I was talking to a young man at a Christian ministers’ gathering a few weeks ago, and I asked him what position he held in the church where he served. He said he was a “worship leader.” I asked him what he meant, which seemed to throw him off a little bit. He hesitated as he explained his position, and I said, to clear up the discussion, “You mean you’re a musician?” He breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and then began to talk about his work and background. It was a little awkward, I think, as the term ‘worship leader’ is usually ascribed to the music leader in a church. We had a good discussion, though, and all ended well. He seemed to be a fine young man, and probably does well.

The awkwardness was probably sensed more by me, as one of my pet peeves in the modern church is the oft-stated idea that “worship” is the musical part of a church service. It sounds good, and most people don’t question it, but defining “worship” as “music in a service” is a misguided understanding of the biblical teaching on worship in the Christian life.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, mentioned the practice of worship in the context of Discipleship. He said this, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” 12:1-2 You can see from this passage that Paul understood the concept of worship to be the whole of one’s Christian experience; it is something you do, of course, when you gather in a Christian service, but it is, more importantly, a lifestyle that the Christian is to take on as he or she chooses to follow Jesus, every day.

Paul explains what a life of worship entails:

“present your bodies:” When one ‘gives’ their body to God, or ‘presents’ their body to God, it invokes the memory of the old practice of taking an infant to the temple in the Jewish faith, and presenting the child’s body as a ‘gift’ to God. Not only was it a way for the parents to commit to God to raise the child in faith, but it was also a way to birth and nurture the child’s faith and help that child grow in the years to come. When one matures and makes a conscious decision to follow Jesus as Savior, he “presents” his body for service to God; it is a way of saying to God, “I am yours.”

“a living and holy sacrifice:” Again, this refers to the common Jewish practice of making a sacrifice to God, out of love and devotion to Him. In this passage, though, the sacrifice is not a dead animal or grain but the believer’s gift of their time and energies in following Jesus. When you sacrifice your life: your time and energies, abilities, even monies, that is a ‘holy’ gift to God, set aside for his service. This is worship!

“acceptable to God:” A life lived in faithful obedience to God is the ‘gift’ that pleases Him! He is not looking for perfection, of course; he looks for obedience and faith, and the willingness to serve Him, in any and every way. Again, this is part of a ‘life of worship.’

“reasonable service of worship:” The word Paul uses here is literally “logical,” and not just “spiritual.” In other words, after receiving Jesus as Savior and committing one’s life to His service, it is logical and truly spiritual to live for Him! For the believer, a life without faith, service, and self-sacrifice is not spiritual, and it surely makes no sense at all. What you have in Jesus is just that good, and life-changing!

This is just a small part of the biblical discussion of worship, to be sure. Worship is a life of faith-service to God; it entails literally everything you do, as it all “proclaims” the faith that is in you, and brings glory to the God who saved you. Worship Him!

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