You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44, ESV)
Chapter Seven - The Result - Part 2 - Duped by the Devil
Putting Christian history in a nutshell, denominations, and churches in response to the various doctrines, needed to develop appropriate protocols, rituals, and procedures that reflected their theologies and dogma (that being beliefs, fundamental principles or opinions held to be true). Most migrated to some form of gathering on Sunday morning and the concept of a “worship service” was born. Due to the differences in theology and practices, the various followers gathered only among themselves so they will not be influenced by what they believed to be false teaching nor be corrupted by following some wrong protocol. At this point many of the basic theological terms have taken on special meanings and common terminology such as sacraments, baptism, communion, etc., are interpreted and practiced differently. Much of church growth during this time was from people pulling away from older churches in order to start another church, not in response to new church planting but due to disagreements and lack of unity. The church as a result loses impact as the world sees only turmoil and disagreements and not Jesus. Just as Satan planned.
Have you ever wondered where today’s Sunday morning “worship service” format came from? Before I go any further, just as there are various viewpoints of theology, there are many viewpoints regarding the Sunday morning experience. I am not trying to criticize any denomination’s or church’s concept of worship. I am only pointing out that every aspect of a Christian’s life is vulnerable to false teaching, including worship.
If I were to ask the question, “What is worship,” I would receive a wide-range of answers. Why? For one, the method of worship (or protocol) is not specified in the New Testament. We will come back to that fact in a moment. The Bible does briefly mention gathering on Sunday (see Acts 20:7), many believe that tradition was started as a way to honor the day of the week Jesus was resurrected. Since most of the first Christians were Jews, many continued to meet on Saturday as the Sabbath day was not only habit, their communities were structured around the day of rest. Some Christians to this day, equate meeting on Sunday to be equivalent to keeping the Sabbath as presented in what we now call the “Ten Commandments” (see Exodus 20:8-11), technically it is not.
Perhaps one of the most volatile issues within Christianity is the subject of worship. The term has been bantered around so often, it has lost most of its meaning. So why didn’t God specify worship protocols? Well actually He did, but most Christians, possibly due to being brought up in a church from a young age, have difficulty in accepting it because it is different than what they have been taught. So where are those worship instructions? The apostle Paul specified them in Romans 12:1, “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.” Paul connects the worship requirements of the law to what God desires from believers today. We are to live for God, in obedience to Him 24 hours a day and seven days a week. In other words, we follow Jesus at all times, regardless of where we are and what we are doing. This is our worship, so what is the Sunday morning experience all about?
Through the years Christian “worship services” have evolved and changed. Some denominations encourage shorter services while others extend into several hours. If obedience is what God wants, then what does this ‘service’ time provide? Paul in his epistle to the church at Ephesus stated that the primary role of the church was to equip believers so that they can do the work of their ministry (remember, all Christians are to be involved in evangelism, as stated in the Great Commission, see Matthew 28:18-20). Paul wrote: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16, ESV) Note when that process is to stop, when all attain unity of faith and maturity and no longer think like children. Has that ever been attained? No, so first and foremost, the church needs to teach. Preaching and teaching are critical, every Christian should always be involved in some form of Bible study. Also note that Paul referred to growing by working together with other believers, so fellowship becomes another priority. That while together they can share in praising God and offering prayers. A healthy church would be seen and heard actively involved in teaching, evangelism, fellowship, praise and praying. Therefore, the Sunday morning experience becomes a supplement, much like taking vitamins to supplement our daily intake, our church experience should aid in our Spiritual health.
But sadly, many denominations have made the “worship service” the main attraction, making it the central part of a Christian’s life. You might be asking why is that a bad thing? Because in those circumstances, the worship service can become more important than their relationship with Jesus. Instead of being equipped to do God’s work, and worship Him through daily obedience, they are only Spiritually living on the supplement. And just like our body’s physical needs can’t be sustained by taking pills, we cannot serve God or have a healthy Spiritual life. You’re probably thinking that I am overreacting, I don’t think so. Too many people today that identify themselves as a ‘Christian’, believe all they need to do in order to be saved is to go to church, this is obviously not true. Even children at an early age have made similar professions. Where did they get that idea?
As the Sunday morning worship service became the centerpiece of the average church member, it soon became the priority. Again, at first glance that certainly can’t be a bad thing, right? But when the Sunday morning experience overshadows the need for evangelism (see Matthew 28:18-20), being an ambassador for Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:20) and serving others (see 2 Corinthians 5:18), it is a difficult trend to reverse. When a church fails to equip its people or encourage them to represent Jesus in a fallen world, then what role is the church playing in God’s kingdom?
Perhaps as a provider of prayers, praise, and fellowship, the church can survive for a while. But if a denomination or church becomes only interested in maintaining what they have been doing and not interested in following God, they run the risk of what happened to the church in Laodicea. If Jesus is on the outside of the church, He is no longer in charge. Sadly, that church is no longer useful to Him.