John Piper wrote, “This is the final end of all existence: the worship of God.”[1] In the world today, many individuals think of worship as strictly an activity at a church on Sunday mornings. However, thinking of worship as limited to a particular place is a faulty view of true worship. Worship is not just an orientation, but rather a lifestyle. Mankind exists for the purpose of worshiping God. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, the origin of the word for worship in the Greek language (proskuneō) means “to encounter God and praise Him.” [2] Three main reasons will prove that worship should be a lifestyle. Firstly, the reality of the world is that most people misunderstand worship. Secondly, the revelation of Scripture shows that worship should not be limited to one occasion. Thirdly, the relevance of worship applies to daily life.
Many people misunderstand praise and worship. The misunderstanding of worship begins with the thought that people worship in order to receive more of the presence of the Holy Spirit. However, worship is an outpouring of praise to Christ alone. Praise is not received by the worshiper but is received by the Lord. John MacArthur described the adoration of the Lord in worship when he said, “Worship is all that we are, reacting rightly to all that He is” [3]
Unsurprisingly, church members often complain about the song selection during a Sunday service. The primary misunderstanding is that praising Christ involves one style of singing. Biblically, psalms of praise in Scripture are given no specific style, although the songs must be sung in reverence. Inside the American church, competition rages for the best sounding bands, voices, or lights to attract adolescents. Sensationalism, however, is a faulty idolization of worship. People will worship something or someone, but Scripture warns against praising the created things above the Creator Himself. Paul wrote in Romans 1:24-26, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions.”[4] Mankind has an intrinsic desire to worship something. Billy Graham expressed this clearly, “Mankind has always worshiped things: status, fame, popularity, people, money, and security. Anything that comes between God and man is idolatry. Many believe that pagan worship is a thing of the past, but it is ever present—we have just given it a new name: pop culture!”[5] The question is not “if” we worship; the question is “what” we worship.
Secondly, the revelation of Scripture shows that praise and worship should not be limited to one occasion. Mark Dever wrote, “In Scripture the word worship is used to denote both an overall way of life and a specific activity.”[6] Worship is a continuation of praise. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:22, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” If someone were to ask a person when he or she worshiped, the individual would likely recall the last time they sang in a sanctuary. Billy Graham once said, “Worship isn’t simply an event or a place—it’s an orientation. It’s a way of life. It’s the result of our decision to exalt God above everything else. We realize and acknowledge that God is truly great and worthy of all praise.”[7] Believers gathering together in congregational worship is on decline as well. The New York Post found that after the surge of Covid-19 in 2020, “among Americans who strongly identify with a religion, 45% of those polled said they did not want to see a return to in-person services at churches.”[8] Christians are instructed to be engaged, equipped, encouraged in a local church. Worship is the manifestation of adoration to Christ. A.W. Tozer famously called worship “The missing jewel of the Church”.[9] (51, Worship: The Ultimate Priority) To encounter God in worship is a treasure.
Thirdly, the relevance of worship applies to daily life. Christians must realize the question is not “when” to worship but “how”. Worship is not an occasion. The Apostle Paul recorded in Romans 12:1–2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” How a person lives his or her life implies what is the object of that Christian’s worship. Worship is a lifestyle. For the Body of Christ, biblical worship is a command written in John 4:23–24,“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth”. Franklin M. Sigler wrote in his book Christian Worship, “Worship is the eschatological function of the church.”[10] The Body of Christ must strive to bring glory, honor, and praise in congregational worship. In the book Perspectives on Christian Worship, Mark Denver included the following “Identifications for a Christ-magnifying service:
“For our worship to be biblical in all its aspects means, among other things, that: (1) Its content, parts, and corperatenes are all positively in accord with Scripture. (2) It is simultaneously a communal response of gratitude for grace, an expression of passion for God, the fulfillment of what we were made and redeemed for, and a joyful engagement in a delightful obedience, as Scripture teaches. (3) It is a corporate, Christ-provided, Spirit-enabled encounter with the almighty loving, and righteous Father. Thus, it always has in view the Triune God, again in accord with the Bible's teaching. (4) It aims for and is an expression of God's own glory, contemplating the consummation of the eternal covenant in the church triumphant's everlasting union and communion with God”.[11] Corporate worship is a glimpse of eternity where those in Christ praise His name forevermore.
In a fallen world that desires to direct praise to anything besides Christ alone, Christians must take a stand on what Scripture describes as true worship. Worship is not limited to an activity on Sunday mornings, but rather implies a lifestyle. Definitionally, the Greek language (proskuneō) means “to encounter God and praise Him.”[12] (Vines Expository Dictionary) which is not a limitation to a certain place or time. Firstly, the reality of the world is that most people misunderstand worship. Secondly, the revelation of Scripture shows that worship should not be limited to one occasion. Thirdly, the relevance of the definition applies to daily life. From now until eternity all humankind has a choice to praise idols or to praise the Lord. John describes this act in light of eternity when he wrote in Revelation 22:9, “Of those who keep the words of this book (…) worship God”.
[1] Piper, John. 1997. “Worship God.” Desiring God. November 9, 1997. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/worship-god--2.
[2] Vine, W.E. 2003. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Nashville, Tenn.: T. Nelson Publishers.
[3] Macarthur, John. 2012. Worship: The Ultimate Priority. Chicago, Il: Moody Publishers.
[4] All Scripture is from the ESV Bible unless otherwise noted.
[5] Graham, Billy, Franklin Graham, and Donna Lee Toney. 2011. Billy Graham in Quotes. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson.
[6] Matthew Pinson, Mark Denver, and Michael Lawrance. 2009. Perspectives on Christian Worship. B&H Publishing Group.
[7] Blumhofer, Edith L, and Billy Graham. 2023. Songs I Love to Sing. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
[8] New York Times. 2020. “Americans Want Strict Curbs on In-Person Worship, Poll Finds.” New York Times. May 9, 2020. https://nypost.com/2020/05/09/americans-want-strict-curbs-on-in-person-worship-poll-finds/
[9] Macarthur, John. 2012. Worship: The Ultimate Priority. Chicago, Il: Moody Publishers.
[10] Segler, Franklin M, and C Randall Bradley. 2006. Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Pub. Group.
[11] J. Matthew Pinson, Mark Denver, and Michael Lawrance. 2009. Perspectives on Christian Worship. B&H Publishing Group.
[12] Vine, W.E. 2003. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Nashville, Tenn.: T. Nelson Publishers.
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