It does not take much study of the Bible to realize that man has not always had the courage to stand for what He believed was right. When Joshua is chosen to follow Moses in leading the children of Israel, he is told by the Lord in Josh. 1:6-7 “be strong and of good courage for unto this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land I swore to their father to give them. Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses, My servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.” In verse 9 God continues- “…be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, nor be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you whithersoever you go.”
After commanding Joshua to be courageous God tells him He can do so because He will be with Joshua wherever He goes. We know from the rest of the story that Joshua was “strong and courageous.” He led the people with distinction and showed what true leadership was all about. He walked in faith as he led Israel in their march around Jericho. He was not dissuaded from service in pursuing the enemy time and again. His courage rallied the nation to courageous action also.
Joshua served the Lord in humility and was not discouraged by being outnumbered or any other reason. He had a job to do and it was urgent it get done. He was God’s man on the scene and God’s man for the moment.
Paul tells the Roman brethren in Romans 8 something very similar as they are called to stand firmly for what is right in the face of violent persecution from the government. In verse 31 he says, “what shall we say then in these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” He goes on to tell them that they are more than conquerors through Christ and that “all things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
Again Paul concludes 1 Corinthians 15 to saints who faced persecution in verse 58- “be therefore steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for you know your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
In the book of Acts we see the courage of James, Steven, Paul, Silas, Peter, John and others as they were called on to have the courage of their convictions. Can God depend on you and me to stand for right no matter what? Let’s all have the courage of our conviction not fearing or favoring men but standing firm!
Our Worship to God
by Stan Adams
The supreme act we are commanded and privileged to give to God is our worship to Him. The Greek word is proskyneo and it means to kiss toward. It involves a deliberate action. It is different from service; which is the word leitourgeo- a ritual in reverence or respect to God. All worship would be service to God but not all service to God is worship. There seems to be some confusion in the minds of many today over this issue.
In the patriarchal period we read of Abraham doing many acts of righteousness toward God (offering Isaac, being a good husband and leader, etc) and then we read of deliberate acts he offered to God (he stopped and built an altar and offered sacrifice to God). One was worship to God (a deliberate concentrated set apart action; and the other was his daily walk in respect of God and His ways.
In the Mosaic period we see much the same pattern. Moses obeyed God in leading the people and the people were submissive to God when they obeyed His will. All of this was daily service to God which involved deliberate actions motivated by a reverence and respect for God and His ways. However, God needed more than that so He commanded a tabernacle be built where His people would worship Him. There was a designated place for the worship. This followed through the years until the temple was built for worship. There was a marked difference in the daily activities of the Jew and there concentrated special ritual of worship.
In the New Testament we see that we do not any longer have to go to Jerusalem or to the temple, but the church is the place in which our “kissing toward God” is to take place.
Certainly when a Christian father is disciplining his children or teaching them he is doing so in respect of the word of God (Eph. 6:4), but this is not worship. When a Christian prays or sings a hymn or read and studies God’s Word it is certainly service to God (an act performed out of respect and reverence toward God) but it is not the same as our dedicated worship to God in the local church.
A proper understanding of these two principles helps us to understand the necessity for not letting our daily service to God be substituted for our set aside worship to God in the church. If my wife and I study our Bibles together, pray together and sing hymns together in our home we are not following the command to assemble together with the saints (Heb. 10:25). The “house church movement” is built on just such a misunderstanding. When the local church meets together to do together the things God has commanded us to do together, it does not honor God for me to absent myself voluntarily from such worship. My daily service is no substitute for my set aside concentrated worship to God with fellow-saints.
There is a reason for us “not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together”. When we meet together to worship God in the church, we “provoke one another to love and good works,” “speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” pray with and for one another, commune together and give of our means on the Lord’s Day as we have been commanded. While I may do all but two of these actions by myself or with a group of people in my home or another gathering, that service cannot replace or be substituted for my set aside paused, deliberate collective action of worship with faithful brethren.
Under Moses law in the time of Christ we see that synagogues were set up in Palestine. These were places where spiritual service was offered, but it was different and not a substitute for temple worship. Nothing could be substituted for temple worship and if one had tried to make his synagogue service stand in the place of his temple worship he would have been properly condemned.
Our worship to God collectively is very personal. No emotion can be artificially excised from us. Our worship to God in the church is to be according to the Spirit and in Truth. We can not substitute what we may pass off as worship to God when He has given a place and actions that constitute worship to Him. He will accept no substitutes, additions or subtractions.
When we come together to worship on the Lord’s Day with the local church, we are commanded to sing together (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), pray together (Acts 2:42), commune together (1 Cor. 11:23-29; Acts 20:7), study together (Acts 2:42), and give of our means together (1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-8). Notice the emphasis on together in all of these passages. When we meet together on Sunday evening since it is still the first day of the week we do the same things together. To try to do these things independently in our homes would not be obeying God’s commands for worship together. On Wednesday evening and gospel meeting times we meet together to provoke one another to love and good works. The emphasis is again on meeting together in the context of the local church. One cannot fulfill this command outside the realm God placed it in.
When there is no local church to worship with, then we should seek out fellow brethren to meet together and do together what God has commanded us to do together (case in point – men and women in prison). I suspect the apostles did this by inference and this is one of the reasons they did not travel alone but with other Christians. When local churches were in existence Paul delayed his departure so he could worship with the local brethren (Acts 21:4). By apostolic example we see that when faithful brethren are available for us to worship with then we are to do so.
When the local church sets feeding times it is our privilege and duty to be present at every service. When other local churches have times of feeding we should be supportive or their faithfulness to the Lord’s commands and be present with them in support of their faithfulness to God’s commands as fellow-brethren. Worship to God is not just a local activity.
When we worship God as He has commanded we are to do so with all we have. Our worship must be from the heart and in honor of God. He and the heavenly host are the audience and our collective worship is to be pleasing to Him. If that is the case then we humans are to be pleased with our service. Let us worship God His way and not ask Him to accept just any service as worship.
