship services, etc. Where is any of this in the Bible? Since the mid 1980s when the “Worship and Praise” phenomenon and the “seeker-friendly mega-church” mentality took over the body of Christ, the number of evangelical or fundamental missionaries who have left the shores of America to preach the gospel to the regions beyond has decreased from 57,000 to 41,000. During that same time (1985-2005) the world’s population has increased by 1 billion people. By one swift slight of Satan, the church has substituted “Worship and Praise” for “Evangelism and Discipleship”. We have kept the troops entertained at the church house while the world is lost and heading toward hell without warning. We have succumbed to one of the devil’s oldest tricks: replace the best with something good.
The woman at the well (read John 4:1-29) thought she was an expert on worship. It turns out she didn’t know much. Jesus said to her, “Ye worship ye know not what...” (v.22a)
Her biggest mistake was thinking worship was done in a particular place (v.20). Jesus told her that true worshippers worship God anywhere, not in this mountain or that mountain, not in this church or that church.
Fact: Worship is not a meeting.There is not one mention of a "worship meeting" in the entire New Testament. Yet churches today advertise worship services and styles. When we regulate worship to church it becomes construed as something we turn on when entering the building and turn off when we leave. The devil, who has always coveted the worship of man, is more than happy if we create an atmosphere where God only gets one hour of worship per week. The church is a place for preaching, teaching, fellowshipping, praying, caring for others, serving others, serving in ministries, and charging our spiritual batteries so we can go back into the world and preach Christ. It is not for worship.
Worship is mostly an individual thing done outside the church. Read through the examples in the gospel of Matthew: 2:11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 18:26; 28:9. None of this was done in church!
The Greek word mostly translated "worship" in the New Testament is “proskuneo.” “Pros” means to prostrate. “Kuneo” means to kiss. Strong’s Concordance of Greek Words defines it this way, “to kiss, as a dog licking his master’s hand; To fawn or crouch down; To prostrate oneself in homage; To do reverence.”
The best synonym for "worship" is "adoration" – to admire or adore.
It is very rare you see any of this in a church setting! When we are around others we become inhibited and self-conscious. Worship is done better in private, thus we have several private examples recorded in the scriptures and no public ones.
Now here’s a shocker:
Fact: Worship is not music.
Not once in the 79 references to worship in the New Testament is it associated with music!
Of the 155 references to worship in the Old Testament, only once (Psalm 66:4) are worship and singing used in the same breath though differentiated by the conjunction “and”.
Two hundred and thirty-four mentions of worship in the Bible and only once is it used along with music! Why then is music a main thing in our “worship” at the church? “Ye worship ye know not what ...” (John 4:22). Worship has little to do with church and nothing to do with music! Don’t fall for the “worship and praise” spirit permeating our churches.
What is worship then?
1. Worship Is Any Action an individual takes, intended to give God pleasure.
I Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
Martin Luther said, “An handmaiden can milk cows to the glory of God.” When a person goes out to try to save some souls, for God’s pleasure, that person is worshipping God. Going to work to provide for your family because God has commanded you to is an act of worship.
2. Worship Is Any Admiration an individual shows, intended to give God pleasure.
Remember the dog described earlier? A dog adores it’s owner, waits for it’s owner, pleases it’s owner.
I’ve seen dogs lay their chins on their owners' laps and just stare at their owners, waiting to please them. That is worship. (And the origin of the saying, "A dog is man’s best friend.”) Dogs adore their owners, and adoration is worship.
When was the last time you spiritually laid your chin on God’s knee, stared into His face and adored Him?
3. Worship Is Any Attitude an individual has that gives God pleasure.
A person with a bad spirit cannot worship God. If someone is bitter, angry, stubborn, rebellious - forget it! John 4:23,24 says, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
True worshippers must worship God in spirit. This word “spirit” refers to the attitude, emotions and will. If a believer has just been through the worst year of his or her life, but maintains a right spirit and says, “God is good all the time,” that is worship. Colossians 3:22-24 illustrates, "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." That's an attitude of worship!
4. Worship Is Any Accuracy presented, intended to give God pleasure. We must worship God in spirit and in truth. We must be accurate. If someone said to Babe Ruth, “I think you are the greatest hockey player of all time,” their worship would be meaningless. Why? It was inaccurate. Babe Ruth played baseball, not hockey. If someone said to the Lord, “Jesus, I know you are just a man and not God but I really admire you,” that worship would be meaningless, for it was not accurate.
The religious leaders of Jesus' time told people to give their money to the temple and forget about helping their fathers and mothers. It was as if they were saying, “God we know what You said, but we are going to do the opposite anyway. Just accept our worship of You.” Jesus said they worshipped Him in vain (Matthew 15:1-9). Their practice was not true to the Bible, and God did not accept it.
Obedience to truth with a right spirit is a lifestyle of worship.
Don’t fall for today's inaccurate, deeply entrenched ideas of what worship is. Change your thinking and lifestyle and begin a true lifestyle of worship, 7 days a week, “for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.” (John 4:232b).
Did we get our facts wrong on this article ? We would like to be factual as we can on Detox . If there is any information here that is inaccurate, please inform us .
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Music was a powerful tool in magical rituals such as divination. Quasten also discusses many of the paintings and statues. For instance, in explaining the harps in the book of Revelation he notes that "heaven" was the place of total joy and the lack of human responsibility. Therefore, images on tombs of the living offering instruments to the dead is their testimony that earthly trials are over.
As David calls upon his harp or lyre to "awaken" Quasten speaks eloquently of the awakening or arousal ceremonies in connection with funerals. Others have noted that Amos, the prophet against Israel, condemned the Marzeach which was a feast with and for dead ancestors. I have owned this book for many years and find it an indispensible cross reference for personal reasearch from documents ranging from the Ancient Near Eastern Texts to the latest unwitting attempt to restore ancient pagan rituals in Christianity. review by Kenneth Sublett
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The Growing Trend of Performance Worship
by Wayne Jackson - The Christian Courier
In this article we wish to comment on the growing practice of “worship-drama.” Increasingly, religious journals give publicity to the “drama groups” that are being formed in various congregations. Religious theater is being promoted as a new method of evangelism for the baby-boomer generation, which, we are told, is not attracted to traditional preaching.
How should this topic be approached? Does the Bible specifically address the issue? Actually, it does not. But this matter, as with many others (e.g., gambling, drug use, etc.), must be approached upon the basis of biblical principles. There are divine guidelines that assist us in making spiritual decisions on issues of this nature.
First, it is freely conceded that God’s inspired spokesmen occasionally used “visual aids” in the proclamation of divine truth. The prophet Ahijah tore his garment as a token of the coming division between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 11:30). Jeremiah purchased an earthen jar and smashed it in the sight of Judah’s leaders as a preview of the impending destruction of the nation (Jeremiah 19). And the prophet Agabus bound his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt to foreshadow the perils that would befall the apostle in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11).
While it is thus true that some teaching tools were occasionally employed in conjunction with the spoken word, the fact remains, nowhere do we find the primitive church using a dramatic production as a means of propagating the gospel. This is quite significant when one reflects upon the fact that the ancient Graeco-Roman culture was immersed in the drama motif.
In Paul’s day, Corinth had a theater that seated fourteen thousand people (Murray-O’Connor 1983, 36). Ephesus had a theater that accommodated twenty-four thousand (Frank 1972, 312). In Rome, it is estimated that there were three thousand actresses (Smith and Cheetham 1875, 1.16). With the theater aura so permeating that society, is it not remarkable that there is not even a hint in the New Testament that the primitive saints employed drama to reach their contemporaries? The careful Bible student is impressed with the fact that the early Christians simply proclaimed the sacred message in a plain and unostentatious fashion. Where is the evidence for Christian “drama”? The New Testament silence regarding this practice speaks quite eloquently.
Second, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus warned about the danger of turning worship into a theatrical production. “Take heed,” the Lord cautioned, “that you do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). Christ illustrated this truth by mentioning several devotional items (e.g., the giving of alms, praying, and fasting). He condemned the actions of some who put their worship on display so as to attract the attention of others. He labeled them hypocrites (vv. 2, 5, 16). Jesus went to the very heart of the matter when he put their motives in the spotlight. Rather than sincerely seeking to honor God, they were attempting “to be seen” of others. The Greek expression is theathenai. Robertson notes: “Our word theatrical is this very word, spectacular performance” (1930, 50).
When an environment is created within the assembly of the saints wherein one seeks to display his or her acting skills, and the applause of an audience is solicited, the spirit of the Savior’s instruction has been grossly violated. With all that human adulation, in which the performer so delights, he has “received [his] reward” (Matthew 6:2b), which, in the original language, suggests that he has been “paid in full.” As William Barclay noted: “If we aim at personal publicity, we get it—but we get nothing more” (1974, 53).
Third, the testimony of church history is decidedly against the drama-worship format. The tendency to use the stage as a means of teaching manifested itself in the early centuries of Christian history. Tertullian (ca. 160-220) opposed the practice. Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) protested the use of theatrics and complained that his audiences, instead of taking his messages silently to heart, looked for opportunities to applaud (Smith and Cheetham, 11.1953). Eventually, however, the theater was imported into the church.
In his monumental two-volume work on church history, John F. Hurst devoted an entire chapter to “The Sacred Drama.” He observed that in those days when Christianity became recognized by the state, the popularity of the theater, along with the need for diversion, “forced upon the Church the endeavor to minister to the craving of man for the spectacular” (1897, 922). It was out of this very circumstance that the drama of the “Mass” ultimately evolved.
The same lust for public acclamation afflicts some in the church today. Will history repeat itself? Let us pray that it does not.
Did we get our facts wrong on this page ? We would like to be factual as we can on Detox . If there is any information here that is inaccurate, please inform us .
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