January 2025 Student Newsletter

Authority In Worship
Russell Haffner

Our worship to God must be in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). In other words, it must come from the heart and be according to the teachings of the Scriptures. The early church engaged in five acts of worship. There is no authority to add any other acts of worship. We must have authority for all that we do in worship. Colossians 3:17 teaches, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." "In the name of the Lord Jesus" means by the authority of the Lord Jesus. This means that we must have biblical authority for all that we do. We do not have the freedom or liberty to add to or take away from God's word (Revelation 22:18-19). Let us consider each of the five acts of worship found in the early church:

  • 1.Preaching: God's command was for preaching to be the avenue by which His people would learn of His will for them (1 Corinthians 1:21; Acts 2:42; 20:7).

  • 2.Singing: The distinctive practice of the Lord’s church is to follow God’s command to sing and make melody in the heart (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

  • 3.Praying: The early church continued steadfastly in prayers (Acts 2:42). These prayers were directed only to the Father through Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5).
  • 4.Giving: This was done on every first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). God devised a distinctive plan for the church to raise money. Every member of the church was commanded to give on the first day of every week with the right attitude (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7)

  • 5.The Lord's Supper: Observing the Lord’s Supper is to be done on every first day of the week. According to the New Testament the early church met on the first day of the week to partake of communion (Acts 20:7). They partook of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine in order to commemorate the death of the Savior (1 Corinthians. 11:23-29).

    • Praying to the "saints," burning incense, baptizing babies, bowing down to statues or giving a personal testimony has never been authorized as part of the worship of the church. These practices were added by those who fail to respect the teachings of the Scriptures. When God tells us the five ways to worship Him through instruction and examples in the New Testament it eliminates all other ways. We must respect the silence of the Scriptures.

    For instance, when Noah was commanded by God to build an ark made from gopher wood (Genesis 6:14), His specific command eliminated the use of any other type of wood. It would have been wrong for Noah to use oak, maple, pine or any other wood because God specifically said to use gopher wood.

    When God commands us in His word to preach, sing, pray, give, and partake of the Lord's supper all other actions that man may want to add to the worship are eliminated. He told us how to worship Him and we must follow His plan if we want to please Him. There are too many in the religious world who are only seeking to please themselves. Let it never be so with us.

    The Course Instructions

    If you have already registered for a course you may have noticed the tab which is labeled "Instructions." This is where you will find the course syllabus that has information about the course and the requirements needed to earn a certificate for the course. This is a very helpful reference for the Formal and Informal Students who are taking the courses for credit. However, Auditing Students will also find the Syllabus to be an excellent starting point to understand the purpose of the course and the structure of the lessons. All students should begin each course by reading the Course Instructions.