|
THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 6, NUMBER
9, IS GIVING AN ACT OF WORSHIP? What is worship? Is it possible to give one all-encompassing definition in just a few short sentences? Not if you are serious about understanding what it is. We can go to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary and find several definitions listed there, such as, “1. Reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. 2. Formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: 3. Adoring reverence or regard:…6. To render religious reverence and homage to. 7. To feel an adoring reverence or regard for…” This is just a sampling, there were actually ten definitions given, as well as the synonyms “honor, homage, adoration, idolatry, venerate, revere, adore, glorify, idolize, adulate.” When we turn our attention to God’s word, we find that in the New Testament there are at least six different Greek words that are translated as “worship,” when used as a verb. They all have different nuances in meaning. The most frequent word rendered worship is “proskuneo,” which means “to make obeisance, do reverence to.” It is used of an act of homage or reverence. The other words are “sebomai,” meaning to revere; “sebazomai” meaning to honor religiously; “latreuo” meaning to serve, to render religious service or homage; “eusebeo” meaning to act piously towards; and “therapeuo” meaning to serve, do service to. In the Old Testament the principle word for worship is “shahah” appearing at least 95 times. It contains both the ideas of the physical acts of worship as well as the volitional and emotional idea as well. The context determines more or less clearly which idea is intended. Examination of the Old Testament concept of worship shows that it is the “reverential attitude of mind or body or both, combined with the more generic notions of religious adoration, obedience, service.” Examination of the New Testament idea of worship shows that it is “a combination of the reverential attitude of mind and body, the general ceremonial and religious service of God, the feeling of awe, veneration, adoration.” It is a massive subject the study of which had better not be taken lightly. The worship of God is enjoined upon all men. The book of Psalms is filled with general calls to worship. Jesus, in John 4:23-24, said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” In Revelation 19:10, we read, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of they brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” There is a question that has been bandied about recently concerning the giving of our means upon the first day of the week, about the contribution. It has been questioned whether or not this is an act of worship. Is it an act of reverence or homage? Is it an act of service, an act of piety? All of this must be taken into consideration as one seeks to answer that question, for all of it is involved in both the New and Old Testament teaching concerning worship. Romans 15:4 tells us, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” We can, and must, learn a great deal from the Old Testament, including some wonderful principles about worship. Surely what happened with Cain in Genesis 4 and with Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 teach us the seriousness of worshipping God in the way that He has set forth. These passages, as well as others, show us that when God gives a pattern for worship, it behooves man to abide by it. Let’s consider Deuteronomy 12. In this chapter worship laws were set forth as Moses restated that which God had given to him. The chapter starts in verses 1-4 by stating that when they entered the land of Canaan, all pagan sanctuaries and other paraphernalia were to be destroyed. Next come verses 5-14, which state, “But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: and thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free will offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: and there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you. But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there: thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord. And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offering in every place that thou seest: but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.” Thus, legitimate worship could only take place at that spot that the Lord would designate. The phrase “the place which the Lord shall choose” appears six times in Deut. 12, not to mention eleven other times in the book. At that place, at that sanctuary (if I may use that term) all tithes, gifts, and sacrificed were to be presented in worship. Verses 15-28 make the point that slaughtering and the eating of meat for ordinary meals could take place anywhere. However, religious meals were restricted to that central place which the Lord would choose. Verse 29-32 warn the Israelites that they must not emulate the detestable idolatrous worship practices of the Canaanite. From this passage there can be no argument that the giving of money, as well as other goods, was viewed by God, indeed commanded by God, as worship. Let’s not stop here though, let’s go to Numbers 18 and consider verses 24-29. The passage says, “But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe. And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord’s heave offering to Aaron the priest. Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the Lord, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.” Thus the tithes of the Israelites were referred to as a “heave offering” and the 1/10 of the tithes that the Levites had received they also had to offer to God as a “heave offering.” Brethren, the “heave offerings” were part of the peace offerings, offered in worship to God. The peace offerings indicated right relations with God, and expressed fellowship with Him, gratitude and a sense of obligation. The heave offerings were that which was lifted up, dedicated in service to Jehovah, consecrated to Him. Once again, without possible argument, the giving of the tithes, including money as well as other things, was considering an offering, a sacrifice to God. It was an act of worship which was to be done in the legitimate place for worship. This principle of giving as an act of worship (and yes, there are acts of worship – indeed, worship can be partially defined as an act of reverence or homage) is also found in the New Testament and reemphasized as such. Most bible students are familiar with 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. However, I am afraid that many have not gone deeply enough in their study of this passage to understand or know all of its ramifications. The passage says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” We first consider the word “collection.” That word is “logeia” and was thought to have been derived from “lego” and to be a word distinctive to the New Testament. This is a point made in Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon. However, additional work by archaeologists, particularly Adolf Deissmann, has produced papyri that tell a different story. We now know that the word “logeia” was derived from the word “logeuo” (I collect) and was commonly used in Paul’s day. Deissmann wrote, “We find it used chiefly of religious collections for a god, a temple, etc., just as St. Paul uses it of his collection of money for the ‘saints’ at Jerusalem.” (Adolf Deissmann, Light From the Ancient East). What is the big deal? The importance of this discovery is to prove that Paul used the word just as his contemporaries used it. The normal usage of the word was that of a collection in the “formal” sense. He wasn’t telling the Corinthians to put a little money away every week in a jar at home. Rather, just as faithful Christian scholars had asserted all along, he was instructing them to take a formal collection on the first day of every week. Some have
argued that this passage only authorizes taking a collection to relieve the
needs of the poor saints among the brethren and not for general purposes.
“This passage has never used to show all
of the scriptural usages of the first-day-of-the-week collection.
Instead, it has been used, and properly so, as the only passage in the
Bible to tell how churches raised their funds in the New Testament.
Other passages imply a common treasury (2 Cor. 11:8; Philippians One would wonder why giving as worship, so clearly set forth in the Old Testament (and we will see it set forth equally clearly in the New) is now being questioned. Where in the New Testament is singing designated as worship? Where is partaking of the Lord’s Supper said to be worship? We all recognize and understand that these things are indeed acts of worship and we understand and recognize that from passages such as 1 Corinthians 11, 12, 13, 14 that these things are done when the whole church comes together into one place, or in the assembly. We also recognize that the only authorized time to partake of the Lord’s Supper and to take that formal collection (remember now, a formal collection has been proven to be the way the word was used in Paul’s time) is on the first day of the week. Men may do those two things on other days, but not by faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Brother Robert Turner, in his wonderful little magazine, Plain Talk, answered a question about giving and the collection that is pertinent to this article. It appeared in the February, 1967 edition of his paper. I know that Brother Turner hit the nail right on the head. Here are the question and his answer. “Brother Turner: Years ago I head of a brother who said collection should be taken only for some specific purpose. Recently I have heard this repeated, and the whole idea of church treasury questioned. Please comment on this. Reply: This is an age-old hobby-horse, repeatedly raised. Lipscomb had to deal with it in his day…. It is true that we give for specific purposes—i.e., the treasury is not the end or purpose for giving. As saints of God, we have obligations to meet, work to do. Some of this work is done distributively, as individuals (Gal. 6:6) and some is done collectively (Phil. 4:15). To act collectively there must be a pooling of our means and/or abilities; and money is the medium of exchange by which this is usually done…The treasury (pooled fund) is just a means to the end we may act collectively in whatever work is proposed…. If I didn’t believe God had a full time work which He wants His saints to do collectively, I certainly would not consider a continuous ‘collection’ or treasury necessary. 1 Cor. 16:1-2 stipulates purpose for the ‘laying by’ on the first day of every week. They had a treasury to help the needy saints. The ‘collection’ of vs. 1, and the ‘gathering’ (KJ) of vs.2, are from ‘logeuo” and refer to a ‘religious collection’ as for a god or temple. This was what some today sneeringly refer to as a ‘church’ collection; but it had a specific purpose as we have seen. Phil. 4:15 and other passages show there were other purposes for the pooling of funds; such as supporting preachers. Saints who work and worship together scripturally have divine purposes, either specifically or generically, for all they do. It is to the end that these divine purposes may be carried out –collectively—that the treasury exists, is used, and must be replenished… To question the whole idea of a ‘church treasury’ is to question the God given privilege and obligation of saints to function collectively. It is a shameful end to which some of my brethren have come. Fighting abuses of the ‘church treasury’ –and there are such—they are casting God’s plan aside. Echo, THEY SHALL NOT PASS!” I can but add a hearty and heartfelt AMEN! We have seen Phil. 4:15 mentioned repeatedly in this discussion. Let’s read it through vs. 18. “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia , no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.” This was an act
of giving done collectively by the brethren in Make no mistake. An in-depth study of the matter demonstrates that God views giving of our means as worship! He always has, He always will. Greg Litmer
|