Naracoorte Presbyterian Church

I had a cup of coffee with an exit student. His zeal to preach the Gospel oozed from every word he spoke. He couldn’t wait for the day of his ordination.

Our conversation touched the issue of the ordination vows. I reminded him of the solemnity of those vows. We talked about the vow regarding the purity of worship (the third vow). “What do you understand about the purity of worship as practised in this church?” I asked.

“I have no idea! Before I took the vows at my licensing, I sought advice from some ordained ministers. However, they couldn’t help me. They said it is not really important, as long as I preached the Gospel of Jesus!”

My thoughts went back to the night of my induction into my first charge in the Presbyterian Church of Australia. I had read up about those vows as I had found them in the Code Book. Furthermore, the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) is clear about the purity of worship. The regulative principle had been known throughout the Reformed world – even where I come from!

I answered the questions. I knew that I was binding myself to something that could be tested from the Word of God. It was something for which I could be held accountable before God. The moment I stepped out of line, God would hold me answerable to Him. This would happen through the elected and inducted office bearers of his Church. They would apply the standards of his infallible Word. They too were in the final instance also answerable to Him!

Then, after the induction service, I asked some of the brothers where I could obtain a Book of Forms/Worship. The response was astounding, coming like a hammer between the eyes, “Do as you like. The new one is in print but no one will probably use it once it’s published.”

I somewhere else wrote, “Worship is standards applied/ theology practised. Theology shapes worship and worship impacts upon theology.”

The teaching in some worship services I attended recently was generally good and edifying. It was, however, presented as a “talk”, and not as the authoritative proclamation of the Word of God. The result was that you walk away from “fellowship” and not worship.

No call to worship, no blessing, no benediction. No awe, no respect, no worship of God. A talk about God, but not God speaking to his gathered people on his appointed day in his revealed way. The atmosphere is user‐friendly, no doubt, but disjointed: everyone tried to make feel welcome the other, but I was not struck by the presence of God (1Cor 14:25).

The result was that prayers of confession of sin were not always heart‐felt. Who would really feel sorry for offending the holiness of God if His throne of grace is approached with the service (fellowship?) interrupted for morning coffee? Visitors were also encouraged not to put money in the plate. (Did I want to give money to the “fellowship” or did I want to worship God with my offering?)

A question: Can both ‘traditional’ (as seen by the more contemporary minded churchgoer) worship and ‘contemporary’ (as seen by the more traditional minded churchgoer) worship arrive at the same result? Can both lead to meaningless worship? Worship is not genuine if it does not honour God according to the principles set down in the Word. It will lack sincerity. It also lacks evidence that the worshiper was in the presence of God. It also fails to show awareness of the fellowship of other members of Christ’s body. The one makes tradition the norm, while the other (in reaction?) makes user‐friendliness the norm of “biblical” worship. Both miss the point: it is no worship of God!

Lifeless, unauthentic, and insincere traditional worship must answer before God if it is not in accordance with His Word. Contemporary worship, even if lively and aligned with modern expectations, must also do the same.

The question is not contemporary as opposed to traditional worship, or vice versa. The issue is the choice between biblical and non‐biblical worship. Different styles of worship should meet at the throne of God. Here, He is worshiped in the way He ordained it.

The element which should never be missed is that worship is about God. Fellowship is not worship. The singing of songs is not worship. This is in contrast to other elements like reading, teaching the Word of God, and prayers. Singing is only an element of worship. Observing tradition is not worship. Worship is only worship when God’s redeemed people gather as His Church on His ordained day. The Lord’s Day is the day to enjoy Him in the way He ordained it in the Bible.

True worship of God leads to everyday service in all areas of life. This includes fellowship, caring, prayer, and effective discipleship. We live as saved children of God by living as redeemed people of God. The true worshiper is never satisfied with corporate worship only; corporate worship shapes his service between worship.

Dr. A. A. Hodge made the following pertinent comments:

“Since God has prescribed the mode in which we are acceptably to worship and serve Him, it must be an offence to Him and a sin in us for us either to neglect His way, or in preference to practise our own. . . we have in no case any right, upon the ground of taste, fashion or expediency, to go beyond the clear warrant of Scripture” (A Handbook on the Confession of Faith pp. 271‐2).

It is my prayer that God will give us discernment to practice purity of worship. May He protect us from the sin of wilful worship.