When the church gathers together and the evangelist proclaims God's word, is that an act of worship? Some would say, "NO," that preaching is not an act of worship, and that the Scriptures never present it as such. I believe the Bible teaches--in both the Old and New Testaments--that the proclamation of God's word to a gathered assembly is an act of worship and that God views it as worship.
Beginning in 606 B.C. and concluding in 586 B.C. the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, carried the people of the southern kingdom, Judah, into captivity. Seventy years later, Darius the Mede killed Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, and shortly thereafter, Cyrus the Persian began to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem just as had been prophesied many years earlier. God selected four men who possessed outstanding leadership abilities to help with this restoration of the Jews to their homeland.
- Two (Haggai and Zechariah) were prophets who focused primarily on the rebuilding of the temple.
- Nehemiah, the governor in Jerusalem, was a social and political leader whose primary focus was the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and a sort of reconstitution of the people as a nation.
- Ezra is described in Ezra 7:6 as, "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses," and in Nehemiah 12:26 as, "Ezra the priest and scribe."
After the reconstruction of the temple, the rebuilding of the walls, the appointment of the Levites, and the registration of the people according to genealogy, the Jews gathered together in an assembly to hear a reading of the book of the Law. Nehemiah 8 is one of the more famous Old Testament passages. I recommend that you read the entire chapter, but for this article's purposes, we will look at select verses, beginning with verses 1-3.
"And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen and understand (The all refers to covenant people, G.L.) on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the Law."
Now let us look at verses 5-8. "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen!' while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethia, Hodiaqh, Masseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. And they read from the book of the Law of God, translating (Also translatable as explaining, G.L.) to give the sense so that they understood the reading."
Verse 6 contains the message's central idea. "Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered 'Amen, Amen!' while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground." The message was all about God and His word, and the people came and worshipped.
Examine the order of verse 8.
- They read from the book, the Law of God,
- Explaining, to give the sense,
- So they could understand the reading.
That is preaching. First the speaker read God's word. Then he explained the sense of the reading, so that the hearers could understand. It was part of their worship. But that isn't all; consider 9:1, 3. "Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dirt upon them ... While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God." Here, the very centerpiece of their worship was the reading of the book of the Law of God.
From the earliest days of the New-Testament church, preaching was associated with all of the other acts of worship that brethren did together. In Acts 2:42, we read, "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Gareth L. Reese, in his excellent book, New Testament History, a Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, gave voice to the general consensus concerning, "devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching." He wrote, "We would say, they attended the preaching services (the times when the apostles were teaching all the doctrine of Christianity). In the Great Commission, Jesus had instructed that the converts were to be further instructed (Matthew 28:20), and this is what is being done by the apostles. The apostles, aided by the Holy Spirit, would be sharing with the new converts the wonderful truths they themselves had learned from Jesus during His earthly ministry. In due course, the apostolic teaching took written shape in the New Testament Scriptures."
Consider also Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." A.T. Robertson, in his critically acclaimed Word Pictures of the New Testament, Vol. 3, said this presented a vivid picture of Paul's long sermon which went on and on till midnight. Yes, preaching is an act of worship.
In past issues, Brother Litmer has written articles on the different acts of worship. Sadly, another problem has reared its ugly head within the Lord's church. A few people have begun to rethink just exactly what first-century worship consisted of. Some brethren have begun to question whether partaking of the Lord's Supper, giving, and now preaching the word are true acts of worship. What, you might ask, do they believe are the true acts of worship?
- Some believe that giving is something you do only when there is a need, and that there is no authority for a church treasury.
- Others believe that the Lord's Supper should last for 40-45 minutes, with each person taking a large amount of bread and then testifying about what the Lord has done for them during the past week.
- Preaching has been replaced by studying a portion of Scripture to see how we can make the passage come alive in each of our lives.
Behind this movement, we are told, is the need to make the worship more spiritual. It does not accomplish the very thing it proposes, but rather, brings into the Lord's church practices that cannot be sustained by any Scriptural example, command, or necessary inference. The result is further division, strife, contention, and churches dividing into small groups to form house churches.
The Lords hates "those who sow discord among brethren." (Proverbs 6:19) He also said, "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!" {Matthew 18:5-7} Are we seeking to please ourselves instead of God? If we wish to have more spiritual worship services, we should follow the instructions of the one who designed and authorized worship! (KMG)