When is worship appropriate?

      A lot of Christians seem to only spend their worship time in church once a week. According to the Bible, worship is involved in everything a believer does. The Bible commands the believer to worship in spirit and in truth.  Some may say that this is how a believer worships, not when.  A closer look at this verse will reveal that both concepts are addressed.

Why can God expect a continuous attitude of worship?

     In the book of Deuteronomy 6:5 is the command to love God.  This command seems impossible and no one that has ever lived, lives today, or in the generations to come will be able to properly obey this verse, except Jesus Christ.

           "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

      God made man in His image and this verse speaks clearly to the three main parts that make up man and so man is commanded to love God with every facet of his being.  Another great reminder is found in 1 John 4:19.  Believers love Christ because Christ first loved us.  Therefore our response to His love should be on His terms.

      An expression of our love to God is our worship of and service to God. Worship is defined by Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 4 and the most literal rendering of verse 24 is as follows: "God is a spirit and the ones who are continually worshipping him must (it is necessary) continually worship in spirit and truth."  To worship in spirit and in truth is directed to the how of worship, but this verse is literally telling believers that the continual worshipping God is necessary.  The more that the Holy Spirit convicts a believer of their sin, the more that believer will realize the necessity of true worship.  It seems that worship is inate in man, and for the believer, it is imperative that the true God of the Bible is the object of that worship.  It is is easy to see in the world that unbelievers choose to worship earthly objects, and sometimes their devotion puts a lot of believers to shame.  They seem to understand this verse in John more than the Christ follower.  The life of the believer needs to be characterized by worship and devotion to the One and true God.  True and Biblical worship is commanded, but is not contingent on the believer's thoughts, feelings, or emotions......but so often today the definition of worship is contingent upon the thoughts, feeling, or emotions of sinful, fallen man.  There is another passage in the New Testament that commands continual worship from the believer.  In the book of Romans chapter 12 and in the first verse, Paul beseeches, or summons his readers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.  There are a few key thoughts in this verse. This exhortation is from God.  Paul was only the human instrument used to write this God-inspired exhortation.  2 Timothy 3:16 states that ALL scripture is given by inspiration, of God, or literally translated, God - breathed.  There are at least 40 different human authors used by God and regardless of the human agent, God is the ultimate authority of His word.
        Secondly, our whole life is to be yielded as a worship service to God, but not just any service, holy and acceptable service.  It is very possible for a believer to get caught up in the busy-ness of serving that it becomes a routine and robotic.  All service and each time there is service being done for the Lord, that needs to be brought before the throne of grace.
         Lastly, it is only logical and reasonable for believers to present their lives as a sacrifice to God.  1 John 4:19 states the whole motivation of living for Christ.  The finished work on the cross was the greatest display of Christ's love toward sinners and no believer can reciprocate that act properly, however it is a privilege to have an opportunity to glorify God in our lives!

         In order to really begin to know the love of Christ, all one has to do is believe that Christ died for their sins and they shall be saved.  The same love that Christ displayed on the cross of Calvary for the world is also made available to each one that believes.

 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

Some brief conclusions. ..

Music Verses and applications

Application for understanding Biblical worship.

Ephesians 5:17—Be wise 

Ephesians 5:18-19—A Spirit-filled Believer will be encouraged by Godly music AND 
enjoy being taught.

Ephesians 5:20—A Believer will be thankful  for Godly music

Colossians 3:15—A Believer will only allow things that condone a peaceful connotation into their life.

Colossians 3:16—Godly music is evidence of being Spirit-filled AND a Believer that lets the Word of Christ dwell. 

Music and Singing are to be UNTO God:

Psalm 43:4—With the Harp will I praise thee…

Psalm 66:1—Make a joyful noise…

Psalm 68:4—Sing unto God…

…and many other verses in just Psalms…

Style:

Psalm 69:12—There is a song of the drunkards.

Isaiah 23:15—They sang as an harlot.

Ecclesiastes 7:5—“It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

Exodus 32:15-18—There are such songs that are as a “noise of war” or chaos.

Amos 8:3; 1 Chron. 25:7—There are such songs as “songs of the temple”; “Songs of the Lord


Worship:

Psalm 29:2—Worship in the beauty of Holiness

John 4:24—Worship [must be] in Spirit and in Truth

Hebrews 12:28—“…serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”

Romans 12:2—“…that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Ephesians 5:10—“Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”

Philippians 1:10—“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;”

Distinction to be remembered:

Worship is not always music and music is not always worship.

The warnings of contemporary worship...

This was an article that was brought to my attention.   This brings to the front the underlying, deeper dangers of listening to christian contemporary worship and praise music, and admiring the musicians.  You can read here.

What does the Bible say about WORSHIP?

         First, we will look at the different words that are translated worship in the Bible. (KJV) I will also be using the Strong's concordance for the definitions.  Following this will be some acccounts of worship from the New Testament and Old Testament.  Finally some additional principles will be looked at briefly. 

Old Testament:

H7812 – (used 171 times) shachah—Translated as “bowed [down] himself[themselves][himself][herself][ourself]” “worship[ed]” “bow down”  “made obeisance” “bow down ourselves” “did obeisance” “bow down thyself” “fell flat” “crouch” “did reverence” “humbly beseech” “fall down” “stoop”  BY FAR THE MOST COMMON

H5457 – (used 17 times in Daniel)sgid (segeed) [Aramaic]—From the root word (H5456 (4 times in Isaiah)sâgad{saw-gad'}meaning; to prostrate onself)  Translated as “worshipping” “worship” “worshippeth” “” …etc… Exclusively used in the book of Daniel

H6087 –(used 17 times)– atsab – Translated as “grieved” “displeased” “sorry”…etc


New Testament:

G4352 - proskuneō -(used 60 times) Translated as “worship[ed][ing]” (to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.)

G4576 – sebomai –(used 10 times) Translated as “worship” “religious” “devout [persons]” (presentation; concretely an oblation (bloodless) or sacrifice: - offering (up).) 

G1391 – doxa – (used 168 times) Translated as “glory[ious]” “honour” “praise” “dignities [2 Peter 2:10: Jude 1:8]” (From the base of G1380; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literally or figuratively, objectively or subjectively): - dignity, glory (-ious), honour, praise, worship.)

G3000 - latreuō - (used 21 times)Translated as “serve” “worship[ed][ers]” (From λάτρις latris (a hired menial); to minister (to God), that is, render religious homage: - serve, do the service, worship (-per).)

G2151 - eusebeō - Translated only twice as “worship[Acts 17:23]” “to shew piety [1 Timothy 5:4]” (From G2152; to be pious, that is, (towards God) to worship, or (towards parents) to respect (support): - show piety, worship.)

G1479 - ethelothrēskeia – Translated as “worship” only once in Colossians 2:23 (From G2309 and G2356; voluntary (arbitrary and unwarranted) piety, that is, sanctimony: - will worship.)


          The main thrust of worship as defined in the Bible is the bowing down, either physically or (always) spiritually.    

A few references: H7812

Gen. 22:5; 24:26, 48, 52
Ex. 4:31
2 Chron. 20:18

True worship involves bowing down in complete humility and lifting up the Lord, abasing self and exalting the Lord.  Worship is the proper heart response of the believer to who God is; followed with the outward expression of praise, adoration, and honor to God, the joy in knowing God of our salvation (Habakkuk 3:18), and in awe and fear of God's infinite power.  Yes, worship does involve feelings at times, but not exclusively.  

Examples/Elements of Worship as revealed in the Old Testament

--Complete Obedience (Account of Abraham offering Isaac-Genesis 22) {H7812}

--Fear and reverence (First act of Noah after getting off the Ark-Genesis 8:20) 

--Humility (Account of Job-Job 1:20-21) {H7812}

--A command for Holy worship (1 Chron. 16:29; Psalm 29:2) {H7812}

Let's look at these passages a little closer.  In Genesis chapter 22, God commands Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering unto the Lord.  Every father has a love for their child that is beyond compare and it is unimaginable the feeling of emotional torment when the Lord gave this command to Abraham.  True worship is far from the mere feelings of our flesh, but this is a trend going on in today’s worship scene and right away can be classified as unbiblical. In this passage in Genesis, we can see that true worship is absolutely void of Abraham’s feelings.  Many Christians may associate worship with whether or not they feel like they are worshipping the Lord.  Verse 5 in this chapter tells us that Abraham associated sacrifice with worship.  Abraham was like any other human being and I’m sure that he had all types of things going through his mind on the way to Moriah.  Abraham yielded everything he had, including his feelings, to worship and submitted his only son to his God.  Worship is far from feeling like it is worship.  Complete obedience to the Lord is worship.  

Earlier in the book of Genesis is the account of the great flood that destroyed all the earth and everything in it, except for Noah and his family.  There was nothing left on the face of the earth.  All the friends Noah had, the industries he was involved in and the different cities of the world, were gone.  All Noah had when he finally came out of the ark was his family.  In chapter 8 verse 20, it says “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD;” There was nothing left on this earth and instead of finding shelter or food or ways to restart life on earth, Noah chose to worship God.  Noah saw that God destroyed everything upon the earth and therefore was fearful.  Noah had never ever seen rain before the flood and just by using water, he saw that the almighty and powerful God could destroy everything.  Noah was fearful of God and worshipped God with fear.

There is another account of worship in the Old Testament.  The Lord gives permission to Satan to take away all of Job’s possessions, his sons and daughters, servants and cattle.  Later on, Job’s wife turns against him also and tells him to curse God and die.  Verse 20 is probably one of the greatest attitudes and expressions of reverent humility to the Lord.  All of Job’s belongings and all of his life’s work had been taken away and yet Job “…fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,…”  Job completely submitted himself and his life to the will of the Lord.  Complete submission to the Lord is worship.  


Examples/Elements of Worship as revealed in the New Testament

--Fearful worship (Man with unclean spirit-Mark 5:6) {G4352}

--Sacrificial worship (Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet-Luke 10:39)

--A command to serve/worship (Hebrews 12:28; Acts 7:42) {G3000}

-- Spiritual and Truthful worship (John 4:24) {G4352}

The example of Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet to listen to what he had to say is a powerful example of humility in action.  Also in this account, Mary washed the Lord’s feet with perfume.  This wasn’t just any bottle of perfume, but was very expensive.  John 12:5 tells us 300 pence worth, or a years salary in that time.  This form of worship involved both sacrifice and humility.  Mary not only wanted to sit and listen to Jesus, but also give all she could.  True worship is sacrificial. 

In the gospel of Mark chapter 5 is the account of the man with the unclean spirit.  When Jesus walks off the boat, a man that was living in a cemetery ran up and worshipped, or prostrated himself to the Lord.  The word "worshipped"(G4352) is only used in Mark’s account, but in Luke, the Bible says that he "...fell down before...", using a similar Greek word. (G4363) This man prostrated himself to the Lord in awe and reverence.  

Among the various accounts of how worship was conducted throughout the Bible and the principles that can be gleaned from both the New Testament and Old Testaments, there are some important principles for worship found for today.  In Hebrews 10:19-22, we see that the Lord sets forth prerequisites for heart worship.

BOLDNESS IN APPROACH TO A HOLY GOD:


The first prerequisite: Hebrews 10:19 – Boldness in our approach

Hebrews 10:19 “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,”

Hebrews 10:20 “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;”

          This boldness does not necessarily refer to singing in front of people or public speaking...that takes a certain kind of boldness, but there is a boldness (or confidence) in approaching God, confidence to know that a person is right before God and that all sin is confessed at that time.  God does not regard a believer when there is known sin in their life.  Isaiah 59:2 states clearly that our iniquities have separated the believer from God and that he will not hear.


CONFIDENCE IN WHO GOD IS:

The second prerequisite: Hebrews 10:21 – Confidence in God


Hebrews 10:21 “And having an high priest over the house of God;”

Hebrews 10:22a “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,”

           It is only by God's unending grace that believers have the privilege to approach such a God.  This verse reminds believers that God is our high priest and that God is the One that makes atonement for the believer.  All throughout scripture, it is clear that the flesh is evil and that no good things dwell within. Romans 7:18 is Paul's declaration of this fact and that context is clear about the struggles of the Christian life.  We are not even remotely good enough to approach God.  God is the only way that it is possible for us to approach him.  

A PURE HEART BEFORE GOD:

The final prerequisite: Hebrews 10:22b. – A pure heart

“…having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”  (“evil”=diseased)

          This prerequisite is somewhat close in meaning of the first first. Remembering Jeremiah 17:9, the believer knows that our heart is evil, or diseased.  In fact, the english words "desperately wicked" in this verse can quite literally be translated, incurably sick.  God is the only one that can cleanse the wicked heart of the believer and therefore has made it possible, only by His grace, for the believer to approach Him.  


"Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."  Psalm 29:2

We Sing Junk

Part 9 of RELIGIOUSAFFECTIONS.ORG blog series The Tozer Collection: Worship Music

We Sing Junk

Compare the Christian reading matter and you’ll know that we’re in pretty much the same situation. The Germans, the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh, the English, the Americans and the Canadians all have a common Protestant heritage. And what did they read, these Protestant forebears of yours and mine? Well, they read Doddridge’s The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. They read Taylor’s Holy Living and Dying. They read Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and Holy War. They read Milton’s Paradise Lost. They read the sermons of John Flavel.

And I blush today to think about the religious fodder that is now being handed out to children. There was a day when they sat around as the fire crackled in the hearth and listened to a serious but kindly old grandfather read Pilgrim’s Progress, and the young Canadian and the young American grew up knowing all about Mr. Facing-Both-Ways and all the rest of that gang. And now we read cheap junk that ought to be shoveled out and gotten rid of.

Then I think about the songs that are sung now in so many places. Ah, the roster of the sweet singers! There’s Watts, who wrote “Oh, God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and Zinzendorf, who wrote so many great hymns. And then there was Wesley, who’s written so many. There was Newton and there was Cooper, who wrote “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” and Montgomery and the two Bernards—Bernard of Cluny and Bernard of Clairvaux. There was Paul Gerhardt and Tersteegen, there was Luther and Kelly, Addison and Toplady, Senic and Doddridge, Tate and Brady and the Scottish Psalter. And there was a company of others that weren’t as big as these great stars, but taken together they made a Milky Way that circled the Protestant sky.

I have an old Methodist hymnal that rolled off the press 111 years ago and I found forty-nine hymns on the attributes of God in it. I have heard it said that we shouldn’t sing hymns with so much theology because peoples minds are different now. We think differently now. Did you know that those Methodist hymns were sung mostly by uneducated people? They were farmers and sheep herders and cattle ranchers, coal miners and blacksmiths, carpenters and cotton pickers—plain people all over this continent. They sang those songs. There are over 1,100 hymns in that hymnbook of mine and there isn’t a cheap one in the whole bunch.

And nowadays, I won’t even talk about some of the terrible junk that we sing. They have a little one that is sung to the tune of “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” which goes like this:

One, two, three, the devil’s after me,

Four, five, six, he’s always throwing bricks,

Seven, eight, nine, he misses me every time,

Hallelujah, Amen.

And the dear saints of God sing that now! Our fathers sang “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and we sing junk.

This tragic and frightening decline in the spiritual state of the churches has come about as a result of our forgetting what kind of God God is.

— The Attributes of God

Morality or Neutrality

The Morality or Neutrality of music?

To be honest, I've always felt a little uneasy with the whole premise of that music is moral arguement. I have never been able to put my finger on it, until recently, while listening to messages from Tim Fisher from his "Noise in the Camp" series.  I thought long and hard after listening to him explain it and did some research. After more study and finding that it is consistent with scripture, I am more convinced of the term neutrality of music rather than morality of music. In this post, you will find some Biblical evidence and some helpful analogies.

Morality.

There are plenty of Bible passages that support the fact that morals are associated with music.

Bible references

Isaiah 23:15. Sing as a harlot

Psalm 69:12 Song of the drunkards

Lamentations 3:14 Song of derision

Proverbs 25:20 Songs to a heavy heart

Ecclesiastes 7:5 The song of fools

Even instruments can have good morals associated with them.......Psalm 81:2- the pleasant harp

Clearly these references indicate that there are moral associations tied to certain music, but since we have no idea what this particular music sounded like, one can only speculate what type of music goes with these different styles. It is very likely that most all of the music in existence today, was not in existence when these passages were written. The morality found in these passages is not sourced in the music itself, but also in the people that sang or played these songs. Music is only as moral as the original composer of that song (or genre) and, that morality, in some cases, may only last for a few moments.  The music most often determines moral behavior for those few moments. In other words, the well composed and calm behavior of classical musicians may ony last for those 4 or 5 minutes of the piece and those musicians can certainly be very different under different circumstances. This is easiest seen in some examples. Note the behaviors of the artists in these examples.

Example 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6P3cIJHWjw

Jean Sibelius wrote beautiful music. The genre that he wrote in (I'm not sure who created the genre of classical music) was beautiful and elicited good emotions. This musical genre was written to produce good morals in the behavior of those who play it. Notice the behavior of the orchestra and the restraint displayed. This music also allows the listener to think and wonder about the music and where it will go.

Example 2.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=christian%20metal&sm=

I am not sure who created the genre of rock, but as you can tell, it is not eliciting good emotions, which are being expressed so evidently.  There is no restraint displayed by the ones performing and there is no way the listener has room to think of where the music is going, in fact the listeners are most likely acting in the same, unrestrained way. The music doesn't "take" you anywhere, but sticks with the same rhythms and melodies. I realize that this is an extreme example, but using extreme examples make the points more clear.

The point remains the same, that the music is only as moral as the original composer. The group, COLLAPSE, may be the lyricists of this song, and may have even wrote the music arrangement of that song, but they are not the original creaters of their genre. in fact, any song found within the realm of todays popular christian bands, is not an original genre. Within that piece of music, is found the morality of the original composer/creator.

Neutrality.

Music notes, in and of themselves, are not moral. I can not play a Bb or a G and know if it is good or bad. It is just a note. This is also understood better with the aid of examples. For this example, however, we will not use music, but a somewhat extreme example that undoubtedly makes the point clear. Most stores have a magazine rack. At the counter, unfortunately, one of the magazines is of the pornographic genre, but all that magazine is, is colors of ink on white paper. There is not anything inherently sinful about colors or ink. They are neutral. The morals start to come into perspective when a person, a moral agent, picks up that magazine and looks through it. The nonmoral ink in that magazine now enters into a moral agent, who's thoughts and intents have become evident. Another simple analogy is the alphabet. There is a letter "e". There is nothing inherently sinful or morally good about the letter "e". It is neutral. The morality starts when that letter is put next to other nonmoral letters. Perhaps, some would write the word "love", in which case, there are morally good things that are associated with love. Someone else may write "hate", in which case, there are morally bad things that are associated. In the same way, music notes are not inherently sinful and do not elicite any type of emotion or morality. They are neutral.

However, when played with other notes, the morals of the original creator of the type of music that is produced can be seen in the moral agent(s) it enters. The above examples show the morality of the original creator of that type of music.

In reading the passages of scripture that describe false worship, like the account of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego, we have no way of knowing what type of music the King commanded to be played, we know that it contained various instruments so it was most likely loud, but that is all we can know about this passage, and others. King Nebuchadnezzar's music could have been the classical music of his day. We saw above that the Bible does make a distinction among different styles. (the song of a harlot, Songs of the drunkards, etc) We know from modern day examples what some of those look and sound like, and the song (genre) is only as moral as the original creator and, obviously, by the intent (Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego).

With all the access to information today, anyone can go to any one else's website and find out an abundance of information. Most all christian bands post on their website their mission or vision for their music, but their music is not an original genre.

Hymn books and devotions

Part 8 of RELIGIOUSAFFECTIONS.ORG blog series The Tozer Collection: Worship Music

The Hymnbook and the Devotional Life

In order to express myself more freely on a matter that lies very near to my heart, I shall waive the rather stilted editorial we and speak in the first person.

The matter I have in mind is the place of the hymnbook in the devotional life of the Christian. For purposes of inward devotion, there is only one book to be placed before the hymnal, and that of course is the Bible. I say without qualification, after the Sacred Scriptures, the next best companion for the soul is a good hymnal.

For the child of God, the Bible is the book of all books, to be reverenced, loved, pored over endlessly and feasted upon as living bread and manna for the soul. It is the first-best book, the only indispensable book. To ignore it or neglect it is to doom our minds to error and our hearts to starvation.

After the Bible, the hymnbook is next. And remember, I do not say a songbook or a book of gospel songs, but a real hymnal containing the cream of the great Christian hymns left to us by the ages.

One of the serious weaknesses of present-day evangelicalism is the mechanical quality of its thinking. A utilitarian Christ has taken the place of the radiant Savior of other and happier times. This Christ is able to save, it is true, but He is thought to do so in a practical across-the-counter manner, paying our debt and tearing off the receipt like a court clerk acknowledging a paid-up fine. A bank-teller psychology characterizes much of the religious thinking in our little gospel circle. The tragedy of it is that it is truth without being all the truth.

If modern Christians are to approach the spiritual greatness of Bible saints or know the inward delights of the saints of post-biblical times, they must correct this imperfect view and cultivate the beauties of the Lord our God in sweet, personal experience. In achieving such a happy state, a good hymnbook will help more than any other book in the world except the Bible itself.

A great hymn embodies the purest concentrated thoughts of some lofty saint who may have long ago gone from the earth and left little or nothing behind him except that hymn. To read or sing a true hymn is to join in the act of worship with a great and gifted soul in his moments of intimate devotion. It is to hear a lover of Christ explaining to his Savior why he loves Him; it is to listen in without embarrassment on the softest whisperings of undying love between the bride and the heavenly Bridegroom.

Sometimes our hearts are strangely stubborn and will not soften or grow tender no matter how much praying we do. At such times, it is often found that the reading or singing of a good hymn will melt the ice jam and start the inward affections flowing. That is one of the uses of the hymnbook. Human emotions are curious and difficult to arouse, and there is always a danger that they may be aroused by the wrong means and for the wrong reasons.

The human heart is like an orchestra, and it is important that when the soul starts to sound its melodies, a David or a Bernard or a Watts or a Wesley should be on the podium. Constant devotion to the hymnbook will guarantee this happy event and will, conversely, protect the heart from being led by evil conductors.

Every Christian should have lying beside his Bible a copy of some standard hymnbook. He should read out of one and sing out of the other, and he will be surprised and delighted to discover how much they are alike. Gifted Christian poets have in many of our great hymns set truth to music. Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley (possibly above all others) were able to marry the harp of David to the epistles of Paul and to give us singing doctrine, ecstatic theology that delights while it enlightens.

—We Travel an Appointed Way