The Casual Approach to Worshipping God
Because of a faulty understanding of the Church today there is little respect for it; the church is not seen as the high and holy thing God intended it to be. It is not seen as the one and only institution that stands above all other originations. It is common today to find those who claim to be Christians who are as, or more loyal to a lodge, club, school, a radio or T.V. ministry, or a camp as they are to the church.
In the last two decades or so, Churches have been over run with a sloppy casual dress in their worship services. It seems to me, that both men and women have been bitten by the old serpent. In this, is his particular attempt to stop God’s people from biblically worshipping our great and Sovereign God. However, women seem to be the greater perpetrators of this disgraceful behavior in churches today.
It is common place in our day to see men women and children coming into the house of God dressed as if they were going out to do yard work, or to tend the barnyard animals. And I mean this literally, men attend church in faded and worn blue jeans pull over t - shirts, and sandals or at best casual loafer shoes. Women and especially teen age girls come in blue jeans t - shirts and sometime even tank tops and shorts, or dresses so short and so low fitting at the neck and shoulders that parts of their body which should only be seen by their husband are exposed to total strangers. They bring their children dressed as if they were going to play in the sand box wearing Disney character dress, sometime complete with Mickey Mouse ears, and let them run all over the Church house disturbing others. And in this setting, a blue jean and polo shirt clad song leader –
leads from unscriptural books. These unscriptural songs promote a feel good religion of working your way to heaven and walking streets of gold with little if any reference to being born again, and rarely if ever have any words about the blood of Jesus and God’s saving grace. These songs create little spiritual response. However they do produce a lot of foot stomping and sometime even hand clapping and always the question “does any body else want to sing one?” This generally produces at least one more person saying, “Well, I’ll sang one”, no matter how long the service has been going on. One preacher I know said that in one such service, a fellow after hearing that question three or four times said, “I’ll sang one.” Then got up, and after tapping his foot to get the rhythm broke out in “She’ll be coming around the Mountain when she comes.”
And one of the most disturbing things about this sad biblical ignorance; is, that many if not most of these people have been led to believe that this is the spiritual way to worship God. They say this kind of casual dress and service “puts the emphasis on God, and not on those who are worshipping Him.” They feel, that this casual atmosphere emphasizes the attitude of the heart, and not the outward person. Ignorant or dishonest preachers have sometime intentionally led people to believe this. For what reason, I don’t really know; but I suspect it is to keep people that have little interest in Bible preaching satisfied. It seems this bunch of sloppy dressed and biblically ignorant “casual worshippers” have much delight in singing and racket, but very little patience with preachers who know and preach the word of God.
They use a faulty interpretation of First Samuel 16:7 to back up their claim that dress in worship of God does not matter.
That verse reads: “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” This verse and a few others such as Matt 12:34, and
But these verses have to be interpreted out of scriptural context and extremely distorted in their meaning to back such conclusions. The verse in First Samuel 16:7 is in reference to Samuel at the rebellious request of the children of Israel to have a king like the heathen nations. It is God telling Samuel that his thinking that Eliab or the other sons of Jesse must be God’s choice for King based upon their physical statue is wrong. It is saying that the heart of a man is what qualifies him for God’s service. It is not in any way implying that God’s people are to have no concern for their dress, appearance, or actions in the worship of God. In the first place, Eliab’s appearance impressed Samuel as that which is kingly in appearance, not that of an un - manicured and casually dressed person.
And secondly please note that this entire episode of choosing a king was an act of insubordination and rebellion at God being their king. Listen to what God said about this action to choose a king over Him, “But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (First Samuel 8:6-7). This could in no way be –
seen as an act of worship of God, when it was the direct result of a plain refusal to obey God and worship Him. If you will study worship in the Bible, you will see that the first requirement of worship is humble obedience to the revealed will of God. This is
seen in the fact that the first mention of worship in the Bible is in Gen. chapter 22, where Abraham, in unquestioned obedience to God, offered up his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God.
Also, all one need do is read the word of God to see that the kings and priests were required to be cleansed and robed in spectacular apparel when worshipping God. Look at the minute detailed orders of God concerning the dress of Aaron the high priest and his sons the ministering priests in Exodus, and especially chapter 28:1-5 “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office
And these are the garments which they shall make a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office
And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.”
Most of this chapter goes on to describe the dress of
those priests who were to come into the presence of God in the worship service of Israel in the Holy of Holies. Now when we read First Cor 10:1-12 we are told that these O.T. happenings were examples as to our attitude about worshipping God.
Hebrews makes it crystal clear that Aaron was a type of Jesus Christ, our great high priest. Rev 1:6 and 5:10 plainly teach that God’s people are, through the cleansing blood of Jesus and the new birth, made priests and kings. And the scriptures in I Tim 2:5 plainly teach that the believer is his own priest, having direct access to God through the mediatory work of Jesus Christ. This is (exclusively a Baptist doctrine,) and is called the doctrine of the “priesthood of the believer,” showing that the office of earthly priests and mediators in religion such as Roman Catholicism is totally unscriptural.
Scriptural worship is God’s people obediently coming into the house of God (which is the local church according to 1Ti 3:15) to adore and pay homage to our great God and our Saviour. Our attitude regarding our attire and behavior in His presence tells all about our consciousness of the value of His person.
Here it will help to look at the word carnal as used ten times in the New Testament, I will use only two of them, 1Co 3:1 ¶ “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” And again in 1Co 3:3, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” In all the references to this word in the N. T. it means fleshly, the elevating of the flesh above the spiritual; the magnifying of ones self esteem and interest above that which honors God. And that is what this shoddy casual attitude about-
ones image in the presence of God in His house the Church is all about. It is not about honoring and worshipping God, but all about self and what we want to do. Casual dress in God’s house of worship is first carnal, then casual.
Another clear example of how God’s people ought to dress in His house of worship is the teaching of Christ’s Church as His bride. (2 Co 11:2) “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (Re. 21:2) “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
(Re. 21:9) ¶ “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying Come hither I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
There is no time in the bride’s life when she is more elaborately dressed than the time when she comes to present herself to her husband. She spares no expense, or effort to look her very best on that special day.
People who go to church in sloppy casual dress would not dare show up for a job interview in such a careless manner. If they were going to court before a human judge, they would appear dressed in their best attire out of respect for the judge. And if they did not have enough sense to do so, their lawyer would insist upon them doing so for fear that the judge would be offended by their lack of respect for his court and person.
One preacher told me of an incident which illustrates this perfectly. He said, “A wealthy farmer in
equipment manufacturer whom he wanted to impress. The pastor said, when he met the farmer he was dressed in suit and tie and manicured to the tee. The pastor asked him why he was so dressed up, and the farmer replied, “You don’t expect me to show up in these men’s presence in blue jeans do you?” You see, he respected and valued these business associates, but the God whom he claimed as saviour, and whom he claimed to worship did not rate on their level.
Oh how this ought to strike fear in the hearts of those who have been led to believe the fallacy that their sloppy, carnal, casual dress and actions in the house of God are evidence of their humility and love for Jesus Christ. In actuality, it is, like Israel’s demand for a king, a sign of their rebellion and disrespect for the God whom they claim they are there to worship.
Rather than show that they honor him as the sovereign God of the universe, worthy of all honor and respect, it shows that they see Him as just a good old boy and buddy or else their dress and actions would reflect their respect.
I think it might be good to use some space here to print six dictionary definitions of the use of the word casual: 1. Happening by chance, not planned, accidental. An example is: “Our long friendship began with a casual meeting at a party.” 2. Careless: Example: I did not read the newspaper but gave it only a casual glance.” 3. Uncertain, indefinite, indifferent, vague. Example: “Not for a casual period, but for a lifetime.” 4. Informal in manner, off-hand. Example: “Some people take his casual manner for rudeness.” 5. Not to be depended on or considered seriously, haphazard. Example: “He does his work in much too casual a manner.” 6: designed for informal wear.
Example: “We dressed in casual clothes for the picnic.”
Notice the words given for casual: not planned, careless, uncertain, indifferent, informal, off hand, haphazard, undependable. Surely, surely, these are not the words God’s people would want describing their worship.
This casual approach to worship permeates almost every aspect of the churches in which it is allowed to exist. It shows up strong in the relationship of the members and their pastor. It is common in these loose casual churches to hear the members (even children and teens) address their pastor by his first name instead of honoring his high calling with brother, pastor, or preacher. And they do this in complete disregard for God’s commands concerning such disrespect for His preachers. Listen to First Thess 5:12-13: “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.”
It is true, that in the New Testament Church there are no higher and lower order of saints, and all are equal in standing as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ. But, the Bible nowhere even implies that God’s people are not to single out, respect, and hold high regards and honor, their pastors. They are commanded to do this, not because he is better than anyone else, or because he is on a higher plane of God’s grace than anyone else in the church, but because of the calling and work God has placed him in. It is out of respect for the work of God that they are to honor and respect him. To not honor and respect God’s man as we are commanded to do, is to refuse to honor God’s work of preaching the gospel, the very heart of the church’s commission. I am seventy five years old, and have –
been preaching God’s word for fifty two years, and I never call my brothers and sisters and especially God’s preachers by their first name unless I put brother first. I always refer to my preacher friends, even those who are much younger than me as preacher, pastor, brother, or their title as Dr. and never as Reverend, because the only time Reverend is used in the bible, is Psalms 111:5 in reference to God: clearly showing, that, the only name in heaven and earth worthy of the title Reverend is God himself.
Contrary to what the average church thinks, the church is not a democracy, but a democratic theocracy. This is clearly seen in the definition of these two words; Democracy in its simplest form means “people run” a government controlled by the majority will of the people. Theocracy means, “a government in which God is in control, through His appointed men (never women).” Anyone claiming to be a born again Christian with an ounce of honesty will be forced to admit that Jesus Christ’s Church is His church, and to be operated in complete obedience to His word the Bible. Read 2 Tim 4:2, and you will see that God has called His preachers for the explicit purpose of studying and preaching His word, and to rule and labor in that word, and doctrine. It seems evident then, that the pastor is to be the one who directs all operations of God’s work in the church. The voting on church operations of ministry should be that of a people supporting the leadership of a godly pastor’s leadership through the Holy Ghost led study of the will of God as given in His word.
It seems unintelligent and almost unbelievable, that churches would call a pastor to lead them, and then force him to follow the will and direction of the people who know the least about
God’s word. It is a certified fact, that, in most Baptist Churches, the majority of the members rarely ever read the Bible, pray, won’t give one dime out of their dollar to support God’s work, and don’t even attend church faithfully. Yet many times these same people are allowed, by a casual approach to serving God, to set the course for the ministries of the church. A simple practice of church discipline as practiced in New Testament and early American churches would correct this.
The scripture in 1 Tim 3:5 and Heb 13:17 speak of pastoral authority and responsibility to God for the church. These verses and others teach that the pastor is to preach the word, rebuke those members who oppose the word, and to do it with longsuffering and doctrine. And the scripture also teaches that he is to take care of the house of God (church) in the same manner in which he rules his own children. Show me a family household where the children vote on what they are going to do or not do, and I will show you a disaster.
Because of this position of responsibility and accountability, God, in 1 Tim 5:17, says the pastors are to be given double honor. The word honor here is in reference to the pastor’s compensation. His worth is to be seen in importance as worth twice the amount as any other job. If a man mowing lawns is worth five hundred dollars a week, is not a man called of God to preach His eternal, life giving Word worth twice that?
This lax, casual approach to church worship and pastoral relationship is a deceptive tool of the devil himself and has no value at all in the matter of worshipping God: actually it greatly hinders true worship. It shows a lack of respect for God, His Word, His church, and His preachers by a group of religionists who at best, have been deceived by a bunch of sorry, religious
teachers,(2 Tim 4:3), or at worst, people who are lost and playing a religious game every Sunday just to solve a condemning conscience.
These same “casual” minded people who insist on first name camaraderie with God’s man would never walk uninvited into the office of their boss, and say something like “Hey Bob, how’s it going? You know Bob; your way of running things around here is no good, we’ve all voted to change it to what we feel is a better way, since this plant is a democracy anyway.”
God’s people would do well to stop all this foolishness in the name of serving God, and get back to doing it God’s way. Then Churches could truthfully say, “Come and worship with us.” As it is in these worldly, casual churches today, when they say to come and worship with them, they are outright lying. It does not matter what you call it, it is not biblical worship unless it is grounded in the truth of God’s word, and motivated and energized by the Holy Spirit. Anything else is a sham. (John 4:23) “But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
(John 4:24) “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
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