Worship in the Early Church

Periodically throughout the book of Acts, Luke provides updates on the church’s unity, growth, and worship. One of these glimpses occurs in Acts 9:31. R. C. Sproul unpacks this glimpse in the Expositional Commentary Series under the rubric of worship. Let’s see how he describes the worship of the early church and challenges our people-oriented approach.

Worship

Luke inserts a brief interlude: “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied” (v. 31). Before we heard of the conversion of Paul, we heard something of Peter’s ministry in Jerusalem, and then in this brief interval we are introduced to Paul and find out about his conversion, his brief ministry in Damascus, and his return to Caesarea until he was sent back to Tarsus. After this the text returns to the ministry of Peter in Jerusalem before it recounts Paul’s missionary journeys. Paul’s ministry began in Damascus, and it began by declaring that Christ was the Messiah. It began by proclaiming Jesus in His fullness, in His perfect humanity, and in His perfect deity as the Son of the living God.

What Paul declared there in Damascus is the same thing that Peter declared when Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” and Simon said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:15-16). God hates religion because religion is something that humans invent, and religious behavior is something we conjure up. Christianity is about devotion to our creed, not because it has been written down but because of the substance of the truth contained therein. We are to be people who are persuaded that Jesus is the Christ—that God’s Son, His only begotten Son, came into this world for us and for our salvation, which is why we gather together to give the sacrifice of praise and to give honor, worship, and adoration to Him.

Whom Not How We Worship

How shall we then worship? The big question today is the “who” question. Whom do we worship? Who we worship defines how we worship. I almost cry when I drive past churches and see advertisements for worship services that say, “9:30 service, traditional; 11:00 service, contemporary,” or “Our worship is blended. We are an ecclesiastical cafeteria. If you want one style, come at 9:30; if you want another style, come at 11:00.” That is the language of the contemporary church. The church-growth movement is always and everywhere asking, “What do the people want?” The issue is what does God want? Who is it that we are here for? We are not here to please unbelievers. Surely we are to evangelize them, but corporate worship on Sunday morning is for the body of Christ, for believers to be brought before their living God and approach Him as holy. So the “how” question must always be answered by the “who” question.

That should be true in every aspect of our lives; how we live our Christian lives should be determined by who we understand God to be and by who Jesus is. We have to deal with the Son of God, and though we are called to enter boldly into His presence, He never stops being holy, and that should be manifested in how we worship Him. I believe that how people worship God speaks louder about their understanding of who He is than any creed or theology ever written.

Get R. C. Sproul’s Expositional Commentary Series

R. C. Sproul was the longtime pastor of St. Andrew’s Church in Sanford, Florida and the Expositional Commentary Series consists of many of the sermons he preached while pastoring. This series reflects Dr. Sproul’s faithful adherence to the text and can easily be used for sermon preparation, group study, or devotional reading. Pick up this nine-volume series of sermons by Dr. Sproul today!