FOREGOING THE INVITATION IN WORSHIP GATHERINGS

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FOREGOING THE INVITATION IN WORSHIP GATHERINGS

            Many evangelical Christians were raised in churches that gave a weekly invitation, i.e. a time of response usually placed at the end of the worship gathering. I am such a person even as my dad pastored a church that employed such an act. Currently, however, and for various reasons, the so-called traditional invitation is being removed in many evangelical worship gatherings. While those who have become accustomed to an invitation for nearly their entire lives might resist such a change, I would invite people to examine the invitation itself in a different light and question the foundational purpose behind its existence in the first place.

The Invitation Is Not a Biblical Concept

            An invitation belonging to a Christian worship gathering is not a concept to be found anywhere in Scripture. The predominant practice, until the 19^th century, was worship gatherings without an invitation time. Revivalists and efforts to reach the lost by bringing them into the context of corporate worship paved the way for local churches to begin implementing an invitation time. For centuries, Christian worship was solely focused on God’s glory and praise and nothing else, i.e. worship gatherings were not primarily evangelistic opportunities but rather time set aside for a brief moment each week when God’s people would devote themselves to the praise and adoration of their God. The mentality began to change in the 19^th century and continued into the 20^th century and continues even now, although many evangelical churches are now foregoing the practice. What some might refer to as a traditional invitation then is not traditional at all but instead an invention of the past one-hundred fifty years. The invitation holds little place in church history and certainly not in the Bible. Its foundation, therefore, is recent tradition and should be considered closely by believers.

Worship Is Designed for Christians; Unbelievers Cannot Worship God

            While there is nothing wrong with unbelievers attending Christian worship, they have no capacity to worship God until they have been transformed by him, for worship may only occur in the power of the Holy Spirit, which they do not possess. Since evangelical worship gatherings, since the 19^th century, have become evangelistic opportunities, their focus has become distorted and led many Christians to view the purpose of a worship gathering as primarily evangelistic in nature. Nevertheless, reality is that worship is designed only for the church. Thus, believers should now realize that worship with the purpose of reaching the lost is an incorrect approach and adjust accordingly. Such is occurring in many modern evangelical churches where the truth of worship belonging only to the church is further being realized.

The Invitation Often Becomes Manipulative

            Many, including myself, have experienced what could be called manipulation during invitations. Often, the music is slow and emotional, the lights are dim, and the preacher makes seemingly endless attempts at persuading congregants to make decisions of any kind because it looks good when many people fill the open altar area (usually the steps to the platform) during an invitation. What is such a moment except manipulative? While believers should strive for excellence aesthetically, e.g. lighting, sound, etc., if people are changed by human manipulation rather than the Holy Spirit, they are truly not changed. Jonathan Edwards, a revivalist himself, says, “I should think myself in the way of duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as I possibly can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with.”[1] Affections are a vital part of human nature. Dealing with the affections then is crucial to ministering to God’s people; yet, a truly effective minister understands that affections are intended to align with the moving of the Holy Spirit, not manipulate people despite it. Ironically, although the invitation was born from a revivalist era, Jonathan Edwards himself understood this truth. Worship gatherings should not manipulate but should reveal God for who he is in all his glory and splendor and provide an avenue for his people to worship him.

The Church Is Called to Go

            While an invitation is certainly not wrong, many modern evangelical churches have seen the futility in its application and have opted to design worship gatherings with the sole intent of worshiping God. Often, the church desires a lost world to come to her when Scripture is clear that believers are called to go to the world (Matt 28:19-20). An invitation could be perceived (and rightly so) as laziness and neglecting the call to go. The church should not use worship gatherings as a manipulative opportunity but should seek to be biblical in every approach. Since lost people cannot worship God and since an invitation is not a biblical concept, perhaps, local churches would benefit from considering why they might employ an invitation in the first place. If its purpose does not have the aim of God’s glory, the act should be abandoned with haste and without apology.

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[1] Edwards, Jonathan. Works Vol. 4. “The Great Awakening.” Yale.

HOW TRINITARIAN IS YOUR WORSHIP?

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HOW TRINITARIAN IS YOUR WORSHIP?

            In the past decade, the importance of trinitarian worship has been deeply engrained in me. Its vitality cannot be overstated. God is triune in nature; therefore, the worship of God must also be triune. Believers often speak of the three persons of the Godhead but with limited knowledge and understanding and without an appropriate application in the context of worship gatherings. John MacArthur has referred to the Holy Spirit as the forgotten God because of such a misunderstanding. A close assessment of many churches’ worship gatherings will quickly reveal that ignorance of trinitarian worship is present in the Christian subculture. To combat such ignorance and misunderstanding, there are certain actions the church can take. I suggest three primary ways the church can ameliorate her trinitarian nature in corporate worship.

Intentionally Seek Ways to Express Worship to All Three Persons of the Trinity

            First, the church should intentionally seek ways to express worship to all three persons of the Trinity. Such can be done not only through music but also through language in prayer and teaching. Since orthodox Christians have long believed that the Father, Son, and Spirit are co-equal, it is crucial that churches reflect such theology. Consider the music used in Christian worship. While much exists on the topic of the Son and perhaps the Father, little exists about the Holy Spirit even in charismatic circles where there often seems to be an overemphasis of the third person of the Godhead. To reflect God’s triune nature, however, churches should be intentional about presenting all three persons of the Trinity in their worship practices.

Intentionally Teach Believers the Co-Equality of All Three Persons of the Trinity

            Secondly, churches should intentionally teach believers the co-equality of all three persons of the Trinity. Intentionality means not referring to Jesus as the Father or not claiming that the Father died for the sins of believers. Intentionality means declaring that the Father, Son, and Spirit are equally worthy to be worshiped. When churches teach that all three persons of the Godhead are equal in nature, believers begin to understand such truths as it is compounded. Perhaps, the trinitarian nature of God is often misunderstood because local churches have not taken the time to be intentional in how they discuss him. Intentionally teaching the triune nature of God will surely improve the content of corporate worship.

Utilize (and Write) Music That Reflects God’s Triune Nature

            Music is one of the greatest pedagogical tools the church has ever been given. Whether realized or not, music is often a source of theology for many believers. The music a church sings then reflects who they are as a local church. A church whose music is not triune in content likely has a limited understanding of God’s triune nature. I encourage ministers to examine the music their church sings and even measure the amount of content devoted to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all three persons of the Godhead. If content about one person is lacking, that church should strive to make changes so that their worship gatherings are triune. Certainly, music exists that reflects the triune nature of God; local churches can, however, write music with such reflections. The key for all of it, nonetheless, is intentionality. Churches should be intentional about God’s triune nature in their worship practices.

Worship Is Trinitarian Because God Is Trinitarian

            God is a Trinity; worship, therefore, should be trinitarian. I would dare suggest that most local churches do not reflect the trinitarian nature of God. Likely because of a lack of intentionality, the content that persists in evangelical corporate worship largely lacks trinitarian characteristics. Such a lack may certainly and should be changed. For God’s people to accurately reflect the God they love and worship, his three-in-one nature should be pervasive throughout worship, i.e. the music, the prayers, and the teaching should reveal God who is Father, Son, and Spirit and whose three persons are all co-equal and co-eternal. A right question to ask in any local church context then is this: how trinitarian is your worship?

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS' BAPTISM

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS’ BAPTISM

            Each year traditional Western Christianity observes Epiphany January 6. Also known as Theophany, Epiphany, as the name suggests, celebrates the revelation of God as incarnate man in Jesus Christ.[1] The celebration of Epiphany often comes on its eve while the Sunday after (or on) the day is named Epiphany Sunday. Themes and scriptures surrounding Epiphany often include the event of the magi visiting Jesus as a child and Jesus’ baptism since such an event was vital in his revelation of who he is. Jesus’ baptism is the topic of confusion, for why would a sinless man need to be baptized? Baptism was not new in Jesus’ day; in fact, baptism has Old Testament roots for cleansing. In the case of Jesus’ baptism, however, the ordinance holds a different meaning. To answer why Jesus needed to be baptized, I suggest three crucial points.

Jesus’ Role as a Model

            In being baptized, Jesus modeled obedience to all people. Not only did the crowd which observed him understand his obedient act in being baptized, generations to come would view the same through the text of recorded scripture. For Christians, baptism is an act of obedience. Those who hold the perspective of believer’s baptism should certainly consider the ordinance as a vital act in Christianity; thus, to forego baptism is to disobey God. Baptism is not salvific; yet, it is crucial to obeying God. Jesus modeled obedience and the proper way to employ it through the ordinance of baptism.

Jesus’ Humility

            Jesus was also baptized in humility. While Jesus was sinless, through the ordinance of baptism, he revealed his identification with sinners, i.e. God the man chose to become truly human and walk as flesh on earth. One reason people are perplexed by the Son of God being baptized is his divinity perhaps overshadows his humanity. Jesus, however, is also human and chose to identify with sinful humans in the flesh by facing every struggle humankind does yet without sin. Jesus’ baptism places his deity and humanity side by side, for he was baptized as a man and honored as God when the Father exemplifies his pleasure in the Son saying, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). Jesus, therefore, was baptized in humility.

Jesus’ Submission to the Father

            In Matthew’s Gospel, John is hesitant to baptize his Lord. In response, Jesus says, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt 3:13). Jesus’ baptism indicates righteousness, for one is baptized into a new way of life; it is a public confession of the righteous life. Baptism is, furthermore, a display of repentance. One might wonder why Jesus would need to repent. Often, there subsists an incorrect understanding of repentance, as it is usually understood as a singular event that occurs in one’s life. Reality is, however, that biblical repentance is a perpetual event, i.e. one must not only repent but continue repenting. Jesus’ baptism then does not include what it does for us: turning from sin. Rather, it includes his submission to the Father in a life of obedience.[2] In displaying such a symbol of righteous submission to the Father, Jesus not only revealed his identification with humanity but also his place as God, for Jesus himself was the only person capable to save humanity. “…central to Jesus’s purpose in being the Savior of the world is his own faithful obedience to the Father. He was obedient even to the point of death on a cross (Phil 2:8, Rom 5:18), thereby securing our salvation.”[3] Baptism, for Jesus, then was not for the purpose of turning from sin but rather exemplifying righteousness and submission to the Father, which is also true of any human baptism. While Jesus did not need to turn from sin, he symbolized repentance in a life that continually honored the Father.

Christ Is the Model

            Since Jesus is the model for anything in life, believers should consider the event of his baptism as a model as well. Jesus’ baptism was not useless simply because he was a sinless man; contrarily, Jesus’ baptism points to the way humanity should submit to the Father in obedience by not only following Christ in baptism but also living a life of righteousness. Jesus’ baptism was necessary in its vivid depiction of who he is: namely both God and man.

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[1] January 6 applies only to those churches, which utilize the Julian Calendar. Many churches of Eastern influence utilize the Gregorian Calendar and observe Epiphany January 19 because of the 13-day difference between the two calendars.

[2] For all humans except Jesus Christ, repentance includes both turning from sin and continuing in righteousness.

[3] Jonathan Pennington, “Why Did Jesus Need to Be Baptized,” The Gospel Coalition, accessed January 5, 2022, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/jesus-need-baptized/.