Worshiping in Spirit and in Truth

Some churches today are getting away from biblical exposition, from teaching and preaching. Some churches focus primarily on worship, with more worship and shorter sermons. The message is more like a pep talk, almost like cheerleading.

It is great to worship. But our worship is a response to what we know about God. We want to worship with intelligence, not just with emotion. Sometimes there’s a lot of passionate worship but not enough biblical understanding.

Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 NKJV).

It’s also possible to worship in truth with no spirit, no passion, no emotion—dead orthodoxy. And it’s possible to worship in spirit without truth—a lot of emotion without understanding what the Bible says.

Some people claim they love to go to church, love to worship, and love the Lord, yet they’re living immorally. That is what was happening in the church of Corinth, and the apostle Paul had to call them out on it and correct them. So we don’t want to be weak theologically.

The early church was a learning church. We read in Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (NKJV). God has ordained preaching and teaching.

Here is my fear: sermonettes create Christianettes. It’s very important to know your Bible. We are to worship in spirit and in truth. We don’t have to choose between worship and theology.