The Worship of Faith

By Bob Myhan

In his dialogue with the Samaritan woman Jesus described true worship as worship that is “in spirit and truth.”

“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:22-24)

This is comparable to the statement of Joshua to the Israelites soon after conquer­ing Canaan.

"Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!”  (Josh. 24:14)

Of course, acceptable worship under the Law of Moses differed from acceptable wor­ship during the pre-mosaic period. From the time of Abel to the time of Moses, accept­able worship involved little more than prayer and sacrifice. Under the Law, however, three trips per year to Jerusalem were required of every male member of the nation of Israel.

“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.” (Deut. 16:16)

Under the New Testament, there is not a requirement for the Lord’s people to travel, even once in a lifetime, to Jerusalem.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, wor­ship the Father.” (John 4:21)

While Jesus was yet with the apostles, He told them,

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13)

The apostles, therefore, certainly knew how to instruct the first Christians in proper worship. Therefore, if we want our worship to be ”in spirit and truth,” we need to learn what the Holy Spirit revealed to the apostles on that subject. And the only way to do is to notice what they taught and did in worship.

In Acts chapter 2 we see the beginning of true worship under the New Testament. By beginning here, and examining what they authorized in the area of worship, we can learn how to worship God in spirit and truth.

Further, if we restrict our worship to that which the apostles certified, then our wor­ship is guaranteed to be pleasing to God and we are guaranteed to be in fellowship with Him (assuming our lives are morally upright, as well). However, if we worship in ways not authorized by the apostles, we will not be pleasing to God or in fellowship with Him no matter how morally upright our lives, because our worship will not be “of faith.”

What, then, did the worship of the earliest Christians, under the guidance of the apos­tles, include? After the conditions of salva­tion were publicly stated for the first time (Acts 2:38), Peter told his audience,

“Be saved from this perverse genera­tion.” (Acts 2:40)

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:41-42)

Luke reveals four items of worship: doc­trine (teaching), fellowship (sharing), break­ing of bread (the Lord’s Supper) and prayers. A fifth item (singing) was later added (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). This is the extent of the collective worship of Christians in the first century. Why would Christians of the twenty-first century even want to worship in ways not authorized by the apostles? &

The Church and Numbers

By Mark W. White

Most brethren I know pay attention to the number of people who attend the services. There is nothing wrong with taking a count and keeping up with the statistics, because every number represents a soul. But when it comes to the attendance number on the board, two false extremes often exist within the church.

Some people don't want the church to grow. They may not come right out and say it, but their actions speak louder than words. Some members will be heard to say, "I like this church because it is small." Do they realize what they are saying? What if the congregation should grow? Will they leave because they don't like the growth? Does this attitude affect the evangelistic fer­vor of an individual? Perhaps we are not trying to teach people for fear that they will obey and the church will not be so small anymore! Surely we do not think in this way! None of us would purposely attempt to frus­trate or hinder God's purposes. We cannot stand in God's way by insisting that the church be kept small. After all, increase comes from the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:6).

The New Testament church at Jerusalem grew quickly and largely. At the rate of growth mentioned in Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14 and 6:1 it is probable that this congregation numbered over 10,000 souls by the time Saul launched his vehement persecution against the church (Acts 8:1). The Scrip­tures show that the church first met in the Temple, a building and complex which, ac­cording to some educated estimates, could accommodate some 20,000 people. The Scriptures do not mention even one com­plaint that "the church is getting too big" for the disciples in Jerusalem. Our desire to be like the New Testament church should surely involve having the same joyful spirit for the growth of the church and the salvation of lost souls.

There are those, however, who would force the church to grow even by unauthor­ized means. Some brethren believe that large facilities will produce a large church. They have a "if we build it, they will come" attitude toward church growth. Churches have even been known to hire preachers who are especially adept at entertaining people in an attempt to raise their numbers. A stand-up comic may please the masses, but God will not be pleased when such is passed off as preaching. Some congrega­tions have even been known to survey and poll their communities to see just what it is that the people want from a church. Then, they accordingly provide the community's wants. If it’s food, they build banquet halls. If it’s recreation, they build gymnasiums. If it's babysitting, they build daycare centers. This is fueled by an intense craving for large numbers on the board. And for what? Cer­tainly not for spiritual things.

It could be that the idol many modern churches bow down to is the attendance board! What good is a church building filled with souls who are unconcerned for spiritual things? They may be at the church building, but these souls are still just as lost as they were.

There is considerable difference between numbers added to the roll and believers who have turned to the Lord (Acts 11:21). God wants great numbers of penitent souls who will genuinely serve His cause. We must not stand in God's way of achieving this goal by refusing to be as fervent as we can in preaching the Gospel. At the same time, however, we must not artificially force growth. The Great Commission did not say, "Go ye into every congregation and make it grow!" It did command us to preach the Gospel to the lost and faithfully teach those we convert to the Lord. God will be respon­sible for the growth of the church. We must do our part of planting and watering and let God give the increase to our efforts (1 Co­rinthians 3:6). &

-via College View Columns; Florence, Alabama