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Covenants Have Regulations of Worship
Warning!
You must understand that covenants have divine regulations of worship and that breaking them or deviating from them will bring severity from God. For example, in the beginning, Adam and Eve disobeyed one regulation and God was severe with them for this. He put them out of the garden and they eventually died.
In the Patriarchal Age, we read that God was going to deal severely with Moses, because apparently he had not yet circumcised his son according to the regulations given to Abraham (Ex 4:24-26). [At this point, Moses was on his way to save Israel, so he had not yet received the Law.] Now God was going to put someone to death over this, but Moses’ wife, Zipporah, saved a life since she circumcised their son.
In the Mosaic Age, there are many examples of how setting aside its regulations resulted in severity, wrath from God. For example, when David was bringing the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem, Uzzah reached out his hand to stop it from falling off the cart. So God struck him down for his irreverence (2 Sam 6:6, 7). It was irreverent for anyone to touch the Ark of God. Not even the priests were to touch it.
Even in the Christian Age, there are examples of God’s severity for those who set aside His regulations. For example, Jesus Himself was planning to bring sickness and tribulation on a woman and kill her children with pestilence because of her unchecked deviant conduct in church (Re 2:22, 23). What I am saying is this, “Now even the first covenant [the Law of Moses] had regulations of divine worship” (He 9:1). This implies that the second covenant also has regulations of divine worship. “He [Jesus] is the mediator of a new covenant” (He 9:15). And so we see that Jesus brought us a new covenant, and with it new regulations of divine worship which must not be set aside or broken. For example,
“Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (He 10:28-31). And so we see that we must not insult the Spirit of grace by setting aside the covenant by which we are sanctified or else we will receive God’s severity [wrath], not His kindness [grace].
Understand the Purpose of this Study
(1) The purpose of this Bible study is to learn Christian regulations which are specific to worship, group worship. However, there are a variety of ministries (1 Cor 12:5) which may be related to the group or individual members of it, but evidently are not central to our worship time together as a whole. For example, services such as hospitality, foot washing, fellowship meals, church food pantries, weddings, church libraries / book stores, etc. Therefore, these likely do not have any regulations of worship (group worship) related/assigned to them, again since they are not central to group worship.
(2) I aim to only list and study, in a fitting and reasonable order, Scriptures/passages that clearly relate to the subject/context of Christian group worship (but they may not have to be practiced in any specific order). So in these passages and verses you should see statements or words to reveal them as such, like “in God’s house, the church”, and “when you assemble”, and “worship”, and “do this [i.e. together]”, and some “one another” verses, etc. (3) Since we already studied the true way/style in which to worship the Father in another study [The Bible Study on True vs. False Worship], it will not be studied here at length. Yet, elements related to that passage may be briefly mentioned, outlined, or referred to in this study. (4) The various gifts of the Holy Spirit, though for worship, will not be studied because they are covered extensively in the Bible Study on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Only the regulations surrounding gifts will be studied. (5) This study, along with the Bible Study on True vs. False Worship, and the study on the gifts, can be used as a guide to conducting a group worship service, and the specific elements which ought to be and not be a part of it. It is my hope that this study will greatly assist us so that: “we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe” (He 12:28). Rick David, Author of this Study & an Evangelist
COVER: This painting of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the U.S.A. demonstrates some choice things about Christian worship: (1) Respect/honor for the holy Bible, (2) Bending the knee [which is what ‘worship’ literally means, and what every knee will do to the glory of God/Phil 2:9-11], (3) Removing the hat, which is what the apostles commanded men to do in certain circumstances (1 Cor 11:4, 7). Abe is famous for the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all American slaves.
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