My Philosophy of Worship

How can one express the full essence, significance, and expression of worship? I might as well not even try! But as I am often asked, I do hold to several non-negotiable scriptural fundamentals regarding Christian worship, but believe that the Lord has given discretion to the Church for cultural stylings and musical preferences (that may be an abomination to some!). 

Below are some very important points I stress when communicating my views about the worship of God. Again, these points are by no means exhaustive, and an expert in theology may be amused by this elementary list. In any case, these points are vital to my personal philosophy of worship—views that guide my life and ministry. I hope they somehow help others form their own worship philosophy.

Jamie Harvill

Philosophy of Worship

Worship is central to Scripture. Worship is the appropriate response of a God/man relationship (John 4:23; 1 Cor. 4:6; Heb. 12:28–29; Col. 3:16; 2 John 1:9; Rev. 22:18–19). Worship must be biblical to be acceptable to God (Lev. 10:3). Biblical worship is made possible only through Christ (John 14:6).

God initiates worship (John 14:6; Rev. 3:20; Rom. 5:10, 6:23; 1 John 4:19; 1 Pet. 2:9; Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 1:9), requires worship (Matt. 22: 36-40), and sustains worship (Gal. 3:3).

Biblical worship must be Christ-centered (Heb. 1:6; Rev. 4:1-11). D. A. Carson said, “Christian worship is new-covenant worship; it is gospel-inspired worship; it is Christ-centered worship; it is cross-focused worship.”[1]

Worship must be the priority of the church. Isaiah 43:7 defends that mankind was created to glorify God.  The purpose for each ministry of the church is ultimately to bring glory to God. Ephesians 1:11-14 stresses that worship is the goal of His redemptive work. Ronald B. Allen said, “[Various] ministries...have wonderful meaning in their own terms; but all of them, when done in the power of God’s Spirit and to God’s glory, have one end—the worship of God.[2]

Biblical worship must be balanced; one must worship Him in spirit (subjectively, with heartfelt devotion) and in truth (with biblical principles and guidelines—John 4:23-24).

            Biblical worship and evangelism are inseparable. According to Matthew 28:18-20, evangelism and worship are uniquely related—the worship of God leads to evangelism and discipleship.[3] Worshiping God goes hand-in-hand with loving one’s neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40).

Congregational worship edifies and instructs the Body of Christ (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).[4]

Multigenerational worship is biblical (Ps. 133:1); it is to be a priority in the Body so as no age group is valued or served above another.

Multicultural worship is biblical (Eph. 2:11-3:7; Gal. 2; 5:1-6; Acts 15). The Bible must be the final and definitive authority for Christian beliefs and practices.

Worship must be practiced with excellence (Ps. 150:2). Excellence in worship honors God and respects the congregation by removing distractions that may obstruct a clear view of God and His greatness (Is. 62:10).

---

[1]D. A. Carson, “Worship Under the Word,” in Worship by the Book, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 59.

[2] Ronald B. Allen, The Wonder of Worship (Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000), 21-23, 179.

[3] David Wheeler and Vernon M. Whaley, Worship and Witness: Becoming a Great Commission Worshiper (Nashville: Lifeway, 2012), 11.

[4] Jamie Harvill, To Jesus We Sing: A Concise History of Christian Worship (Mobile, AL: Wyatt House Publishing, 2016), 61. 

4 Ways We Mistakenly Define Ourselves

Human beings are flawed; nobody’s perfect. Humanity’s goal has been to rise above imperfection through self-effort to become “good human beings.” 

“Humanism,” described by Thomas W. Clark, “is often characterized as a secular alternative to religion in our quest for a good, moral, and self-fulfilling life.” We all want success, contentment and happiness, right? Many of us are striving to attain these things without God.

Tim Keller, in his remarkable book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, wrote: 

At some point in most lives, we are confronted with the fact that we are not the persons we know we should be. Almost always our response is to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and try harder to live according to our principles. That ultimately will only lead us into a spiritual dead end (pp. 168-169).

Worth by Degree

Humans are born into the world with an overwhelming need to find a sense of self-worth and importance, to be acknowledged in society, and ultimately to reach a state of happiness or satisfaction in life. Our tendency is to compare our worth by degree, through assessing ourselves in contrast to others, and defining our importance by what others see as valuable—not by God’s criteria. We tend to describe ourselves by what we’ve done in the past, who we know, the great things we are doing today, how much money we have—not by who or Who’s we are.

Paul, in a letter to the Galatians, wrote, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10, ESV).

Misguided Means of Measuring Up

According to the Apostle Paul, we must learn to define ourselves by God’s standards, not by the destructive means of comparing ourselves to others. The following are four misguided ways we often use to define ourselves:

Through Our Accomplishments—the “good” we’ve done

The world often defines success by one’s talents, academic degrees, one’s chosen profession, and by how much money a person has acquired. The classic barometer for significance in today’s world gauges a person’s value based on their possessions, position and power. We even measure our worth by how much we’ve done for others—thinking that, in the end, the “good” we’ve accomplished will give us a pass when standing before a holy God on the threshold of eternity. Paul said:

I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:8-9).

Through Our Actions—the “bad” we’ve done

Many of us define our self-worth based on the mistakes and poor decisions of days gone by—missteps long, long ago. Many a poor soul has given up on their future based on actions in the past—maybe even for a blunder one has made that day. The good news is: God loves us despite our waywardness. Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one” (ESV). Isaiah 64:6 says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (ESV). Tim Keller recently tweeted: “The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, but more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope.”

       

      Through Our Associations—who we know

Many times we define ourselves by friends and who we hangout with. We may even find self-worth through political and denominational affiliations. One of the most misleading measuring sticks of worth is appraising one’s social standing, determining value based on which rung of the social ladder we find ourselves. Tom Mulnix, in a Relevant Magazine article wrote:

You are defined by your values, beliefs, ideals and commitments. Those must become the non-negotiables of your life if you want to be the one making the definition. If those things aren’t solidly set, when the world asks you about them—and it will—prepare to be told who you are (May 20, 2003).

If we find our significance in God, we know what the Bible says about our most important association: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20, ESV).

      Through Our Appearance—what we look like

Sadly in America today, we find our appearance to be one of the greatest measurements of self-worth. One’s looks, stature, weight, complexion, age, gender, and race all play into this deceptive acceptance-by-appearance game. The Bible says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8, NIV).

Be Free In Christ

            The sad truth is that many define themselves relative to something or someone else. When one’s identity is rooted and validated in any of the four things listed above—accomplishments, past actions, associations, or appearance—a person will be severely limited in their life-potential. Again, Tom Mulnix observes, “Most of us take our cues from this world, instead of the One who made it. The best this world can offer us is circumstance and expectation, while the One who made it offers purpose, direction, meaning and endless hope.”

            The Bible says: “You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears” (1 Cor. 7:23, TLB).

Is Being A Christ-Follower Worth It? 4 Unshakable Reasons

I recently caught several installments of a very interesting T.V. series about notable men who began their infamous careers around the beginning of the 20^th century. One of them, John D. Torrio, was a very successful man by earthly standards. He dodged death several times, financially prospered in the midst of a devastated economy, and died extremely wealthy at the ripe age of 75.

His prosperity may have been appalling in a woeful era where Americans died by the thousands on French battlefields in World War I, and where many would later suffer through the Great Depression—even World War II. But Torrio, known as “The Fox” to his associates, wasn’t a typical American; he was a rich gangster, depleting the pockets of Chicagoans by supplying illegal drink, gambling and prostitution. Even in an environment of corruption and killing, Torrio’s levelheaded way of doing gangster business deeply influenced a young, up-and-coming mobster—Al Capone—along with many others.

To be absolutely clear, this illicit behavior is an abomination to God (Prov. 6:16-19). But the crazy truth is, ruthless cutthroat criminals may thrive in their perverse deeds, and then go home to tenderly dote on their own children.

Jesus said:

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full (Luke 6:32-34, NIV).

Also, we read in Scripture that even the unrighteous give good gifts to their children (Matt. 7:9-11); God has planted knowledge deep in the heart of man concerning truth and God (Rom. 1:18-20; Jude 1:10). In Romans 1:32, Paul writes: “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (NIV).

Torrio, Capone and their criminal comrades did some very horrific things that obviously were contrary to everything Christianity represents—even though, ironically, many in the ‘Chicago Outfit’ were confirmed Catholics.

So why is it that some unrighteous people seem to prosper and many Christians do not? Clearly, God despises sin and has placed judgment upon mankind, who “received in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Rom. 1:26, NIV). Psalm 1:3 speaks of the righteous person, saying, “In all that he does, he prospers.” But how can this be so when there are criminals and unrighteous people who continue to flourish in their wicked enterprises and seemingly go unscathed (Mal. 3:15; Ps. 44:20-22)?

Psalm 37:7 says: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” (NIV). The Christ-follower’s perspective must be that living for God is very much worth it! Here are four eternal things that a Christian must understand can never be shaken:

1            God’s Throne (Ps. 45:6; Lam. 5:19)

n            God’s Word (Mark 13:31; I Pet. 1:24-25)

           
        God’s Church (Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 3:11

        God’s Salvation (John 10:27-29; Rom. 8:38-39; 2 Tim. 1:12)

What makes living for Christ worth it? Basically, we were created to worship God (Rev. 4:9-11), and Christ has made it possible. Due to the fall of man in the Garden, all have sinned and need a Savior to reestablish fellowship with the Creator (Rom. 3:23).

An angel in the book of Revelation (19:10) emphatically stated, "Worship God!" This mandate is one of many ways the unrighteous are misguided, including the fact that: 1) they refuse the Almighty’s offer of salvation to try and extract on their own terms all they can get from life apart from a holy God [Prov. 16:5]; and  2) they may prosper for a short time, but in the end it’s impossible to stand before God’s throne and His Word without Christ’s salvation, and independent of His Bride, the Church.

Thank God that those who have given their lives in worship to God while on earth will enjoy His eternal presence in heaven. That pleasure is worth all of the momentary difficulty we may face in this life (2 Cor. 4:17-18)!