A Re-examination of the Theology of Worship

A Re-Examination of the Theology of Worship

Lindsay G. ROBERTSON

Worship is a difficult concept. First, definitions of worship are often assumed and tend to be circular, bearing little contact with a biblical understanding. Second, formulating a theology of worship involves correlating many doctrines, especially the implications of the work of Christ. One cannot merely apply Old Testament practices directly to New Testament situations.

The paper first discusses the theological implications of the nature of worship in both Testaments. The heart of Old Testament worship was the establishment of covenant relationship between God and his people, and not the “ritual” itself, which had to do with a protocol of approach by people separated from God by sin to a holy God. "Worship" was always the whole life in relationship with God. In the New Testament, Christ's death was not merely a fulfillment of the sacrificial system. Rather it has far reaching consequences for how we relate to God in a new way. In short, there is a radical transformation of the concept of worship in the New Testament that has to do with the nature of Christ's total work.

Reflecting theologically, we can say that worship is participation in Christ. It is something given to us—this stems from the nature of what has happened to us in Christ. Worship becomes, for our part, the total way we live before the face of God as we share through Christ in the triune fellowship and life of God. We must take this more seriously than is often done. Implications for the way we live as Christians are great—not just individually but for us as the church.

The paper suggests that worship is not the primary focus of church. In addition, it is suggested that we need to rethink worship for the Asian context—that the use of Western worship techniques and the modern concentration on worship as cultic activity are not the answers to the problems facing Asian Christianity. A re-examination of worship will give us something refreshingly new and relevant to say to a religion-weary world.