Worship Practices

[Gus Foster]

Some suggest to me that the worship practice in Psalm 150 is an acceptable outline for todays church. Here is my response:

For some time many have told me that they thought our worship services were dull, unimaginative and boring. I would like to share some thoughts written by C. Raymond Holmes on Adventist Worship, chapter 34, pages 472-475, in the new book, "Here We Stand", in which I am in complete agreement:

"Holiness is God's essence, His basic nature. The holiness of god has both positive and negative implications. Because God is morally pure in Himself, He is intolerant of human sin. His whole nature burns with wrath toward sin, consuming it. (Hebrews 12:28, 29) Because holiness is His basic nature, He cannot act in any other way toward sin. There is a separation of being between Himself and fallen humanity. --- On the positive side, because He is morally pure in Himself, God's holiness is revealed as love. His holiness requires that He act in love toward His creatures, because holiness is His basic nature. He cannot act in any other way toward the sinner. Even His wrath and judgment are loving manifestations of His holiness. ---

(In regards to Isa 6) If the fire that comes in Adventist Christian worship does not come from God's altar, it is strange fire that does not cleanse. --- Those who have been cleansed by the burning coal from Calvary's altar are never the same. They have a new Master and a new cause. If we are to become fit for His kingdom and His service, we too must have such an encounter with the holy God. Like Cain (Gen 4), some people worship by giving only what they possess; but some, like Isaiah, give themselves. --- When His people, who have been redeemed from sin by His grace in Christ, recognize the truth of His holiness, they will respond by giving glory to Him (see John 17). ---

'Holy, holy, holy,' is a totally religious emphasis and awareness. There is no confusion here of the divine with the human, no attempt to find the sacred in the secular, for they are incompatible. In worship, sinful human beings come into the presence of the Almighty God, Who is seated on a throne, the symbol of His power to rule and judge. --- How does one become holy? By worshipping The Holy--not by ceremonies or forms, not by entertainment or excitement. ---there is a relationship that exists between human indifference to principals of righteousness, genuine revival and the holiness of God's character. --- Neglect of God's law results in declining piety, lack of the Holy Spirit, and fruitless revivals. (Mathew 7:16) Does ceremony and ritual make holy people? Does 'celebration'? Does clapping and swaying and shouting? Anything done in worship that does not lead to a consciousness of God's holiness and a conviction of human sin is sensual indulgence, a vehicle for meeting the humanistic ends of manipulation or entertainment. ---

the effect of the worship service should be to heighten our perception of Jesus' Day of Atonement ministry for us, and the importance of our accepting His commission to proclaim the three angels' messages to a world now under judgment. If not Seventh-day Adventists, whom will God send to tell the world to worship God as the Creator on the memorial day of His Creation? How will the world learn that the Sabbath is a sign of God's abundant provision for our redemption and sanctification (Eze 20:12)-the holiness we need to meet a holy God? Who will tell them that the hour of His judgment has come, and how they may prepare to meet Him with joy?---

It is the appropriate response (Rev 14:7)"

I find these to be incredible statements, and also I find an observation: those who believe in the old Adventist sancturary doctrine cling to the idea that worship is humbly kneeling in front of God in His throneroom, and those that have deferred accept other forms of worship. Interesting!