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The author uses about 1000 words to attempt to describe worship.
The author uses about 1000 words to attempt to describe worship.
- Number of Bible verse quoted: Zero
- Number of relevant Bible verses referenced: Zero
- Number of long quotes from theologians: Three, plus one paraphrase
Thus, the author discusses worship at length, but does not tell us from the Bible anything about worship. We're not even entirely sure that he understands worship. He seems to think it's how a Sunday service is conducted. Of course, worship can happen in a Sunday service, but this is not guaranteed.
Sadly, this lack of Bible content is an all-too-common error among these so-called Bible teachers.
In addition, he uses terms like "ordinary worship," "relevant," "doxological," and "reverent," but does not explain them.
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In the 21st century evangelical landscape, there are two opposing errors concerning worship that grow out of the same root problem. One error is the attempt to be hyper-relevant. Those who succumb to this temptation seek a worship “experience” tailored to the fads of the day. They will be greeted by a charismatic speaker in casual dress who will inspire them with a non-threatening talk that is chockfull of personal anecdotes (and virtually devoid of any mention of sin, faith, or repentance). Following this, the lights will dim, as emotive music blankets the room with lyrics that speak more of a person’s experience of God than of God himself. This, as Charles Spurgeon once said, is simply “amusing goats,” which inevitably distracts from the church’s feeding of Christ’s sheep (John 21:17).
Standing opposite of this is the equally erroneous attempt to be hyper-reverent. Ordinarily, those who flock to these churches are fleeing the vapidity of “relevant” churches and looking for something more. They yearn for something serious, historic, even counter-cultural. When they walk through the doors, they are immediately taken by the sounds and smells, the ornate clerical vestments, and the (perceived) antiquity of the many rites, ceremonies, and feast days observed by the church.
On the surface, these two approaches to worship look very different, yet the reason for gravitating to either is usually the same. Fundamentally, what the searcher is longing for is something extraordinary, an escape from the suffocating ordinariness of their everyday lives. Only once they find that missing piece will they be able to experience the vital and vibrant Christianity that has evaded them thus far. (We tend to agree with the author on this point. The problem is indeed not a matter of form [modern vs. traditional], rather it is content.)
Relevant Reverence
Those who visit my own church might suspect that we lean to the side of hyper-reverence. After all, we sing out of the Red Trinity Hymnal, recite creeds, and I have even been known to quote a Puritan or two. But I often explain that our intention is to occupy the perfect middle. Why? Because true reverence is perennially relevant.
That which is new, exciting, and different today will become old, stale, and commonplace within a decade (if that long). Cold, hollow ritualism will produce cold, hollow Christians at best. Spurgeon said that a baby is content to play with a rattle for a time, but when the pangs of hunger seize its belly nothing less than its mother’s milk will satisfy. The same is true of Christian worship. Instead of offering our preferred rattle in Lord’s Day worship, the church must serve a substantial meal that will truly satisfy the spiritual hunger of those gathered. And this meal must be nothing less than Christ-centered worship that is grounded in the truths of Scripture from start to finish. (This is an odd mix of concepts. Worship has nothing to do with satisfying peoples' spiritual hunger. Worship is about God, not us. Worship is proskuneó, to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior; to worship, ready "to fall down/prostrate oneself to adore on one's knees..." The writer of Hebrews:
In the 21st century evangelical landscape, there are two opposing errors concerning worship that grow out of the same root problem. One error is the attempt to be hyper-relevant. Those who succumb to this temptation seek a worship “experience” tailored to the fads of the day. They will be greeted by a charismatic speaker in casual dress who will inspire them with a non-threatening talk that is chockfull of personal anecdotes (and virtually devoid of any mention of sin, faith, or repentance). Following this, the lights will dim, as emotive music blankets the room with lyrics that speak more of a person’s experience of God than of God himself. This, as Charles Spurgeon once said, is simply “amusing goats,” which inevitably distracts from the church’s feeding of Christ’s sheep (John 21:17).
Standing opposite of this is the equally erroneous attempt to be hyper-reverent. Ordinarily, those who flock to these churches are fleeing the vapidity of “relevant” churches and looking for something more. They yearn for something serious, historic, even counter-cultural. When they walk through the doors, they are immediately taken by the sounds and smells, the ornate clerical vestments, and the (perceived) antiquity of the many rites, ceremonies, and feast days observed by the church.
On the surface, these two approaches to worship look very different, yet the reason for gravitating to either is usually the same. Fundamentally, what the searcher is longing for is something extraordinary, an escape from the suffocating ordinariness of their everyday lives. Only once they find that missing piece will they be able to experience the vital and vibrant Christianity that has evaded them thus far. (We tend to agree with the author on this point. The problem is indeed not a matter of form [modern vs. traditional], rather it is content.)
Relevant Reverence
Those who visit my own church might suspect that we lean to the side of hyper-reverence. After all, we sing out of the Red Trinity Hymnal, recite creeds, and I have even been known to quote a Puritan or two. But I often explain that our intention is to occupy the perfect middle. Why? Because true reverence is perennially relevant.
That which is new, exciting, and different today will become old, stale, and commonplace within a decade (if that long). Cold, hollow ritualism will produce cold, hollow Christians at best. Spurgeon said that a baby is content to play with a rattle for a time, but when the pangs of hunger seize its belly nothing less than its mother’s milk will satisfy. The same is true of Christian worship. Instead of offering our preferred rattle in Lord’s Day worship, the church must serve a substantial meal that will truly satisfy the spiritual hunger of those gathered. And this meal must be nothing less than Christ-centered worship that is grounded in the truths of Scripture from start to finish. (This is an odd mix of concepts. Worship has nothing to do with satisfying peoples' spiritual hunger. Worship is about God, not us. Worship is proskuneó, to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior; to worship, ready "to fall down/prostrate oneself to adore on one's knees..." The writer of Hebrews:
He. 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.” [Deut. 4:24]
Whatever our spiritual hunger might be, it must take a back seat to giving our holy God the glory due His name.
These are worship, and none of them happened in a church:
Mt. 14:33 Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Mt. 28:9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him.
Jn. 9:38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him.
Worship has nothing to do with ritual, form, location, or presentation.)
Once again, consider this point from Spurgeon:
“The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.”No amount of presentation can make up for a lack of content in worship. At best, contemporary worship and stilted liturgy offer a mere flicker of religious experience compared to that slow, steady burn of men and women who have been set aflame by biblical doctrine. (Again, an odd statement. Worship is not teaching. Giving glory to God is not doctrine.
And we might ask, what possible flame comes from biblical doctrine? Too often we have found that those who are "aflame" with doctrine are nit pickers, they are even Doctrinal Police.
The pursuit of doctrine for its own sake is a spiritual dead-end, not a means to fire up a soul. What sets hearts aflame is truth enlivened by the Holy Spirit [Ph. 3:3], not doctrine. That's why Jesus said we must worship in Spirit and in truth [Jn. 4:24].)
Fallen man’s greatest need is to be reconciled to the thrice holy God whom he has offended. By nature, we are all children of wrath, hostile in mind, dead in our trespasses and sins. For this reason, the Gospel never ceases to be relevant because it was, is, and will continue to be the only way to meet this universal need. (Well, it is certainly true that every man needs the Gospel. But the author needs to make a necessary connection between the Gospel and the subsequent Christian walk, where worship is expressed.
We certainly worship Him because He saved us, but that's not the end of it. We worship Him because we begin to see more clearly His nature, His holiness, goodness, and His righteousness. Worship only begins at the Gospel.)
What could be more relevant than that? What’s more, when this need for salvation is met, the natural response is true, heartfelt, and reverent worship. Only once the church preaches on that which is truly relevant to sinful man can true reverence be realized. (The author now switches to preaching. Preaching is not worship. It can evoke worship, but worship itself, again, is the bowing low before a Holy God.)
True Reverence Reaches the Lost
“But,” some will ask, “won’t this kind of worship stifle our evangelistic appeal? Won’t it make the unbeliever feel uncomfortable?” Indeed, it will make them uncomfortable. How could it not? We are citizens of one kingdom and they of another. The antithesis between light and darkness ought to be unmistakably clear in our acts of worship. But just because the unbeliever is made uncomfortable doesn’t mean that our worship ceases to have evangelistic effect. (The author mixes concepts. First, discomfort in the face of traditional forms of the Sunday service is not the same as the discomfort experienced when one is confronted with one's sin.
True Reverence Reaches the Lost
“But,” some will ask, “won’t this kind of worship stifle our evangelistic appeal? Won’t it make the unbeliever feel uncomfortable?” Indeed, it will make them uncomfortable. How could it not? We are citizens of one kingdom and they of another. The antithesis between light and darkness ought to be unmistakably clear in our acts of worship. But just because the unbeliever is made uncomfortable doesn’t mean that our worship ceases to have evangelistic effect. (The author mixes concepts. First, discomfort in the face of traditional forms of the Sunday service is not the same as the discomfort experienced when one is confronted with one's sin.
Second, worship is not evangelistic. A Sunday service might be designed to be evangelistic [for example, when the church is prophesying {1Co. 14:25}], but again, worship itself is glorifying God.
Third, contemporary worship is the musical language of contemporary culture, just as hymns were the musical language of contemporary culture hundreds of years ago.
Biblical content is the necessary dividing line, not style. A person might be attracted to the style of music, but it is the content that illustrates Bible truths. The message convicts. The lyrics draw a person into the posture of worship.
Style is a secondary consideration only.)
As Terry Johnson has argued:
Delve into Doxological Worship (The author will not explain doxological worship.)
In short, what the church needs is to have faith that worship, as God has given it to us, is reverent enough and relevant enough to make lasting change in our world and in our own lives. (It isn't the purpose of worship to effect changes in our lives.)
“Such serious, soul-searching proclamation is not, by the way, terribly seeker friendly. Instead the visitor is ‘convicted,’ he is ‘called to account,’ and ‘the secrets of his heart are disclosed.’ That this might make him uncomfortable does not seem to cause concern. Indeed, that is the intention. The result is conversion, leading to strong acts of devotion, whether literal or figurative. He will ‘fall on his face and worship God,’ presumably joining with the others in worshipping god. The point is, that it is clear even to the unbeliever who visits the Christian assembly that the people are dealing with God, and God is dealing with them. Dr. Clowney calls this ‘doxological evangelism,’ and we are thrilled to see this concept articulated.” [1]The otherworldliness of biblical worship inspires a sense of conviction, awe, and curiosity in the unbeliever in a way that man-made gimmicks and ceremonies never could. Doxological worship in an age of levity and informality will, by way of contrast, stand out more prominently and prove to be more evangelistically effective in the long run than anything produced by man.
Delve into Doxological Worship (The author will not explain doxological worship.)
In short, what the church needs is to have faith that worship, as God has given it to us, is reverent enough and relevant enough to make lasting change in our world and in our own lives. (It isn't the purpose of worship to effect changes in our lives.)
Rather than going and digging newer, shallower wells to satisfy our spiritual thirsts, perhaps what we need to do is delve deeper in that deep well of refreshing biblical worship that God has dug for us already.
Our Lord, in His incredible kindness, has given us a means of spiritual satisfaction that doesn’t require us to go to wild extremes. The fact that His grace is held forth, Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day, in simple means is not something to scoff at, but to celebrate. Praise God for the accessibility of His grace in ordinary, reverent, and relevant worship!
Our Lord, in His incredible kindness, has given us a means of spiritual satisfaction that doesn’t require us to go to wild extremes. The fact that His grace is held forth, Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day, in simple means is not something to scoff at, but to celebrate. Praise God for the accessibility of His grace in ordinary, reverent, and relevant worship!
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