WHO IS THE CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE FOR?

     Who is the church worship service for?  I heard a pastor ask this question recently.  He asked, "Should the service be geared toward believers or unbelievers?"  I believe the way you answer this question is very important. The Church, if confused about this question will find itself like a ship without a rudder. I hear pastors passionately defending their own philosophies. Some say the focus of the service should be geared toward believers others say the unbelievers should be in mind.  Others say both the believer and the unbeliever should be in mind. So which is it?  What would you say?  If you were sitting down and planning the next worship service for your church, who would you be thinking about?  Would you focus the service on the believer?  Would you see the edification of the believer as your primary focus or would you focus the service on the unbeliever?  Would you see the need to relate yourself as best you can to the unbeliever?  Would your filter be the question, How are unbelievers going to respond to what we do, say and sing?

       Let me ask the question with a different emphasis.  Who is the church WORSHIP service for?  Who should our WORSHIP service focus on? The ultimate answer is GOD. Our worship service should be focused on knowing God, loving God and seeking God. Consider this quote from John MacArthur, Wherever pragmatism exists in the church, there is always a corresponding de-emphasis on Christ's sufficiency, God's sovereignty, biblical integrity, the power of prayer, and Spirit-led ministries. The result is a man-centered ministry that attempts to accomplish divine purposes by superficial programs and human methodology rather than by the Word or the power of the Spirit. In John 17:3 Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Focus on and point people toward God through preaching and teaching His Word. Remember, "...faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)  Your worship service will be an aroma of LIFE to those who believe God and the aroma of DEATH to those who reject God.  LET IT BE.  If our focus is on God and his Word, the believer will be equipped for every good work and grow up in all aspects in Christ (Ephesians 4:15) So, our worship is to be focused on God and in turn the believer will be edified. Unbelievers will be present in the worship services and our prayer is that the unbeliever's heart would be revealed and "...so falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you." (1 Corinthians 14:25).

       We are really good at making things about us.  I heard recently of a lady who changed churches because her new church had better coffee! Listen, find a church where God and His Word are the focus.   Make your corporate and private worship about God. "As a church we must love Jesus, or else we have lost our reason for existence." Spurgeon

   I believe that if pastors and church leaders will focus their WORSHIP service toward God and proclaiming His perfect Word, Jesus will be lifted up and glorified.  I believe the Holy Spirit will be present.  I believe that God will inhabit the praises of His people.  I believe Jesus will draw people to Himself.  I  believe the believer and the unbeliever will be gloriously impacted.


Brandon Stanley
www.thecrossroadsfamily.com

THE BAD NEWS AND THE GOOD NEWS

Here is a simple explanation of the Gospel and simple definitions of the Gospel words we discussed last week. Remember, biblical words are important. Hope this is helpful.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
 

1.  The Bad News - Sin Defined

A.  Sin Defined - Any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature. 

B.  Sin's Effect - The BAD NEWS is that because of Adam's (the first man) sin and our own transgression of God's law, sinful man is spiritually dead and lives in bondage to sin.  Man's will is NOT free. The Bible says that man's will is bound to sin. The BAD NEWS is that man is totally lacking in spiritual goodness and is unable to do good before God. 

C.  Sin's Consequence - God is perfectly righteous and just so God must punish sin. God always acts in accordance with what is right and He is the final standard for what is right.  The Bible tells us what is right and wrong. The BAD NEWS is that if you have sinned, you are deserving of God's punishment. 

D.  The Sin Test - Answer these questions about your own life. Think of the TEN COMMANDMENTS (Exodus 20) - Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen something?  Have you ever disobeyed your parents?  Have you ever looked with lust?  If you answered honestly, you have found that you are guilty. The BAD NEWS is that without the Gospel (GOOD NEWS) you are spiritually dead and deserving of God's wrath.

Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.

 

2.  The Gospel (Good News) - Grace Defined

 (Note: the words our, us and we refer to the regenerate believer)

A.  Atonement - By God's grace (not by our works or merit) Jesus (God the Son) became a sacrifice in His life and death to pay for our salvation.  

B.  Substitutionary Sacrifice -  By God's grace (not by our works or merit) Jesus took our place in His death on the cross and paid the penalty that we deserved. 

D.  Regeneration- The act of God by His grace (not by works or merit) in which He imparts new spiritual life to us. The Bible calls the act being born again or being born of God. 

E.  Justification - The instantaneous legal act of God by His grace (not by our works or merit) in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ's righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.

F.  Propitiation - By the grace (not by our works of merit) of God Jesus became the sacrifice that bears God's wrath.  By God's grace through faith in Jesus the wrath of God that was aimed at us (because of our sin) has been changed into the favor and forgiveness of God.

G. Transformation- The instantaneous act of God by His grace (not by our works or merit) in which God makes us a new creation in Christ Jesus liberating us from the bondage of sin.

H.  Sanctification- The progressive lifelong work of God the Holy Spirit and the regenerate believer that makes us more and more free from sin and more and more like Christ in our actual lives.  (This is where the grace of God and our works co-mingle)

I.  Glorification- The final step in the application of the saving work of God by His Grace (not by our works of merit) in which the bodies of all believers will be resurrected, made perfect and will remain in the presence of God forever.

Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.

 

3.  What Must We Do (Believe and Repent)

A.  Believe -We must trust in the ATONING / SACRIFICIAL WORK OF JESUS (not our works or merit) for our salvation. Saving faith believes God exists and that He rewards those who trust in Him. 

B.  Repent - We must experience the heartfelt sorrow for our sin before God.  We must renounce our sin.  We must forsake sin and seek to walk in obedience to the commands of scripture. Repentance also refers to the forsaking of all other gods, idols, religions, faiths, and paths (believing that salvation is experienced only through Jesus alone for ourselves and all other people.) Repentance is the act of giving Jesus ownership of your life. 
 (See scriptures references above)

CONCLUSION

Many are lost who do not know they are lost.  Are you one of those people? Many are still spiritually dead because they believe without repentance. The Bible says even the demons believe. Many are still spiritually dead even though they are renouncing sins and seeking to walk in obedience to the Bible. They are not fully trusting in the ATONING / SACRIFICIAL WORK OF JESUS for their salvation.  They are trusting in their good works for their salvation.  This is NOT saving faith because their faith is misplaced. This is a works righteousness gospel which is a false gospel.

 Feel free to share your thoughts or questions.

 

 For further study/resources see scriptures listed above, Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, raycomfort.com, www.thecrossroadsfamily.com

Why Do Many Professing Believers NOT Know the Gospel?

Yesterday, three young missionaries from Hungary shared with several of our life groups about their ministry.  One of them, a young lady, shared how she had searched for many years in Hungary to find someone to tell her how a person could go to heaven. She searched for months and no one could give her any answers. Recently, I have asked several professing Christians the question, What is the Gospel? The responses were very disappointing and even frightening.  You could even say their answers were in fact, Another Gospel.  I'm convinced, more than ever, that the simple understanding of the GOSPEL has been missing from many of our churches and especially our pulpits. Why do people in our churches not know the Gospel? I'll start the discussion.

One Possible Reason -  Important words are missing from our teaching

   Words are powerful.  Words are necessary for proper communication to take place.  Words are absolutely necessary for our ideas to be shaped correctly.  Why are words like Atonement, Substitution, Regeneration (Born Again), Justification, Propitiation, Transformation, Sanctification, and Glorification missing from the Christian's vocabulary? Some have said that those words are "too big" and that seekers who visit our church won't understand what we are talking about if we use them. Those BIBLE words are too hard to understand and people will not stay in our church if they cannot understand what we are talking about. Psychiatry is a big and complicated word. Can we use that word?  Rehabilitation is a big and complicated word. Can we use that word? Intervention is a big and complicated word.  Can we use that word?  Relevant is a big and complicated word.  Is it admissible to use that word?  I understand that these are familiar words and why you may consider them acceptable for Sunday morning TALKS.  I think that's what some call them now, TALKS rather than SERMONS. The word SERMON is one of those big BIBLE words too so let us stay away from that one.  So rather than making God's WORDS familiar to believers we are using man's words to replace the Gospel. Maybe that's one reason why people in our churches do not know the Gospel. 

One last thought, if the majority of our church attendees(Christ Professors) do not understand the Gospel, are we even a church?  What do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts this week.  Stay on topic. Stay respectful. Why do many professing believers not know the Gospel?