Description
The title of this book is correct, as we believe it is, then the importance of the subject will be obvious to every child of God. A great deal of confusion exists in Christendom as to just what constitutes worship. It is often confounded with listening to a sermon; with service for the Lord on behalf of others; with testimony to Christ’s saving and satisfying grace; with the preaching of the gospel; with ministry of the Word to believers, and with prayer.
Many Christians put the emphasis of their lives on service for God, to the exclusion of the worship of God. Others swing to the other extreme, and so stress the importance of worship, that service for the Lord is viewed as being of little or no consequence. We must beware of lopsidedness, or of seeking to push one truth of Scripture to an extreme the Bible does not warrant. The believer must seek to maintain the truth of God in its proper perspective and correct balance.
The words of our Lord Jesus Christ give the proper order of precedence. In His reply to Satan’s temptation, He said: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Matt. 4:10) That quality of worship which does not result in service and that service which does not flow from worship, both come short of the Divine ideal.We shall consider the subject of worship under the following ten headings:
1. Its meaning, or definition
2. Its importance
3. Its authority
4. Its object
5. Its ground
6. Its power
7. Its manner
8. Its hindrances
9. Its place
10. Its results
Alfred P. Gibbs (1890-1967) was a man born to preach. Brought up with his twin brother Edwin in South Africa, both boys early came to know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Edwin (1890-1968) stayed on in South Africa to pursue a fruitful evangelistic and Bible teaching work. Alfred studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and thereafter carried on an itinerant Bible teaching and writing ministry, chiefly in the United States and Canada. Gibbs published his first book, The Marvelous City of Mansoul, in 1926. In all he wrote fourteen books and booklets, including Christian Baptism, The Lord’s Supper, Scriptural Principles of Gathering, and Worship. All his books have intensity like the man who wrote them. Gibbs never married, considering himself a eunuch for the kingdom of God. He was a model of the advice he gave, he was a spiritual man and a practical man, and fun to be with besides.
