Truth Magazine

By Tom M. Roberts

Man is a worshiping creature. The annals of history attest to this wherever written or archaeological records have been found. Literally every nation on earth, whether they worship Jehovah of the Bible or not, have been found to be a worshiping people. It is a matter of fact that philosophies of thought which reject God as the Supreme Being of the universe still recognize that man, generally, looks outside himself to something greater and directs reverence to it. Some philosophers debate whether this tendency to worship is explained by an evolved awareness or historical traditions or by something yet unproven. Bible believers accept that man has an innate need to worship which was placed within him at the creation. As a free will being, man may choose either to worship his Creator or something else, but he must worship.

It is outside the scope of this material to argue that Jehovah of the Scriptures is worthy of our worship. Such belief can be and has been defended in numerous places. Your acceptance of Jehovah must be assumed in this study as we direct our attention to matters based upon the premise that man is a worshiping creature. To deny this is to deny not only the Scriptures which explain this phenomenon, but secular history as well. With this understood, we next need to determine how man may direct this worship to God in an acceptable fashion. Mankind worships, but often this worship is vain. Jesus said, “In vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men” (Matt. 15:9). We must learn how to worship God in a manner pleasing to Him.

What Makes Any Worship Valid?

An act of worship within itself does not make it right before God. It is not the action (fervency, frequency or sincerity) of worship which lends it validity or value, but the object of that worship. To illustrate, let us contrast the worship of an idol with that of Christ. Surely we must admit that among those who are idolaters are found those who by fervency, frequency and sincerity declare their faith in the idol to be as qualitative as those who believe in God. One would be hard pressed to prove that an idolater who sacrificed a first-born child to his god loved that god less than we love Christ when we have not made such a sacrifice. But if worship that is so sacrificial is vain, why is that so? Friend, it is because true worship takes its power, its value, its validity from the object that is worshiped. An idol is nothing but the product of one’s imagination; Jesus Christ is God, the “living One.” An idol is a representation of a created thing; Jesus is the Creator (John l:lff). For worship to be of any value, it must have God as its object and do His will.

How Does One Determine True Worship?

But even among those who worship Jehovah, there are those whom Jehovah will not accept as true worshipers. The Old Testament is replete with examples of worshipers whom God rejected (Nadab and Abihu, Nu. 26:61; Israel, Amos 5:21; etc.). How can we know the difference between the true and the false, between the accepted and the rejected? I suggest that we can be sure of worship that God accepts only as God expresses Himself about what He wills and wants. Jesus asserted of Him, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshipers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23, 24). In this passage, we see a number of things. First of all, God seeks us to worship Him. Secondly, there are true worshipers and false worshipers (note the context). Thirdly, true worship must consist of worship that is of the spirit and according to truth. God does not seek ritual worship or unauthorized worship.

Men have long been asking, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Some continue to ask as though there has been no answer. Jesus has stated, “Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Acceptable worship is worship that is according to truth and the truth is defined by what the Scriptures teach. Hence we are seeking to find what is “scriptural worship.” Nothing else is worthy of our consideration. Feelings, traditions, popularity, etc. are not bases on which we determine true religion. It must be based on a “thus with the Lord.”

New Testament Worship Is Scriptural Worship

No better example of scriptural worship can be given than that of the Scriptures themselves. The New Testament church was led by the apostles under the headship of Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18) as the Scriptures were being written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We can be assured that we are on safe ground when we imitate approved apostolic examples (Phil. 4:9). The true and faithful disciple of Christ will attempt to follow these scriptural patterns and not invent unscriptural ideas or follow traditional practices which are not rooted in God’s word.

So far as the various words for “worship” are concerned, the New Testament indicates that worship is an act of devotion or praise (either public or private) or an act of service directed toward God. Various words used in the text describe the action of worship as “to make obeisance, do reverence,” “to revere, stressing the feeling of awe or devotion,” or “to serve, to render religious service or homage” (cf.: Thayer, Vine, etc.). The church of Jesus Christ in the first century, from its beginning in Acts 2, worshiped God. The definitions used above described their worship. Can we find a better example to follow in our worship today than this New Testament church? Would any deny that what they did under the direction and approval of the Holy Spirit and the apostles was pleasing to God? Let us examine the Scriptures to learn what these early Christians did in worship to God. The New Testament reveals that the first century church offered these acts of worship and service to God:

Items of Scriptural Worship

Prayer: Worshiping people are praying people, as were the early disciples. “. . . prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God. . .” (Acts 12:5). “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Please read also: Romans 15:30; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17.

Singing: Worshiping people are people who sing. The New Testament church did not use choirs, quartets or special singing groups in their worship. They practiced congregational singing. It should be noted that music is mentioned nine times in the New Testament and, without exception, singing is specified. New Testament Christians sang as they worshiped. No instruments of music were used until centuries later as unauthorized practices began to multiply. If the apostles and early Christians were guided by the Holy Spirit in their worship, it should strike us as significant that the Holy Spirit did not authorize anything but vocal music. Note carefully these passages: Matt. 26:30 (Mk. 14:26); Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12 and As. 5:13). We can know that our worship is scriptural when we sing praises to God.

Lord’s Supper: Before ascending back to heaven, Jesus gave the apostles instruction about a memorial feast to be observed “in the kingdom” (Matt. 26:29). He shared this first supper with them and, through the apostles, set it in the church for regular observance (Acts 2:42). The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul (who was not present at the first supper) how it was to be observed. The church at Corinth was observing the supper but not in accordance with truth and Paul wrote to correct it (1 Cor. 11:17-34). Likewise, he was present at Treas. when the church there met to remember the Lord’s death by eating the feast (Acts 20:7). By reading these Scriptures we learn that the early disciples, with apostles present, ate the supper regularly on the first day of the week. No other day is authorized. Every week has a “first day.” Scriptural worship includes eating the Lord’s supper upon the first day of the week, every week.

Giving: Worshiping people are people who give to the Lord. New Testament Christians were liberal in their giving. Whereas the Old Testament specified that an Israelite was to give a tenth of all (tithe), the New Testament does not state any given amount. Rather, the principle is given that we are under a better covenant with better promises (Heb. 8:6), having a better sacrifice (Heb. 9:23). We are to give accordingly, with abounding liberality (2 Cor. 8:2), with a ready mind (8:12), not sparingly (9:6) but cheerfully (9:7). Such giving is to take place on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1, 2), as is the Lord’s supper. No Scripture supports the church being engaged in business to raise funds, begging from the world at large or selling literature or anything similar to raise funds. When Scriptural giving is faithfully observed, the Lord’s church will have the funds necessary to fulfill its vital work. Giving can be considered an act of worship since funds are contributed to God to support God’s work. Failure to give is failure to worship in this matter.

Teaching or Preaching: Worshiping people are evangelistic. Some have wondered whether or not teaching or preaching should strictly be considered as an act of worship. As we have seen with the definition of words used in the New Testament for worship, it is not only “to make obeisance, do reverence,” but also “to serve, to render religious service or homage.” Preaching God’s word can be correctly understood as an act of worship in the light of this definition. While teaching and preaching are directed toward men, it is an act of service to God. Paul felt an obligation toward God to preach to lost men and said, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16). He considered preaching the gospel to be a stewardship entrusted to him from God (v. 17), indicating that preaching was a service to God concerning something that belonged to God and not to God and not Paul. Other passages that stress the importance of this act are: Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 5:42; 8:4; Acts 15:35; 1 Cor. 15:1ff; Gal. 1:6-9; Eph. 2:17; 3:8; Col. 1:23; 2 Tim. 2:2.

Be Content With Scriptural Worship

As we have seen, man is a worshiping creature, but he often is not careful to worship scripturally. If we are claiming to be Christians, we should learn to be content with scriptural worship. We have learned that scriptural w6rship is worship that God has ordered, worship that pleases God. If it pleases God and fails to please us, there is something wrong with us. There are those who complain that they cannot “feel right” unless they worship in some way other than, different from and in addition to scriptural worship. Such has it always been with people whose main concern is “will worship” (Col. 2:23) instead of “true worship” (Jn. 4:23, 24). Which is it with you? Are you among those whom God seeks to be His worshipers because they seek to worship God in spirit and in truth? Remember, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12). It is our prayer that you will seek the worship which pleases God and through it, direct the reverence and devotion of your heart to the throne of Him Who is worthy of all our soul’s adoration.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 12, pp. 353, 374-375
June 16, 1983

By Dudley Ross Spears

Wild guesses have been made as to the significance and meaning of the “mark of the beast.” Not the least of the wild guesses is one offered by the famous millennialist, Hal Lindsey. He suggests that the number 666, the number of the name of the beast (Rev. 13:17) is understood by making it a triad number. By this he means that there are three sixes in the number six-hundred-sixty-six. He thinks “six is the number of man in Scripture and a triad or three is the number for God. Consequently, when you triple `six’ it is the symbol of man making himself God” (Late Great Planet Earth, p. 101).

Aside from the obvious fact that Lindsey admits the symbolism, he is wrong in reference to this number. It is not a triad of sixes. It is a whole number of six-hundred sixty-six. The Greek original bears this out. The Greek text has it, hexakosioi (six-hundred), hexakonta (sixty) and hex (six). The whole number is not made up of three sixes, but rather of six hundred (one number) plus sixty (another number) and six (the third number). No matter what the number symbolizes, Lindsey is wrong in saying that it is a triad of sixes. Since he is wrong on that, it is obvious how much in error he is on his other miscalculations, it is not?

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 11, p. 347
June 2, 1983

By Ron Halbook

The following quotation appears in the well known Adam Clarke’s Commentary (Vol. VI, p. 895) at the conclusion of his discussion of 2 Peter.

We have now passed over all the canonical writings of Peter that are extant; and it is worthy of remark that in no place of the two epistles already examined, nor in any of this apostle’s sayings in any other parts of the sacred writings, do we find any of the peculiar tenets of the Romish Church: not one word of his or the pope’s supremacy; not one word of those who affect to be his successors; nothing of the infallibility claimed by those pretended successors; nothing of purgatory, penances, pilgrimages, auricular confession, power of the keys, indulgences, extreme unction, masses, and prayers for the dead; and not one word on the most essential doctrine of the Romish Church, transubstantiation. Now, as all these things have been considered by themselves most essential to the being of that Church; is it not strange that he, from whom they profess to derive all their power, authority, and influence, in spiritual and secular matters, should have said nothing of these most necessary things? Is it not a proof that they are all false and forged; that the holy apostle knew nothing of them; that they are no part of the doctrine of God; and, although they distinguish the Church of Rome, do not belong to the Church of Christ? It is no wonder that the rules of this Church endeavor to keep the Scriptures from the common people; for, were they permitted to consult these, the imposture would be detected, and the solemn, destructive cheat at one exposed.

Mr. Clarke is certainly correct when he shows that the distinguishing marks of the church which Jesus built – the church of Christ about which we read in the New Testament – are not “the peculiar tenets of the Romish Church.” It is abundantly clear that the Roman Catholic Church is not the body which Jesus promised to build and for which He died (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28). There is an urgent need for us to ring out the clarion call for a restoration of New Testament Christianity. We must guard constantly against every possible departure from the inspired standard and examine ourselves in the light of God’s perfect truth.

Any religion – under whatever name – which is distinguished by practices about which the Bible says nothing is idolatry. No more than Jesus Himself could be a priest under Moses’ Law coming out of the tribe of Judah, “of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood,” can we preach and practice things about which the New Testament is silent (Heb. 7:14; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Let us beware lest we become indifferent to the call to produce Bible authority for all that we do in service to God. Let us be sure that we have biblical authority in the form of direct statement, apostolic precedent, or necessary implication. Whether the authority be generic or specific, let us produce book, chapter, and verse for every item of faith and practice.

Either God has given in His Word “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” or He has not! If He has not, let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. If God has not revealed Himself and His will in fulness, it is certain that the puny efforts of man to pierce through the heavens and to bring Him down must miserably fail. If He has revealed Himself, the whole meaning of man’s existence is comprehended in a faith which works by love by the closest adherence to that revelation. The Bible abundantly affirms that God has revealed Himself and repeatedly urges our closest adherence to that revelation in passages such as John 1:1-18; 6:63-69; 12:48; 14:1-6; 16:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:24-25; 2 Peter 1:3; Jude 3; and 2 John 9-11. Let us praise God in the highest for the great gift of redemption in His Son – a redemption conceived, enacted, and revealed by God’s own unmerited favor toward wayward man (Eph. 2:1-9). Let us remember that it was the precious Son of His grace who said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments …. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (Jn. 14:15; 15:14).

The church that Jesus built does not run rampant over the boundary line of revealed truth into the dark and uncharted wilderness of the silence of Scripture. The true body or church of Christ is made up of people who find meaning, spirituality, and maturity not in human experimentation and excitement of the flesh but rather in humble obedience to God’s revealed Word. Let us determine with all the heart, all the mind, and all the soul that we shall indeed speak as the Bible speaks and be silent as the Bible is silent. Let us turn away from every religious idol “as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 4:10-11).

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 11, p. 346
June 2, 1983

By Hoyt Houchen

Question: We are to pray for wisdom (Jas. 1:5). What is wisdom and how do we acquire wisdom? The Scriptures thoroughly furnish us unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). This being true, why must we pray for wisdom?

Reply: (1) “Wisdom” is translated from the Greek word sephia, and while it is an attribute of God (Lk. 11:49), it is also an understanding of the will of God on man’s part (Matt. 13:54) and the proper application of His teaching. Webster gives this definition of the word: “ability to discern inner qualities and relationships: insight; good sense: judgment” (Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, p. 1025). Wisdom is thus distinguished from knowledge. Knowledge is the possession of information, whereas wisdom is the proper application of that information. Spiritual knowledge is to be obtained from the study of God’s word. Wisdom, on the other hand, is a gift of God; and we pray for it just as we pray for other blessings to be bestowed upon us from God’s bountiful hand.

The context of James 1:5 clearly shows that “wisdom” is spoken of in connection with the manifold trials that would befall Christians. As a sample of wisdom, in the midst of these adversities (such as persecution), wisdom would enable these brethren to realize good as a result of these trials. Instead of becoming discouraged, wisdom would enable them to rejoice in such tribulations. This is the reason in this case that they are told to pray for wisdom.

(2) The Scriptures thoroughly (completely, ASV) furnish us unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). There is a difference between a gift (the bestowal of a blessing) and works which we are taught and motivated by the Scriptures to perform. These are specific deeds: teaching, visiting the sick, encouraging the weak, giving our money, time and ability, studying and living godly, etc. We are to always abound in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). The Scriptures thoroughly provide us with the what and how of these good works but the Scriptures do not supply us with the blessing of wisdom. Every good and perfect gift comes from God (Jas. 1:17), and wisdom is one of those gifts for which we are to pray. Grace (God’s loving and unmerited favor), like wisdom, is one of the gifts for which the Christian is to pray. It should be remembered, that while the Scriptures furnish us completely unto every good work, they also teach us to pray and specifically teach us to pray for wisdom. Wisdom from God will enable us to use good sense and properly discern and apply what we learn from the Scriptures. We should also remember, that the Scriptures which teach us to pray and which teach us for what we should pray, also teach us to pray in faith, nothing doubting (Jas. 1:6).

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 11, p. 345
June 2, 1983