Are you a liberal or a conservative?The answer you give depends on the context of
the question.
To be liberal is
to take liberties from constraints, whereas to be conservative is to conserve
or preserve the existing constraints.
These are relative
terms, and their application depends on context.One may be liberal in one context and
conservative in another.
In the context of biblical principles and practices,
Christians are bound to be conservative.
It has never been
man's prerogative to take liberties with the word of God (Deut. 5:32; 12:32;
Josh. 23:6; Matt. 5:19; 1Cor. 14:37-38; Rev. 22:18-19).
Rather than being
liberal, Christians have express directions for conserving the principles of
God's word, such as the instructions given in 2Timothy 1:13-14:
13Retain
the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus.14Guard,
through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted
to you.
As a result, it is our mandate to conserve the
church's collective worship as it has been directed in the New Testament.
Jesus laid down
the Father's requirement for worship in John 4:23-24:
23"But an
hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.24God is spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Presently, let us
consider some principles and examples of Scripture that teach us to conserve
the church's worship of God in spirit and truth.
PRINCIPLES AND EXAMPLES
God has prescribed His will for our collective worship
by His word.
New Testament
commandments and examples of collective worship give this prescription:
Offering of prayer (Acts 2:42; 12:5; 1Cor. 14:14-17; 1Tim.
2:8);
Observing the
Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26-29; Acts 20:7; 1Cor. 11:23-34);
Preaching and teaching the word of God (Acts 2:42;
Acts 20:7; 1Tim. 4:13);
Giving for
specific works of the church (Acts 11:29-30; 1Cor. 9:7-14; 16:1-4).
This prescription
does not include dramatic plays, music concerts, magic shows, comedy acts,
special holiday events, or many other activities that are common in churches
today.
An analogy can be
made between prescriptions for medication written by physicians and God's
prescription for the church's worship in the New Testament.
Pharmacists are
not permitted to take liberties with those prescriptions, but rather they are
to conserve the prescriptions perfectly.
In a similar way,
God has written a prescription for worship, and His worshipers are not
permitted to take liberties.Instead, we
are to conserve God's prescription perfectly.
The story of Nadab
and Abihu demonstrates God's displeasure with those who take liberties with His
prescription for worship.
In Leviticus
10:1-2, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of the high priest Aaron, "offered strange
fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them."In reply, "fire came out from the presence of
the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD."
There has been much debate about the specifics of
their sin, but this much is certain: Nadab and Abihu took liberties with God's
commandments and were severely punished.
By the liberal
standards used for worship by many men today, the service of Nadab and Abihu
would be perfectly acceptable.However,
God was offended by their service, for they treated Him as unholy when they
disregarded His will for worship.
Worship is not designed for the convenience and desires
of men.
This truth has
been demonstrated by examples in the Scriptures.
It was not acceptable for Aaron and Israel to
construct a golden calf to worship when they became impatient with Moses and
God (Ex. 32:1-35).
It was not acceptable for Jeroboam to set up places
for worship in Bethel and Dan when he wanted to prevent his people from going
to Jerusalem (1Ki. 12:25-33; 13:33-34).
It was not
acceptable for the Corinthian church to observe the Lord's Supper as a common
meal when they wanted to satisfy their appetites (1Cor. 11:17-22).
An assembly of
the church may be made more attractive to men by conforming it to their
desires, but it will certainly be made utterly unacceptable to God by doing
so.The question to answer then is this:
Whom shall we seek to please in worship -- God or men?
A worship assembly is not a platform for displaying
the glory of men.
God equips the
church with many talented individuals, but the church's assemblies and worship
services are not to be talent shows or ceremonies to honor the achievements of
men.
Consider two
examples which show that worship is not for the glory of men.
In 2Chronicles 26:16-21, King Uzziah asserted his
pride by assuming the right to burn incense in violation of God's
regulations.When he was opposed by the
priests, he became enraged, but leprosy broke out on his forehead.As a result, he was no longer able to reign
as king, and he died as a leper.
In Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira misrepresented
their offering before the church so that they would appear more generous.For lying to the Holy Spirit, they both fell
dead.
Thus, we should
not design worship for the glory of men.
No man should be elevated because he is wealthy or
influential (Jas. 2:1-9).
No person should be featured as a demonstration of some
outstanding traits.There are no "rock
stars" or celebrities in the Lord's church.
No woman should
preach in the assembly just because she is capable or talented.God has forbidden women from speaking in the
assemblies (1Cor. 14:34-35; 1Tim. 2:11-15).
Even when the form of worship is correct, God will not
accept worship from sinful people.
If we merely
follow the form of God's prescription for worship but live in sin from day to
day, then our worship is vain and even detestable.
Consider a few
words from Scripture that demonstrate this truth:
In Isaiah 1:10-17, many lawful practices of worship in
Judah were rejected by God because the people were corrupt.In fact, God was offended by them.
In Proverbs 15:8 and 28:9, the Scriptures state that
prayers and sacrifices from wicked and rebellious men are abominations to God.
To conserve
"spirit and truth" in our worship, we must offer worship from pure hearts and
lives.
Incorrect worship is not made acceptable by sincerity
or good intentions.
The fact that someone
meant well or thought he was right is not a mitigating factor to excuse errant
worship.God has given instructions, and
He expects to know them and follow them.
Concerning good
intentions, notice the example of Uzza from 1Chronicles 13:9-10.
As the ark was
transported on an ox cart, "Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the
oxen nearly upset it."When he did so,
God struck him down.
Certainly, Uzza
meant well when he steadied the ark with his hand, but he violated the
commandment of God (1Chron. 15:13-15).His good intentions did not excuse him.
Sincerity is
necessary in worship, but sincerity alone does not make error acceptable to
God.We cannot offer just anything we
feel is good and expect God to accept it as worship.
God does not accept worship that is not from true
faith.
Consider the
example of Cain, who made an offering to God but was rejected (Gen. 4:3-5).At the same time, Abel made an offering to
God that was accepted.The difference
between the two was that Abel's faithful sacrifice was better than Cain's
faithless one (Heb. 11:4).
Like Cain, if we
offer faithless worship to God, then we will also be rejected.
Like Abel, we may
worship God in faith by doing so according to the prescription of His
word."So faith comes from hearing, and
hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17).
God does not accept man's rejects, second quality
sacrifices, and leftovers in worship.
God required
Israel's sacrifices to be from the best of their crops and livestock (Ex.
23:19; Lev. 1:3, 10).If Israel offered
less than the best, God consider it to be evil and robbery (Mal. 1:8; 3:8).
In our worship,
if we offer only leftover time, leftover effort, and leftover resources, then
God will reject us.The quality of our
worship reveals our esteem for God, and surely He is worth our best.
CONCLUSION
Whether in worship or any other practice, we must
"learn not to exceed what is written" (1Cor. 4:6).
Therefore, let us conserve our collective worship of
God by abiding in His word.
