Biblical Worship

 As we reflect on the purpose of music in worship, we realize that all music performed in worship is to bring glory to God alone.  It is an offering, a sacrifice of praise to God from a grateful people who have received the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.  When thinking about music being offered to the Glory of God, I remember one of the greatest church music composers, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).  He was very open about the purpose of his church music compositions.  In The Bach Reader (eds. Hans David, Arthur Mendel, Norton, ISBN 0-393-00259-4), a collection of letters and documents written by Bach or those who knew him, we see evidence of Bach’s goal in writing and performing music in the church.  Allow me to quote a section from the book:

Bach’s “church music was designed to deepen the worship of God and to embellish His service… Bach expressed his attitude clearly enough by regularly inscribing his scores of sacred music with the letters J.J. (Jesu, Juva: Jesus Help) at the beginning, and S.D.G. (Soli Deo Gloria:  to God alone the glory) at the end.  Even in an unpretentious little volume of pieces for the musical instruction of his first-born son, the Clavier Buchlein, he opened the first page of music with the letters I.N.J. (In Nomine Jesu: in the Name of Jesus).  He did not shed his religion when he composed for instruction or other secular purposes.” (32) 

Bach also stated “the aim and final reason, as of all music . . . should be none else but the Glory of God and the recreation of the mind.  Where this is not observed, there will be no real music but only a devilish hubbub.” (33)

Worship Leaders and musicians assisting in worship, this should also be our philosophy when it comes to music in the church.  We should offer our music for the Glory of God and strive to make sure this attitude prevails in every aspect of our music whether worship songs, instrumental preludes, choral anthems, or solos. 

Soli Deo Gloria – To God Alone be the Glory!

In his book Spiritual Leadership Oswald Sanders states that Jesus defined leadership as service.  The true leader is concerned primarily for the welfare of others, not with his own comfort or prestige.  Sanders quotes an intereresting list of leadership rules written by Archbishop Edward White Benson who was the archbishop of Canterbury for a number years in the late 1800′s.  Here is Benson’s list for the leader:

• Eagerly start the day’s work.
• Do not murmur at your busyness or the shortness of time, but buy up the time all around.
• Never murmur when correspondence is brought in.
• Never exaggerate duties by seeming to suffer under the load, but treat all responsibilities as liberty and gladness.
• Never call attention to crowded work or trivial experiences.
• Before confrontation or censure, obtain from God a real love for the one at fault.  Know the facts; be generous in your judgment.  Otherwise, how ineffective, how unintelligible or perhaps provocative your well-intentioned censure may be.
• Do not believe everything you hear; do not spread gossip.
• Do not seek praise, gratitude, respect, or regard for past service.
• Avoid complaining when your advice or opinion is not consulted, or having been consulted, set aside.
• Never allow yourself to be placed in favorable contrast with anyone.
• Do not press conversation to your own needs and concerns.
• Seek no favors, nor sympathies; do not ask for tenderness, but receive what comes.
• Bare the blame; do not share it or transfer it.
• Give thanks for credit for your own work or ideas is given to another.

Sanders reminds us that Archbishop Benson did live in a different era, but his rules for life carry relevance today. 

 The Sanders book on Spiritual Leadership is a great book for those in ministry or in secular leadership.  It is twenty-two short chapters on timely leadership topics. (Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer, Moody Press, 1994, ISBN  0-8024-6799-7).

In his book, Worship in Spirit and Truth, author John Frame defines worship as “the work of acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord.”  Frame who is Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fl. does a great job of defining worship in his book.  In the first chapter he highlights several main descriptors of Christian worship which I will list below.

Worship is God-Centered  - Worship is not for ourselves but for the one we seek to honor.  Frame states that when we leave a worship service, we should not ask what did I get out of the service, but how did I do in my work of honoring the Lord.  So much of our talk about worship today is man-centered. 

Worship is Gospel-Centered – In the Old Testament Hebrew worship was centered on the Exodus event.  New Testament Worship should be centered on Jesus Christ, His atonement for sins, His resurrection, and the promise of new life to believers.  Our worship should always be “cross-centered.”

Worship is Trinitarian – God-centered worship is always worship in the name of Christ and by the Holy Spirit.  One person has defined worship as “adoration and worship of God the Father, through the mediation of the Son and prompted by the Holy Spirit” (Ralph Martin).  Our worship should clearly be directed to God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Worship is Vertical and Horizontal – Vertical worship describes worship that is directed to our triune God for His pleasure.  Horizontal worship is worship that is also encouraging to the saints (Christians in the worship service).  In reflecting on Mark 12: 28-31, D.A. Carson states that worship is nothing more than loving God with heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Worship is Broad and Narrow – This phrase reminds us that worship is not only what happens on Sunday morning at the corporate worship of the Body of Christ (the narrow part of worship), but worship is all of life (broad part of worship). Frame states that authentic worship includes a life that is obedient to God.  God condemned formal worship that was not accompanied by a concern for compassion and justice. “Our Lord wants us to live in such a way that everything we do brings Him pleasure.”  (Frame, 10)

 Worship in Spirit and Truth (PR Publishing, ISBN0-87552-242-4) by John Frame is an excellent introduction to a biblical understanding of worship in the life of the Christian and the church.  Highly Recommended.

On several occasions I have seen advertisements for Christian concerts or worship recordings that made statements like:

“This worship music will send you into the presence of God,”  or

“Buy this [insert name of Christian Artist] worship CD – it will connect you to God.” 

Can music connect a Christian to God?  The answer to that is no.  Music is not a mediator between God and His people.  There is only one mediator that can ever ‘connect’ us to God or ‘send us into the presence of God.”  His name is Jesus Christ.  I am reminded of a few Bible verses that make this truth very clear:

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

“And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Romans 5:11)

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (I Timothy 2:5)

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant…”  (Hebrews 9:14-15)

“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Hebrews 9:24)

It is clear from these Scripture passages (and many more that could be listed), that Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator for us before God, the Father.  We have no approach to the throne of God above except through our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.  Why have we allowed people to get the idea that certain kinds of music can send us into God’s presence?  If we know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are already in God’s presence because of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross on our behalf. 

Perhaps what we mean to say is that certain worship songs remind us of our position in Christ; therefore, we rejoice as we remember what Christ has done for us …or…  Some songs cause us to become emotional when we are reminded that we draw near to the Father because of the work of His Son.

Worship leaders should strive to help those in their congregations understand that when we feel emotional with certain worship songs it should be because we are responding to the objective truth of the Gospel.  If we think that it is the music that causes us to ‘feel close to God,’ then we as worship leaders are allowing our people to revel in subjective emotionalism without helping them to understand why they get those feelings.

Music is not the mediator for us before the throne of God.  We do not need certain songs to magically usher us into God’s presence.  Jesus has already done that for us. Music in worship is a sacrifice of praise to God and a great tool for teaching us Bible truths.  Let us help our congregations not to seek a subjective emotional high through music, but seek to joyfully sing because of what Christ has done for us. Through Him let us draw near to God with a sincere heart. (Hebrews 10: 19-25)

Recently, my son and I were traveling in the car listening to the ‘oldies’ station on the radio.  When I was growing up this kind of music was music of the fifties and sixties.  Now it is the music that I listened to as a youth.  (A little troublesome to me, but that’s another discussion).  So, when my son is hearing these songs sometimes for the first time, I can actually remember the detailed lyrics of these songs I heard thirty years ago.  Does that remind us of the power of text set to music?  It is amazing how I can remember some rather ridiculous songs from my teenage years.  This reminded me of the responsibility we as parents and music ministers have to provide songs with great texts for our children and youth today. 

I think it is interesting that even in the days of Martin Luther (1483-1546) there was a problem with the secular music of the day.  Luther sought to give the youth of his day a Christian musical alternative.  Luther encouraged the publishing of hymns and songs for the church. He wanted to get the church singing about their faith.  In the preface of a Christian songbook, Luther wrote:

“These songs were arranged in four parts (some are in three, others in five) to give the young – who should at any rate be trained in music and other fine arts – something to wean them away from the love ballads and carnal songs and to teach them something of value in their place, thus combining the good with the pleasing, as is proper for youth…”(from Geystliches gesang Buchleyn).

Even in Luther’s day there was a concern for the music of the younger generation and what it was teaching them.  What are we doing today to encourage our youth to listen to music that has a redeeming value?  If the music we learn in our childhood days stays with us throughout our lives, we as parents and music ministers should do as much as we can to give our young ones music that will help them in their walk with the Lord.

What are some things we can do to encourage them to listen to music with Christian texts?

1.  Like Luther suggested, let’s encourage the writing and producing of music with great Christian lyrics in a style that is attractive to the younger generation.

2.  We should know what kind of music are children and teens are listening to and understand the messages these songs are sending.  The old adage that “I just like the sound of the music and don’t pay attention to the lyrics” is not true.  The lyrics do find a way into our hearts and minds.

3.  Help our students find music that is redeeming.  If our children are listening to non-stop music on their Ipods let’s help them download some redeeming music.

4.  In our churches we should be encouraging the teaching of new worship songs that speak in the language of today so that the younger generation finds a substitute for the tempting ‘carnal’ songs of today.

All of this does not mean that we should abandon the great songs and hymns of generations past.  We should be teaching these songs to our children as well.  However, we need to also offer them an alternative to the secular worldly music that pervades all parts of their lives.  Let’s give them songs that thirty years from now on the ‘oldies’ Christian station will remind them of our great Lord!