worship

CTT | Praise, Worship, and Music

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CTTAs we start to focus more and more on Discernment in Music posts, the need to clearly define some of our terminology becomes clear. There is a tendency in modern evangelicalism of treating Praise and Worship as interchangeable terms. I believe that to be an error in theology. Worse, there is a tendency to treat both Praise and Worship as pertaining only to music and singing. If you asked today’s evangelical youth to define Praise and Worship, you’d probably get a breakdown along the lines of “praise is when you’re rockin’ out for God, and worship is the slower music before the sermon”. Worship and Praise are not the same thing, and neither is defined by music, singing, or dancing.

Worship ≠ Praise ≠ Music

Today’s post will not be an exhaustive treatment of this thesis; rather, it might be considered more of an introduction. It will not be a short post. The visible church has been overwhelmed by this music-centric understanding of Praise and Worship for decades… Hillsong, Vineyard, and Jesus Culture have built empires on this error of theology, and that doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t take my word on this, but take what I’m presenting here to the Word of God to see if it is True.

For the empiricist reader, I fully recognize that you “feel something” whenever you are engaged in “corporate worship” of a certain sound, a certain vibe, and many of you attribute that sensation to the Holy Spirit’s approval of the music, singing, and other inclusions of art in the “worship service”. There is often the argument of, “there is power in praise and worship music”… and to that I will agree. However, let me urge you to suspend that thought for just a second, and consider that while there is clearly emotive power in music, that doesn’t necessarily constitute God’s approval. The thought, “I really enjoyed that” shouldn’t morph into “the Presence of God was there”… but it does in evangelical speak. The world can manipulate the emotions and the senses through the arts better than any of today’s mega-church corporations… and we see this when they constantly copy the world’s techniques. The world has perfected the art of staging a concert down to scientific and engineering detail. Emotional manipulation through the arts is a multi-billion dollar industry (Movies, Music, TV, and Internet).

Music

I’m a big fan of music. I find enjoyment in a wide array of musical styles and genres. I have played in Church worship teams, sung background and the occasional lead, and ran a small mobile DJ business that I handed over to my little brother when I enlisted in the US Army. I love music. Is it possible to incorporate music and the arts into our proper Praise of God? Absolutely.

Psalm 150 (ESV) | Let Everything Praise the Lord
1 Praise the Lord!Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

Throughout Chronicles whenever King David directed the people of Israel to Praise the Lord he assigned musicians and singers to mark the event. He had instruments made and he wrote many songs and hymns. He also had chief musicians who wrote Psalms. You’ll find hundreds of songs and references to songs throughout the Bible… but you won’t find the arrangements. You’ll find the lyrics, but not the melody. Music can add emotion to lyrics, but it cannot sanctify them. When God ensured His Word was recorded and preserved throughout the generations unto this day, He preserved His Word, but not the musical arrangement. Why is that? Because in Christ we have musical freedom, but we dare not neglect or abuse His Word. Praise doesn’t require music. Music is a gift to us from God that can be used to heighten our emotional engagement with the substance of our Praise (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), but music is in no way required for praise. The music doesn’t make the praise, it is the Praise that makes the music pleasing to God. Praise Him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise

What is praise? In a secular sense, praise is the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/praise). The focus of the definition isn’t on the act; rather, on the substance of what is being sung/spoken. There are cases where the praise might purely contextually based, such that an outsider may find the praise ambiguous. For example, if a group of people are gathered in the living room to watch a team sporting event on TV… everyone might cheer a great play without articulating what was assumed to be witnessed by all. Everyone might simply yell, “YEAH!” or “WOOHOO” while throwing their hands up in the air. That is praise. It isn’t very clear praise for someone who didn’t witness the play, or has no knowledge of what is taking place on the television. However, if the outsider were to ask any one of them what they were praising, we’d expect them all to articulate the object of their praise (e.g. the great play). Before we abandon this analogy, please note that as the crowd grows larger, the likelihood of one of the “praisers” not understanding what they were praising or why grows. What becomes of that individual? They are either labeled a “false fan” of the game, or a fan of being a fan, or a praiser of praise irrespective of the object of said praise… they just like seeing folks “happy”. Sadly, many a modern church congregation fits this sports fan analogy better than what is prescribed of a Church in the New Testament.

Turning to the Scriptures, I’m going to stick with a solid English interpretation of the Bible and will not be diving into the Ancient Hebrew or the Koine Greek. For those of you who have faithfully studied the Biblical languages, feel free to search these things out in the original texts. We’ll start by a rough examination of the use of the word “praise” in the ESV, beginning in Genesis.
The first time we see this word is in Genesis 12. God called Abrahm to leave his country and his father’s house and go to the land that He would show Abram. Abram believed the Word of the Lord and obeyed. He took his wife, Sarai, and followed as the Lord led him. Let us pick up in verse 10.

Genesis 12:10-15 (ESV) | Abram and Sarai in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

So, in this historical narrative, we find out that Sarai is indeed beautiful in appearance, so much so that Abram fears for his life and opts to lie about her. The Egyptians praised her to Pharaoh. What does that mean? They communicated to Pharaoh what they saw and knew about Sarai. They had esteemed her greatly and were praising her as one in whom the Pharaoh should take interest. They had been given wrong information regarding her, but their praise of her beauty was not wrong. They were praising what they had witnessed.

Skip ahead to Genesis chapter 29, we find Isaac’s son, Jacob, and his two wives Leah and Rachel. Jacob had entered into an agreement with Laban to marry Rachel, but Laban tricked Jacob into first marrying Leah, Rachel’s olders sister, so Jacob then had to promise to work longer for Laban to finally marry Rachel. Now Jacob has 2 wives but loved Rachel and hated (“loved less” in this sense) Leah. Let’s pick up in verse 31.

Genesis 29:31-35 (ESV) | Jacob’s Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

Our first introduction to the concept of praise reflects an expression of witness of the beauty of Sarai. Here, we see praise as an expression of thanksgiving for what God has done for Leah. It is expressed in his name, Judah. It is fitting, then, that the Promise of the Messiah is given to the tribe of Judah.

Genesis 49:8-12 (ESV) | Jacob Blesses His Sons
8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.

Judah will be praised for what God will do through his generations. In Revelation 5, Jesus Christ is identified as the Lion of Judah.

Revelation 5:1-5 (ESV) | The Scroll and the Lamb
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Praise begins and ends in God the Father and God the Son. We offer praises to God for who He Is and what He has Done. As we close out Genesis and move into Exodus, we find our next occurrence of the word “praise” in the Song of Moses, Exodus 15.

Exodus 15:1-3 (ESV) | The Song of Moses
1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is his name.

God is being praised in this moment (and forevermore) for who He is (our strength, our song, and our salvation) and for what He has done. The remainder of this song is confession of what the Lord has done by His Mighty Hand. Miriam led the singing with tambourines. This song is revisited and expanded in Psalm 106, and was likely accompanied by a greater complement of instruments. Psalm 106 extends this theme of thanksgiving for God’s grace and mercy and mighty works for a sinful and forgetful people, Israel.

I’ve heard it said in multivarious ways by various people that they just couldn’t get into the Praise at a given church due to its music. It is one thing to be distracted by technological problems, painful volume levels, or having music that is very poorly played, but to cite a musical style as inhibitive of Praising God is folly. Sometimes the phrasing comes out, “it doesn’t feel like the Holy Spirit is free to move in their worship service”. I think that the vast majority simply haven’t been taught what Praise really is. If you are finding it hard to Praise God (with or without music), I submit to you that it is due to not having an understanding of who God is, what He has done, who you are, or you have an unhealthy fixation on your own senses.

Worship

Worship isn’t a subset of music. It isn’t the “slow songs”, though it is possible for a slow song to be sung in worship. Praise is a subset of Worship. Music can be used to enhance our worship, so long as it doesn’t become the object of our worship. Let’s start with the basics, but I want to begin with something Jesus told the Samaritan at the well.

John 4:19-26 (ESV)
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

What is the context of the Samaritan’s reference to worship? If you think it’s singing slow songs, you’ve missed the greater meaning of worship. She is contrasting the Samaritan worship up in the mountain, but the Jews declared the only place of worship was in Jerusalem. She is referring to the Temple. Worship, in the Mosaic Covenant, encapsulated all that took place in the Temple of God (first the tabernacle). If we look back through Genesis as we did with Praise, we’ll see that the first forms of worship mentioned are the sacrifices to God.

Genesis 22:1-8 (ESV) | The Sacrifice of Isaac
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

In its purest sense, Worship is the act of serving God. The sacrifices of the Law, the bowing of the head in reverence to God, the prayers, and also the songs of praise are all forms of Worship. The Law articulated what it was for Israel to worship God, and it also set limits as to what forms of worship were strictly forbidden. This is what is being discussed at the well in Samaria. The Samaritans were guilty of mixing Jewish worship with the worship of false gods. They kept the old “high places” built to false gods and incorporated the Asherim and other gods of the Assyrians in their religion. This is why the Jews despised them so, they were not merely a people of mixed bloodlines, but of mixed religion. Jesus’s answer to her isn’t to pick a side between Samaritans and Jews; rather, it is to declare that He had come to reconcile all men unto God through Himself. This Samaritan, was waiting for the Messiah, the Promised One… and He presented Himself to her.

The New Testament clearly demonstrates what it means to be a true worshiper of God, that it is only done by faith, and that faith is the gift of God. In the New Covenant we still have prayer, the Psalms, the public reading of the Word (Law and Gospel), and Christ instituted communion. What do we do about the sacrifices? Our giving is still an act of worship, if our hearts are right (Sermon on the mount). The book of Hebrews does an excellent job of teaching worship in the context of the New Covenant.

Hebrews 12:18-29 (ESV) | A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 13:1-21 (ESV) | Sacrifices Pleasing to God
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Amen. Let us clean up our understanding of Worship that is pleasing to God, and then let us strive to correct the language. Corporate Worship is everything you do as a gathered assembly of believers. We may sing songs of Praise, but everything we do in service of our God and Saviour is to be worship offered by faith, in spirit and in truth. Your giving, your prayer, your speech, your attire, your embraces, and your kisses, do all as an act of Worship to the Glory of God, whom you serve (Worship).

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Soul on Fire” by Third Day

Faithful Stewardship 3 Comments

Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)).

March 10, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Soul on Fire” by Third Day which currently sits at #13 at 20theCountdownMagazine.

We’ll continue using this top 20 song list until I find a better list.  Your feedback in this would be greatly appreciated.

Last week, Third Day released their latest album entitled “Lead us back“. They are calling this a Worship Album. The first single released is their song “Soul on Fire”. Their latest tour is being called the “Soul on Fire” tour. So, let’s take a look at this new song. It’s a very catchy song, and I am drawn to their musical style. Musically, I love this song. However, lyrically this isn’t one of their better songs.

VEVO Lyric Video

Lyrics (via K-Love)

Soul On Fire by Third Day

God, I’m running for Your heart
I’m running for Your heart
Till I am a soul on fire
Lord, I’m longing for Your ways
I’m waiting for the day
When I am a soul on fire
Till I am a soul on fire

Lord, restore the joy I had
And I have one to bring me back
In this darkness, lead me through
Until all I see is You

Lord, let me burn for You again
Let me return to You again
And Lord, let me burn for You again
Let me return to You again

God, I’m running for Your heart
I’m running for Your heart
Till I am a soul on fire
I want to be
Till I am a soul on fire
Till I am a soul on fire

Publishing: © 2014 Songs From The Quarry (ASCAP) / Thankyou Music (PRS) / I Am Pilgrim Songs / Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI)
Writer(s): Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee, Brenton Brown, Matt Maher

Discussion

I’ve taken to dispensing with the “pros” and “cons” on songs that seem to just miss the mark such that I struggle to build either a Pro or a Con list. In this case, I’m completely confused by this song and its messaging. So, we’ll just talk about what has me confused, we’ll look at the Scriptures that I think are relevant to the message and draw to a close for now. If you are in possession of better insight, such as an interview with the band that sheds light on what they think the lyrics convey, do please share it either via email or in comments below.

Soul on Fire?

The most glaring problem is this phrasing. It’s in the title, the tour, and throughout the song repeatedly, but it is never defined. There are certain denominational idioms relating to being “on fire for God”. It’s such a popular component to seeker-sensitive song writing that it was included in the following parody of how to write a worship song by the folks at Blimey Cow:

The problem, even beyond the funny parody, is that despite the prevalence of this theme throughout modern emotive music there is not much in Scripture that supports this narrative. If we are talking about Biblical references that tend to be invoked by “Soul on Fire” theme, the very first one that comes to mind isn’t something we should be chasing.

Matthew 10:24-28 (ESV) 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. 26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

I’m certain this is not the sort of “Soul on Fire” that Third day is singing about. Eternal judgement waits for those who die in their unbelief, and face Jesus Christ as Judge who has the authority to destroy both soul and body in hell.

It could simply be a secularism where we’ve turned the notion of “burning with passion” for someone and redirected it toward God. Reading through the second and third stanzas, there is a sense of returning or getting back something that was lost. A rekindling of an old flame. All of these are romantic allusions that don’t quite fit Biblical worship, unless you are allegorizing Song of Solomon (Song of songs) as a picture of God’s relationship with Israel and Christ’s relationship with His Church. Even in that context, it should be corporate wording, not individual… because, well, Christ is returning for His People, the Church, not me individually.  I know that is a tough thing to say coming from a Western mindset and speaking mostly to a Western audience, but our cultural bias is one of extreme individualism that doesn’t fit Scripture. I pray the Holy Spirit grant insight in this for I suffer from this Western mindset, too.

I want to give this song its best construction, and for me to do so I need to invoke an intermediate allegory or imagery of a burnt offering or sacrifice. The first form of worship after the fall was that of the offering, the sacrifice to the Lord God. When God gave Moses the Law, the sacrifices were burnt offerings to God. If we bear in mind the concept of a burnt offering, and the aroma of obeying the Law and making a satisfactory sacrifice by faith unto God, then we have an intermediate step for a right understanding of what the phrase “Soul on Fire” might be when we then jump into Romans 12.

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) | A Living Sacrifice
12 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. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In this way, we might understand what it means to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God. Perhaps it is in this way that the song is waiting for God to send down fire igniting our hearts and our souls demonstrating His acceptance of our living sacrifice. But what does such a sacrifice look like for those who fall under the New Covenant of Christ’s Blood? Let us turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13.

Hebrews 13 English Standard Version (ESV) | Sacrifices Pleasing to God
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altarfrom which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you.

 

These are the Sacrifices that are pleasing to God, and not a single one can be done rightly apart from Faith. Where the song falls short of this (aside from needing an intermediate interpretation) is that it suggests that one simply needs to wait on the emotional unction or burning within. Even the disciple’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) where the Disciples recall a burning in their hearts was not a purely passive event. They were listening to the Words of Jesus as He recounted to them all that the Scriptures said regarding Him. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 (ESV))”.  Don’t just wait to be set on fire, and don’t settle for vague allegory of “running to God’s heart”… read His Word, listen to His Word being faithfully preached, and pray for understanding from God the Holy Spirit. Emotions are fleeting and easily manipulated. I thank God that faith is not an emotion… and Truth isn’t a feeling.

Conclusion

This song isn’t for the unbeliever, it doesn’t preach Law or Gospel. It’s heavily coded chuch-jargon, and unhelpfully so. It is far to focused on the individual for it to be suitable for corporate worship in my opinion. I don’t question Third Day’s desire to inspire their listeners to a fervent love for God and true worship. But you can’t skip over the preaching of the Word of God. You can’t skip over the need for repentance, and forgiveness for even the sins of unbelief and of doubt. He is faithful to forgive us, and He has sealed us by His Holy Spirit until the day of His Return. Rest in that. There will be times when we feel like we are super-charged, burning-hot, souls on fire for God and walking in triumphant procession leading the throngs in worship into the Temple of the Most High God… and then there will be times when our souls will be downcast and the persecution from the world weighs heavily upon us, just as it was for the author of Psalm 42. Let us close with the last verse of this Psalm

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

To God be the glory, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Worship or Entertainment?

Faithful Stewardship 3 Comments
Tickets to Worship for Entertainment?

Tickets to Worship or for Entertainment?

Looking back over our first year of blogging, it is clear that the most visited feature of this site is our Discernment in Music (DiM) where we take a Biblical look at the most popular songs being played on “Christian Radio” today. The concern is that we’ve allowed our minds and hearts to be filled with anything calling itself “Christian” without carefully examining what is being conveyed by these songs either directly or by inference. Many of these songs are working their way into Churches for “Praise and Worship”, so we really need to make sure what we preach (with or without musical accompaniment) is in keeping with sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Toward the end of the Fall, we here in the Georgia started getting a lot of concert events hosted by local Churches and Christian Radio stations. There are some Artists who draw large crowds these days all on their own: Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Toby Mac. In some of the more remote/rural areas, it’s hard to get one of the big names to do a concert so what event planners will do is set up Music Festivals to bring several artists together. Local stations will often promote these events heavily, offering free tickets as incentives for community engagement, but for the most part tickets to the event are purchased for anywhere from $15 to $35 per adult. Touring, ticket sales, and Album/iTunes sales are the basis for the careers of these musicians and their production team. This is their job. This is what they do to earn their salaries. Yet, within the Christian Community, we also include all of this as their Ministry. Is that true in every case?

***Edit: Some artists do the concert events for free so that ticket sales can go toward a local Charity or fund raiser. These should still not be sold as “worship”, but I wanted to make it clear that the money isn’t always going to the artists***

At the close of one such musical event last fall (2014), there was a comment made that seemed to stop everything in its tracks… like in the movies where someone makes an awkward comment in a huge house party and everyone freezes and you hear the Vinyl Record come to a screeching halt.

“…So come on out and join us on [Day] starting at [Time] for a night of worship and celebration…”

Are we paying for the opportunity to worship God, or are we paying for a night of musical entertainment? I can understand if you just rolled your eyes, or let out a sigh of exasperation… but while you are still here and reading, think about the question one more time. What are we paying for to attend one of these concert events? What is the advertisement on Christian radio actually selling? Are they selling a chance to experience skillful music and dazzling lights or are they selling “worship”? Let’s pause that thought for the moment, to consider its implications.

Entertainment

I’m not implying that there is anything inherently wrong with entertainment. I attended a Tim Hawkins comedy show at a local church on a Friday night. Nothing wrong with laughter, and Tim Hawkins is a professing Christian. His theology for the most part is sound, and he’s quite skilled as a musician and he understands comedy well. However, despite the fact that he plays the guitar, his event wasn’t advertised a worship event. The call to attend was to enjoy a night of comedy. Laughter isn’t a form of worship found in the Bible. Tim does try to present the Gospel during a set or between bits, but we aren’t buying tickets to a sermon, and they aren’t trying to sell sermon tickets. I can’t imagine anyone in attendance thinking to themselves, “wow, I’m really worshiping Jesus right now by enjoying these jokes”. It simply isn’t what we consider to be an act of worship, and rightly so. Can the Gospel be preached at such an event? Absolutely. Can something funny be shared in a sermon without drawing away from the Word of God? Yes. But we don’t confuse the two categories. One is entertainment, the other is Church, but everything can point to Christ (and we should endeavor to point to Christ in all that we do).

Worship

Let’s talk a little bit about Worship as it is described in the Bible. Searching (admittedly I’m not searching in the Hebrew) in the ESV for “worship”, the earliest mentions of the word are in conjunction with offering of sacrifices to God.

Genesis 22:1-5 (ESV) | The Sacrifice of Isaac
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

There isn’t always a mention of a burnt offering. In place of a burnt offering, there is sometimes a prayer of thanksgiving or of praise clearly uttered to the Lord God, such as in the case of Jacob’s servant when tasked with finding a suitable wife for Isaac.

Genesis 24:12-28 (ESV) | A Wife for Isaac
12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

Before the Law, and the Mosaic covenant, this is what the Lord God considered to be Worship. We know this, because this portion of the Law was dictated to Moses by God. But we also know that the Laws within the Mosaic Covenant defined right Worship, and that God made clear that Israel was NOT to worship God ways that they learned from the fallen world. Rather than pick through the Old Testament, let us jump to the book of Hebrews, to see this explained after the cross of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:1-14 (ESV) | The Earthly Holy Place
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Let’s unpack this a bit. The Laws, the specific rituals of the priesthood and of the people (offerings, washings, consecration/fasting, etc.) and the blood of animals where all regulations of worship. This is what it was to Worship the Living God under the Old Covenant. All of these forms of worship pointed to Jesus Christ whose blood would finally succeed where previous forms of worship failed, in that it would purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. What are we to do now? We still offer sacrifices to God in our worship, but what sacrifices do we offer?

Hebrews 13 (ESV) | Sacrifices Pleasing to God
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you.

Declaring the mighty works of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and bearing the reproach of the world are pleasing acts of worship. Music isn’t even mentioned here. Does that make music sinful? Nope. It doesn’t make music anything. We’ve over-cooked the role of music in our modern-day understanding of “Worship”. We’ve done it in our churches and we’ve done it on the Radio, and we’ve done it in our Entertainment.

Conclusion

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with being entertained, especially not in a God-honoring format. That doesn’t mean that such entertainment also qualifies as “worship”. But how you conduct yourself in such environments matters. We were created to worship God, but our sinful nature is eager to worship anything other than God. Most often our sinful flesh urges us to worship ourselves and our desires. And we tend to do so much more flamboyantly than we do for God… and this was true even in the Old Testament (Exodus 32). Christians who attend concerts for entertainment simply need to guard their hearts from false teaching and false worship. Having a “praise band” in your church is fine, if what they are doing is indeed an act of worship to the Living God and not a form of entertainment for the congregation (that’s a very difficult “if” to evaluate by the way). The “praise band” does not worship God for the congregation, even when they are doing it well with the right heart. The call to worship is for everyone, not just the ones on the stage, and we dare not “sell” opportunities to Worship a Living God. Can ministry happen at such events? Yes. Can worship take place at such events? yes. Is that what we should be selling? No.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Looking for a New Church

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churchBe blessed today and this weekend. So we made it through a 5-part series on The Church. I want to thank you for enduring what was essentially me laying out my understanding of what the Bible teaches regarding the Church and subsequently the church. I am really looking forward to moving on to different topics that have been placed on the back burner while I worked diligently to complete this series. However, I didn’t want to dive into anything new on a Friday, so I thought I might share some thoughts regarding the search for a new church body. I do not presume to be able to tell you exactly how to find a new church body for your family, but I would like to share some thoughts and some questions that I feel should be asked whenever the search for a church body is at hand.

Why are you looking for a new church body?

Aside from having to relocate due to work or family needs, this is perhaps the single most important question for which a Biblical answer must be found. Now, let me begin with the obvious and work toward the subtle. If the church you have been attending has wandered off into false doctrine, false teaching, or a different gospel then the “why” of the matter has been identified. We can then move on to the “how”. Are you leaving because of an individual? Personality Conflict? you were offended? These motivations are tougher to pin down, but they tend to be the vast majority of reasons that folks leave their local churches. I’ve made these categories quite broad because I don’t intend to give a panacea response for highly personal situations. I will say that personality conflicts exist everywhere, because each of us bears responsibility for our own conduct, speech, and personality. The Body of Christ is also composed of people, forgiven and adopted children of God who still walk in fleshly and sinful bodies. So, if your response to personality conflict is to leave the church, you will be leaving often. I’ve met a few church-hoppers who tend to only survive about a year or two before some drama “pops up out of nowhere” and they are “forced” to leave, usually creating as big a vacuum as possible either being on staff or in the worship team. Finally, there are those who want to leave because they (or their kids) just want to find something “cooler”, “more exciting”, or more “relevant”. This last group I can honestly say has the wrong “why”. They don’t understand the purpose for church and are instead looking to be entertained or have their itching ears scratched.

How did you leave the last church?

I have never been a fan of ultimatums. Anyone who demands the church bend to his or her will “or else I’m leaving and taking my money with me” is a carnal, fleshly, immature Christian at best. Similarly, causing a big scene to act out the fore-gone conclusion that you are leaving is equally infantile. So let us look at how the Scriptures tell us to address problems within the Church.

  • A problem of false teaching/doctrine/gospel. While I consider this to be the easiest “why”, it is perhaps the most heartbreaking, gut wrenching, and difficult “how” we will face. Depending on how long you’ve been a part of this congregation, how involved you and your family had become, and how your closest friends feel about the issue at hand, it can lead many to simply never say anything or to suddenly disappear without much explanation. Why? Because this is an issue of leadership in the church. Since we just finished examining 1 Timothy, we’ll start there and I am including old-testament foundation for these rules.
    • 1 Timothy 5:19-21 (ESV)
      19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

      • Deuteronomy 19:15 (ESV)
        15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
    • Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV)
      6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

      • Deuteronomy 13:1-4 (ESV)
        13 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
        Note: this holds true even if the sign/wonder/miracle actually happens. The miracle alone does not serve as proof.
    • One note I’ll make on this is that if the structure of the local church is in error (not in keeping with Acts, Titus, Timothy) then this matter can be very difficult to resolve. Pray, search out the scriptures, and ask for Wisdom from God the Holy Spirit, and do what is right, leaving the outcome in God’s hands. Something that is prevalent in today’s Evangelical churches is a false notion of “unity under the visionary” instead of Unity in the Word of God. It generally comes with a Mosaic church structure where everyone is expected to follow (and abide by) the word of one or two leaders and they have the final word (often times, preemptively).
  • Personal Conflict. This is a very broad category, but the Bible does cover how we are to respond in these matters.
    • Matthew 18:15-20 (ESV) 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
    • 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (ESV) 1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

Now, in the interest of full disclosure and transparency, these things are rarely easy or clean. We recently stopped attending a local church over doctrinal concerns and church-structure. We were very involved in the church and didn’t realize there any problems until some major shifts in doctrinal focus and awkward disciplinary calls forced my wife and me to start searching the Scriptures for answers. That search revealed a great deal. Still, we did not purpose to leave the church because we were sure that God had led us to that church (even more so now that we’ve grown so much as a family through the whole experience). I spent 2 months discussing doctrinal issues with the Pastor (at the time I was on staff) regarding what I believed to be mishandling of Scripture in sermon material taught nearly verbatim from popular mega-church leaders. After two months, I stepped down off of staff. A month later, another family was given a false rationale for why we stepped down and not a single elder of the church approached us. It was then that we decided we could no longer attend that church, though we longed to maintain relationships with those who truly considered us their brother and sister. We are currently being fed in a church of a different denomination, and completely different style of service from what I grew up with, but we are being fed well. We are not in a rush to become members, but we thank God for His Grace and Mercy for our family.

What should we be looking for in a church?

Who is being preached, Christ or man? First and foremost, you should be looking for a church that faithfully preaches the Word of God. This isn’t something you can determine in a single visit. If they post their sermons online, listen to them with an open bible and take notes. Pause the sermon, open to the scripture being referenced. Is the context being conveyed? Is it being used in context? Is it a full quote? Is the passage being defined by Scripture or by the speaker’s life experience? Are you being taught what the Word of God says or are you getting life advice loosely justified by a random scripture quoted out of context? Are you getting an anecdote to help understand what Scripture is teaching or is the anecdote being presented as proof that a life tip is valid? What is the scripture to pastor ratio?

Christian Denomination. This is NOT a denominational choice, because there isn’t a denomination that has a corner on the market. Denomination plays a major role in familiarity and a sense of commonality for many people, so if you are uncomfortable stepping outside of your denomination, then you must continue to focus on faithful preaching of the Word of God, you just might (depending on your geographical location and preferred denomination) be choosing from a very small pool of churches. When it comes to denominations, it is important to gauge each denomination’s doctrine against the Scriptures, not by what one denomination accuses the other denomination of believing. I find this particularly true of the “Reformed” (Calvinist) denominations who are very quick to call anyone who disagrees with TULIP a Pelagean. The best example of this is that despite the Catholic Church declaring Pelagianism heretical (Council of Trent) most Reformed Churches lump Catholics under the semi-Pelagean banner because of their emphasis on man’s response to the Gospel of Grace (Council of Trent also declared the doctrine of passive grace heretical, basically the U, I, P in TULIP). So yeah, take each doctrine and compare it to the Word of God, not to some other doctrine since not every point of each doctrine can be taught from Scripture because they attempt to explain in-depth what the Bible doesn’t explain. What the bible does explain, like the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they must agree upon (and for the most part Protestant denominations do agree on the Gospel). Now, among Protestants there are 2 major divisions, Monergists and Arminians. Monergism is a label that covers Lutheran and Calvinists (who disagree on double-predestination and sacraments). Calvinists are found in Baptist and Presbyterian traditions, though some Baptists lean more Arminian these days. Arminians disagree with TULIP in that they believe that Christ made the only way of salvation but did not preassign people to believe or not to believe; rather, they hold that in the hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, man must choose whether to listen and accept the Word of God as the Only Way of Salvation, or reject it and be condemned my their lack of faith. This doctrine can generally be found in Wesleyan Methodist Churches, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Free-Will Baptists. I’m still dealing with these categories in broad terms, but hopefully you can see that there are denominations you might actually find some common ground with you weren’t aware of before. Once again, the standard is the Word of God… not the denomination you grew up in.

Who is being praised and worshiped? Okay, so we haven’t spent a great deal of time on this one here at Faithful Stewardship. But who is being praised in the Praise and Worship at the church. Is it truly focused on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Or is it focused more on who we are, what we are doing, and what we are going to get? Are we worshiping the Biblical Savior or are we just sort of singing love songs understood to be pointed at Jesus, but not clearly articulated as such? Is it about praising and worshiping God or is the focus more on entertaining non-believers?

Non-Denominational or Evangelical? While each of these labels has some meaning to those who wear them, they lack any solid definition that could serve as a filter for looking for a new church.

  • Non-denominational. What it should mean is that they don’t point to any ideology of man and their aim is to stick with Biblically defined Christianity. In practice, what you will find is that they broke away from one of the denominations and still hold to most of that denomination’s doctrine except for a few key points. What makes them problematic is that you have no way of knowing up front what they do or do not believe/teach. You just have to talk it out, or attend their membership information classes (even then you still need to ask all of the questions that you can). Many take the road of dividing what they call “essentials” and “non-essentials” of the faith… but rarely are the “non essentials” clearly defined. I have also seen that most “non-denominational” churches are former Pentecostal or Charismatic churches looking to distance themselves from the label. Perhaps one of the most dangerous elements of non-denominational churches is that they are rarely held accountable by anyone. In the New Testament, the Church in Antioch looked to the Church in Jerusalem for encouragement, direction, and guidance. Paul strongly rebuked the Galatians for blindly accepting the false gospel of the Judaizers and exercised authority, correction, and instruction over them.
  • Evangelical. This is supposed to mean that the church’s focus is in Evangelism, or Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What has been taking root in modern Evangelical churches lately is a false social gospel, where the goal of the church is to entice non-believers to enter their doors and stay long enough to hear the Gospel. Much of the church-growth, seeker-sensitive, emergent theology expansion has been within evangelical churches. In order to achieve rapid growth and high attendance numbers, they’ve abandoned preaching Law in accordance with Gospel, therefore we get a half-picture of a Savior but we don’t get an understanding of our need for a savior. Prosperity and Word of Faith doctrines also thrive in non-Denominational/Evangelical circles.

Fathers, remember your role.

In closing, I want to remind fathers to remember your roles as heads of your house. You are the priest of your home. Whether you are members of a local church family, struggling through trials and tribulations, or searching for a new body of believers, your responsibility to feed, nurture, and instruct your family never goes away. Pray continuously, and dig into the Word of God and bury it in your heart and share it with your wife and kids. Church is not a means of offloading the responsibility of leading your family spiritually, church is where you get the training you need to better fulfill your responsibility. Plugging your family into church is essential for Christian living, so I’m not suggesting that a father can replace the church, he can’t. My point is that regardless of church membership, a father’s role remains the same.

Well, this ended up being longer than I anticipated. In trying to address a broad scope of issues, concerns, and categories of doctrines, it is possible that some may feel I misrepresented their denomination or church. That was not my intent, I’m just trying to give some broad-scope definitions for those who (like I was a year ago) might never have thought about what all of the denomination stuff really meant. I’m not interested in bolstering or attacking any denomination or doctrine of men here… my only focus, and sole purpose here is to point to the Word of God and what it teaches. As always, if you have additional or specific questions/concerns, feel free to comment or contact me directly.

 

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Him,
Jorge

 

Praise the Name of the Lord

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fireworksThis week, I’d like to start by reading Psalms 148.

Psalms 148 | Praise the Name of the Lord
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!

3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!

9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!

Let everything… everything… praise the Name of the Lord. Amen! This Psalm was read in our Church service last Sunday during corporate worship. It is a beautiful Psalm. As we were reading through it, a thought crossed my mind regarding idolatry. How great is the sin of man and the curse on the Earth as a result. Remember the temptation that the father of lies brought to Eve?

Genesis 3:1-5 (ESV) 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The original sin, was committed under the false promise of becoming like God. Idolatry. You see, we are familiar with the idolatry of worshiping things created by man (engraved images, carved idols, Asherah poles, etc.) and the idolatry of hero-worship, the love of money, and the love of self. However, there is yet another form of idolatry that is alive and growing today that must be struck down. The undue worship of God’s creation. The sun, moon, stars, mountains, hills, oceans, rivers, beasts, birds… nature… “mother earth”. Ever think about all of the pagan religions and the objects of their worship? Paul’s letter to the Romans (Gentiles) begins by addressing this rejection of God, the Creator.

Romans 1:18-32 (ESV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 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.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Sin. What were the first commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai?

Exodus 20:1-7 (ESV)1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

And which did Jesus say was the Greatest Commandment?

Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV) 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is a serious, and ever-present problem for mankind. It is the underpinning of every sin… the desire to worship anything other than the One True God. Do you truly think that mankind has somehow evolved beyond Israel’s continual idolatry (Asherah Poles and Baal)? No, my friends, we are the same as we were in those days… in some ways even worse.

David understood the heart of men… and he is described as a man after God’s own heart. He gave us this and many other Psalms as a reminder that we are to Praise the Name of the Lord. Not only mankind, but every created thing is to praise His Name. All of Creation points to God, and serves to worship and honor Him.

Psalm 96 (ESV) | Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

This weekend, here in the US, we celebrate our Independence Day (July 4th). Don’t let patriotism, rise to the level of idol worship. God has no need of this nation. There is only one earthly nation blessed by God, who is described as the apple of His eye. Our hope rests in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the Resurrection, and the Great Day of the Lord. Therefore, let us always and forever more praise the Name of the Lord.

May the Lord Bless and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge