Sunday, December 31,
2017 am
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH 2017
Worship and the Church (4)
Worshipping God in Truth (2)
We are in the midst of studying about the worship of the church.
We have established what worship is, the spirit of worship and
last week we addressed worshipping God in truth.
We noted that God has always demanded that we respect His pattern
because worship is primarily about Him.
We also discussed what the scriptures teach about prayer and the
Lord’s Supper. Today we
continue by examining the other 3 acts of worship – giving,
preaching/study & singing.
This will be followed up with a lesson about instrumental music.
a.
Another act of
worship is our giving. One
reason we worship is to give back to God a portion of that which He has
entrusted to us. It is
important that we grasp this in our minds.
a.
As with all worship.
Giving is about God and our respect for Him.
Recall Malachi 1:6-8 the LORD asked, “Where is My honor?”
b.
Giving is a
stewardship.
1 Corinthians 4:2.
It is a realization that all we have is a gift from God.
We are entrusted with it, much like the parable of the talents
Matthew 25:14-30
c.
Giving is about
sacrifice
– examples of giving in the NT demonstrate this.
Mark 12:41-44 – the widow with 2 mites (pennies) gave of her livelihood
and God noticed
The sacrifice of early brethren to help each other – Acts 2:44-45,
4:34-37.
d.
As Paul spoke to the
brethren at Corinth about their giving he notes “But as you abound in
everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in
your love for us—see that you
abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment,
but I am testing the sincerity
of your love by the diligence of others.” (2 Corinthians 8:7-8)
Our giving is a reflection of
our love and gratitude toward God.
b.
1 Corinthians 16:2
indicates that they were to “lay by in store” on the first day of the
week (presumably when they assembled).
c.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
describes how our giving is to be done generously and cheerfully from
the heart. 1
Corinthians 16:2 tells us it is to be purposeful (planned) and thus not
leftovers or a last-minute thought.
2 Corinthians 8:5 shows that proper giving comes from a heart that has
FIRST given oneself to the Lord.
d.
As you study the work
of the church in the New Testament there are things that we can do which
requires funding – supporting the preaching of the gospel, worshipping
God, authorized benevolence, etc.
The ONLY authorized means of securing funds is through the giving
of the saints. That is why
in our contribution we are partaking in every work the Lord’s church
engages in (or our lack of giving could hinder that work).
e.
1 Corinthians 16:2
also is authority for a treasury – a storing up for needs to be
financed.
a.
Often when we worship
we are being instructed in God’s word.
b.
In Acts 2:42 we read
the brethren in Jerusalem continued in “the apostle’s doctrine.”
In Acts 20:7 Paul preached to the brethren when they came together “on
the first day of the week.”
In 2 Timothy 4:2-3 we find Paul commissioning Timothy to preach the word
because the time would come when brethren would teach error.
1 Corinthians 14 which deals with spiritual gifts and the assembly,
notes that teaching was taking place.
In fact, it was an integral part of their assemblies according to
this text.
Timothy was told by Paul, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.
Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and
those who hear you.” (1 Timothy 4:16)
In Ephesus as he taught, people heard and learned.
Many of the letters of the NT were sent to churches who read them and
circulated them – and thus teaching and preaching were being done.
c.
1 Timothy 3:15 –
describes the church as “the pillar and ground of truth.”
Continually we find warnings in the NT for churches (and
individuals) to stand with the gospel and find and expose false
teachers.
In John 4:24 we are
told to worship God “in spirit and in truth”.
To do that, we need the TRUTH (John 17:17)
ALL of this shows that when we assemble we ought to give attention to
God’s word. After all, just
as prayer is our way of speaking TO God, His word is his way of speaking
TO us!
d.
In this act of
worship, both the speaker and the hearer have responsibilities.
The preacher/teacher must preach the whole counsel of God – cf. Acts
20:27, 2 Tim. 4:2. 1 Peter
4:11, let him speak, “as the oracles of God”.
In other words, it ought to be based upon what the text actually
teaches.
The hearer must listen attentively and search the scriptures (Acts
17:11) and apply the message as it is true to God’s word.
He needs a good and honest heart (Luke 8:15), meekness (James
1:21), and a desire to hear what God has to say (cf. Acts 10:33).
a.
Singing is a way to
praise God and to teach and admonish one another.
b.
It was a part of
first century worship and is commanded in a number of passages.
1 Corinthians 14:15 finds it in the assembly.
Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16 both challenge us HOW to sing.
Heb. 13:15 tells us to offer to God the fruit of our lips.
That is done in our singing songs.
c.
Singing when we
assemble together is an act of worship that engages the mind and heart,
as well as the lips.
Scriptural singing involves:
i.
Praising God – Heb.
13:15
ii.
Teaching and
admonishing – Eph. 5:19, Colossians 3:16 – this tells us that the songs
we sing must portray a message that is true to God’s word.
iii.
“One another” – Col.
3:16, Eph. 5:19 – we are to ALL be singing.
It is not about a choir.
iv.
Psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs – psalms would be songs of praise to God,
Hymns – a song of praise, thanksgiving and supplication.
Some contrast this with psalms saying these are uninspired songs
(as opposed to the inspired psalms).
Spiritual songs – actually odes and describes songs that edify, admonish
and teach us. They provoke
us toward godliness (spiritual as opposed to carnal).
AGAIN, ALL these types of songs are instructional.
We learn from them.
Many of the popular contemporary songs today are subjective and designed
to provoke the emotions rather than teach us.
THOUGHT: Should we focus exclusively on one type of song?
Here we told (in 2 texts) to vary the types of songs we sing.
v.
In your hearts –
making melody, singing with grace – it must be with conviction and
gratitude for what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
The more we appreciate our salvation, the more we will sing from
the heart.
vi.
To the Lord – again
we are reminded that God is to be glorified in our singing.
Even as we teach and admonish one another it is designed to
glorify God.
vii.
When we sing in
worship, one thought we need to always remember is this – WHAT the song
teaches is more important than how beautiful it sounds.
That does not mean that we should not strive to give our best in
our singing or that melody is not important (it is in uniting us in
song), but if the melody takes away from the message we ought to be
concerned.
d.
The singing of the
first century was without instrumental music.
That is known both by the verses of scripture that call for it
exclusively (without instruments) and historical accounts from the
centuries immediately following the establishment of the church.
In our next lesson we will address why we do not use instrumental
music.
These are the 5 acts of worship we find in scripture that we are to
engage in as we assemble.
In the New Testament you will NOT find any other acts of worship that we
do corporately (together).
As with all of God’s word, let us respect His pattern in this too.
In so doing we can stand on the ONLY standard that will produce
true unity. Next week
we will address singing and why we do not use instrumental music.