LESSON 5: THE ATTITUDE OF WORSHIP	SCRIPTURE PROOFS
The Westminster Confession (21.6) Neither prayer, nor any other part of religious worship, is now, under the Gospel, either tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed;	John 4: 21
but God is to be worshipped everywhere	Malachi 1: 11 1 Timothy 2: 8
in spirit and truth;	John 4: 23-24
as in private families,	Jeremiah 10: 35 Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 Job 1: 5 2 Samuel 16: 18-20 1 Peter 3: 7 Acts 10:2
daily	Matthew 6: 11
and in secret, each one by himself;	Matthew 6:6 Ephesians 6: 18
so, more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected, or forsaken, when God, by His Word or providence, calleth thereunto.	Isaiah 56: 6-7 Hebrews 10: 25 Proverbs 1: 20-21 & 24, 8: 34 Acts 13: 42 Luke 4: 16

 

The Directory for the Worship of God (47.7) Public worship differs from private worship in that in public worship God is served by His saints unitedly as His covenant people, the body of Christ. For this reason the covenant children should be present so far as possible as well as adults. For the same reason no favoritism may be shown to any who attend. Nor may any member of the church presume to exalt himself above others, as though he were more spiritual, but each shall esteem others better than himself.

The Directory for the Worship of God (47.8) It behooves God's people not only to come into His presence with a deep sense of awe at the thought of His perfect holiness and their own exceeding sinfulness, but also to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise for the great salvation, which He has so graciously wrought for them through his only begotten Son and applied to them by the Holy Spirit.

SEE: Williamson, G.I. The Scriptural Regulative Principle of Worship: Part I

As Calvin once said: "I am not unaware how difficult it is to persuade the world that God rejects and even abominates everything relating to His worship that is devised by human reason." ... But the fact is that "there is nothing more perilous to our salvation than a preposterous and perverse worship of God."

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION.

1. Does geography play any part in making worship more or less acceptable?

2. Are we to worship privately individually and in families?

3. How does public worship differ from private worship?

4. How should we come to worship, why so?

 

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