From The Presbyterian Banner: June, 1996

The following discussion of the nature of worship by the Editor was first published some years ago, and is reprinted here with minor changes.

WORSHIP OCCUPIES an important place in the life of every church; every Christian would agree on this. But what is worship? Is worship what happens when you have praise and prayer and sermon? Does an 'order of service' create worship? Isn't everything a Christian does 'worship'? What's so special about church services? Do we really need them?

The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia takes a strong position on what should take place during a worship service: we believe that God has told us how He wants to be worshipped - yes, even the songs to be sung (the 150 psalms). But is it possible that by focusing on the details of worship services, we may miss seeing the big picture?

CHURCH SERVICES

There are some who say that 'the whole of life is worship so there is no place for worship services now in this New Testament era.' The Lord Jesus Christ answers this very clearly. John ch.4, contains the account of his conversation with a certain Samaritan woman. Recognising that he was a prophet (v.19), she asked him a question. It was an important question for her and her fellow Samaritans (though she may well have asked it because the Lord was worrying her conscience, and she wanted to change the subject! What better than a question about religion!?). She said, 'Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you (Jews) say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.' Is it to be Mt. Gerizim in Samaria, or Mr. Zion in Jerusalem?' Her question obviously concerned what we might call 'liturgical' worship - worship in the sense of a 'church service.' It is important to note not only what Jesus said in reply, but also what he did not say. He did not say, 'An hour is coming and now is when liturgical worship will no longer be relevant.' No, he did not deny the assumption implicit in the woman's question that there was to be a definite something called 'worship.' But he did say that, 'An hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father_ An hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such people the Father is seeking to be his worshippers' (John 4: 21-23).

Jesus told this lady that no longer would the place of worship be significant: the important thing would be to worship 'in spirit and truth.' We will return to this statement shortly, but please note at this point that our Lord did not abolish worship in the special sense which was implied in the woman's question. No, he affirmed its importance, saying even that the Father is 'seeking' such worshippers. How wrong then are some evangelicals who, in reaction to rigid ritual, proclaim that 'all of life is worship,' and reduce church services to 'sharing times' and entertainment sessions!

Let us not forget, firstly, then that our heavenly Father is seeking worshippers. (Nowhere else in Scripture, to my knowledge, is the Father ever said to be seeking something; this again highlights the importance of the church's worship services.)

Much more could be said on this point, but let us now take up the question I raised at the beginning: what is worship? What is the essence of worship?

THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP

I have already mentioned the important place that the Psalms occupy in our worship services. (What a pity they have all but disappeared from use in many churches. Even if 'psalms, hymns and spiritual songs' did not refer only to the 150 Psalms, we might hope that one third of praise in Christian churches should comprise the inspired Psalms. But sadly it is not so...)

As those for whom the Psalms are so important we should readily be able to identify a major theme which runs through the book of psalms: the psalmists' love for God. For examples,

     (Psalms 84, 116, 117.)

Many other passages could be quoted as examples of the controlling and overpowering influence of divine love in the psalmists' hearts. Even the hard expressions of hatred for God's enemies are demonstrations of utter love for God above all else. We should not be surprised at this: after all, is not the first and great commandment that we shall love the Lord our God with all our heart soul, mind and strength? (Matthew 22:37, Deuteronomy 6:5.)

What is worship? Above all else, worship is responding to God in love. Worship is the highest expression of our love for him. In worship we say, 'O Lord our God, how we love you!' Reader, is this how you approach worship? Do you come to join with your brethren in saying to God, with heart and voice, 'O Lord, we love you!'? Or do you come just to hear a sermon, replenish your theological arsenal, meet your friends, be seen to be there?

A LIFE OF WORSHIP

Once we have recognised this cardinal principle, it helps us deal with the question which often comes up; 'What's the difference between worship and the rest of life? Aren't we to glorify God in whatever we do, as 1 Corinthians 10:31 says?'

Do you remember that scene in 'Fiddler on the Roof' where the gentleman asks his wife, 'Do you love me?' and she replies to the effect, 'I wash his clothes, I prepare his meals, I make his bed -- and he wants to know, Do I love him?'

But it wasn't enough for her to do things for him - he needed to hear her say 'Darling, I love you.' Such precious words: there is no substitute for them, is there? (Of course, the words can be uttered meaninglessly, when our behaviour to someone says, 'I don't love you.' They can be used to manipulate people too, when one person wants to take advantage of another for selfish ends. The life must back up the words, and the words must be used to communicate what the life expresses.)

So it is with worship, the expression of our love for God. The Christian tries to serve God in the whole-of-life: he tries, by God's grace, to bring every thought captive to Christ. His goal, whether he eats or drinks, works, sleeps or plays, is to glorify God and to enjoy him! The person who has experienced God's love in Christ wants to say to God by his life, 'O Lord, I love you.' This is worship in that wider sense of the word and it is one which we may not neglect.

But we are also created with the capacity and need to say to God our Father, 'I love you; we love you.' This is worship in the narrower sense. And one aspect of this worship is when the church assembles publicly to do just that: to say with one voice, 'O Lord our God, we love you.'

Could it be that the modern depreciation of worship in this sense is related to the all-too-common depreciation of verbal revelation, in favour of 'experience'? And also related to the growing departure from belief in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God? We affirm that experience is based upon, and controlled by, God's verbal revelation of himself, and so it is very appropriate that our response should be verbal: 'We love you, O Lord our God.'

Worship that is mere ritual, mere form - why, that is like emptily repeating the words, 'I love you,' simply because it is expected of you; or worse, because you want to manipulate someone. It is a hollow deception, a mere going through the motions, the uttering of an empty phrase. God, who looks upon your heart, cannot be deceived or manipulated by external performance!

Jesus reminds us that the Father is seeking worshippers who worship him in spirit and in truth - I believe the reference here is to the human spirit. (Many would hold that Jesus means the Holy Spirit. This is plausible in the light of John 14: 17, 15:26 and 16: 13. However, I think the context requires a reference to the human spirit - the emphasis is upon the internal attitude of the worshipper as being far more important than the place of worship. However, even if we accept 'Spirit' as being correct here, it is clear that the worshipper's heart condition is of crucial importance. For to worship in the Spirit cannot mean any less than to have one's own spirit fully engaged in worship.) The point is that it's no good having the 'truth' (Psalms only, etc.) if you lack the right spirit. If there is one thing the Lord hates, it is a hypocrite - and that is exactly what you are if you presume to draw near with your lips, when your heart is far from him (Mark 7: 6). Saying to another human being, 'I love you' when in fact we do not is bad enough.... how much worse it is to try to lie to God, the one who searches our hearts!

KNOWING GOD'S LOVE

How may we stir up in ourselves and each other this love for God, of which worship is the expression? As with all else in true religion, we must start, not with ourselves, but with God. With God's expressed and communicated love for us.

In his first letter, John says it clearly: .'We love, because he first loved us.' (1 Jn 4:19). And how do we know God's love for us? 'In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.' (1 Jn 4: 10).

Unless you believe in the gospel, and put your trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, you do not know the love of God. Do you know him? Are you following him daily, allowing the gospel to control and direct all your life? Do you love to read and study his Word? Do you delight to draw near to him in prayer? If none of these things is true, if you have lost your first love, or indeed, never found love, then do not wonder that you find worship to be formal and unsatisfying!

I wonder how often our yearning for novelty, gimmicks, and so on is a reflection of our lovelessness. No doubt some so-called services of worship may be a stumbling-block for the believer's devotion - I do not dispute this. But let us be careful not to blame external factors before we examine our own hearts. Are you really in love with God?

Don't think that you can switch on worship on Sunday when for six days your life has said to God, 'I don't care about you.' Don't blame your minister, or the forms of worship if the real problem is within. Rather, cast yourself again on the mercy of God in Christ, and plead that you may be filled with the Spirit of love.

God the Father is seeking people to worship him in spirit and truth. Let us strive to disown and repent of all hypocrisy, so that our churches may be known not for their different form, but for the love and joy which fills the worship of those whom God has set free in Christ.