Worship – True and False
How the meaning of words can change. Worship is now something we do. People say ‘He worships his wife’, but this could be anything, his job, his hobby or his dog. Some churches have ‘worship leaders’ who may be the minister taking the service or a capable musician who leads the singing. The singing and praying are now our ‘acts of worship’ – what we do.
In medieval English the word ‘worshipf’ referred to the the ‘dignity, status or reputation of a person. It comes from the Old English ‘weorth’ so ‘weorthscipe’ meant ‘worthness’. This meaning of ‘worship’ as dignity or status can still be seen in the way a king is adreesed as ‘your worship’.
Today this emphasis has been reversed. We say we ‘enjoyed the worship this morning’, but to think in such ways is to put the focus on ourselves and our enjoyment. True worship is an individual’s recognition who God is and this reality will then be demonstrated in how we live our lives. Corporate worship is important but it cannot be manufactured by whisking up people’s emotions, it must be a reflection of the personal worship of those attending. Spurious claims of the miraculous may dupe some but are not to be the way the message about Jesus is advanced. Paul found many aspects of Christian ministry hard but said,
“ . . . we do not lose heart. Rather we have renounced secret and shaeful ways, we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-2
Anthony Collins (1676 - 1729), was a freethinker or deist. One day he met a plain countryman going to church and he asked him where he was going. “To church, sir.” “What to do there?” “To worship God.” “Tell me, is your God a great or a little God?” “He is both, sir.” “How can he be both?” “He is so great, sir, that the heavens cannot contain him; and so little that he can dwell in my heart.” Collins declared, that this simple answer from the countryman had more effect upon his mind than all the volumes which learned doctors had written against him. Such is worship.
Jesus on ‘worship’
Jesus distinguished an inner, God-cntred worship that affects our whole lives with outward shows of praise or reverence. He used words of the Old Testament and applied them to himself:
“These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they worship me in vain; their teaching are but rules taught by men.” Matthew 15:8-9
There are several points of interest here.
1. Jesus is clear that true worship must be addressed to him. This is astounding as every Jew knew that to worship a human was anathema, totally abhorent. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness he reminded Satan and everyone,
“Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Matthew 4:10
Jesus and his apostles recognised that Jesus was the only Son of God and therefore it was right to honour his ‘worthship’.
2. Verbal praise alone is itself not true worship. True worship is a permanent attitude of the heart for God and His Son. This attitude be reflected in our giving honour and praise to God and in a concern to meet up with others who recognise the worth of Jesus and so gain more understanding about what Jesus taught. The Bible is clear that anyone who does not praise God verbally, both within the Christian congregation and in one to one conversations, is failing to worship God.
3. Traditions, the teaching of men, can all too easily become a substitute for true worship. Vanity can be the reason for outward religious activities.
True worship must be everything that reflects the place the Lord has in a persons heart. On another occasion Jesus told a Samaritan woman that worship can either be true or false,
“Yet the time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24
The woman knew that God’s Messiah was the key to worship. She said,
“I know the Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” John 4:25-26
Again Jesus teaches us, as he repeatedly does, that there are true and false worshippers. The key to true worship is the place God’s Son has in our lives. Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
There is no other way God to worship God. The words ‘Spirit’ and ‘truth’ are linked in nine verses in the New Testament, thus:
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13
The ‘truth’ is that Jesus alone is the Son of God who can save us, who, when accepted, gives each of us the Spirit of God. It is he who empowers us to worship God in every aspect of our lives.
In order to worship God a person must first be saved through becoming a follower of Jesus, we are saved by putting our faith in him. One of the most remarkable statements was made by Peter and John when they were arraigned before the Sanhedrin on the charge of talking about Jesus as God’s Messiah, the only Saviour. The same Sanhedrin had organised the execution of Jesus just a few weeks previously. Yet the two disciples said to them,
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Today people tend to think that what seems right to us must be right with God. That is not true. We may ‘feel spiritual’ when our emotions are stirred by a beautiful liturgical service in a cathedral or by an exciting ‘worship time’ in a lively church but such stirring should not be equated with a ‘good time of worship. God wants people whose whole lives are under the authority of God and his Son. God cannot be duped by outward expressions of worship, or even by short-lasting emotions, he looks at the heart. Jesus prayed,
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
It is only by following what God teaches in his word that we can worship as God requires.
The Old Testament on ‘worship’
One of the reasons God ordered the Sabbath day was not just for people to have a day of rest. It was primarily to remember the Lord. It was also a day to learn from him and his Word. His people were reminded that the discipline of remembering the Lord on one day of the week was essential. Its pupose is to help God’s people to be a holy people who live as he wants.
“You must observe my Sabbaths. This (the Sabbath) will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy.” Exodus 31:12
What God has always wanted is a heartfelt love for him that is reflected by the way his people live. The following passage has become the Jewish confession of faith, the Shema, this being Hebrew for ‘hear’.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD your God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give you this day are to be upon your hearts.” Deuteronomy 6:4-6
A heartfelt love and gratefulness to God has always been what God wants to see in his people.
“The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow and him you must revere.” Deuteronomy 13:3-4
It was not the forms of worship that angered God – he had instituted these. His concern was when worship became an outward ritual not linked to a change of life.
Later the Lord told Jeremiah to emphasise to the Israelites what real worship entailed:
“Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Jeremiah 7:2-8
For worship to be meaningful, it must affect all of our lives, othetrwise it is just an empty formality.
The prophet Amos lived during a time of affluence in both Israel and Judah during the 8th century BC. People were still religious and regularly held religious services but their love for the Lord and their willingness to live with his priorities were not that important. God said:
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! “ Amos 5:21-24
Whenever our religion centres on what pleases ourselves, something has gone seriously wrong.
Joy in worship
One of the more depressing experiences I have had is going to churches where the singing of hymns to God seems completely devoid of praise and joy. This can be so different when people’s praise is clearly heartfelt. The Psalms are full of such songs and were clearly written by people who loved the Lord very much indeed. For example:
“Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.” Psalm 111:1
“Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.” Psalm 112:1
God has made us with emotions so it is right and proper that our praise should be emotional. It is this delight in the Lord who has saved us that overflows in praise. Such emotional praise of God is found throughout the Bible, for example.
“The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, As with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’” 2 Chronicles 6:13
It is not the outward form of praise that concerns the Lord, it is when the words are not reflecting sincere hearts.
The apostles on ‘worship’
It is therefore no surprise to see that the disciples talk of worship in the same way as Jesus and God’s prophet’s before him. Worship is essential as Paul reminds us,
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Romans 12:1-2
Here worship is offering ourselves as living sacrifices. The opposite of worship is to live worldly lives like others around us who have little thought about living to please God.
True worship is described in John’s vision of heaven in his book of Revelation. There the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb and sang:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10
This love for the Lord Jesus is then echoed boldly by many angelic beings,
“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:11-12
You can imagine the crescendo, mimiced by the Allelulia chorus in Handels Messiah, as all God’s people join in this praise and wonder of their Saviour:
“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, ‘Amen’, and the elders fell down and worshipped.” Revelation 5:13-14
Here a deep-felt love is being expressed – this is what real worship is, True worship is nothing less than valuing God above everything else seven days a week. As we will see, part of this worship must include the regular meeting together of local Christians where the Lord will be praised and his Word taught.
Worship is sacrificial
Worship affects all we say and all we do. Consequently worship is not easy – it is a sacrifice. There are several types of sacrifice mentioned in the Old Testament. Although Jesus paid the sin and burnt sacrifices for each of his people so we can be forgiven there are still the freewill sacrifices that we have to make. The writer of the book of Hebrews understood this clearly:
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:15-16
Worship involves speaking to Jesus and repeatedly thanking him with genuine joyfor all he has done for us. We also worship him by speaking to others to let them know that we are followers of Jesus and expalin why. Furthermore worship involves being active in our communities as God’s representatives and doing what helps others. Such worship is sacrificial living. In the Old Testament sacrificing a bull, sheep or grain was costly, it is a frequent reminder that we are not God. So today our worship should be costly. Worship that costs little means little.
New Testament words
Today a large majority of people think of worship as what goes on in a church, especially the singing and the prayers. Corporate worship is very important but if done essentially because I enjoy it such so-called worship can be self-worship. ‘Worship leaders’ may take on the role because they enjoy music and like being out in front of people. Similarly we may attend ‘morning worship’ because it is expected of us, because it gives us a good standing in our society and we meet good friends. The Lord knows our motives – he looks at the heart.
There are three main words in Greek that are tranlated into the one English word ‘Worship’ The most common word used in the New Testament is ‘proskuneo’. This literally means ‘to bow down’ and depicts the attitude of a persons heart as they humbly revere their Lord. Jesus used this word when he said to the Samaritan woman:
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24
There is another Greek work commonly translated as worship is ‘latreuo’. Approximately half of the time this is translated as ‘worship’, and the other half as ‘work’ or ‘serve’. It carries the idea of doing something for God — making a sacrifice or carrying out his instructions. The Hebrew equivalent word, abad, also reminds readers that true worship involves service of the Lord. In the New Testament it can also be translated as ‘to minister’.
Another Greek word ‘sebomai’ and other similar words with a ‘seb-’ root mean ‘to be pious’ or ‘to be religious’ but these are not commonly used by the apostles to describe Christian worship. When worship is just an act of going through the motions each week, God is not impressed.
The importance of corporate worship
It is however very important that we do continue to meet togehter. What God wants is for people to be taught the greater meaning of worship and what better time is there to do this than when we meet together. It is right to appreciate beauty and dignity, and there is nothing wrong with the excitement of corporate praise or the joy of meeting friends, these are all God’s gifts, but worship must primarily be to demonstrate that the Lord Jesus is our God who rules over us as well as being a time to help us learn from the Bible how he thinks. There is immense value in corporate meetings. Most people who turn back to God do so after or during atending public times of worship where the Scriptures have been taught. It was afetr Perter’s sermon at Pentecost that 3000 people committed their lives to Christ.
It is clear that we must not consider worship to just be times of corporate singing and prayer, true worship involves much more.
Some think of Sabbaths as being simply a day of rest. That is not true.
“It is a day to the LORD.” Leviticus 23:3
From the earliest times, the sabbaths were days to remember what the Lord had done for his people, to meet together to hear what the Lord had to say:
“ . . . but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly.” Leviticus 23:3
“And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.” Leviticus 23:8
It is interesting that the Sabbath was a whole day set apart for the Lord, not just an hour fitted into a day that otherswise was centred on themselves. However coporate worship is an important part of this day.
When outsiders see Christians genuinely thanking and praising God, for what he has done and is doing for his people, it will affect them. King David recognised this in his day,
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:3
It is therefore important for Christians to make corporate worship a priority. Jesus attended the local synagogue regularly:
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read . . .” Luke 4:16
This custom of meeting together regularly continued as the church grew. At first the new disciples met together every day to be taught what God had to say:
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” Acts 2:46
The apostles continued the Jewish custom of meeting together at least once a week:
“On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river where we expected to find a place of prayer.” Acts 16:13
Thus the Jewish tradition of meeting up at least once a week continued in the church,
“As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures . . .” Acts 17:2
It appears that this tradition of a weekly meeting moved to the first day of the week early on in the history of the church as they remebered the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, the first day of the week. It also helped to distinguish christians from Jews. Paul made a short visit to meet the Christians in Troas where he stayed just seven days. There,
“On the first day of the week, we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people. . . .” Acts 20:7
The ‘breaking of bread’ was a phrase that meant originally meant ‘having a meal together’ but quickly these meals became times when they especially remembered what the Lord Jesus had done for them through the Eucharist. The ‘Lord’s Supper’ is very meaningful. It is a great priviledge to be invited to join him. Some churches seem to have placed attending the Eucharist above the importance of a life of worship, others have demeaned the Eucharist that it is almost a perfunctory activity where little emotion is expressed. Both extremes must be wrong. There is surely great value in a repeated liturgy in the common language so that people come to know by heart what the Scriptures teach us.
There were sadly some Christians who were drifting away from meeting up regularly with other Christians. Such people are warned:
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 9:24-25
We must not think of corporate worship as being just for ourselves or just to express our relationship with God. Christians should make it a priority to attend, whatever the circumstances or weather, to encourage others who may be flagging as well as out of respect to our Lord. This is the attitude of real worship.
The purpose of the corporate time of worship is to focus on the Lord and to see ourselves as he sees us. It has always been a time of togetherness when the body of Christ expresses its love and devotion to their Lord. The prime purpose of a church is to teach people the Word of God and encourage everyone to live in obedience to the will of God.
BVP
