Write The Author
By Neal Griffin
If God expects us to corporately perform acts of worship (rituals) then we had better get real busy and find out what they are and how to perform them, but the truth of the matter is that there is nothing in the New Testament by pattern, command, or otherwise that refers to a "corporate worship service". In fact, the two New Testament passages that do relate to worship are directed to individuals. Jesus, while talking to the Samaritan woman, very definitely indicated that worship under the new order would be divorced from specific places. John 4:21-24. God does not dwell in temples built by the hands of men. Acts 17:24. The worship Jesus spoke of would be in spirit and in truth. It would be conducted in temples made by the hands of God - in the hearts of men. The problem with the corporate worship services of today's religious organizations is that they are, in fact, place oriented. Jesus said that true worship would not be place oriented. Whom shall we believe, God or man? The only two references in the New Testament that describe New Covenant worship are Romans 12:1 and James 1:27, and neither of them have anything to do with place oriented corporate worship services but, they have all to do with the individual daily conduct of born-again believers.
A popular publication of one denominated religious organization which claims to have the only true grasp on "God's authorized worship" firmly holds to the creedal position that there are five specific rituals to be performed by true worshipers every Sunday at specific places where its members are assembled for the "corporate worship service". The Scriptures are twisted out of context to validate their positions. These brethren firmly avow, in The Fulton County Gospel News, that worship in spirit and in truth necessarily involves the Sunday performance of: 1. The Lord's Supper; 2. Public prayers; 3. Congregational singing; 4. Giving into the church coffers; and 5. Preaching. When you pin them down on it any deviation from this pattern puts one out of step with the Gospel. For the purposes of this article I would like to focus on the passages which this well known religious organization uses to support its positions. First of all, New Covenant worship does not involve the performance of rituals. Ritualistic observances were nailed to the cross. Jesus performed the only necessary ritual "once and for all" when He was nailed to the cross. The most prominent of the five essential "acts" is the Lord's Supper.
#1. The supper of our Lord, as participated in by the early Christians, was a community feast where real bread and real wine were used to represent the body and blood of Jesus to show forth His death in remembrance of Him. Like the Passover feast it was a celebration meal. It was not the pinching off of a piece of wafer and the solemn taking of a sip of grape juice. It did not have the aura of a funeral wake. It was a feast - a love feast. The first Christians did not observe it as a holy sacrament. In fact, they did not observe it as a ritual of worship and there is not one passage of Scripture to suggest that they did. It was a memorial feast in which the bread and the wine were assigned special meaning. Acts 20:7, 1'st Corinthians 11:23-34, and 16:1-2 are used by these saints to prove that the first Christians met every Sunday and only on Sunday to worship God collectively. Without belaboring the point, it would appear that if God were, in these passages, giving instruction on how He was to be worshiped, then He would have at least once used the word, "worship". Sadly for their argument, the word is not found anywhere in the context of these alleged proof texts.
#2. Acts 2:42, Philippians 4:6-7, and 1'st Thessalonians 5:17-18 are given as Scriptural authority for public prayers as one of the requirements of God's authorized worship. Brethren, I challenge you to find one inkling of evidence in any of these passages that remotely suggests that these prayers were offered up as corporate worship unto God. In fact, from these passages, it cannot be established that Paul, by the Holy Spirit, had any reference at all to a corporate assembly of saints.
#3. Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, and Hebrews 2:12 are held forth to prove that group singing (and this means without instrumental accompaniment) is on God's list of rituals to be performed in the Sunday worship service. Again I am compelled to point out that these passages make no reference to congregational singing and furthermore they make no reference to omitting instruments. What is even more significant is that they make no mention of worship. If these passages are to be used as proof texts we should be entitled to see the word "worship" at least once in the contextual setting. These brethren also claim to respect the silence of the Scriptures. The New Testament is as silent as a tomb about worship services and acts of worship. It is also silent about four-part harmony, song books, song leaders, salaried pulpit ministers, and vaulted cathedrals- all of which are used in their worship services.
#4. Of the five acts put forth as God's authorized worship, giving money to the organization is the most flagrant example of Scriptural distortion. Giving to the church is equated with giving to the Lord and is imposed as an authorized act of worship. It would appear that someone concluded that it would be easier to extract money from the membership if the members thought that giving into the church coffers is an official act of worship. The hard truth of the matter is that no man-made system can survive without money. Jesus proclaimed that the gates of Hell could not prevail against His called out people. Money is not necessary to preserve His church, but millions upon millions are required to keep man-made religious organizations afloat. Without large sums of money being diverted into their treasuries denominated religious organizations cannot survive. The Roman Catholic Church has its games, schemes, and sales promotions to keep it afloat and I wonder if that is any worse than falsely teaching that giving into church coffers is a required act (ritual) of worship. Acts 20:35, 1'st Corinthians 16:1-2, and 2'nd Corinthians 8 and 9 are twisted out of context to support their position, and once again I am compelled to insist that there is not the slightest hint of corporate worship in any of these passages. As a matter of fact, the money referred to in these passages was to be individually set aside so that there would "be no collections" when Paul arrived. This one-time collection was for a one -time purpose and anyone who tries to impose it as a necessary act of worship for all Christians in all ages is guilty of perverting the word of God and is teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. To insist that it is a necessary act of worship is a travesty against God and beneath the dignity of true seekers.
#5. Preaching the word (listening to a pulpit sermon) is the final requirement for God's authorized worship according to them. Acts 2:42, Acts 20:17, Romans 10:17, and 1'st Corinthians 1:18-23 are advanced as proof. Religious organizations do not fare well without an eloquent pulpit minister, so listening to a pulpit sermon is foisted off on unsuspecting pew-warmers as an essential act of worship. In the passage where Paul stated that he "preached" to them from house to house, the word means "discoursed" There was a two way flow going on in their assemblies. Paul acknowledged that he had much to gain from them. It is documented that the first pulpit sermon was not preached until about 300 A.D., and at least one theologian has observed that "the church has been asleep ever since". God is quite capable of explaining how He wants to be worshiped and again we see where the word "worship" is not found in the passages cited by them to prove their point.
This question then would be in order: "Are ‘worship services' forbidden?" If we apply the "silence" injunction of these brethren the answer is definitely "yes". There cannot be found in the New Testament letters a command nor an approved example of their kind of worship services, but true worship from true hearted believers is always appropriate. This is only one example of the inconsistency we see in the rigid application of this "silence" injunction. God accepted the altar built by the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh despite the fact that it was not commanded. See Joshua 22:10f. It is my considered opinion that God accepted Abel's sacrifice and rejected Cain's because Abel was good and Cain was bad. See Hebrews 11:4. Just because it is written that "by faith" Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice does not necessarily mean that he had been commanded to offer a "meat" sacrifice. God accepted Abel's sacrifice because he was a man of faith. Cain was an evil hearted person and regardless of whatever he offered, it would not have been accepted. In 2'nd Chronicles 30:18-20 we see again where God accepted the worship of pure hearts even though it was not according to His directions. The impact of Hebrews 10:24 is that we are to use our minds (in the assembly) to think of ways to build one another up to love and good works. This passage clearly reveals the marvelous liberty that is in Christ Jesus and puts to silence the idea that true "corporate" worship involves the performance of five (and only five) "acts" of worship.
What then is God's authorized worship? The word "worship" or its counterpart "service" can be found in Romans 12:1 and James 1:27. In both of these passages God makes Himself perfectly clear that the worship He expects is the offering of ourselves as living sacrifices in caring for others and in keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. True worship envelopes that royal commandment on which rests the law and the prophets, that new commandment which equates with walking in the light. God wants the adoration of born-again believers on whose hearts are written the law of love. God's authorized worship is not accomplished in the performance of rituals, but rather it is a continual process. It is accomplished by continually walking in the light with Him.
Please consider these thoughts. I believe them to be in keeping with the Word.
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