Concerning Worship (Part 2)

VIII. All of the above examples show that worship entails bringing an offering before the Lord. PSA 96:7-9. A. In worship we give to God what He has first given to us thus acknowledging our dependence upon Him. ROM 11:35-36; 1CH 29:14-16. B. Since worship entails an offering to God, then the greatest act of worship was the sacrifice of Christ. EPH 5:2. 1. There was a time: see JOH 7:6, 30; 12:27; MAT 26:18. 2. There was a place: see LUK 9:51; HEB 13:11-12. 3. There was a method: see ACT 3:18; 1CO 15:3; PHIL 2:8. IX. The three elements characterize the worship of the New Testament church. A. With the exception of ACT 19:37, the Greek word translated “church” is “ekklesia.” It is translated “assembly” in ACT 19:32, 39, 41. B. The church, true to its name, assembles to worship God. ACT 11:26; 1CO 11:17-18, 33-34; 14:26; HEB 10:25. C. The church is the temple or house of God, the place where God dwells. EPH 2:19-22; 1TI 3:15. 1. To assemble with the church is to come before the Lord. 2. Therefore, the place of worship is the assembly of the church. D. In assembling, the church comes together into one place. 1CO 11:20; 14:23. 1. Coming together into one place necessitates both the elements of a time and a place. 2. The place of the assembly may be anywhere, but it must be somewhere. JOH 4:20-24. Concerning Worship 3-23-14 Page 2 3. The New Testament gives an example of disciples coming together on the first day of the week (ACT 20:7), but this time is not inflexibly required. 4. However, a time of worship is required. Otherwise, how could the whole church come together in one place? E. The method of worship entails teaching (ACT 11:26; 20:28; 1CO 14:19); prayer and thanksgiving (1CO 14:15-16; 1TI 2:1; HEB 13:15); singing (1CO 14:15; EPH 5:19; HEB 2:12); observing the Lord's Supper (1CO 11:33); doing good and giving (HEB 13:16; PHI 4:18). 1. Our thanksgiving and obedience are sacrifices that we offer AS the house of God builded TOGETHER. 1PE 2:5; EPH 2:22. 2. We must present our bodies in church to carry out church service in order to worship God as we ought. ROM 12:1-2. X. God severely judges corrupt worship. A. Consider Israel's worship of the golden calf. EXO 32:4-7. 1. The three elements show up even here. a. There was a time: “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” b. There was a place: “he built an altar before it.” c. There was a method: “they...offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings.” 2. God charged the people with corrupting THEMSELVES. Corrupt worship corrupts people! 3. God's wrath would have waxed hot against Israel for this. EXO 32:10. B. Aaron's two sons were slain for offering “strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not” (LEV 10:1-3). C. Consider the corrupt worship instituted by Jeroboam. 1KI 12:26-33. 1. Jeroboam altered the worship in order to secure his kingdom. 2. He did not trust God's promise to build him a sure house if he obeyed the Lord. 1KI 11:38. 3. He changed the time of worship: “Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah...” (v. 32). LEV 23:34. 4. He changed the place of worship: “And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan” (v. 29). 5. He changed the method of worship: “...the king...made two calves of gold...he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi” (vs. 28-31). 6. This worship was a device of Jeroboam's heart (v. 33) and in defiance of God's express will for His worship. 7. This worship was pronounced SIN. v. 30. D. God must be worshipped on HIS terms. MAT 15:9. E. Corruption in worship results in all manner of other corruption. ROM 1:21-32. 1. Mind the censure here on worshipping the creature. v. 25. 2. This includes the worshipping of angels. COL 2:18; REV 22:8-9. F. The mark of the beast is conspicuously associated with false worship and judgment. REV 14:9-11; 16:1-2; 19:20; 20:4. XI. We ought also to worship God privately (JDG 7:15; JOB 1:20; HEB 11:21); and we ought to Concerning Worship 3-23-14 Page 3 keep our hearts and homes clear of idolatry. DEU 7:25-26; JOS 24:14-15; JOB 11:14; PSA 101:2-3; EZE 14:1-5. XII. The true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth. JOH 4:20-24. A. We must have the Holy Spirit to worship God. EPH 2:18; 1CO 14:15; PHIL 3:3 c/w ROM 2:28-29. 1. An unregenerate man who is devoid of the Spirit CANNOT worship God. ROM 8:8-9. 2. The Spirit-filled life expresses itself in worship. EPH 5:18-20. 3. To withhold worship is to quench the Spirit. 1TH 5:16-19. B. We must have the truth and obey the truth to worship God. C. God screens all worshippers seeking only those who are true worshippers. 2CH 16:9. D. God discerns hypocritical worship and rejects it. MAT 15:7-9. 1. hypocrite: One who falsely professes to be virtuously or religiously inclined; one who pretends to have feelings or beliefs of a higher order than his real ones. 2. We look upon outward appearances. 1SAM 16:7. 3. God knows what is IN man. 1KI 8:39; JOH 2:23-25; HEB 4:12-13. 4. Hypocrites will be exposed in due time. LUK 12:1-2; 1CO 4:5. E. In order to worship God we must be righteous and we must act righteously. PRO 15:8; 21:27. 1. Otherwise we are not worshipping in spirit and in truth. 2. We are made righteous in Christ and are thus accepted in Him. 1CO 1:30; ROM 5:19; EPH 1:4-6; HEB 9:14; 10:22. 3. As righteous persons, we must act righteously to worship God acceptably. EPH 5:1-2, 8-10; 2TI 2:19-21; ISA 1:10-20. 4. Those who will not behave righteously must be put from the church in order for it to worship acceptably. 1CO 5:1-8. 5. Worship should be a true expression of our spiritual and moral condition. Concerning Worship 3-23-14 Page 4