Covenant Theology

The Doctrine of the Church
Worship
Sermon Number Twenty-six

By Jim Bordwine, Th.D.

Introduction

This series of sermons on Covenant Theology continues with an examination of the worship of the Church. What is the Covenantal or Reformed perspective on the worship of God? What do we believe is taking place when the congregation gathers on Sunday morning?

In a previous sermon, I talked about the mission of the Church and stated that I had in mind the ministry that the Church is carrying on in this world as She relates to fallen man. The worship of the Church, however, is not a matter that concerns fallen man; it is a matter that involves the redeemed of Christ acknowledging God as our God. Therefore, I want to say that my remarks in this sermon are made from the perspective of the Church as She relates to God. And I would add that in this sermon, I will be speaking of formal worship only; that is, my subject is the worship that the organized Church renders at set times and in set places. I am not concerned with private or family worship; what I have to say is to be understood within the context of formal public worship only.

I am going to treat this matter of the worship of the Church under three points. First, I will talk about The Nature of Our Worship. My aim under this first point will be the establishment of a foundation for the consideration of this subject. I will concentrate on defining worship and on applying that definition to the God of the Bible. Second, I will talk about The Regulation of Our Worship. Under this second point, my objective will be to show that the proper worship of God is a matter of revelation. Third, I will examine The Character of Our Worship. Here I plan to mention a few of the important marks of Christian worship, as the Bible describes this duty.

01. The Nature of Our Worship

The very first thing that I must deal with in this sermon is the matter of explaining the nature of worship. This point will be brief and will serve as a foundation of sorts for the following two points. In explaining the nature of worship, I want to remind you that the word "worship" means to ascribe worth to some object. Worship, then, involves the assigning of value, importance and excellence by one party to another party. I will be more specific by giving you several statements concerning worship. To begin with, I would say that in the formal sense of the word, when we worship, regardless of what the object of our worship is, we are assigning ultimate worth to that object; we are saying, in essence, that nothing else that we have encountered is more deserving of our devotion.

Worship is the ascribing of worth to some object. When we worship, we are acknowledging the superiority of that to which we are giving our attention and are, accordingly, debasing ourselves in the presence of that object. When we worship, we are confessing our dependence upon that to which we are giving our attention and are, by inference, admitting that we have certain limitations; worship, therefore, tends to define roles and functions. Worship involves adoring, praising, and giving thanks to that which we have determined is entitled to such a response from us.

You've noticed, of course, that I have deliberately used phrases that are quite general. What I have said thus far is true of all expressions of human worship, whether the object be a deity, a block of stone or an idea. Using the description of worship that I've just offered shows that human beings have, indeed, worshiped, or assigned ultimate worth, to everything from imaginary deities to figures carved from rock to notions like Darwinism and Marxism. My purpose, of course, is not to continue talking about worship in general; my purpose is to talk about the worship of the Triune God as the Church of Jesus Christ.

Keeping in mind what I've just said concerning the nature of worship, therefore, let us hear from the Westminster Confession of Faith:

Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to Him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creature..." (XXI:II)

Do you know why this statement is in our Confession? Why is it said that worship is to be given to God and to Him alone? Why is it said that worship is not to be given to angels, saints or any other creature? The answer is that all the things that I said about worship are legitimately applicable to one and only one "object" and that is the God who has revealed Himself to us in the holy Scriptures. The worship of any other being, figure, or idea is false religion; it is idolatry. The God of the Bible and only the God of the Bible can have ultimate worth assigned to Him; He alone can be acknowledged as infinitely superior and before Him alone are we required to debase ourselves. Only upon this God must we confess our dependence.

Christian worship is reflective of God's character; proper worship, therefore, centers on that which God has made known to us about Himself and His work of redemption. This is where any discussion of the worship of the Church must begin. All worship must have a foundation; all worship must have a presupposition. Christian worship has as its foundation the character and works of a holy God who has revealed Himself in His Word and Christian worship has as its presupposition the belief that what God has revealed to us in His Word is truthful. With this foundation and with this presupposition, we conclude that all the things that I've said about worship are, in the final analysis, applicable only to the God of the Bible and this explains the statement that we just read in our Confession of Faith.

The God who has made Himself known to us in His Word is uniquely due our worship. This is why, of course, we find as first among the Ten Commandments this declaration: "You shall have no other gods before Me." (Ex. 20:3) The implications of this First Commandment are relevant to our current focus. First, God claims exclusive right to our worship. The background given to this and the other Commandments that follow in Ex. 20 is the display of God's might, purposes, and holiness in the deliverance of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt.

God points to what He is and what He has done to establish a claim of exclusive right to the worship of His people. Our worship is concerned with these two matters. We desire to reflect God's character and works in our worship. And second, in claiming exclusive right to our worship, God claims ultimate worth. This Commandment underscores the fact that there is only one God, only one Being with His attributes. The God of the Bible is uniquely glorious in the entire universe and He is infinitely perfect.

A principle is to be observed at this point: If Christian worship is the ascribing or assigning of worth to the God of the Bible, then the manner in which this is done cannot be a matter of personal opinion or arbitrary practice. Christian worship cannot depend upon the whims of the worshiper, but must be grounded in God's revelation. If the God of the Bible demands exclusive worship from us, it is only reasonable to assume that He is particular about how He is worshiped. This leads to my second point.

02. The Regulation of Our Worship

As I've just indicated, this second point follows from the first; the regulation of our worship follows from the nature of our worship. To put it another way, the object of our worship determines how we will worship. If our worship is to be reflective of God's character and works, then we must ask: How do we know what reflects the character and works of God? How do we know what properly represents the truths of our relationship with Him? How do we know what pleases God when it comes to worship? No one, apart from revelation, could say with confidence "I know what reflects the character and works of God... I know what properly represents the truths of our relationship... I know what pleases God when it comes to worship."

A troubling characteristic can be observed in the modern Church. While most believers would say that God demands our exclusive worship, there is a glaring lack of continuity in the fulfillment of this obligation. Even within the same denomination, a believer has no guarantee that all the churches follow a uniform pattern of worship. One church uses drama during its Sunday morning service while another church declares the use of drama unbiblical during the formal worship of God. One church hears a brief encouraging talk from the pastor while another church builds its worship service around the extended preaching of the Word. One church sings upbeat choruses projected upon the wall of the multi-purpose room while another church sings the Psalms only.

One church observes the sacrament of the Lord's Supper three or four times a year while another church observes it weekly. One church strives for innovation and is willing to try just about anything to liven up the service and get the adrenaline flowing while another church believes that an emotional "high" for the worshiper is the last thing to be concerned about. The confusion over the question of what constitutes proper worship is, perhaps, the most serious issue facing the contemporary Church. If we are unable to worship God as He requires, then we must accept the fact that our other activities are going to be less than satisfactory, as well.

I want to point out three facts that should be considered in light of my description of the modern Church. First, all Christians are bound to worship the same God. Second, God does not change. Third, the revelation given to us by God is authoritative in all places and in all times. Do you see what these three simple facts imply for our worship? They necessarily imply that Christian worship should be uniform. Christian worship should be consistent, not in terms of the time of day or the place of worship, but uniform in terms of what is accepted and practiced as Christian worship. I'm speaking primarily of the elements of our liturgy.

In terms of what happens during worship, we should see a common pattern composed of common elements. But, as I've said, this is not the case. This leaves us with two possibilities: Either God has not specified details concerning how He is to be worshiped, leaving His people with much freedom in the matter, or God has been specific about how He is to be worshiped, but Christians no longer recognize this truth. These are the only two options we have to explain the disparity of worship in the modern Church.

Simply put, the Reformed view is that God may be worshiped only as God says He may be worshiped. This is not a difficult concept to grasp; it makes sense. Only the God who has demanded exclusive worship from His people can tell those people just how they are supposed to fulfill what He has required. Behind this idea is the conviction that God is particular about His worship and has not left the question open as if to allow us the freedom to determine how we are going to ascribe worth to Him.

Where does this idea come from? Where in Scripture does God place restrictions upon His worship? We could turn, of course, to the incredibly detailed information given to us in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. To say that God is not particular about the manner in which He is worshiped is a foolish statement in light of the information found in that portion of Scripture. There is another place, however, that gives us the essential principle that we are looking for without the extended application. I have in mind the next of the Ten Commandments. In the First Commandment, God requires our exclusive worship; in the Second Commandment, He says:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Ex. 20:4-6)

It is clear that this Commandment has to do with the regulation of the worship of God. God has demanded exclusive worship in the First Commandment and in the Second Commandment He immediately answers the question: Are we free to fulfill the First Commandment as we please? God requires that we acknowledge Him as the only true God, but He does not leave up to us the business of expressing that acknowledgment. Reflecting the culture in which the Commandments were given, God communicates in a manner that was easily understood by the Israelites. The Israelites were forbidden to worship God according to the practices of all the pagans around them. It didn't matter if all the other nations were worshiping their deities in a certain manner; it didn't matter if generations of human beings always had taken to themselves the liberty of determining how their gods would be represented before them and how those gods were to be worshiped. In this Commandment, the true God declares that His worship is not a matter of human invention and He is not subject to whatever men in their creaturely wisdom might wish to espouse. This Second Commandment, therefore, establishes the all-important principle that only God can tell us how He is rightly worshiped.

Historically, interpreters have stated that when a commandment forbids something, it also condones the opposite by way of implication. For example, when God commands "Thou shalt not kill," He is, at the same time, commanding us to preserve and enhance life as much as we are able within Biblical boundaries. If we apply this long-accepted principle of interpretation to the Second Commandment, what do we find? If God forbids us to use our imaginations and creaturely skills to devise His worship, then He must be, by way of implication, also commanding us to rely on some other source; and that source can only be Him since there are only two parties in view here, the worshiper and the object of worship.

There is something equally plain in the Second Commandment. Notice how God draws a direct association between the keeping of this Commandment and His response to His people. On the one hand, the Lord says that the violation of this law will result in the visitation of his wrath upon the guilty and their descendants; on the other hand, the keeping of this law will result in an abundant outpouring of His favor upon those who obey and their descendants. The worship of God has immediate and generational implications. Understand, therefore, that nowhere is the question of rightly relating to God more significant than in our public worship.

The worship of God is inseparable from the covenant experience; that's why it has generational implications. The whole point of Christ's atonement was to return man to a correct relationship with his Creator and redeemed man is supposed to give expression to that newly re-established relationship in the way he worships. The worship of God is our most fundamental duty as His redeemed people and our execution of this duty goes to the heart of our experience in the covenant of grace. The way in which people worship reveals their view of God. Our worship reveals what we believe about God and what we believe about ourselves in relation to God. Worship that is designed to please man indicates that man is being viewed as the dominant figure; worship that is designed to please God indicates that God is being viewed as the dominant figure.

Worship that is responsive to the "wants" of the congregation?they want shorter, more interesting sermons, they want "livelier" music, they want a more relaxed atmosphere—is misguided. This is not to say, of course, that Biblical worship requires long, uninteresting sermons or funeral dirges in the place of hymns; but it is to say that our worship is not for our sakes, it is for God's sake, so to speak. Our worship is directed toward Him and must meet His standard. Our manner of worship, the level of our concern for pure worship, and the place that worship occupies in our congregational life as compared to other issues tell something about us. We have to be mindful of what that message is; we have to be interested in what legacy we are establishing as a church because those who come after us are going to inherit the consequences.

Let me conclude this portion of the sermon with one final thought. As those who have been redeemed by God and as those who, consequently, are called to ascribe worth to Him, to reflect His character and His works in our worship, let us understand that our task is not to determine whether God is particular about the manner in which He is worshiped; He already has answered that question. Our task is to study the Scriptures to see what God has revealed to us and then incorporate that truth into our worship. We will continue with this thought, Lord willing, in the next sermon.

Application

In the application, I want to follow-up on several matters mentioned in this sermon. For example, I said that worship has a tendency to define roles and functions. I mean that our worship of God, when it is done correctly, reinforces our relationship with God as it is defined in the Bible. Biblical worship has all glory and all interest directed to God because He is God and because He is our Creator. When all the elements of our worship, from the Call to Worship to the Benediction, keep our eyes turned toward God, then we are going to be reminded throughout our service that we are the "lesser" in the relationship between God and His people; that is, we are the ones who are bound to give worship and God is the One who is entitled to receive it.

In this way, we have our roles and functions in life reinforced each week and this, in turn, bears fruit throughout the week. From this perspective, our worship is a picture of our whole lives?we are creatures who have been redeemed by God and we live to serve Him and to love Him. During our worship service, then, we have a concentrated and holy portrayal of life itself. You can see, I trust, that this makes the choice of what we will include in our worship a weighty matter. Whatever we include during our service must maintain the creature to Creator relationship.

Worship that is primarily man-directed will reinforce the wrong concept of our relationship with God; it will reinforce our "natural" tendency toward independence and rebellion. If a Christian doesn't submit himself to God during worship by putting aside his wants for the sake of paying proper honor to God, then we need not expect that he will set aside his wants at any other time during the week.

Another matter that I want to mention is the fact that there is an amazing lack of concern for purity in the worship of God among Christians today. Little by little, we have accepted this idea that as long as God doesn't directly forbid something, we can include it in our worship services. This philosophy has a tendency, over time, to lower the standard for worship progressively so that what was condemned by our fathers is acceptable to us and what is condemned by us will be acceptable to our children. In general, we are far off the mark in our beliefs about worship and the consequences of this error are all around us, but they are mistaken for enlightenment because they are so subtle.

I mean that as modern believers have paid less attention to the Reformed principle of worship, certain consequences have arisen and those consequences have arisen ever so slowly because the principle in question hasn't been abandoned over night. As the consequences of drifting from a Biblical perspective on worship have arisen in the Church, they have been interpreted as a better doctrine than what was held by previous generations. This is how and why doctrinal error does so much damage in the Church. It doesn't immediately appear as error; it appears as a "freedom" once we begin to remove the theological shackles of prior generations. We end up thinking that we have discovered a more spiritual approach to God; we end up believing that our looseness is really more Biblical; we end up condemning those who worshiped God before us as too stern, lacking in joy, and so forth.

What really has happens, however, is that we slowly adopt a new standard for worship and when this new standard, which is grounded in man's likes and dislikes, is applied to past generations, we conclude that they missed the point. The truth is that we are missing the point because we are falling for the oldest trick in Satan's book: "You surely shall not die!" (Gen. 3:4) The contemporary Church is characterized by worship that is grounded in what will please and what will attract. This was the undoing of Eve and Adam and the whole human race and it is the present curse upon the Church.

As I noted previously, worship reveals our concept of God and our concept of ourselves. What do we see if we take what some in the Church are calling worship and seek to discern the implied view of God and the view of man? When a service of worship is designed for the comfort, physically and emotionally speaking, of the worshiper, then it is not wrong to conclude that the worshiper is "driving" the service. At the same time, when a service of worship is designed to point all minds toward God, to have nothing that does not result in glorifying Him and to hide the individual in the unity of the congregation as She relates to God, then you can conclude that God's character and God's honor are "driving" the service. There is no way to escape these implications of our worship.

I don't want to be misunderstood here. I'm not saying that worship has to be perfect before God will accept it. I'm not saying that we here in this church or we in the Reformed Church have everything figured out. My purpose is not to put down all other congregations and elevate ours. My purpose is to make clear what should be our view of worship regardless of where we are now and in spite of the faults that could be distributed among all churches.

The last application that I would like to make has to do with what the Second Commandment teaches us about the connection between the worship of God and the continuation of His covenant favor upon our children. In that Commandment, God promises to bless multiple generations following those who, as I understand it, take seriously His requirement of exclusive worship and His restriction upon how He may be worshiped. Given what we've learned about the importance of rightly worshiping God, given the generational implications of acceptable versus unacceptable worship, let me ask you: What should be the chief concern of a local congregation? What issue should be on the minds of those who comprise a church?

Of all the things that we can do as Christians and as a Christian church, our worship of God has the greatest potential for affecting our children and their children. Do you realize that the Second Commandment, the one dealing with how God is to be worshiped, is the only one that specifically includes a generational application? This is the only Commandment in which God specifically speaks of the blessings or curses that will come to future generations based upon how the present generation responds.

This is something to pause and consider because it has implications for everything that we do and everything that we plan as a church. The spiritual well-being of future generations rests in our hands. If we will keep this in mind, maybe we will be eager to give a bit more attention to our worship and maybe we will be anxious to learn more and better prepare ourselves for worship as we meet together each Lord's Day.

Prayer

Baptism

Hymn

Conclusion

As we come to the Lord's Table, let us recognize that the observance of this sacrament is an element of worship. This sacrament portrays our experience of redemption as it reminds us of how God sent His Son to live, die and live again for us so that we might have our fellowship restored. It is so appropriate to conclude our worship with the sacrament. We are here today because God has brought us back to Himself through Jesus Christ. All that we have done and heard this morning is indicative of our favorable relationship with God and that relationship stems from the atoning work of the Savior.

Give thanks for the restoration of your soul as you receive these elements. Give thanks for the fact that we who were lost are now able to worship God.

Our authority and responsibility to observe the Lord's Supper come from the Savior. In Matthew's account of the Last Supper, we read:

And while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."