Some Thoughts on Worship, "Worship Services," and "Assembling to Worship"

Restoration Movement teachers established (from the Scriptures) five elements of worship: preaching, singing, praying, the Lord's Supper, and giving. There is scriptural basis for this teaching, and the specific number of items is simply the result of accurate addition. Unfortunately, efforts are underway by liberals and unbelievers to sway Christians from the Bible teaching about worship. However, I challenge anyone to come up with a scriptural basis for any other item of worship authorized in the New Testament or for discarding any one of the five items. These five activities that Christians commonly engage in when they come together to worship God are being ridiculed as being unscriptural. Yet the argument does not seem to be with the items themselves but with the number - "five items of worship" are words that some seek to eliminate from our speech and writings. It is hard to figure out why putting them into a category and speaking of the sum as being five would be criticized by a Christian.

Some also tirelessly object to the term "worship service." "Where in the Bible do you find the term 'worship service'?" they ask. One fellow whose initials are JC wrote: "Worship service does not exist in the Bible, it's all made up human tradition."

This man and others who criticize our desire to speak only where the Bible speaks are not people who generally contend for a "thus sayeth the Lord" or for authority for all things the church does collectively. JC wrote: "We don't need specific authorization, we live under grace, not law." Yes, we live under grace, but grace doesn't give license to do as we please. Paul told the Corinthians "The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (1 Cor. 14:37). Factor Hebrews 5:9 ("all them that obey Him") into this equation and you prove that obedience is required to receive the grace that is offered.

Those who make these claims are people who often show that they have no understanding of how authority works and no respect for God's teaching that restricts worshippers. They might ask, "Where do you get authority for a building?" or "Where do you get authority for a 'PA' system?" The implication is that we do not have authority for such entities and therefore we are inconsistent when we demand authority for anything. Generally, these people think there are no restrictions on what churches can do when they come together. But the way authority works is that when a command is given, we have a choice as to how to carry it out, i.e., aids are authorized. Further elaboration on how authority works is beyond the scope of this paper. (See https://www.totalhealth.bz/spiritual-health-bible-authority.htm.) It seems that the use of instrumental music in worship is the issue that these people seek to defend. They even contend that Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are not directed to churches but to individuals and therefore do not authorize singing in the church. These are the same people who cannot see that James 1:27 is directed to individuals, rather than the church, and that it does not authorize the church to send funds to a human organization. (Note the phrases in the immediate context, starting with verse 19, and count the number of phrases that point to individual responsibility. There are about ten of them.)

We will look at the passages authorizing singing later. But I first want to deal with the worship issue, and we will start by looking at some definitions:

Worship - The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed

intransitive verb

: to perform or take part in worship or an act of worship

[There is corporate worship - where all meet together in one place - the church collective. And there is individual worship, where someone or several people might pray or sing, for example, when not in the assembly of the saints.]

Service - The performance of work or duties for a superior or as a servant. An act of helpful activity;

a government system or private organization that is responsible for a particular type of activity, or for providing a particular thing that people need:

'A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another, which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.'

A service is the action of doing something for someone or something. It is largely intangible (i.e., not material). A product is tangible (i.e., material) since you can touch it and own it. A service tends to be an experience that is consumed at the point where it is purchased, and cannot be owned since it quickly perishes.

Now, with the above definitions set forth and in mind let's deal with the question of whether it is prudent, scriptural, and appropriate to use the term "worship service" when referring to church gatherings. Let us start with a question: Are Christians supposed to SERVE God? We'll look at some passages that support this idea:

Eph 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

We do service to God.

Heb 9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.

Heb 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

The Hebrews writer, with the word "also," contrasted the Old Testament with the New Testament regarding divine service (9:1). Then in verse 9, he spoke of acts of service. Can it be denied that these actions were worship? Unless it can, the above text affirms that those under the Law as well as the early Christians engaged in a worship service.

Now that we have established that the word "service" is not foreign to the Scriptures let's elaborate on how it is scriptural and acceptable for Christians to gather to perform the "worship service." First, since some deny there is authority for a group (church) to even assemble, we need to settle this by looking at Hebrews 10:25-26: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together." Now, what do you suppose Christians are to do in this assembly that is so important that a warning of falling away is given if we forsake it? Answer: Because it is an occasion and place where we do service to God as we worship Him.

Col 3:16/Eph 5:19 - These passages (including the context) say about the same thing. But first, one is directed to the church at Colossae and the other is directed to the church at Ephesus. This means that the command to sing, found in each passage, is authorization for singing when the church comes together. The respective churches were composed of individuals, and there is much in the two chapters that is directed to individuals. However, that Paul addressed individuals when addressing the church is no reason to conclude that the singing referred to was done only by individuals when going about their daily lives.

Why do these texts, Col 3:16/Eph 5:19, apply to the church when it comes together (1 Cor. 11:18,20)? The verses show a plurality of singers. This means there is more than one person involved.

Is context ALWAYS important? Are there not occasionally statements that are thrown in that stand on their own? Of course, there are. Here is one example: A preacher I know taught that "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6) is about finances because of the "context." But later he used the same text to teach what most everyone has been teaching all along. I told him that he can't have it both ways.

Conclusion:

Each of us in this free country is free to worship as we choose. But to please God, we must worship Him "In spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24). Man does not determine truth - God does. How and when to worship God was revealed to the early church by the apostles. The instructions were written for all in the future to follow. The reason instruments of music weren't used by early Christians is because the apostles did not give instruction to use them. We are to assemble with the saints (Heb. 10:25). Those who deny authority for brethren to assemble, in order to perform the acts of worship prescribed in the New Testament, must answer this: How do you provoke other Christians to love and good works if you worship by yourself (Heb 10:24)?