THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
“Unauthorized Innovations in Worship” [Part 2]
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25). I’m Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
And I’m Timothy Sparks. Welcome to our study of unauthorized innovations in worship. This lesson is being brought to you by individual members and congregations of the Lord’s church. We invite you to visit the church of Christ in your area, where you will be a welcome visitor and will find people who genuinely love God and His Word. We are making available each of these broadcasts on CD or DVD completely free of charge. If you would like a copy of this lesson or any of the other lessons we have in our broadcast series, you may log onto our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, fill out the request form you will find there, and we will be happy to send you whatever you need. We also have available on our website streaming video and audio of these lessons, as well as a Bible correspondence course. Plus, written transcripts of these lessons are available as well (accompanied by study questions). These can be obtained either online from our website (in both PDF and html formats), or as bound volumes (which are available from our offices). We would like to help you in your study of God’s Word in any way that we can.
There are a number of things that are occurring in worship in the religious world in general, and even in the Lord’s church, that may be controversial, but that, in view of their importance, and in view of eternity, we need to discuss.
Ben Bailey:
We are not discussing these matters because they are controversial. Rather, we are discussing them because we want to help people go to Heaven. Jesus Himself said some things that were hard for people to accept. The reason He said such things, however, was to help them learn how to worship God correctly and how to save their souls. The title of this two-part series is “unauthorized innovations in worship.” When we say “unauthorized,” we are referring to things that, in the Bible, God has not stated or implied that we should do in our worship of Him. Jesus said that He had “all authority” (Mt. 28:28). We are to follow in Jesus’ steps. We therefore must do only what we find authorized in the New Testament. We must not “go beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6). One fairly new innovation is the idea of dedicating babies. Those who promote such a concept state that the authority for dedicating babies comes from Luke 2. There, we see that Mary has given birth to Jesus and is going through her purification rite (as set forth in Leviticus 13). They dedicate Jesus, purify Mary, and offer a turtle dove. People suggest that since they dedicated Jesus, and since we today want to have godly children, we need to dedicate our babies, too. But is there any difference between what Jesus’ parents did under the Old Law, and what we should do today?
Timothy Sparks:
The Book of Hebrews tells us that a will or testament does not go into effect until the death of the testator (the one who makes the covenant). Christ, through His death, has removed the Old Law. Today, we live under the New Testament—the last will and testament of Jesus Christ. We must not try to seek authority in the Old Testament for New Testament practices. Some people might be confused and say, “But the dedication of Jesus occurs in the New Testament.” What we must help people understand, of course, is that Jesus lived, went about His ministry, and died under the Old Law. His life was intended to establish for us what we are to do this side of the cross.
Ben Bailey:
It was at Jesus’ death that the New Law began. Everything that Jesus did, and that His parents did, was in accordance with Levitical law. We do not live under the Levitical system today. When we look in the New Testament (for example, in the Book of Acts), do we see Christians gathering up babies to dedicate them as a part of worship? No, we do not. Gathering the parents and babies at the front of the auditorium to dedicate the babies as a part of worship is not something we find in the New Testament. Of course children are important to God. And yes, parents ought to make it their goal to rear their children as godly individuals—just as Hannah wanted to do with her son Samuel (1 Samuel and 2).
Timothy Sparks:
Hannah said that if God would give her a son, she would be willing to dedicate Him to God’s service, “all the days of his life.” The name Samuel means “heard by God.” About the time Samuel was weaned (likely, in those days, somewhere between the ages of 3 and 4 years old), she took him to Eli the priest to be trained. She fulfilled her promise to God. What are parents supposed to do today? Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Fathers are to be the spiritual head of the house, but mothers are to teach their children, too. The principle set forth in Deuteronomy 6 regarding the rearing of children is that we are to teach our children when they arise in the morning, when they sit down to eat, and when they lie down at night. That principle is held over in the New Testament as well. Parents are to be concerned with the instruction and spiritual welfare of their children, and must view those things as a top priority and necessity. Whatever a parent writes on the heart of a child, no water can wash away. Parents leave an indelible impression upon their children, whether it is for good or for evil. We need to be very careful as we direct children in the way of the Lord. One poet put it like this:
A careful man I ought to be;
A little fellow follows me.
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he’ll go the selfsame way.
Like me, he says, he’s going to be—
That little fellow who follows me.
Parents do indeed have an awesome responsibility to their children. But dedicating babies is not how we help our children become dedicated, committed followers of God.
Ben Bailey:
Another innovation in worship is chain prayers, including women leading in prayer. For example, when a group is gathered, they may get in a circle, hold hands, and have one of them start a prayer. The one who starts the prayer does not end it, but “passes it on” to the person next to him—a process that continues until the prayer makes a full circle and the last person says “Amen.” What do we find in the Bible about chain prayers? Is there even one example of such?
Timothy Sparks:
We do not have any such example in the New Testament. Furthermore, we see from 1 Timothy 2:8 that it is the men who are to pray in such public settings. Paul, an inspired apostle of the Lord, wrote, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” The Greek word he used for “men” is specific to males. Men are to be the leaders in prayer. That is the way God set it up. Later, in 1 Timothy 2:13, Paul said “for Adam was first formed, then Eve.” Some have suggested that Paul’s comment was based merely on the culture at the time. But Paul did not say it was “cultural.” Instead, he went back to the beginning of time and stated that his point related directly to the creation of humans at the hand of God. Who are we to question the fact that God has established men as the spiritual leaders? Men are to lead in prayer. Do we find an example of a chain prayer in the New Testament? No, we do not. Why would we want to do something for which we have no biblical authority?
Ben Bailey:
The problem with chain prayers and women praying is, first, there is no biblical authority for them anywhere in the New Testament. If we are going to speak as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11), and if we are going to worship as God has commanded us to worship in the New Testament, then we will not engage in chain prayers because Christians in the first century did not do such things. Prayer is to be between the person doing the praying and God. While others in a public worship setting may follow along in their mind, never in the New Testament do you see a chain prayer going on. Second, such prayers violate the principle of authority set out in the New Testament concerning whom God has designated as the one(s) to be praying. Paul made it clear in 1 Timothy 2:8 that men are to be the public leaders in prayer. Imagine a setting in which there is a mixed group of people containing (in a circle) a man, a woman, a man, a woman, and so on. If it is suggested that a prayer should be offered and there are men present, it is the men who should be leading the prayer. If the prayer goes around the circle and women pray, does that not violate the principle of authority set out in 1 Timothy 2:8? It certainly does. God has placed the man in the position of authority, and he is the one who is to lead the prayer. There are many things that people appear to want to bring into worship to make them feel better, or to get them out of the rut of “always doing it the old way.” But what is wrong with just worshiping God the way we find people worshiping Him in the Bible?
Timothy Sparks:
We are to be people who approach God with reverence and godly fear. We need to be concerned, not with “what we can get out of it?,” but instead, “what can we put into it?” How can we do exactly what God has said, and “humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord?” so that He can exalt us (Jas. 4:10)? Peter wrote, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:5-6). Our responsibility is to do what God has commanded. We must be willing to drop our pride—and do only what God has said. That is a big part of the problem today—people’s pride. This is what I want to do, and this is what I feel good about. If I don’t get what I think I need to get out of worship, then I’m not happy. And God wants me to be happy.”
Ben Bailey:
That is exactly the idea that God presented to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15. Saul had made several changes to what God had commanded him to do. God’s response was, “It is better to obey….” Then Samuel the prophet said on God’s behalf, “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king." Many people—in pride, rebellion, and choosing to do things “their way”—have gone the way of Saul. We must be very careful not to add to what God has commanded us. Another innovation in worship today has to do with simultaneously combining two acts of worship. For example, some have suggested that we should sing while we are partaking of the Lord’s Supper. The problem with this is that, in the New Testament, you never see two acts of worship combined into one so that they can take place at the same time. Imagine if the preacher were in the midst of his sermon, spreading the message of Jesus, and someone jumped up and began praying out loud. We very likely would think that something was wrong with the person who did such a thing. Or, what if in the middle observing the Lord’s Supper, someone began to pass around the collection plates? Singing during the Lord’s Supper presents a problem because as the emblems are being passed around, people are trying to concentrate on what the Lord’s Supper represents—Christ’s death on the cross. It is inconsiderate to do something during the Lord’s Supper that would distract people from concentrating on the death of Christ.
Timothy Sparks:
Paul said that “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). Later in that same chapter, we are told, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (vs. 40). Furthermore, we see no example in the New Testament of Christians singing while they are partaking of the Lord’s Supper. We must find authority for what we do in worship by a direct command (a “thus saith the Lord”), from an approved example that authorizes us to do something, or from something that is necessary implied. There are no things such as these when it comes to singing during the Lord’s Supper. If God had wanted us to sing during the Lord’s Supper, then why do we not find an example of that occurring in the first-century church? At the institution of the Lord’s Supper in Matthew 26, we see that after those present had partaken of the emblems, then they sang a hymn. But we do not see singing during the Lord’s Supper. There were ample opportunities for examples of singing during the Lord’s Supper to be provided if God had wanted us to do that. But we have no such examples. Great caution must be exercised before we do something for which we have no biblical authority.
Ben Bailey:
Another problem related to innovations in worship has to do with the time of the year. People frequently bring innovations into worship around Christmas or Easter. We frequently hear of people who are having some type of special “Christmas service” or “Eastern service.”
Timothy Sparks:
First, we must recognize that nothing is said in the Bible about Christmas or Easter. Yes, the King James Version of the Bible does use the word “Easter” (Acts 12:4). But that is a mistranslation. The word should be Passover, not Easter. King James ordered his translators to insert the word “Easter” into the text. Actually, Easter was something associated with pagan worship and rituals, and came much later than New Testament times. Christmas, so far as the Bible is concerned, has nothing to do with Christ’s birth. Scholars suggest that He likely was born in the spring or summer, not on December 25th during the wintertime. We must be careful not to exalt days like these. The day that is most important to Christians is Sunday—the day when Jesus was raised from the dead. We find from the New Testament that it was on the first day of the week that Christians came together to worship, took the Lord’s Supper, sang, heard the Gospel proclaimed, prayed, and took up a collection. The “resurrection day” (the first day of the week) is when we are supposed to come together to worship. We are not authorized to set apart special days like Christmas or Easter. Unfortunately, those two days are the only days that some people show up to worship God because they have the idea that there is something “special” about the days themselves.
Ben Bailey:
It seems that some people have the impression that these are “holy days,” and that they need to come to worship because there is something “special” about them. But the fact is, neither Christmas nor Easter is authorized within God’s Word. And we do not see the New Testament church observing such days. The ideas of getting a cross and dragging it down the aisle during a Christmas celebration, or having an Easter Passover celebration of some kind, are not things that the New Testament church did. What did they remember? They remembered the Lord’s death and burial. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.” We are never taught to commemorate the Lord’s birth. While we certainly are thankful that Christ was born and came to Earth, it is an unauthorized innovation into worship to God to suggest that Christmas is some sort of holy day that we need to observe with special events, special singing, etc. The basic question comes down to this: Are we going to follow the Bible, tread on safe ground, and do only what the Scriptures teach? If we were to do that, neither Christmas nor Easter would be celebrated as religious holy days.
Timothy Sparks:
Another innovation in worship today is the lifting up of hands. People will go to passages such as 1 Timothy 2 to support such a practice, since there we find a reference to “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (vs. 8). But examine the context. This is discussing a prayer posture. Notice who is commanded to “lift up holy hands.” Paul said, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” Paul is not talking about literally holding up “holy hands.” Is there anything about our hands that is “holy”? Paul is alluding to the fact that godly men who live holy lives are the ones who are to lead in prayer. His reference to “holy hands” is a figure of speech designating holiness. He is speaking of men to whom people can look and say, “This is a man of God.” When it comes to such things as song leaders and prayer leaders, we need to have holy men who are living Christ-like lives. What we see today in the religious world as “lifting up holy hands” is more of a “wave,” where people put their palms out and sway back and forth. This, however, is not remotely similar to what would have been done in Bible times. Consider King Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8. His posture would have been palms facing in—being in a position to make a request of God and to beg for God’s mercy. Today when you see people raising their hands, their palms are out and they are swooning left to right as if to call attention to themselves. I am not saying this to make fun of anyone. This is actually what is transpiring in the religious world. When we call attention to this, we are doing so out of genuine concern in order to save people’s souls.
Ben Bailey:
We want to help people come back to the Bible, be children of God, and worship God acceptably—which is what this two-part series of lessons is designed to do. Another innovation has to do with women preaching and being placed in leadership roles. Since preaching is an act of worship, then women preaching would be an innovation in worship. In the New Testament, you do not see women preaching when men are present. In Titus 2, women are taught to teach other women and to teach their children. But in a place where both men and women are present together (such as in corporate worship), you do not see women preaching. In 1 Timothy 2:11-12, we find this clear teaching. “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” Some will say, “Well, Paul’s statement is based on society,” or “Paul did not like women.” But Paul goes on to say in verses 13-15 that his statements are based on historical events that are recorded in Genesis 3, and it is based on God’s principle of the man being in authority in the home and in worship going all the way back to Adam and Eve. This is a principle of God that also is found in 1 Corinthians 14:34, which states that if women want to learn, they should keep silent and ask their husbands at home. The innovation in worship of women preachers is completely foreign to the New Testament.
Timothy Sparks:
The authority we see in the Bible is that God is the Head of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church. The husband is the head of the wife, and men (as we learn from 1 Timothy 2) are the spiritual leaders—in praying, in singing, and in worship in general. That is the way God set things up. But another innovation we see is “children’s worship.” In such an instance, congregations have worship for children separate from the corporate worship assembly. There may be a number of reasons for this—like the allegation that children make too much noise, and it is quieter and easier to worship if the children have their own assembly. But is this authorized? In 1 Corinthians 11:20, Paul spoke of “coming together in one place.” How are we all “in one place” if the adults are in one part of the building and the children are in another part? If this takes place, then we cannot all be together to take the Lord’s Supper, as is authorized in the New Testament.
Ben Bailey:
If some adult Christians are in a separate part of the building teaching the children during worship, then they cannot participate in the corporate worship assembly as commanded in 1 Corinthians 11:19-20. Also, children’s worship does not help with the problem; it panders to it! Some parents may have trouble keeping their children still. So, instead of the parents teaching their children how to behave in the worship assembly by doing such things as singing, listening to the sermon, and looking up Scriptures in the Bible, we ship them off to another part of the building to leave the parents free to worship. This panders to the problem instead of preventing the problem by teaching children how to worship God correctly. Children learn so much by sitting in a worship assembly and watching others who understand how serious a matter this really is. It impresses upon a child that this is not “play time.” It helps parents say to their children, “This is what we need to do to worship God.”
Timothy Sparks:
We need to make clear here that we are talking about the corporate worship of the church, not about times set aside for Bible classes (which are good). In our worship, the New Testament makes it clear that we are to come together to sing, pray, take of the Lord’s Supper, give, and hear the Gospel proclaimed. Another innovation in worship today is choirs and solos. However, the Scriptures show us that God has authorized congregational singing—not small groups that sing for or to us. We have no authority for a soloist or a choir.
Ben Bailey:
The principle has always been that we must go to the Bible, and that we must do as God has commanded us to do. We do not need to go beyond what is written. All we have to do to be right with God is to do what He has said. You can take the Bible, follow it to the letter, and know that you are right with God. If we bring in innovations and make a lot of changes, then we are no longer on safe ground. We plead with you today to conform your worship to the worship seen in the New Testament.
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. What is the message for us today from Proverbs 16:25?
2. This lesson deals with “unauthorized innovations in worship.” What does the word “unauthorized” mean?
3. What is wrong with “dedicating babies”?
4. What is wrong with chain prayers?
5. According to Paul’s explicit statement in 1 Timothy 2:8, if there is a situation where men and women are both present, who is to do the praying?
6. According to 1 Timothy 2:13, what was the basis for Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 2:8?
7. Considering the context of 1 Peter 5:5-6, what is likely behind many of the unauthorized innovations being introduced into worship to God today?
8. What did King Saul do (1 Samuel 15) that elicited a divine condemnation from Heaven?
9. What is wrong with singing during the Lord’s Supper?
10. What does the word “Easter” in Acts 12:4 (in the King James Version of the Bible) actually mean?
11. Is there any authorization in the New Testament for observing such “special” days as Easter and Christmas?
12. What does the phrase, “lifting up holy hands” (1 Tim. 2:8), mean?
13. What is the difference between a biblical prayer posture (i.e., one with palms facing in) and the innovation in worship today of “lifting up hands” accompanied by swaying?
14. How does Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 impact the practice today of allowing women to preach publicly in mixed audiences.
15. There are at least two problems associated with “children’s worship.” What are those two problems?
16. According to Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:34, what are women to do if they want to ask questions or learn something in regard to the Scriptures?
17. What is the value of having children in the corporate worship of the church?
18. What is wrong with such innovations in the modern-day worship of the church as the use of choirs or solos?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, 607 McLish Ave., Ardmore, OK 73401; (580) 223-3289; www.thegospelofchrist.com