When someone says the word worship or you read the word, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? This has been my concern for many years, that true Biblical worship has been replaced by music and songs. There are very few teachers pointing it out! It is not that leaders are intentionally teaching this false doctrine. Rather it is an unintended consequence of having so much focus on what we now call “worship”, i.e. the music, the song service, and the “worship” team.
I call it worship replacement. To our own hurt, we are not being taught what real Biblical worship is. The Word of God is being diminished. There are about 100 places in the New Testament where the word worship appears. And none of those places have any mention of songs or music. They have deeper and more serious meanings for us to comprehend. There are only 4 or 5 times in the New Testament where songs or singing are mentioned, and worship is not really associated with those times. Those times were related to praising God. There really is no mention in the NT about having such a huge focus on the way we worship today. Historically, it is really a modern concept.
In the Old Testament, the first place worship is mentioned is when Abraham was going to offer up Isaac. Think about the seriousness of that! How serious the obedience, how serious the commitment, how serious the humility! We can not replace this knowledge of worship with the song service!
There is a distinction between praise and worship that has been lost in many circles. Many will not go to a church unless they have a good “worship team”. The modern music scene has created new celebrities pumping out new “worship” songs. It is now its own genre. Many of the record companies putting out this new music are secular. Think of it, “worship” music has been monetized.
We should still have a “praise team” and sing songs to praise God and to encourage one another. Eph 5:19 “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
We are to give praise, and we should make that distinction. Let us not lose the true meaning of worship. It is easy to sing a song, too easy. It is much harder to be a person who worships God, and understands the difference.
Niels Prip - Blog 