Worship In the Program of a Christian Citizen
Worship In the Program of a Christian Citizen WORSHIP IN THE PROGRAM
OF A CHRISTIAN CITIZEN
By Early Arcaneaux Brethren, Sisters, and Friends:
I assure you that it is a pleasure to me to come before you to contribute what I can to the interest of this occasion and possibly contribute in some small degree information to some. The information that I may be able to give, of course, is all in the possession of most of you who are present. It should be in the knowledge of every Christian, yet it is not always true that Christians have the knowledge that they should have and that we might expect them to have.
“Worship in the Program of a Christian Citizen” is the subject assigned to me. I suppose that it was intended to suggest that a Christian is a citizen of the kingdom of Christ. Of course, I believe that is so. We want a little study of the words in the investigation of any subject. Before we can intelligently discuss it we must have some conception of the meaning of the terms we use. I shall not take them up in the order. I take it for granted that no one would object to this definition of a Christian—a man in Christ. A man in Christ is a Christian. A man out of Christ is not a Christian; no matter how good he is, no matter how often he prays, no matter how much he gives, he is not a Christian and there is no way under heaven to make a Christian out of him out of Christ. I suppose everybody believes that. I don’t suppose anybody would object to that. Well, we’ll not preach a sermon now on how to get into Christ, but I don’t know any way to get men into Christ except the way the Bible says they get in, although a great many people say they are in that didn’t do that, but I am not here to argue that point tonight especially. But I do wish to make this statement: a man out of Christ, of course, cannot offer to God Christian worship. He can’t (that’s good English, isn’t it?) not will not, but can not; of course a man out of Christ can’t offer to God Christian worship. He can do something and call it worship to God, but that’s not Christian worship. Now a great many people out of Christ often say to men in Christ, “I’m just as good as you are. I can get to heaven just as well as you can.” They propose to do it, out of Christ,
You remember when Paul was on trial for his life and liberty when the Jews requested that he be released at Caesarea and sent back to Jerusalem, planning to lie in wait and take his life, Paul said, “I appeal unto Caesar.” Why did Paul do that? Why was Paul allowed to do that? and thus take himself from under the jurisdiction of every court in the Human empire except that of the emperor himself at Rome? Well, he was a Roman citizen. Before that when Roman soldiers had rescued him from the Jewish mob, they bound him with a chain and were getting ready to get the truth out of him by scourging. He said to the commander, “Is it lawful—you know, that’s an interesting question and a very important question—is it lawful for you to scourge a man uncondemned without a trial, who is a Roman citizen, a Roman?” This man said, “How in the world did you get to be a Roman? I obtained it with a great sum of money.” Paul said, “I was free-boni.” Though a Jew, his father or grandfather or great-grandfather through some service to Rome had become a citizen and the son was bom a citizen of Rome. Now, so far as I know, the apostle Peter couldn’t have made that appeal unto Caesar. Those chains were taken off when Paul said, “I’m a Roman.” It wasn’t lawful,, and they immediately took the chains off and Paul was not scourged when his Roman citizenship became known to the Roman officer. The Governor said, “Thou hast appealed unto Caesar, unto Caesar shalt thou go.” Why couldn’t Peter or any other apostle have appealed to Cajsar? Because they were not Roman citizens.
Now, in the ordinary affairs of life it would be a re-flection on your intelligence to state facts of that sort. Every person knows that a man not an American citizen cannot exercise the right of an American citizen, but citizens of Satan’s kingdom persistently contend that they can do anything that a citizen of the kingdom of Christ can do, be just as good, just as well off, and can go to heaven just as well without ever becoming a citizen of Christ's kingdom as they can by being a citizen of that kingdom. In Colossians 1:13-14, the apostle Paul said to Christians in his day, “God has delivered you out of the power of darkness, that is, the kingdom of the devil and has translated you into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of our sins.” To be in the kingdom of of Christ is to be in Christ. To be in the kingdom of Christ is to be a citizen of that kingdom, a Christian, To be in the kingdom and to be in Christ is to have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of our sins.
I want to talk about that word “program" just a moment. I suppose from the first discussion in this lectureship that means the plan of a Christian’s activi-ties. In the plan of his life, worship is included. There must be worship., the worship of God in the program of a citizen of the kingdom of Christ. Well, of course, worship of God is a part of the program of a Christian, I think every man should understand that before he becomes a Christian. I think if the price seems too great, he ought not to start. If he cannot afford to give time enough once a week to worship God, he ought ately after church service today.” I’ll start to the bedside of possibly my dying mother immediately after the worship today. And he did. He started after the service, not before. A great many times people are too prosperous to worship God. They get prosperous and they forget God. That ought to be the occasion, one of the occasions on which we must feel the obligation to worship God. Sometimes people in great bereavement don’t worship. They think that’s an excuse not to worship. The sweet singer of Israel had just received the most scathing denunciation ever addressed, I think, in this world to a man, being told that your child is going to die and that the sword shall never depart from thy house. The child did die. David had been fasting, mourning, praying. He saw the servants whispering among themselves. He understood what it meant. They were afraid to tell him the child was dead lest he be overcome with grief. He said to them, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” David arose, bathed himself, anointed himself, changed his raiment, went up to the temple of God and worshipped, went home, and called for food. Then they knew he had lost his mind. Whoever heard of anybody acting that way when somebody had died, a member of his family, his infant? They asked him, “What does this sort of conduct mean? While the child lived you mourned, fasted, prayed; you wouldn’t be comforted. of some is” (Hebrews 10:25). It seems that even in the days of the apostles Christians, some of them, had begun to treat lightly, had begun to neglect the regular assembly of God’s people to worship, We are tempted to quote, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together on the first day of the week,” but the verse doesn’t say that, of course. But the verse does suggest that there was a regular meeting. We cannot learn when nor how often from that verse. We have to appeal to other passages of scripture to find that out, but the point here, and the only point I make on this verse is that Christians are commanded to assemble, commanded not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. Of course diobedience is a sin and when we don’t assemble with Christians when they meet to worship God, we sin, we are not living in obedience to God’s command.
I heard once of one extreme case—most people would consider it extreme and I think most church members would say that it is extreme, but I wish we had more extremists like that in the church, In a little town out west of here at the foot of the plains, this brother was called to the telephone, and I was told that brother was largely responsible for the existence of the church in that community. I could understand that. The call came, and it said that his mother was dangerously sick That call came early Sunday morning. This brother said, ‘Til start just immediately after church service today.” I’ll start to the bedside of possibly my dying mother immediately after the worship today. And he did. He started after the service, not before. A great many times people are too prosperous to worship God. They get prosperous and they forget God. That ought to be the occasion, one of the occasions on which we must feel the obligation to worship God. Sometimes people in great bereavement don’t worship. They think that’s an excuse not to worship. The sweet singer of Israel had just received the most scathing denunciation ever addressed, I think, in this world to a man, being told that your child is going to die and that the sword shall never depart from thy house. The child did die. David had been fasting, mourning, praying, He saw the servants whispering among themselves. He understood what it meant. They were afraid to tell him the child was dead lest he be overcome with grief. He said to them, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” David arose, bathed himself, anointed himself, changed his raiment, went up to the temple of God and worshipped, went home, and called for food. Then they knew he had lost his mind. Whoever heard of anybody acting that way when somebody had died, a member of his family, his infant? They asked him, “What does this sort of conduct, mean? While the child lived you mourned, fasted, prayed; you wouldn’t be comforted.
Now he is dead you appear to be comforted, you change your raiment, you go up to worship, you come back to take food.” David replied, “While the child lived, who knew but that God would be merciful and spare his life? But now he is dead. I know he can not return to me, but I shall go unto him." Out of the depths of a suffering and broken heart, confessing his guilt, praying God to forgive that guilt, he went up into the temple and worshipped.
Abraham, being tried, offered up his only begotten son, the Bible tells us. At the foot of the mountain he said to the servants, ‘The lad and I are going yonder to the top of the mountain and worship,” What does that mean? “I’m going up there, the lad is going with me. I’m going to build an altar, I’m going to bind that boy. He doesn’t know what is going to be done, but I’m going to bind him, place him on that altar, take his life, set fire to the wood and bum him as a sacrifice to God. We will go up yonder to worship and return,’’ Who will return? The lad and I. We’re going up there to kill him, yes, but God had promised that boy should be the one through whom Abraham was to become the father of a great nation. Abraham believed that God was going to do what he he said he would. He believed God. Abraham was a man of faith; and'he believed too that he was going to kill that boy, but he believed that boy was going to come back down the mountain with him, because Paul said, “He accounted that God was able even to raise up even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back” (Hebrews 11:19). But we worship, many of us, if it is pleasant, if it is agreeable, if it is convenient, if it suits us. How far is that from the conduct of faithful Abraham! But what do we mean by worship? What is worship? I think if we could sum up, put into one word all of our ideas of respect, admiration, adoration, reverence, love, recognition of authority, we would have a pretty good idea of what the word “worship” means. The word “worship” most frequently in the New Testament literally means kiss the hand, the mark of respects, of love for one. The literal meaning of the word “worship,” the word that is translated “worship” is “bow down.” Some one has defined man, and I have thought that a pretty good definition, as a worshipping animal, Man is a worshipping animal. Nearly everybody worships something, maybe everybody. Of course, I need not say for your information that men ought to worship God, that Jesus quotes God as saying through Moses, when the devil said that he would give him all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him, “Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God. That’s not enough, God is a jealous God. Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Those two words are very fre-quently used together. Worship and serve. Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, the author of your being, the creator of your body, the one in whom you live, move and have your being, who gives us life, breath, and all things. Worship him, and him only shalt thou serve.
You remember when Peter went to the household of Cornelius, since an angel had directed Cornelius to send for him, Cornelius, of course, had some exalted ideas about the dignity and importance of this man, the apostle Peter, and he fell down before him to worship. Peter said, “Stand up. I also, myself, am a man.” He hadn’t become Lord God, the Pope, at that time. Stand up. Don’t fall down on your face before any man to offer worship, don’t pay divine honor to man or angel. “Worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Sometimes people say, “We are not idolaters. We know those images and those pictures are not divinity.” Yes, and every intelligent heathen on earth knows that. They know that too. It was idolatry to make an image of the thing you worship and fall down before that image. You remember the beloved John on Patmos when a mighty angel stood before him, John fell down before him to worship. The angel said, “See thou do it not. Worship God. I am also a fellow servant” He didn’t mean that he had once been a Christian on earth.
No, that angel didn’t mean that, but he was a servant of God as John was a servant of God. “See thou do it not.” What? Worship the mighty angel. Worship God. “Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
We read in the Old Testament about God’s people at one time. The record says, “They feared Jehovah and served idols.” They hadn’t entirely gotten over their fear of God, but they served idols. If I were to make a speech against idolatry among Christians, I suspect some Christians would think that was entirely unnecessary. Certainly Christians wouldn’t need to hear anything of that kind. Covetousness is idolatry, and no idolater shall enter into the kingdom of God, and I think it is the most prevalent kind of idolatry. But I want your attention to a very impressive passage of scripture, trying to bring before you the importance of the matter of worshipping God regularly, recognizing that as a part of your program as a citizen of the kingdom of Christ. In the first chapter of Romans immediately following Paul’s well known statement, “I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Then Paul says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men to hinder the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is manifest in them, for God manifested it unto them.” ("God has not left himself without witness,” said Paul in the 14th chapter of Acts.) "For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, (things you do not see, we do clearly see), even his everlasting power and divinity through the things that are made.” “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” That great and noted governor, Bob Taylor of Tennessee, once went to hear another great, distinguished Bob make a speech, Bob Ingersoll. He went home, the governor did, and made this one single comment on the speech. “I saw a man made in the image of God stand up and say, ‘There is no God.’ ” No wonder David said “the fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God’.” A few years ago a young atheist went out to make his maiden speech. He stood before a large audience of intelligent men and women and began this way: “Ladies and gentlemen: I have entirely got rid of the idea of a supreme being, and I thank God for it.” He had succeeded about as well as atheists usually do in getting rid of the idea of a supreme being.
You imagine a man strutting around down here on this little grain of sand on which we live, which if you were out yonder somewhere near the center of the solar system, with the most powerful telescope that man ever made, you couldn’t find this earth we live on. Imagine a man strutting around down here looking at the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon, and the millions of solar systems like ours if he knows they exist and declare, “There is no God.” So I call him a fool. Well, suppose you had him on the stand, and ask him, “You say there is no God?” “Yes.” “Is there anything you don’t know, past, present, or future, in the earth, sea, or sky?” And modestly he admits, “There are some things of course, even I do not know.” “All right. Thank you.” question: “If there is one thing you do not know, how do you know but that the one thing you don’t know is that God is?” And, of course, he wouldn’t know that either. They call themselves agnostics. That's a good name for them, not knowing ones. But they think they know and that they almost have a corner on knowledge. But agnostic means not knowing. Now you will understand why I make those statements. They are people that don’t worship God. They are not bothered with that. They don’t worship God, they don’t believe in God, they say they don’t. They don’t pretend to serve God . Of course you wouldn’t expect them to worship God. “For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen being perceived through the things that are made.” We see his attributes through what he made as we see a man’s wisdom and skill in any
piece of design or workmanship. Spurgeon said, “Men have scoffed at and ridiculed the idea of design in nature, but nobody has ever answered it.” And a man that can’t see design in nature, I think, is just as sure for heaven as a pink-skinned baby. You don’t have to look far to see design. You look at a human eye or a human ear. You won’t have to study long to see design there if you can possibly see design in the watch, or anything else man designed for one particular use. And the eye is a hundred times more wonderful than a watch, and if I were to say the watch wasn’t made, wasn’t designed, it just happened, it grew, it evolved, every atheist on earth would say I was crazy, and every one of them would be right.
“Even as everlasting power and divinity are known through the things that God has made that they may be without excuse because that knowing God they glorified him not as God.” Now here is the thing I desire to call your attention to. God left them without excuse. They knew God in the beginning. Up yonder made in the image and likeness of God, not down there in the slime of the ocean bed, a million years before the tadpole. Here is Paul’s theory of evolution. Somebody wants to stop me right now, to say you understand I’m a Christian. I believe the Bible, I’m an evolutionist. I’m a Christian evolutionist. A white black-bird! "Because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks.” A great many people think that you don't have to do anything; and if you do nothing you will be sure to go right into the pearly gate. They don’t worship. What was their first long step away from God? They glorified him not as God. The majority of people in the United States today do not glorify God as God and thousands of church members do not glorify him as God regularly, if worship is any part of glorifying God as God. Second, neither gave thanks. Let us turn back to the Psalms just a moment and read a statement that I think every Christian should memorize, the first two verses of Psalms 107 : “Oh, give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good.” You know what the meaning of the word "worship” is? Worth-ship, a quality of and type of worth. If God is good, if God is great, if God is omnipotent, if God loves men, and sent his Son to redeem them, if God is the giver of every good and perfect gift, what is he worth to us? You say, “Oh, nobody could answer that. That’s beyond our comprehension, and you think you ought to recognize it, maybe say something about it once in a while?” “Oh, give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good, for his loving kindness endureth forever. Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so.” If you believe God is good, every once in a while tell him you think he is. Tell others you think so too. Thank him for his goodness and manifestation of that goodness and fatherly care and loving kindness. “He careth for you.” What a wonderful statement. Cast all your care, all your anxiety, all your worry upon him as upon a faithful creator, for he careth for you.
But, let’s note a little farther here in the first chapter of Romans. They became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. That is step number three. They were doing something now. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator. Paul said they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They went into idolatry, and Paul describes the course, that downward course of idolatry that changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of the image of corruptible man, and, of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Down, down, down! Paul’s theory of evolution. “Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness.” That’s verse 24. In verse 26 again, “For this cause God gave them up to vile passions.” Verse 28, "And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting.” Three times solemnly repeated, “God gave them up,” but they had first given up God. They had forgotten God, they had failed to worship, they had failed to give thanks, and went into idolatry, they substituted their vain reasonings for the light of divine revelation, and as their idea of God descended from the almighty,
ever-living Creator of heaven and earth down to creep-ing things of the earth, their ideals went along with their idea of God to the basest immorality practiced as worship to their gods. The picture Paul paints in the first chapter of Romans is not too dark if a man has read the history of idolatrous nations of the past or even of the present time. And now, a few words with regard to the items of worship in Christian worship. I shall not have time to discuss them at length, of course. We all understand, I suppose, that singing is an act of worship. It is praise to God; that's a part of our worship. Public teaching, exhortation, study together of the word of God is an act of worship. A contribution is a part, an act of worship. I not very long ago heard of one congregation that did not want money mentioned in religious services. They thought that desecrated it, that it was too material, too earthly, ought never to be mentioned; and I think before their day some church objected and thought they ought not to make any public contribution because that desecrated it. That didn't appeal to their ideas of the spiritual. But listen, in Hebrews 13:15-16, “Through him,” that is, through Christ, our great high priest, and every Christian is a priest. Old Testament priests, Jewish priests, were typical of Christians. The high priest typified Christ. Christ is our high priest. God made us to be a kingdom and priests unto his God and Father (Revelation 1:6). John wasn't prophesying when he wrote that; hie was recording history. God made us to be a kingdom and to be priests. Some folks say that the Bible is prophesying and talking about the kingdom. But John made his statement about both, said the same thing about both—he made us a kingdom and priests. Now through that great high priest he says, “We offer up a sacrifice”—that is an act of worship. Throughout the Old Testament sacrifice was a part of worship. We have sacrifices to offer, certainly. Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of lips. That spells vocal praise, in boxcar letters, if you pardon the classical expression. Nobody could misunderstand that. I suppose nobody would think that was mechanical, instrumental music unless they thought it was a Jew’s harp, but we don’t use Jew’s harps. We are not under the Jewish law; we are not under law to David either. We are under the law of Christ. But somebody wants to remind me that Paul said, “psallo.” That means to use a musical accompaniment. Back in the Psalms every time David used that word he specified the instrument. In the New Testament inspiration says, “psallo,” and it spocifices the instrument, Singing, making melody with your heart unto the Lord, not the harp of David, but h-e-a-r-t as the instrument with which you are to accompany your singing according to the command of Christ (Colossians 3:16). And the verse says, “And whatsoever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Not Moses, not David, not “I think,” “I like it,” “I don’t see any harm in it,” but whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Instrumental music never was a part of Christian worship. Many insist that it is, although they can’t read one word about it in the New Testament. They do read about the Lord’s Supper. They say they can get along without that; they don’t have to have that.
I know of no better illustration than those of the disrespect that millions of people manifest for the authority of the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who said, “All authority on heaven and on earth is given unto me.” I suppose no religious proposition ought to be clearer to every Bible reader than this, that an act of worship should be an act of faith. An act of worship, then, must be a prescribed act, an authorized act, because that’s the only kind of an act that’s an act of faith. Let us note this reading: “Through him, then, let us offer up the sacrifice or praise to God continually, that is the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
“Communicate” happens to be the same word translated “fellowship” in Acts 2:42. “They continued steadfastly in the apostle’s leaching, and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.” I think a good while ago the scholars were about equally divided on whether that meant fellowship in the general sense or the contribution. Some of them said one, some said the other. I voted off the tie. I decided it means the contribution. And for this reason: There were three specific acts there —I don’t think the other was a general spiritual condition. That looks like the contribution began back there in Jerusalem, the birthday of the church which was Sunday morning, the first day of the week. That was the day Christ arose from the dead, the day on which on several occasions he appeared to the apostles, the day on which Thomas missed meeting the Lord because he wasn’t with the others on the day, the day the Holy Spirit came, the day the gospel began to be preached, the day the church was born, the day the kingdom of Christ was inaugurated, They continued from then on in the apostles' teaching, in worship, breaking of bread and prayer. And I note here in Hebrews, “But to do good and to communicate, forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” There is your praise, there is your contribution, the sacrifices every Christian priest offers to God through his great high priest and sacrifices with which God is well pleased. Your money contribution, then, God says, is a spiritual sacrifice. And that is the business of Christian priests, to offer up spiritual sacrifices.
Paul beautifully describes to us again in Php_4:18 the thing of the contribution is acceptable, well-pleasing to God. Back to that second chapter of Acts just a moment. Just a few days ago since I had that long distance call, I tried to find out a little something about that, and I read two or three commentaries. I wanted to see if I could verify some ideas I had. Finally I picked up Hackett, and Haekett made this point that had already occurred to me. Maybe Hackett suggested it to me a long time ago, I don’t remember, but he said fellowship means contribution, quoting this passage in Hebrews, and that he thought, as I stated awhile ago, that three of those words specified acts and the other did not mean a spiritual condition. I didn't consult anybody else. Hackett agreed with me, and so I didn't look up any more. Why should a man look any further when he has found what he wants? And that was good authority. Right in that connection I want to mention another thing or another passage on the same point (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
Now concerning the collection of the saints that didn’t originate the contribution, that was order in the special contribution. “Now concerning the collection. for the saints as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as the Lord has prospered him that there be no gatherings when I come.” And all my life and until not very long ago, every time I read “by him” it seemed like just so much blank space. What does that mean? Nothing that I can see, and I have never been able to see, but I just read it and go on. “Lay by him in store.” I was reading Pendleton not long ago and he said that may correctly be translated “by itself,” but McKnight’s book translates it, and I accepted that, because I can see some meaning in that and I have never been able to see any at all in the other translation, “Lay by itself into this fund upon the first day of the week as you have prospered.” But I am concerned with another thing here. Somebody is always wanting to know why don’t you read the passage that says they ate the Lord's Supper on the first day of every week? Well, 1 Corinthians 16:2 says “every first day of the week” in the original. The translators didn’t think it made any difference so they just translated it “first day of the week.” When you state that people do things on the first day of the week, that means once a week. It couldn’t mean anything else. If you think it means something else, what do you think it means? Do you think it means once a month? Once a quarter? Once a year? Well, you do not designate any other annual day that way. Or any other day of the month that way. You don’t say payday is the first day of the week. It might be occasionally. You don’t say Christmas is the first day of the week. You say that “Monday is wash day.” I might give you another illustration, a better one, but I’ll not do it—on Saturday, How many, how often, once a year? Now, I thought I was just hinting.
I want all of you to understand that I was officially told before I started to talk as long as I wanted to. I suspect he will repent of that, but I’m going to hasten to a conclusion, and by the time I say that about six times, I’ll get ready to quit. Just briefly, listen attentively while I state these propositions. Let’s see: Singing, oh, yes, I don’t want to forget this. Some of you say you didn’t read the book of Revelation, did you? Didn’t you read about the harp over there? Yes, I did. Did you read about the bowls of incense? Did you read about the bowls of incense in the same verse? What did you do about them? Do you bum it? Folks say, “I like instrumental music. I like to hear it.” Well, I like to smell incense. That’s a good argument. I’m not going to apologize to the author of that plagiarized statement. But I want to read that verse briefly, just refer to it (Revelation 5:8). “Elders fell down before the lamb.’’—Some say they are not any of our elders. Well, maybe not.—“having each one a harp and golden bowls full of incense.” Then someone says you ought to have bowls. But listen— “which are the prayers of saints,” What is? The incense, the bowls of incense. It doesn’t mean bowls of incense. The first thing that anybody that ever studied the book of Revelation, ought to learn is that it is mostly given in symbols and that a thing never symbolizes itself. “Ah, it means just what it says.” No, it doesn’t. No, the book of Revelation doesn’t, a good deal of the time, at least, it doesn’t. There was one man who was once teaching the book of Revelation, that is, he was standing before a class and they were going through Revelation, and they read about a beast with seven heads, ten horns, and somebody said, “Brother, what does that mean;” He said, “It means just what it says.” No, it doesn’t- There isn't such an animal! Now these elders each one has a harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of saints. Is it a stretch of imagination to think that if bowls of incense mean prayer, that a harp means praise? And you have a harp, yes, sir, and bowls of incense. The verse tells us about their using the harp, “and they sing a new song.” They were playing the harps of God. Praising him with the fruit of their lips, making melody with their hearts unto the Lord.”
Now, when the Samaritan woman said, “You say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. We worship in this mountain,” Jesus said, “Believe me, the hour is coming and now is when neither in this mountain or in Jerusalem will you worship Jehovah.” That is, you won’t have to go to either of these places. Why? Because there’ll not be any certain place. We are the circumcision who worshipped by the spirit and have no confidence in the flesh (Php_3:3). The Jews had a fleshly covenant and it is called the flesh in Galatians 3:3 and they offered animal sacrifices. Those sacrifices and every other Jewish type were nailed to the cross, legislated away by the authority of God forever. Any theory that has those types, that old earthly temple made by hands in which God says he does not dwell, shall be revived and fleshly carnal ordinances restored, animal sacrifices offered again on this earth by the authority of God, turns the clock of God back, makes it run backwards. The man that advocates them as a theory dethrones Jesus, denies everything the New Testament teaches and proposes to make the shadow come back and take the place of the substance. But, enough on that point. I mention now these propositions, and I mention them briefly, just as briefly as I can, then I’ll leave the subject with you.
Every once in a while somebody says, “If you will just read to me where God said for me to eat the Lord’s Supper on the first day of every week, I’ll do it,” but they wouldn't. And now, let me ask you this, lay down this proposition. If you want me to read where God says for me to eat the Lord’s Supper on the first day of every week; I’ll do it just exactly the minute you read that we ought to meet on the first day of every week. I’ll read it in that same verse. Do you think we ought to worship? Most folks do, but they say we don’t have to eat the Lord’s Supper. I defy any man to undertake to prove that Christians are to meet on the first day of the week without proving they ate the Lord's Supper when they met. Now, a great many people think that this practice rests on just one verse. Well, what if it did—if that verse teaches it? One man said to me once when I quoted, “You are baptized into Christ”—he was a proteslant preacher— “Well, the Bible just says that twice.” Yes, that’s all. God just said it twice. That wasn’t enough for him. Most people think that the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper depends on Acts 20:7 alone. I just want to broaden that foundation a little.
First, Christians are commanded to eat the Lord’s Supper. I’ll not take time to read those passages. You know he commands you to do this “in memory of me” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, 1 Corinthians , 11 th chapter), Christians are commanded to eat the Lord’s Supper.
Now, No. 2. Christians are commanded to assemble together (Hebrews 10:25). That doesn’t say the first day of the week, I didn’t either. All right.
Now, No. 3. Christians ate the Lord’s Supper when they assembled (1 Corinthians 11:20-33). That doesn’t say the first day of the week. I know it doesn’t. I didn’t either.
Now, No. 4. (1 Corinthians 11:33), Christians assemble to eat. When? How often? One man said to me once, “That was to eat a regular meal.” I said, “You think so?” “Yes.” I said, “Well, the verse says that if any man is hungry, let him eat at home.” “Well,” he said, "wo old there be any sin in eating a meal if you were not hungry? You would just be making a glutton of yourself. Would that be a sin?” Some people ought to eat before they go to church and they could stay, they wouldn't be in any hurry to get home, on Sunday morning. But if any man is hungry, let him eat at home. They came together to eat, don’t forget this. What do you come for? If you worship on the first day of the week—but the Lord’s Supper is no part of the worship, what do you come together to do? They came together to eat, and he was talking about the Lord’s Supper. That was the purpose of their meeting and that is not Acts 20:7.
Now, No. 5. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, already quoted, “Lay by in store on the first day of the week.” That passage assumes they would be together. Some translators have translated that as “lay by at home.” I know that’s wrong. “Have you ever looked into the original?” I wouldn’t have to look into it to know that it is wrong. Paul said, “Lay by itself on the first day of the week that there be no collections when I come.” I know, then, it wasn’t put up at home. I know another thing. If it had been, most of it would have been gone before Paul came to collect it. That wouldn’t have answered his purpose, and everybody ought to know that. Some folks say they met on Saturday and then Paul said to lay by in store on the first day of the week. If that’s right, what do you suppose was the matter with Paul anyway? They met on Saturday, and he says lay by in store on the day, the day you don’t get together, so it won’t have to be collected when I get there.
No. 6. Acts 20:7, when the disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread, Paul preached to them ready to depart on the morrow. I wish I had time to elaborate these propositions just a little, but I’ll not do it, I’ll just state them over. We are commanded to eat the Lord’s Supper, we are commanded to assemble, they ate the Lord’s Supper when assembled, they assembled to eat the Lord's Supper, they assembled on the first day of the week to eat the Lord’s Supper. You put these six propositions together, and you have a six-ply cable that’ll hang any Seventh Day Adventist on earth by the neck as high as Hamun until he is dead, and there’s not a man on earth can meet it, can answer it. A few years ago I was reading after Dr. Scofield, and he commenced on Acts 20:7. “They came together on the first day of the week to break bread,” and he said, “You know, some people derive from that the custom that all churches everywhere should eat the Lord's Supper on the first day of every week. What a tremendous gen-eralization from just one incident!” I’ve given you the answer to that in these six propositions that I have placed before you. That leads us to the second fundamental or basic law that grows out of Number 1. Since the nature of the kingdom is different from that of the world, it would follow naturally that we cannot be guided and controlled by a desire for popularity. Now I mention that for this reason. Ever so often in talking with some people about whether they should do a certain thing they’ll not argue a great deal about whether it is all right necessarily, but they’ll throw this up to us every time, “If I don’t do that, why I’ll just be ostracized. Everybody else does it and they all go, and many of—sometimes they say most of—the church (though I think they slander the church right there) do go. Many of the young people and some of the older ones do these things, and if we do not do them, we’ll be very unpopular.”
Now it needs to be indelibly stamped upon our hearts that this basic law is that we cannot afford to be guided by a desire for popularity. I’ll give you two scriptures to prove that. In Luke 6:26, Jesus said, “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you”—and I interrupt the quotation there to observe this: If Jesus had stopped there I wouldn’t know necessarily what he meant, because I would read in the second chapter of Acts where the early church had favor with all the people, with the Holy Spirit evidently applauding that. But then the Lord comes along and tells us, “Woe, when all men speak well of us.” So there would apparently be a contradiction. But no, Jesus avoided that and he didn’t stop there. We’ll read the whole verse now. “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.” Why, he gave me something to work on there. He gave me a clue to help me to solve the problem, and I turn there-fore right on through the Old Testament and see num-bers of cases.
You might take this one as one that is as good as any—1 Kings 22. You remember, to make this long story short here, that Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, visits Ahab, King of Israel, and you remember that Ahab said “Rnmoth Gilead belongs to me, but the enemy has it. Will you take your arms and help me?” Jehoshaphat said, “Inquire of Jehovah, if it is all right,” and so they brought in four hundred prophets that were in the employ of Ahab, and they said, "Sure, God indorses that, go up and be blessed.” If you will read that scripture you will notice that Jehoshaphat was suspicious because he said, reading from the American Standard version, “Is there not a prophet of Jehovah here besides?” Another way of saying that, “I don’t put much faith in these fellows.” Why? “They are preaching, Ahab, to please you. I want someone who will tell the truth, regardless,” and so eventually they brought in Micaiah. But before they brought him in a servant said, “Well, all the prophets are propheeying good, now you do that. You be governed by a desire for popularity. When you stand before those people, tell them what they want to hear.” Old Micaiah said, “As Jehovah liveth, whatsoever Jehovah speaks that shall I speak.” And that’s exactly what he did. There’s a lesson taught there, people. These four hundred prophets were moved by the desire for popularity and there was only one man who said, “I’ll just have to say what God says.” Now, young people, that is, of course, a lesson peculiar to those of us who do what the world calls preaching, but there's a principle there that applies to every mother’s son and daughter among us, and that is: we cannot follow the example of the four hundred but must follow the example of Micaiah—not of regulating our social life by desire for popularity but by the desire to please God.
One other, John 12:42-43. In the record there John tells us, “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him lest they be put-out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Right there in the presence of Jesus, listening to him every day, highly placed people of influence, acknowledging in their hearts that he was right,, and yet fearing to come out and take a stand because they were afraid of what the people would say! This is recorded as an example for us. So principle number two is established. We can’t go in for popularity. And then, principle number three. I should judge anything as to whether I can engage in it by the fruits of that thing. You may turn to Matthew 7:20 for just one verse on that. Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” I cannot always know or be able to say what is the harm of something possibly within itself. I may not be able to look into any practice and say, “Bight there is the harm of that,” and convince you that it is so. But if I can look at the long range results and see the fruits of that thing, that its fruits are bad, I know that something is there that warns us to stay away from it. Now, young people, upon that basis, I, as a gospel preacher, attack with all earnestness and with all kindness at the same time, but deadly in earnest, the modem craze for dancing. You may ask me, “What's the harm in it, Brother Meyer ?” I think I could put my finger on it, upon several answers to the question. But I’ve learned this, brethren, and I am not boasting about learning much —but I think I’ve learned this in preaching; if we will restrict our “territory” to that which they cannot even attack, give them as little as possible to get hold of in meeting the issue, so much the better. And I say, therefore, to the world that I believe it is sinful for God’s people to engage in the dance, and I think that I can, when necessary, put my finger upon many answers to the question, What’s the harm in it? Well, I just give the people of the world as little exposure as possible, and I say to them, “Here’s something they can’t touch. Here's an argument they can’t even reach. Here’s something they can’t even quibble about, because even those people who defend it will usually acknowledge that there are results for the general run of participants that are bad.” They will reply: “I don’t have to do some of those things. I do not have to drink because others drink at the dance. I don’t have to do some other tilings that they do also, some of which are unmentionable. But at the same time I can engage in it in a more restrained way and keep my virtue and purity.” I reply to them that if the fruits of the practice are bad and you will acknowledge it—many of God’s people who engage in the practice will acknowledge it—that within itself establishes the fact that God’s people should have nothing to do with it. Jesus says, “By their fruit ye shall know them, and a good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit,” and vice versa. Consequently, if there are corrupt influences in fruits growing out of the modern dance, whatever the harm may be, I know that there is something about it that should make God’s people stay away from it.
I would consider that you would not even insult anybody here today by asking what are some of the bad influences from it. This is just one. My observation has been that our dancers gradually lose interest in spiritual afFairs, and I speak for a congregation that has about as many young people as most of the southern churches and about as many dancers in it, I think, as you will find in the average large-town congregation—and, fortunately, about as many who do not. Somebody says, “Well, then, why preach of against it?” Because, if sixty percent of them dance when I preach against it, if I did not preach against it I presume about one hundred percent would. That an-swers that. And though I speak for a congregation of plenty of young people that do these things, they understand that I am not an enemy when I take that position. They understand full well that I believe with all of my heart that the people, both old and young—and some of the older ones encourage them —who do those things are bringing reproach, they are introducing an element, an atmosphere and influence into the church that is positively and definitely bad, and our social life cannot afford to carry us where the fruit is bad. The fourth proposition is that of the question of influence—but I’ll not be able to spend much time on that because I notice that we have a “high-speed clock.” But to say the least of it, in 1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul argued that Christians, though they might partake of the’ meat sacrificed to idols and not do this as an act of worship, they had best leave it off because some would consider they were doing it as worship and would be emboldened to be carried into things that were wrong. Therefore, for the sake of their influence Paul says we’d better leave it off. “Whatsoever ye do therefore, whether ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.” Then, Matthew 18:7, I don’t know, brethren, a stronger passage on this subject than this. Jesus said, “It must needs be that the occasions (of stumbling) come; but woe to that man through whom they come.” Young people, we are answerable for our influence over people. You might dance, you might do this, that, and the other without hurting you whatsoever, but there are countless thousands who cannot, and if that be true, we are responsible for the proposition that we must forego certain things, give up certain things because of our influence upon other people. I’ll tell you this. In Birmingham where I live the very young people of the church who will defend dancing will nevertheless criticize the life out of us if we use anybody in passing the emblems at the Lord's table that does dance, and we do not knowingly use such characters. They'll say, "there is no harm in it,” and yet they have no confidence whatsoever in a person who will dance and then get up before the public in the assembly worship. Suppose tomorrow it should be known that I was one of the dancers. I have as much right to do it as you. It might take a rather strong floor to accom- mtwlate my bulk, but I have the same right as you do. You wouldn't have any confidence in me whatsoever. You would say, "Meyer, as a citizen and a preacher you are responsible for your influence. You are doing something that the fruit is bad. You are trying to be popular, you are not being distinctive,” and when you say that you have the four basic propositions of this discussion.
I believe these, people, are the four basic laws that govern us today in the regulation of our social conduct. I would like to close this—believe it or not— with Acts 17:31. The apostle says, “Inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world’’ by how often they got their name in the paper, by whether they led out at the dance, by how many prizes they have won in bridge, by how much they could take and still walk steady? It doesn’t say that. It says, “He has appointed a day,” young people, “in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by the man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” He’s going to judge us in righteousness. Lay down your principles, now: that the kingdom is to be different; that we are not to seek for popularity; that we are to give attention to the results of that thing; we are to give attention to our influence. If you will regulate your social life as a Christian citizen by these fundamental laws, then you will be prepared finally to be “judged in righteousness.”
I thank you for your very kind and earnest attention.