Keeping The Word in Worship

Last post I discussed what we do in worship and how the things we do in church are either to strengthen our faith, or forgive our sins (or both). The things we do are either a sacrament (baptism and communion), or they proclaim God’s Word.  That is why we are a Word and sacrament church.  Those are the means of Grace. I also discussed how all that we say, pray, or sing during worship is simply repeating back what God has already told us, which is His Word. This post, I will focus on the Word.

Unfortunately, some churches have begun “watering down” the hymns they sing by taking out Biblical truths that make them uncomfortable, such as God’s wrath, or even the Trinity. Since the point of singing in Church is to convey God’s Word, all of God’s Word needs to remain in the songs, both law and Gospel, even if it makes us uncomfortable.  What songs are sung is not a matter of our preference, because we are to be conformed to prefer what God prefers, which is His truth in its entirety.

Likewise, some churches have “watered down” the creeds into generic “statements of faith” that people of many religions can agree with. Others have diluted the confession to statements about trying to do better, so as to not offend people by proclaiming the depths of their depravity, thus lessening the power of the Gospel message as well. Many churches have simply discarded creeds and confessions all together, to avoid the issue.  However, avoiding God’s word is not good, right, nor beneficial.

Jesus taught us that through our prayers we proclaim God’s Word as well. When we praise God, we are saying what He has said about Himself, so that is easy to see. What about petitions though, when we ask God for something? Not only is that proclaiming God’s Word, but He always answers “yes”. I used to think God sometimes answered “no” to prayers for good reasons, until corrected by a pastor. When we ask for our daily bread, or forgiveness of our sins, or pray “Lord have Mercy”, it is no more than asking for what God has already promised us, so he says yes.  When we faithfully petition God for other things we pray that God’s will be done and he answers yes, that His will is and will be done.

We call ourselves Christian after Jesus Christ, who is the one all of scripture is about (Luke 24:27,44). Indeed, Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1), showing that as Christians, the Word of God must be preached and taught. This is why we proclaim sola scriptura, scripture alone, along with the reformers.

Attributes of the Bible:

• Inspired (written by God through men)
• Innerrent (has no errors)
• Infallible (is incapable of not being completely perfect)
• Efficacious (is powerful, it does and causes what is says)

It is also:

• Necessary
• Sufficient
• Clear
• Authoritative