334 – Worship in the Church

SEMESTER 3

334 – Worship in the Church

BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CORRESPONDENCE

COURSE: ECCLESIOLOGY III LESSON # 34
WORSHIP IN THE CHURCH

Read Jn. 4:19-24.

INTRODUCTION:

1. The term worship is frequently used, but seldom considered analytically.
2. For this reason many people are religious, and even attend church regularly, who never worship.
3. Not only so, but sometimes thinking they are worshiping the God of heaven, they worship (in the words of Christ – Jn. 4:22) “Ye know not what.”
4. In this lesson we shall try to determine the biblically founded properties of true and proper worship in the church.

I. THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF THE WORD

1. In all, 7 words are translated worship in your New Testament.

i. Four of them appear only once and are translated more fre­quently in other ways: i.e., such as serve, glory, honor, heal, cure, show piety, etc.
ii. The word (latreuo) is rendered worship 3 times, and the word (sebomai) 6, but again more frequently in other ways.
iii. Thus, the words (sebomai) and (proskuneo) carry the great weight of the word worship in the Bible.

2. These two words perfectly agree that the meaning is to adore, or to express adoration.
3. This, of course, drives us to the realization that of equal importance to our expression of adoration is, for what do we express adoration to God?
4. To express adoration to God for acts or attributes contrary to His character, is in reality slander not worship.

II. EXAMPLES OF FALSE WORSHIP

1. In Col. 2:23, the term “will worship” appears. It means volun­tary or unwarrant­ed sanctimony.
2. The basic idea of all false worship is “Praising God” for what men want Him to be, think He is, or think He should be, as opposed to what He reveals Himself to be.
3. Men worship Him in the wrong way, even though they may claim, and even expect that they are worshiping Jehovah.

i. A prayer of thanksgiving for that which God would not give.
ii. Songs with doctrinally unsound lyrics.
iii. Sound lyrics with idolatrous music.
iv. Religious songs with no real message at all.

III. THE PROPERTIES OF TRUE WORSHIP

1. There must be conduct within it, compatible with the holiness of God.
2. It should fundamentally carry a spirit of praise for creation as in Acts 4:23-24.
3. It must recognize within that praise the attributes of God, such as mercy, holiness, love, wrath, omniscience, omnipotence, om­nipresence, etc. (Rom. 28:37)
4. It must recognize the specific actions of God, such as saving, calling, keeping, providing, convicting, chastening, etc.(II Thes. 2:13-14)
5. It must express faith, that is to praise Him for that which He has promised in the future. (I Jn. 3:1-2)
6. It must be, above all, the recognition of His redemptive work in Christ Jesus. (Rev. 5:8-13)
7. It must be properly conveyed and expressed, in order to be worship.

i. This involves sound doctrine
ii. This involves deliberate expression of sound doctrine.
iii. This involves denial of, and rejection of, false doctrine.

III: The mistake of Solomon’s tolerance.

8. It is imperative, if our churches are to experience God’s blessings, that we learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth. (Jn. 4:24)