© Eric M Schumacher – Delivered at the 2009 Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference
Session 1 of 4
[On August 14-15, I had the privilege of leading four breakout sessions at the Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference. In preparation, I preached these sermons at Northbrook Baptist Church. The manuscript below is what I used at the conference. The link to the audio is from my sermon at Northbrook.]
Audio available here.
What am I doing here!?!?
Have you ever been given a job to do without being given the instructions for how to do it? Or, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you realize that you forgot to listen to the instructions? Not knowing what you are supposed to do can lead to incredible frustration, anger, discouragement.
That is especially true when a group is involved. If there is not a shared understanding of what the group is supposed to be doing, it can lead to fighting, quarrelling, confusion and division.
I would suspect that many, if not all, of us have been in the unfortunate situation of experiencing anger, heart-ache, confusion and division over the subject of corporate worship. That may come in the form of a church-split or simply a confused and discouraged church member sitting in our office with a heavy-heart.
I would suggest that many of these problems stem from a lack of shared understanding about what the congregation is doing when it gathers for corporate worship.
So, I want to ask the question: What are we doing when we gather for corporate worship?
Where to turn?
To answer that question, as Christians, we must ask another question, “What has God said?”
Obviously, whole books and long series of volumes have been written to address the subject of biblical worship. If we had time, we could begin in Genesis and move through the Bible to Revelation, looking at both the changes and the constants in the worship of God as redemptive history unfolds.
For our purposes this weekend, I am going to look at a few New Testament passages to examine what God has said specifically about what his New Covenant people are to do when they gather corporately to worship him as a local church.
Why do I begin with the New Covenant worship, rather than Old Covenant worship to see what we are to do? Simply put—because Old Covenant worship is inferior. That is the message of the book of Hebrews. The ministry, the priesthood, the sacrifice, the salvation and the covenant ratified in Jesus Christ are better.
Imagine Solomon’s temple in all its glory. The startling revelation of the New Testament is that that was only a shadow of something better to come. Therefore, what we do in our churches on Sunday morning (and in private as believers) is superior to what was happening in Jesus Christ.
I would rather spend one hour with a persecuted church huddled in a cave singing God’s praises, hearing God’s Word read and preached, baptizing new coverts and taking the Lord’s Supper than I would spend 10,000 hours in Solomon’s Temple. Because, in Jesus Christ (and by extension—in the body of Christ) something far greater than Solomon and his temple has come.
Hebrews 10:19-25 offers some of the clearest words on what the church is to do when it gathers together as the body of Christ.
The Foundation for Worship – Verses 19-21
In verses 19-21, the author of Hebrews summarizes the reason the message of the book so far:
In particular, he summarizes what he has just argued in verses 1-18, which show us:
1. The law offered inadequate provision for worship.
In verses 1-4, the author explained that the law had inadequate provisions, through inadequate priests and inadequate sacrifices.
Those who were under the law could not truly “draw near” and be “worshippers,” because their sacrifices failed to remove their sins and remove their consciousness of sin. These annual sacrifices failed to make them perfect.
This is shown in the annual repetition of the Day of Atonement. They remembered that they had offered these sacrifices last year and would have to offer them again the next year (and the next year and the next year…). If they were removing sin, then they would have ceased to be offered.
Rather than remove sins, which was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to do, they were an annual reminder of sin.
We see this also in the posture of the priests in daily service, described in verse 11. Every priest “stands daily.” He stands every day because the ministry must be repeated every day. If it were effective, he could sit down.
Thus, the Temple then was actually a big “Do Not Enter” sign. The restriction of the access to the holy place to once a year by the high priest was the Holy Spirit’s way of revealing that God’s people could not themselves directly draw near to God. The way had not yet been opened.
2. But Christ offers acceptable worship.
In verses 5-18, we see that Christ has a superior priesthood, offers a superior sacrifice, and ratifies a superior covenant.
In verses 5-10, we read that Jesus Christ came to be what God had always truly desired of man – a worshipper. Quoting Psalm 40, Jesus says that God has always desired a faithful heart and life above the mere outward performance of a religious ritual.
God prepared for him a “body” so that he might “do your will.” That is worship. True worship is presenting the whole self to God to do his will. True worship is responding to the worth of God by loving him with all the heart, mind, soul and strength. God gave him a body, so that he might do just that.
3. Jesus Christ is the perfect and true worshipper.
Christ came to live a life of love and obedience to God from the whole being. He offers full and undefiled devotion from the heart, which is acceptable to God. His worship was shown to be perfect in that he was obedient to death, even death on a cross. Jesus Christ is the perfect and true sacrifice.
The supremacy and effectiveness of his ministry over that of the Old Covenant high priests is shown in his posture. After he offered a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. He needs not repeat this sacrifice, because it perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. His posture shows that there are eternal benefits.
So, Jesus Christ is the only priest who was able to offer true and acceptable worship. He is the true sacrifice that actually takes away sin once and for all. He is the true priest who does the will of God and enters God’s presence on behalf of God’s people. He is the true worshipper.
All the aspects of Old Covenant worship are fulfilled in Christ.
In verse 1, we read that “the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.” The detailed proscriptions for worship given through Moses in the Law were merely a shadow cast by the person of Christ who was to come.
It is essential that we understand that every element of worship present in Old Covenant worship finds its fulfillment in Christ. Christ is the…
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the focus of all New Testament worship. And, it is through being united with Christ by faith that we enter into true worship.
New Covenant Worship
All that is to say, the New Covenant ratified in Jesus’ blood makes us true worshippers. We only become true worshippers through the ministry of Jesus Christ, by being united to the true worshipper through faith.
Through his work, Christ makes his people holy, and consecrates them for the service of God—he makes them worshippers. In verse 10, we learn that we are “sanctified,” set apart to be God’s holy people. In verse 14, we read that we are “perfected.”
In verses 15-18, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the effectiveness where he speaks of the New Covenant.
In verse 16, we learn that our hearts and minds are changed so that we can “do the will of God,” as Christ said is what God desires. Christ was given a body to do God’s will. And, through his ministry, he changes us so that being conformed to his image, we can do the same.
And, in verse 17, we see that our sins are removed through Jesus Christ’s death, so that we can enter into the presence of God to worship. As the Old Covenant sacrifices served to cause worshippers to “remember” their sins, Christ’s sacrifice causes them to be “remembered no more.”
Through faith in Christ…
All that is summarized in verses 19-21.
Session 1 of 4
[On August 14-15, I had the privilege of leading four breakout sessions at the Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference. In preparation, I preached these sermons at Northbrook Baptist Church. The manuscript below is what I used at the conference. The link to the audio is from my sermon at Northbrook.]
Audio available here.
What am I doing here!?!?
Have you ever been given a job to do without being given the instructions for how to do it? Or, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you realize that you forgot to listen to the instructions? Not knowing what you are supposed to do can lead to incredible frustration, anger, discouragement.
That is especially true when a group is involved. If there is not a shared understanding of what the group is supposed to be doing, it can lead to fighting, quarrelling, confusion and division.
I would suspect that many, if not all, of us have been in the unfortunate situation of experiencing anger, heart-ache, confusion and division over the subject of corporate worship. That may come in the form of a church-split or simply a confused and discouraged church member sitting in our office with a heavy-heart.
I would suggest that many of these problems stem from a lack of shared understanding about what the congregation is doing when it gathers for corporate worship.
So, I want to ask the question: What are we doing when we gather for corporate worship?
Where to turn?
To answer that question, as Christians, we must ask another question, “What has God said?”
Obviously, whole books and long series of volumes have been written to address the subject of biblical worship. If we had time, we could begin in Genesis and move through the Bible to Revelation, looking at both the changes and the constants in the worship of God as redemptive history unfolds.
For our purposes this weekend, I am going to look at a few New Testament passages to examine what God has said specifically about what his New Covenant people are to do when they gather corporately to worship him as a local church.
Why do I begin with the New Covenant worship, rather than Old Covenant worship to see what we are to do? Simply put—because Old Covenant worship is inferior. That is the message of the book of Hebrews. The ministry, the priesthood, the sacrifice, the salvation and the covenant ratified in Jesus Christ are better.
Imagine Solomon’s temple in all its glory. The startling revelation of the New Testament is that that was only a shadow of something better to come. Therefore, what we do in our churches on Sunday morning (and in private as believers) is superior to what was happening in Jesus Christ.
I would rather spend one hour with a persecuted church huddled in a cave singing God’s praises, hearing God’s Word read and preached, baptizing new coverts and taking the Lord’s Supper than I would spend 10,000 hours in Solomon’s Temple. Because, in Jesus Christ (and by extension—in the body of Christ) something far greater than Solomon and his temple has come.
Hebrews 10:19-25 offers some of the clearest words on what the church is to do when it gathers together as the body of Christ.
The Foundation for Worship – Verses 19-21
In verses 19-21, the author of Hebrews summarizes the reason the message of the book so far:
We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, the way opened in his flesh.
We have a great high priest over the house of God who has offered worship on our behalf.
In particular, he summarizes what he has just argued in verses 1-18, which show us:
1. The law offered inadequate provision for worship.
In verses 1-4, the author explained that the law had inadequate provisions, through inadequate priests and inadequate sacrifices.
Those who were under the law could not truly “draw near” and be “worshippers,” because their sacrifices failed to remove their sins and remove their consciousness of sin. These annual sacrifices failed to make them perfect.
This is shown in the annual repetition of the Day of Atonement. They remembered that they had offered these sacrifices last year and would have to offer them again the next year (and the next year and the next year…). If they were removing sin, then they would have ceased to be offered.
Rather than remove sins, which was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to do, they were an annual reminder of sin.
We see this also in the posture of the priests in daily service, described in verse 11. Every priest “stands daily.” He stands every day because the ministry must be repeated every day. If it were effective, he could sit down.
Thus, the Temple then was actually a big “Do Not Enter” sign. The restriction of the access to the holy place to once a year by the high priest was the Holy Spirit’s way of revealing that God’s people could not themselves directly draw near to God. The way had not yet been opened.
2. But Christ offers acceptable worship.
In verses 5-18, we see that Christ has a superior priesthood, offers a superior sacrifice, and ratifies a superior covenant.
In verses 5-10, we read that Jesus Christ came to be what God had always truly desired of man – a worshipper. Quoting Psalm 40, Jesus says that God has always desired a faithful heart and life above the mere outward performance of a religious ritual.
God prepared for him a “body” so that he might “do your will.” That is worship. True worship is presenting the whole self to God to do his will. True worship is responding to the worth of God by loving him with all the heart, mind, soul and strength. God gave him a body, so that he might do just that.
3. Jesus Christ is the perfect and true worshipper.
Christ came to live a life of love and obedience to God from the whole being. He offers full and undefiled devotion from the heart, which is acceptable to God. His worship was shown to be perfect in that he was obedient to death, even death on a cross. Jesus Christ is the perfect and true sacrifice.
The supremacy and effectiveness of his ministry over that of the Old Covenant high priests is shown in his posture. After he offered a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. He needs not repeat this sacrifice, because it perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. His posture shows that there are eternal benefits.
So, Jesus Christ is the only priest who was able to offer true and acceptable worship. He is the true sacrifice that actually takes away sin once and for all. He is the true priest who does the will of God and enters God’s presence on behalf of God’s people. He is the true worshipper.
All the aspects of Old Covenant worship are fulfilled in Christ.
In verse 1, we read that “the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.” The detailed proscriptions for worship given through Moses in the Law were merely a shadow cast by the person of Christ who was to come.
It is essential that we understand that every element of worship present in Old Covenant worship finds its fulfillment in Christ. Christ is the…
…the true priest and high priest. Christ enters into God’s presence to worship on behalf of God’s people.Christ is the fulfillment of all that came before. He is the true form, the reality of which the law had only a shadow.
…the true sacrifice. Christ offered his body in life and in death to do God’s will and bear his wrath.
…the true tabernacle. Christ is the Word who became flesh and “tabernacled” with us. He is God dwelling amongst his people.
…the true Temple. Christ said his body is the temple torn down and raised again on the third day.
…the true basin. Christ washes us clean. All that thirst can come to him and drink, and from them will flow springs of living water.
…the true lampstand. Christ is the light of the world.
...the true alter of incense. Christ ascends into God’s presence to offer prayer, intercession on behalf of God’s people.
…the true veil. Christ’s flesh is the curtain that is torn to provide God’s people access into God’s presence.
…the true Ark of the Covenant. Christ is the dwelling place of God, and is enthroned at God’s right hand.
...the true bread and manna. Christ is the living bread that has come down from heaven to give life to those who eat it.
…the true tablets of the Law. Christ is the living Word of God.
…the true Sabbath. Through faith in Christ, we enter God’s rest.
…the true Passover Lamb. He is the Lamb slaughtered to free God’s people from.
…the true Pentecost. Christ pours the Spirit out on his people.
…the true Day of Atonement. Christ enters the Holy Place, offering his own blood.
…the true Feast of Tabernacles. Christ is Immanuel, God with us.
…the true temple choir. Christ sings God’s praise in the midst of the congregation (Hebrews 2:12).
…the true Israel. Christ is God’s faithful remnant, God’s true Son called out of Egypt.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the focus of all New Testament worship. And, it is through being united with Christ by faith that we enter into true worship.
New Covenant Worship
All that is to say, the New Covenant ratified in Jesus’ blood makes us true worshippers. We only become true worshippers through the ministry of Jesus Christ, by being united to the true worshipper through faith.
Through his work, Christ makes his people holy, and consecrates them for the service of God—he makes them worshippers. In verse 10, we learn that we are “sanctified,” set apart to be God’s holy people. In verse 14, we read that we are “perfected.”
In verses 15-18, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the effectiveness where he speaks of the New Covenant.
In verse 16, we learn that our hearts and minds are changed so that we can “do the will of God,” as Christ said is what God desires. Christ was given a body to do God’s will. And, through his ministry, he changes us so that being conformed to his image, we can do the same.
And, in verse 17, we see that our sins are removed through Jesus Christ’s death, so that we can enter into the presence of God to worship. As the Old Covenant sacrifices served to cause worshippers to “remember” their sins, Christ’s sacrifice causes them to be “remembered no more.”
Through faith in Christ…
…we become the people of God, heirs of the promise (Galatians).The Command to Worship - Verses 22-25
…we move from Sinai, the mountain that cannot be touched, to Zion and the heavenly assembly, and to God.
…we become priests to God (1 Peter 2:5,9; Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6).
…we offer sacrifices that are acceptable (Rom 12:1; Phil 2:17; 4:18).
…we become the true circumcision (Phil 3:3).
…we become the temple of God, both individually (1 Cor 6:19) and corporately (1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21).
All that is summarized in verses 19-21.
- We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, the way opened in his flesh.
- We have a great high priest over the house of God who has offered worship on our behalf.
Based on that foundation, the author of Hebrews gives us three exhortations:
In light of what Christ has done...
1) …we are to worship God through faith in the Worshipper. (verse 22)
We are commanded to “draw near” to God. That is the same language used in verse 1 of the priests. The difference is that now, through Christ, we are actually able to do this.
Remember Mount Sinai, where the people could not touch the mountain where God was present.
We do not draw near through a human priesthood, through music, or through repeated sacrifices. None of these bring us into the presence of God.
We draw near…
…with a true heart in full assurance of faith. True worship is a response to the Gospel. True worship is drawing near to God through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and being conformed into his image. “The full assurance of faith” refers to sincere, genuine faith that rests confidently in the finished work of Jesus Christ and submits to him.
…with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. This refers to a conscience that understands grace. It understands that sin is no longer an obstacle, because it has been removed through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
…with our bodies washed with pure water. This probably refers to lives that are transformed as a result of the renewal of the mind and heart through the New Covenant ministry of Christ.
True Worship
We should notice how we draw near “hearts” and “minds” and “bodies”—that is, as with Christ, the whole self is being presented to God.
Christ worshipped by using his body to do the will of God. Our worship becomes us, responding in faith to the finished work of Christ, using our whole being to do the will of God.
This appears to be the same idea stressed by Paul in Romans 12:1-2:
It is from all this that I’m using the following definition of worship this weekend:
Corporate Worship?
Many have asked the question: If worship is the presenting of the whole self to God through faith in Jesus Christ—and therefore, all of life is worship—is there really such a thing as “corporate worship?”
The answer is yes, there is such a thing as corporate worship. That can be answered on many fronts. For one, if worship is all of life, our corporate gathering is part of life and therefore worship.
Furthermore, the New Testament seems to speak of God dwelling amongst his gathered church in a special way, so much so that they corporately can be called “the temple of God.”
And, the church is the “body of Christ.” Corporate worship is the presenting “the body” as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
So, when I speak of corporate worship, I am speaking of: “the gathering together of God’s redeemed people to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by presenting their whole selves to God as a living sacrifice, seeking by faith to be conformed in the image of Jesus Christ.”
2) …we are to persevere as worshippers.
The second commandment given is to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” We are to “hang on” to Christ and the Gospel and not let go. This is a call to persevere based on God’s faithfulness to keep his promises.
The entire letter to the Hebrews is an extended exhortation to not depart from Christianity, especially by relapsing into Judaism and sacrifices. The readers were evidently tempted to depart from the faith due to persecution and hardship.
This letter is a call to faith and to endurance in the faith, because the two cannot be separated. Disobedience flows from unbelief. Therefore, they should be on guard against letting go of Christ:
3) …we are to assemble with other Christians to encourage them to do the same.
To “stir up” is to provoke, entice, and stimulate one another to love and good deeds. To encourage means to teach and admonish one another with the goal of strengthening each other’s faith. These we are called to do for one another. We are commanded not to forsake to meet together (as some evidently were doing).
But we are not merely to meet together. Rather, we are to “encourage one another.” Did you know that neglecting the assembly of believers is a discouragement to other believers? And neglecting the assembly of believers is an encouragement to them to forsake the faith?
Mutual Encouragement
We assemble for mutual encouragement. We cannot take a passive approach to corporate worship.
Everything that we do in corporate worship should be done to build up other Christians. This seemed to be a problem for the believers in Corinth, you remember. They were forgetting each other and putting themselves first (cf 1 Cor 11).
But we are not to be like to Corinthians or like those who forsake corporate worship. We assemble in light of “the Day drawing near.” The day is soon drawing when Christ will return to judge sinners and redeem his people. Therefore, we should press on and encourage others to do the same.
Why is this important?
In verses 10:26-31, the author lays out the consequence of failing to worship.
He says that if we go on sinning deliberately, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, that is, there no longer remains a way for your sins to be removed so that you can enter God’s presence.
What is this “deliberate sin?” It appears to be that of apostasy—disdain for Jesus Christ and the rejection of his sacrifice, which is what makes worship possible. It is “spurning the Son of God, profaning the blood of the covenant, and outraging the Spirit of grace.”
This matters because apostasy entails irreversible consequences. The level of privilege defines the extent of the peril. The one who sets the Gospel aside deserves a much worse punishment than the one who sets aside the law of Moses (and such a one died without mercy!).
The one who lets go of Christ can expect nothing other than the wrath of God.
The Assembly and Apostasy
How is it that we are kept in the faith? How is it that we persevere?
It is at this point in the study of Hebrews that the discussion goes off track into debates about whether a true believer can actually fall away from the faith and be damned. That is a distraction, because “Can a true believer fall away?” is the wrong question to be asking. We can resolve that question satisfactory from other passages of Scripture.
The author of Hebrews is not concerned about what the true state of those who have given up was. His concern is not really about whether it is possible or probable that they will fall away. (In fact, he says more than once that he has confidence that they are not of those who “shrink back and are destroyed.”)
What the author is doing is considering what would happen if in fact they did let go of Christ. And, he is warning them of what would happen if they quit believing so that they will not quit believing!
God ordains both the end and the means. The warnings of the peril of apostasy are the means that God uses to keep it from happening. And, that is one of the roles of corporate worship—to cause each other to persevere as worshippers.
Assembling for mutual encouragement is one of God’s means of causing his people to persevere in faith to the end. Again, Tom Schreiner writes:
The Wisdom of the Persecuted
This is where we can learn a lesson from the persecuted church. Why do persecuted believers gather in secret to hear God’s Word preached, to sing hymns, to baptize new converts, to pray together, to hear God’s Word read, when they know it could cost them their lives? Persecuted believers meet together when it could cost them their lives because they know that neglecting to meet together could cost them their souls (39).
Worship War
You should have a worship war every week, every Sunday morning. What is at stake is nothing short of life and death. This is why Paul called it the “fight of faith.” He told Timothy:
The church is to be a “band of brothers” who fight the “fight of faith” side-by-side. We should come every week on a search and find mission—to seek out and find the Gospel in all that we do. And we are to seek and find ways to encourage and stir up other believers to do the same.
How do we do this?
How do we encourage each other in corporate worship to persevere as worshippers? There are four means of encouragement included in this chapter that we ought to include in our corporate gatherings:
All of these elements should be present throughout the whole of our assembly, in…
And what are we, as individual worshippers, to do when we gather with the church? What mindset should we be encouraging in our members as they come together? We should remind them that…
Every Christian, have a responsibility to…
…attend corporate worship, unless hindered by circumstances beyond your control.
It is commanded here. Elsewhere, Paul pictures the local church as a body, as a family, as a building. That requires that we be attached to each other.
…think about ways to provoke and encourage other church members to persevere as worshippers.
Remember, you are God’s means cause your brothers and sisters to persevere in the faith.
...be pressing on toward maturity in Christ, so that you can teach younger believers.
So you should be asking: Is there a lonely person, a newcomer, a discouraged believer, a younger believer, a drifting believer, a discouraged believer who I need to get to know, to remind of God’s grace, to warn of danger, to take under my wing to disciple? You should constantly be on the look-out for someone to help along in the faith.
…to strengthen those whose faith is failing.
Imprisoned
In light of what Christ has done...
1) …we are to worship God through faith in the Worshipper. (verse 22)
We are commanded to “draw near” to God. That is the same language used in verse 1 of the priests. The difference is that now, through Christ, we are actually able to do this.
Remember Mount Sinai, where the people could not touch the mountain where God was present.
Exodus 19:12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.But the New Covenant offers us access to God.
Hebrews 12:18-24 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." 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, 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, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.How do we draw near?
We do not draw near through a human priesthood, through music, or through repeated sacrifices. None of these bring us into the presence of God.
We draw near…
…with a true heart in full assurance of faith. True worship is a response to the Gospel. True worship is drawing near to God through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and being conformed into his image. “The full assurance of faith” refers to sincere, genuine faith that rests confidently in the finished work of Jesus Christ and submits to him.
…with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. This refers to a conscience that understands grace. It understands that sin is no longer an obstacle, because it has been removed through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
…with our bodies washed with pure water. This probably refers to lives that are transformed as a result of the renewal of the mind and heart through the New Covenant ministry of Christ.
True Worship
We should notice how we draw near “hearts” and “minds” and “bodies”—that is, as with Christ, the whole self is being presented to God.
Christ worshipped by using his body to do the will of God. Our worship becomes us, responding in faith to the finished work of Christ, using our whole being to do the will of God.
This appears to be the same idea stressed by Paul in Romans 12:1-2:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Worship Defined
It is from all this that I’m using the following definition of worship this weekend:
Christian worship is the response of the believer to the Gospel by presenting the whole self to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.This is done by being conformed not to the world but to the image of Christ, which takes place through the renewal of the mind so that we know what God desires. Christian worship finds its origin in the work of God through the Gospel, and expresses itself in the redeemed through a response of joyful faith in God’s promises and faith-motivated obedience to his promises.
Corporate Worship?
Many have asked the question: If worship is the presenting of the whole self to God through faith in Jesus Christ—and therefore, all of life is worship—is there really such a thing as “corporate worship?”
The answer is yes, there is such a thing as corporate worship. That can be answered on many fronts. For one, if worship is all of life, our corporate gathering is part of life and therefore worship.
Furthermore, the New Testament seems to speak of God dwelling amongst his gathered church in a special way, so much so that they corporately can be called “the temple of God.”
And, the church is the “body of Christ.” Corporate worship is the presenting “the body” as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
So, when I speak of corporate worship, I am speaking of: “the gathering together of God’s redeemed people to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by presenting their whole selves to God as a living sacrifice, seeking by faith to be conformed in the image of Jesus Christ.”
2) …we are to persevere as worshippers.
The second commandment given is to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” We are to “hang on” to Christ and the Gospel and not let go. This is a call to persevere based on God’s faithfulness to keep his promises.
The entire letter to the Hebrews is an extended exhortation to not depart from Christianity, especially by relapsing into Judaism and sacrifices. The readers were evidently tempted to depart from the faith due to persecution and hardship.
This letter is a call to faith and to endurance in the faith, because the two cannot be separated. Disobedience flows from unbelief. Therefore, they should be on guard against letting go of Christ:
Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.All the arguments in the book fit together to support this message. Tom Schreiner, in A New Testament Theology (554), writes:
All the warnings together make one point: do not turn away from Jesus and his atonement, or you will be destroyed; keep trusting in God until the end.This is because endurance in the faith is necessary for eternal life.
Hebrews 2:1-3 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?Our passage is the beginning of a section of application in Hebrews (10:19-12:29). It forms one big argument that states: if we turn away from the cross of Christ for the cleansing of our sins, there is no other sacrifice for our sins and we can only expect judgment and destruction.
Hebrews 10:36-38 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."
3) …we are to assemble with other Christians to encourage them to do the same.
To “stir up” is to provoke, entice, and stimulate one another to love and good deeds. To encourage means to teach and admonish one another with the goal of strengthening each other’s faith. These we are called to do for one another. We are commanded not to forsake to meet together (as some evidently were doing).
But we are not merely to meet together. Rather, we are to “encourage one another.” Did you know that neglecting the assembly of believers is a discouragement to other believers? And neglecting the assembly of believers is an encouragement to them to forsake the faith?
Mutual Encouragement
We assemble for mutual encouragement. We cannot take a passive approach to corporate worship.
Everything that we do in corporate worship should be done to build up other Christians. This seemed to be a problem for the believers in Corinth, you remember. They were forgetting each other and putting themselves first (cf 1 Cor 11).
1 Corinthians 14:26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.The Coming Day
But we are not to be like to Corinthians or like those who forsake corporate worship. We assemble in light of “the Day drawing near.” The day is soon drawing when Christ will return to judge sinners and redeem his people. Therefore, we should press on and encourage others to do the same.
Why is this important?
In verses 10:26-31, the author lays out the consequence of failing to worship.
He says that if we go on sinning deliberately, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, that is, there no longer remains a way for your sins to be removed so that you can enter God’s presence.
What is this “deliberate sin?” It appears to be that of apostasy—disdain for Jesus Christ and the rejection of his sacrifice, which is what makes worship possible. It is “spurning the Son of God, profaning the blood of the covenant, and outraging the Spirit of grace.”
This matters because apostasy entails irreversible consequences. The level of privilege defines the extent of the peril. The one who sets the Gospel aside deserves a much worse punishment than the one who sets aside the law of Moses (and such a one died without mercy!).
The one who lets go of Christ can expect nothing other than the wrath of God.
Hebrews 3:6 And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.The very thought of God’s judgment is terrifying—and is meant to encourage you to persevere.
3:14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
10:37-39 For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
The Assembly and Apostasy
How is it that we are kept in the faith? How is it that we persevere?
It is at this point in the study of Hebrews that the discussion goes off track into debates about whether a true believer can actually fall away from the faith and be damned. That is a distraction, because “Can a true believer fall away?” is the wrong question to be asking. We can resolve that question satisfactory from other passages of Scripture.
The author of Hebrews is not concerned about what the true state of those who have given up was. His concern is not really about whether it is possible or probable that they will fall away. (In fact, he says more than once that he has confidence that they are not of those who “shrink back and are destroyed.”)
What the author is doing is considering what would happen if in fact they did let go of Christ. And, he is warning them of what would happen if they quit believing so that they will not quit believing!
God ordains both the end and the means. The warnings of the peril of apostasy are the means that God uses to keep it from happening. And, that is one of the roles of corporate worship—to cause each other to persevere as worshippers.
Assembling for mutual encouragement is one of God’s means of causing his people to persevere in faith to the end. Again, Tom Schreiner writes:
Apostasy is prevented by the daily encouragement and exhortation from fellow believers, and such exhortation cannot be gained apart from community. Hebrews allows no room for a Christian faith that operates only in the individual and private sphere.All this means that corporate worship is indispensible in the life and perseverance of a Christian. You cannot shrink back from the body of Christ without simultaneously shrinking back from Christ.
The Wisdom of the Persecuted
This is where we can learn a lesson from the persecuted church. Why do persecuted believers gather in secret to hear God’s Word preached, to sing hymns, to baptize new converts, to pray together, to hear God’s Word read, when they know it could cost them their lives? Persecuted believers meet together when it could cost them their lives because they know that neglecting to meet together could cost them their souls (39).
Worship War
You should have a worship war every week, every Sunday morning. What is at stake is nothing short of life and death. This is why Paul called it the “fight of faith.” He told Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.That is what corporate worship is about in all of its elements—fighting to take hold of Jesus Christ and keep on clinging to him. And, it is about making sure our comrades do the same.
The church is to be a “band of brothers” who fight the “fight of faith” side-by-side. We should come every week on a search and find mission—to seek out and find the Gospel in all that we do. And we are to seek and find ways to encourage and stir up other believers to do the same.
How do we do this?
How do we encourage each other in corporate worship to persevere as worshippers? There are four means of encouragement included in this chapter that we ought to include in our corporate gatherings:
1. The promises of the Gospel. The author explains and applies the finished work of Jesus Christ for those who believe.
2. The character of God. We are reminded that “he who promised is faithful” (23) and therefore we can have confidence in believing the promises of the Gospel.
3. The peril of apostasy. We are reminded that there is no salvation outside the Gospel. If we set aside Christ, there is no sacrifice for our sins. We can only expect judgment and a fury of fire.
4. The recollection of past graces. We are reminded of what God has already done in us. He is faithful. He will give us all the grace that we need to press on. So, press on!
All of these elements should be present throughout the whole of our assembly, in…
…the preaching of God’s Word.Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
…the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and admonish one another.
…the Scripture reading.
…the prayers.
…the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
And what are we, as individual worshippers, to do when we gather with the church? What mindset should we be encouraging in our members as they come together? We should remind them that…
Every Christian, have a responsibility to…
…attend corporate worship, unless hindered by circumstances beyond your control.
It is commanded here. Elsewhere, Paul pictures the local church as a body, as a family, as a building. That requires that we be attached to each other.
…think about ways to provoke and encourage other church members to persevere as worshippers.
Remember, you are God’s means cause your brothers and sisters to persevere in the faith.
...be pressing on toward maturity in Christ, so that you can teach younger believers.
Hebrews 5:11-14 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.…get involved in the life and faith of fellow church members.
Titus 2:2-8 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
So you should be asking: Is there a lonely person, a newcomer, a discouraged believer, a younger believer, a drifting believer, a discouraged believer who I need to get to know, to remind of God’s grace, to warn of danger, to take under my wing to disciple? You should constantly be on the look-out for someone to help along in the faith.
…to strengthen those whose faith is failing.
Hebrews 12:12-13 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.…to strive for peace and holiness among church members.
Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.…to seek out those who are drifting away from the faith and exhort them to faith and repentance.
Hebrews 12:15-17 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.…to love your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hebrews 3:12-14 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
Matthew 18:12-17 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
"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. 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. 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.
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.…to host and care for visiting and new believers in the congregation.
Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.…seek out and care for those who are absent and have needs.
Imprisoned
Hebrews 13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.Those that are in need.
Hebrews 10:34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
Heb 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.…greet the saints.
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 2:15-17 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
1 John 3:17-18 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Matthew 25:34-46 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Hebrews 13:24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints.You should attend worship…
Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Corinthians 16:20 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
2 Corinthians 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Thessalonians 5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.
…looking to hear about and see what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
…looking for ways to help others do the same.
