Chapter IV: Worship

Let us look next at the acts of worship. There’s no place in the Bible which says in so many words, “Here are the acts ye shall perform as worship to Jehovah”; but there _are_ certain acts commanded, which are, by their very nature, acts of worship. Therefore, God does state for us the acts which the members of His church shall perform in worship unto Him.

First, they should _pray_. Acts 2:42 states that the church at Jerusalem continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayer. Acts 20:36 gives us an example of public prayer. At the seaside the apostle Paul knelt down with those who were gathered with him and prayed unto God. Prayer by its very nature is an act of worship.

We also learn in First Corinthians 16:1 and 2, that we should _lay by in store_ upon the first day of the week as we have been prospered; and that itself is an item of worship. Giving or sacrificing unto God for the sake of God is an act of worship.

From Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, and many other Scriptures that could be listed, we learn that _teaching and studying the Bible_ are also commanded of God’s children; and that, likewise, is worship.

In Ephesians 5:19 we read these words, “Speaking unto yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” And in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” These Scriptures command us to _sing_ praises to God and admonitions unto each other, which is naturally an act of worship.

And then, finally, we are taught to eat the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 11:17-34; Luke 22:19-20). Acts 20:7 tells us that this shall be done on the first day of the week. The church at Troas, under apostolic guidance, met upon _the first day of the week_ to eat the Lord’s supper. And, friends, “the sabbath day,” as the expression was used in the Old Testament, meant every sabbath day, and by the same line of reasoning, “the first day of the week” means the first day of every week.

Tomorrow students will be registering out at Peabody and Vanderbilt. Their schedules will state that a certain class meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They will not state that it meets _every_ Monday and _every_ Wednesday and _every_ Friday, but even a college freshman will understand what is meant! When we are told that a class meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we know that it meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of every week.

If you were to search the New Testament to find out how often we should eat the Lord’s supper, you would not find the slightest suggestion that it should be eaten once a year. You would find no sort of hint that it should be taken upon the first of every quarter or upon one Sunday out of each month. The only Scripture which throws any light whatsoever upon the question puts it upon a weekly basis.

John 4:24 shows that all these acts of worship must be done in spirit and in truth. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

That’s what the Bible teaches about the worship of the Bible church. The church which does these five things in spirit and in truth is the right church as far as the worship is concerned. A church might be right in worship and wrong in doctrine, or vice versa; but the church which, in spirit and in truth, teaches and practices these five items and only these, is right in its worship; and the church that preaches and practices anything different from this is wrong. The Bible is right. This is what the Bible teaches. The church which does this is consequently right; the one which doesn’t is wrong.