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Lesson 5 All believers are priests!

10/25/2017

Photo above of Castle Church in Wittenberg - the same church where Luther posted 95 Theses (Photo by author)
(Text below part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)

. . . you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)

The important concept of the 'priesthood of all believers' comes out of the idea of Solus Christus. 1 Peter 2:5 is a key verse. The priesthood of all believers means that all believers can go directly into the presence of God. It was one of the most provocative and controversial beliefs of the reformers. Since every Christian is considered to part of the “priesthood,” there was no Scriptural basis for the office of priesthood as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches understood it. This remains a key distinction with these branches of Christianity to this day.

The belief that every Christian, regardless of his vocation, is called to be a personal representative for God, resulted in sweeping changes in the church and in society. Therefore, even the most menial task or occupation was viewed as a sacred calling. Before this, the only work that could be considered a sacred calling was a church related vocation. Now every occupation or action was considered a sacred calling and that included the actions of the congregation in worship—whether in song, prayer, offerings or listening to the Word and obeying. Now every one was a priest.

This also changed the view of church music and church musicians. Catholic music reflected the view of the church as an institution separate from, and above the congregation. However, Luther viewed the congregation as the church. Therefore, it was only logical that music in the service should be, for the congregation an expression of faith, a vehicle of prayer and praise, an act of worship.[1]

Sometimes praise teams act as if they are a select ordained, specially gifted, specially skilled group above the congregation. Their actions are not always focussed on helping the congregation express their faith and worship God. Instead, the focus is on presenting an incredible concert worship experience designed to display their musical, theatrical and performance skills. At times they seem more concerned with their own personal worship experience and turn their time on stage into a spiritual entertainment concert.

No, as worship teams we are at the same level as all the other believers in the congregation. We are part of the congregation.

Luther believed that all not only should believers be able to participate in public worship, they should be able to do so in their own vernacular language. The restoration of congregational singing in German required songs in German that were easy to sing—hymns with simple syllabic melodies. This need sparked a time of great hymn production following Luther’s lead. We will comment more on this later.

What does it mean to be a priest?
Eugene Peterson in his book, Leap Over a Wall - Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians, p. 20 describes it this way: "A priest presents a person to God, or presents God to a person. A priest makes the God-connection verbal or visible. A priest represent human needs before God, set God’s word before men and women. God and humans have something to do with one another, everything to do with one another. A priest says and acts that reality.”

As leader or member of a praise and worship team, choir or instrumental conductor, accompanist, soloist - do you represent God to the congregation? Or do you (and your group) feel you are an essential intermediary?

Do you make the God-connection real? Do you help the congregation present their needs to God?

Do you set God's word before the people?

Is the connection between God and people a beautiful reality?

Does your leadership, creativity and worship allow believers to meet and worship God?

Does your leadership help believers to enter directly into the presence of God?

[1] Nettl, Paul. 1948. Luther and Music. Philadelphia: The Muhlenberg Press p6

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Lesson 4 SOLUS CHRISTUS Who is the leader of our worship?

10/18/2017

Photo above depicts Wittenberg 1517 (Photo by author)

(Part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)

SOLUS CHRISTUS - CHRIST AS THE LEADER OF OUR WORSHIP

Ron Man of Worship Resources International describes the impact of Luther’s teaching on worship. The following material has been adapted from his article “The Reformation of Worship.”

Many think of the Reformation of the 15th Century in terms of doctrinal renewal. This was clearly central but true doctrine will influence all aspects of church life. And so it was, that doctrinal renewal also brought about a renewal of worship.

There was a renewed understanding of the role in worship of the living Christ whose full humanity had been neglected during the Middle Ages leading to serious distortions in worship practice. People were taught that one could not approach God directly but needed a priest as an intermediary. People were also taught that one needed to go through the Virgin Mary or one of the saints in order for one’s prayers to be heeded by God.

The Reformers restored the precious New Testament truth of our full and confident access to the Father through the work of Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22). The Bible teaches that in Christ every believer can enter directly into God’s presence in worship and in prayer because “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV Strong's)

Only in and through Christ can we enter into God’s presence in worship.
Hebrews 12:24 (ESV Strong's) and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Jesus takes our imperfect offerings of worship, perfects them and presents them to the Father in our place and on our behalf. Because this is God’s grace for our worship, we don’t have to worry if our worship is “good enough” if we come through Christ, Our worship to God is acceptable when we come through Christ. Then God is always pleased with our worship because He delights in His Son and His perfect offering of praise. Our worship is pleasing and acceptable to God not because of its own excellence, but because of—and only because of—the excellence of his Son Jesus.

As both God and man, Christ is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between God and man. As both God and man, His mediating work is uniquely two-way: between God and man, and between man and God. As such He mediates God’s self-revelation to us, and also represents us before God in our response. This is expressed with beautiful succinctness in the words of Jesus speaking to the Father found in Hebrews 2:12 (quoting Psalm 22:22):
“I will proclaim Your Name to my brethren;
and in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

Not only is Christ present in our midst when we gather for worship but Christ is the leader of our worship..

What are the implications of this?
1) Do we choose songs, keeping in mind that the living Christ is present in our midst when we gather for worship? Do our words and actions reflect that?

2) Does the Word of God, by which Christ proclaims His Father’s name to His brethren, have priority and centrality in our worship?

3) The utter supremacy of Christ is the message of Colossians. The Reformers saw that the bible clearly teaches that Christ is above all human wisdom and tradition, Christ stands forth as preeminent over all and sufficient for all. In him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”
Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Is Christ the source, centre and focus of our worship? Does our worship reflect the utter supremacy of Christ?

[For more on this transformative truth for worship leaders, see Worship Notes 1.8, and Ron Man’s book Proclamation and Praise: Hebrews 2:12 and the Christology of Worship (Wipf & Stock, 2007)

Lesson 3 SOLI DEO GLORIA

10/18/2017

Lesson 3. SOLI DEO GLORIA. (Glory to God alone) God’s glory is the central motivation for our life, our ministry, our creativity, for all that we do.

The Reformers believed that human beings, such as the Catholic saints and popes, and their organizations were not worthy of the glory that was bestowed on them or the glory that they requested be bestowed on them. This glory was not mere recognition of their faithfulness, courage or great deeds. The glory given and demanded was the kind of worship that is reserved for God alone. The Reformers understood that the proper response was the response that the angel demanded from the apostle John when he wanted to worship him after receiving such incredible revelation.
Revelation 22:8-9 (ESV Strong's) 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

Clearly, only God is worthy of true biblical worship.

The saints were also seen as having power before God to grant prayer requests.

How much glory do we bestow on successful Christian artists? Are they worthy of such glory? How much glory do we seek for ourselves? How often is personal glory our primary motivation? Are we focused on God and ministry or seeking and receiving glory for our own incredible musicianship?

Let us search our hearts. Watch the reactions of others. Listen carefully to people’s comments to get an idea of who is getting the glory. We need to understand the difference between effectiveness in ministry and a focus on self glory. Is God getting all the glory or are we gladly taking it for yourself?

As well, the Catholic church displaced the centrality of God’s glory through its forms of worship and devotion. Yet, we do the same when we turn worship into entertainment. It is a challenge to separate worship and entertainment because creativity done with excellence is often entertaining. This is good when the entertaining presentation captivates the attention so that a bridge is constructed over the chasm of unbelief or doubt. But we must be careful that the entertaining component is a carefully used tool that does not distract from the message and clearly shows God’s glory to be the motivation for our life. If we are not careful we can make God a means to the end of our glory. Rather God is the means and the end.

The goal of all life is to give glory to God alone. Glory in all and for all things belongs to God alone.
“1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV Strong's) 1 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Lesson 2 What is our primary focus and authority?

10/17/2017

(Part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)
Lesson 2. SOLA SCRIPTURA. The Bible must be the primary focus and ultimate authority for all aspects of creativity, ministry and life.
Because the Catholic church believed that the authority of human reasoning could equal or even surpass the authority of the Bible, many teachings were present that did not agree with the Word of God. However, Luther elevated the Biblical text far above all commentators or church fathers and had an overriding passion for the superiority of the Biblical text by itself.
"He who is well acquainted with the text of Scripture is a distinguished theologian. For
a Bible passage or text is of more value than the comments of four authors”.[1]

To better understand the impact of Luther’s questioning and preaching, let us briefly review some important historical information. From the 14th to the 17th centuries, there were two completely opposing answers given to two important questions. What gives unity to life? What gives meaning to life and to morals?

In the south of Europe, the Renaissance provided one answer while in the North the Reformation provided another.

The term Renaissance comes from the Italian word “Rinascenza” which means rebirth. The rebirth did not refer to the rebirth of man; instead, it referred to the rebirth of an idea about man. There was a change in thinking that put man at the centre of all things.

The Catholic church believed that the authority of human reasoning could equal or even surpass the authority of the Bible. This belief began around 1270 when Thomas Aquinas, a scholar at the University of Paris, attempted to reconcile Aristotle with Christian faith. He believed that the will was fallen after man had revolted against God but not the mind.   According to Aquinas, humans must use reason to understand “natural law,” which comes from God. This led the Catholic Church to believe that the authority of the Church was equal, and in some cases, greater than the authority of the Bible.

The poet Petrarch (1304-1374) was influenced by the teaching of Aquinas. Traditionally called the father of Humanism, he believed Scripture and human reasoning were compatible and inspired a humanist philosophy that led to the intellectual flowering of the Renaissance. Humanism stresses an individual’s dignity, worth and capacity for self-realization through reason. The Renaissance was based on the belief that man was good and that his mind, not Scriptural teaching and supernatural power would present the answers needed for life. The Renaissance’s answer added the teaching of man to the teaching of Scripture and in some cases even surpassed the authority of the Bible.

The Reformation answered the two great questions of man solely on the basis of Scripture. The Reformers understood that the Bible was God’s inspired word and supplied all the answers to life’s questions. They understood that the Bible is the only source of final authority and that salvation comes only through Christ and his work. In contrast to Aquinas, the Reformers presented a biblical concept of the Fall that showed the heart of man to be deceitfully wicked. They believed that when sin entered the world, every aspect of man—his heart, his soul, his mind was tainted. Therefore man was not capable of thinking for himself. The Reformation believed that Scripture supports the idea of the great potential of man but only AFTER experiencing the rebirth that repentance brings. Even then, the renewed man was seen to be totally dependent on the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

I love music, drama, video, composition, creativity. I have spent my life working with creative artists of many different disciplines. Yet during my life, I have observed—personally and in others—that it is easy to fall into the trap of valuing creativity and the creative output more than faithfulness to the Word of God. At times it can be difficult to let go of a wonderful creative idea that compromises the truth of Scripture. Certainly the style of music, the presentation, the creative touches, the artistry should be engaging and attract, yet the contents tested for correct teaching.

Is the biblical teaching attractive because the presentation underscores the message or is there a tension between the message of the genre or style and the textual content? I encourage you to study text separately, then also study carefully what further "teaching" is taking place as a result of the creative artistic touches. Don’t do this alone. Involve people who are students of the Bible.

How important is faithfulness to Biblical truth in your creative output? How do you understand the depravity of man and the redemption of man?  In the arts, the Reformers believed that the creative output of man must be redeemed

Like the Reformers, do you elevate biblical truth far above the comments of worship leaders, song writers, Christian artists, blog writers and authors? Be careful of groups that place ‘prophetic’ teaching at a level equal with, or even above Scripture. Be careful of teachings of popular artists concerning worship that are not rooted in scripture.

How do you understand the work of God and the work of the Holy Spirit? The arts can have a powerful effect on people. Do you find yourself trying to accomplish through emotion, beauty and creativity, that which only the work of the Holy Spirit can accomplish?

When you perform or lead worship, you are teaching and preaching. Every time. Look at your songs. Is Sola Scriptura a landmark of your creative output? May the Bible always be your primary focus and ultimate authority for all aspects of creativity, ministry and life.

[1] What Luther Says: An Anthology, Vol. 3, p. 1355.

Lesson 1 - Our primary motivation

10/11/2017

(Part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)
What a joy to share the 12 lessons original shared with conference attendees in Kyiv, May 2017, in this format. All of us want our life to have impact. Why did Luther's ministry have such a long lasting impact? What was his ministry so effective? Why did the Reformation spread so extensively and rapidly?

Lesson 1. Our primary motivation and focus should be faithfulness to the Word of God and His calling, not change or accomplishment
Luther did not seek to bring about a Reformation. He had only one intention—obedience to the Word of God. He was not a rebel. There was little in his early life that indicated that he would ever lead what some think of as a rebellion. This was never in his thinking. He did not desire something new because he was tired of the old. His only desire was that the church would remove aspects of practice and belief that were not in agreement with the word of God. Luther focused on being faithful and ended up leading a revolution. Change is a logical result of faithfulness but should never be the goal.

Luther’s study of the Word of God revealed five distinctive teachings that became the core of the Reformation. They are referred to as the Five Solas. Three are especially relevant to the use of music and the arts in the church and will be dealt with in three of the lessons.

The Five Solas are:
Sola fide ("by faith alone”) Justification (be made righteous before God) comes through faith only, not good works. Salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.—Romans 1:17, Habakuk 2:4)

Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone”) The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God. Accessible to all, it is our highest authority. It is clearly understood and self-interpreting and contains everything we need to know in order to be reconciled to God and live righteously—Romans 15:4, 2 Timothy 3:16.

Solus Christus (“by Christ alone") Christ is the exclusive mediator between God and man. Neither Mary, the saints, nor priests can act as mediator in bringing salvation. —Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 7:22-8:6; Romans 8:34; Acts 4:12.

Sola gratia ("by grace alone”) Salvation comes by the grace of God alone, not through any merit of our own. Salvation is an unearned gift. Jesus’ life of perfect righteousness is counted as ours, and our records of sin and failure were counted to Jesus when he died on the cross—Ephesians 2:8

Soli Deo Gloria ("Glory to God alone”) Glory belongs to God alone. The goal of all life is to give glory to God alone—1 Corinthians 10:31). God is not a means to an end—he is the means and the end. The chief purpose of life is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” (Westminster Catechism).

Do you focus on change or do you focus on being faithful? Are you driven by the cool ideas of other people or are you driven by the truth of the Word of God? Do you desire to correct aspects of church life that the Word of God shows to be incorrect or lacking or do you desire to be known as contemporary—what ever that term means? Note the emphasis on calling and faithfulness found in Hebrews 3:1-6. What spread, and has lasted for five hundred years, was not the passion or skill of a man; it was a primary commitment to the truth of God's Word.

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SWIRLS OF NURTURE

Lesson 5 All believers are priests!

Lesson 4 SOLUS CHRISTUS Who is the leader of our worship?

Lesson 3 SOLI DEO GLORIA

Lesson 2 What is our primary focus and authority?

Lesson 1 - Our primary motivation

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