Grace Creates Worship

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. - Romans 12.1

Therefore and by the mercies of God both point to the previous exposition of God's compassion in action as the ground for the exhortation. The grace of God, expounded in chaps. 1-11, expect a certain response. Apart from this grace this response would not only be unanticipated, but also impossible. Thus, the mercies of God are not merely a motive for the obedience enjoined in chaps. 12-15, but the fountain from which it flows or the soil in which it grows. It is instructive that Paul does not refer to the economy of salvation just expounded as "doctrines" but as "mercies" or more fully "compassion in action."

The words present . . . . sacrifice and worship are cultic concepts derived from the OT worship at the Tabernacle/Temple. The product of and proper response to God's grace in Christ is worship. That this is not limited to activities at particular sacred spaces and sacred times is made clear by the object (your bodies) and the character (spiritual) of the worship.

The use of the word bodies makes the imagery of OT sacrifice all the sharper, and emphasizes the totality of devotion called for. All of our existence, in everything we bump into in this life, is to be offered to God. The word spiritual or reasonable clarifies that this cannot be merely external conformity, or going through the motions. The use of these two words (bodies and spiritual) together can correct perverse thoughts about the Christian life. On the one hand, there are those who believe that what they do matters very little as long as they "believe." Sinful behavior is often excused by saying, "God knows my heart." But the word of God says, "present your bodies" and "glorify God in your body" (1 Cor 6.20). On the other hand are those who pride themselves on their external conformity to the commands of Scripture, but are not inwardly changed. True worship is spiritual or reasonable, as Douglas Moo explains, "in the sense of 'appropriate for human beings as rational and spiritual creatures of God': a worship that honors God by giving him what he truly wants as opposed to the depraved worship offered by human beings under the power of sin (see Rom 1.23-25)." (Moo, Romans, NICNT).

This sacrifice of our bodies is living because we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (6.4-11). This sacrifice is holy because, having been set free from sin, we are set apart as God's servants (6.22). This sacrifice is acceptable because we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, "if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you" (8.8-9).

Do not be mislead by those expositors who wrongly say that the aoristic aspect of present implies a once-for-all presentation of the self to God. The aorist is the default tense of the infinitve in the NT, hense it is the least marked tense. If the present or perfect tense were used, then something could be said regarding the kind of action. The aorist alone does not define the kind of action (progressive, perfected, etc.). The fact that Paul is writing to a church whose members would no doubt be at different maturity levels spiritually is a good argument for seeing this presentation as a repeatable discipline, not a one-time act.

In light of the dawning of a new year and this exhortation of Holy Spirit, let us resolve, as Jonathan Edwards did on the twelfth day of January, 1723, "frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God."

Josh Owen

Preparing for Sunday

It's been my experience that the things that I prepare for are always more meaningful and memorable than the things that I just show up for. I think that this applies to Sunday worship as well. We far too often show up bleary-eyed with arms crossed and eyes focused on the clock. In this post I want to share some of the things that help me prepare for a meaningful Sunday.

Be Prayerful - ask God to prepare your heart, ask God to do something amazing, ask God to bless us with a powerful awareness of His presence.

Come Early - I find it extremely helpful to show up early and pray for the service.

Have Your Quiet Time before you come - I like to start everyday with my personal devotion time. Why on earth would I change this practice on the day for public worship, I find this practice to be essential in preparing my heart for worship.

Have a big breakfast - lets be honest a growling stomach is incredibly distracting - we want to focus on God in worship.

Get a Good Night's Sleep - do I really need to explain this one. We need to be alert to worship, this is still true in college football season.

Be Open-Minded - be prepared to be challenged and ready to hear - remember that your leaders were set aside to lead you and we should be ready to heed their preaching of the Word.

Be a Berean - we must always come with the Word. We must have our Bible's and have them and make sure that we are hearing is truly the Word of God. We should be ready to hear from our leaders but only if it is truly God's truth.

Come Expectantly - come ready to see and hear the majesty of God. Come with a positive attitude trusting that God is still active.

Worship Attire

I recently went through a period of study on the theme of worship in the Bible. The conclusion that is eminently clear is that worship is not something we do for an hour on Sunday morning, rather it is the sacrifice of an entire life to God (Rom. 12:1-2). So I've been trying to flesh out how this applies to all of our lives and one of the areas that I would like some help with is the issue of clothing worn to our time of gathered worship. There seem to be three views that I will outline. If you know of another position please feel free to enlighten me, or if you can help me to see which of these views best fits with the Bible's teaching on worship please help me.

First, is the Sunday Best position. Those who hold this view say that it dishonors God and the special time of Sunday worship to wear any old thing. That we must dress our best to show our reverence for Him. To commend this view is the Biblical evidence that entering God's presence is a special time and should be treated with reverence. However, on the other side of the coin is the fact that if worship is all of life then all of life is lived before Him to honor Him, so why dress up on one occasion. Also there is the teaching that we must be careful not to alienate the poor brothers and sisters in our midst who would be put off or ashamed of their clothing.

Second, is the Casual position. This position says that we should wear what we wear all week. This position has the benefit of seeming to take most seriously the truth that worship is all of life. Yet it seems to be a stumbling block to many who are already Christians. This is very subjective but it seems that this most often goes with a seeker-sensitive model that I feel is very unhelpful in the life a local church.

Third, is the No Distraction position. This position says that we should simply dress in such a way that we simply blend in and there is no attention drawn to ourselves at all. This position takes the truth seriously that worship is about God and that our attention must be placed on Him, therefore we should not dress in a way that distracts from the focus on God. So if your church is more casual you should dress casually so that no attention is drawn to you. And vice versa with a Sunday Best crowd. I am leaning toward this position to be honest, but I fear that it may be a position of compromise (maybe cowardice).

I would love to hear from any of you, I am willing to take correction and wise counsel. Let me know what you think.

Patriotism & Church

As pastor of a church in a military town I often wrestle with the question of the appropriateness of displaying patriotism in the context of worship. Let me say that I love my country. I served in the 82nd Airborne Division during the 90s. While I was never sent to war, like so many of our soldiers now, I was willing to kill and be killed to protect our liberty and to liberate those oppressed by the tyranny of corrupt governments. I continue to be personally involved in politics at all levels of government as a concerned citizen. I encourage my church to be responsible Christian citizens by voting and by letting their voices be heard concerning important social issues, though I do not endorse candidates or parties.

Yet the church is not an American institution. It was not founded for the propagation of American ideals. The church is to be an expression of the reign of God in this present evil age. The celebrated fact of the New Testament is that people from every nation and tribe and language and people have been called together to be a kingdom and priests to God.

Thus I struggle with holidays like July 4th that have been made integral to the life of the church, at least in my area. I readily and publicly thank God for the freedoms we enjoy, but I just as quickly remember my brothers in Christ who are suffering for their witness in places closed to the gospel. I seek God's blessing for America, yet I feel compelled to confess that I have been complicit in national sins, if in no other way than by my inaction (for example, abortion). I am comfortable singing songs that beseech God to shed His grace on America, but I shy away from songs that simply extol the greatness of America in the context of worship.

I believe these holidays can afford us an opportunity to consider the Christian's role as a citizen and to tackle the issues of Christ and culture. I abhor the anti-American rhetoric that we've recently heard broadcast from certain pulpits. Yet, just as appalling are the rosy pictures of America that downplay the moral downgrade our culture is experiencing.

How do you handle these holidays in the church? What do you deem as appropriate expressions of patriotism in the context of worship?

Book Review: Return to Worship

Have you ever wanted to read a thoughtful discussion on the topic of worship. A book that does not simply argue for the authors preferences or that is not obsessed with the war of style. In Ron Owens book we get substance over style in a very thoughtful and helpfully provacative book.

The book is divided into two parts written in the form of letters. The first part is the collection of letters to the church; it is also serves as the theological portion of the book where he defines his understanding of worship. There are a great many principles in this portion of the book that would point us toward health as individuals and as churches. Part 2 is a collection of letters to those involved in leading worship; it also serves the purpose of applying the theological conclusions of the first part in a more practical manner. This part of the book would be helpful for church leaders to give to those invovled in leading worship at the churches they serve.

Chapter 15 is a must read. There Owens points out the common evangelical mistake of thinking that we go to church to receive. The truth is that we go to church to serve. We are called to build one another up in our gathered times.

Owens also rightly points out the power of music and the dangers of manipulation. We can easily lead people to an emotional response through musical manipulation. He does a good job of showing how this has been common knowledge throughout history and how some Christian leaders consciously took advantage of this reality to make converts who were not real converts at all. This also creates an unhealthy dynamic in a church. People confuse this emotional manipulation with the work of the Holy Spirit and this conditions them to think that they are not close to God because their emotions are not at fever pitch. It also creates an unhealthy expectation for worship services. People come expecting to be emotionally lifted and when this does not happen no matter how much Christ was exalted through song and Word, the service was a flop.

Ron Owens has written a gem for our benefit. The book is very beneficial for church leaders and is written in such a way that all readers would benefit from this book.