Worship in the Early Church Was Different
What we’re doing this morning is something that Christians have done for two thousand years. Ever since the church was born, Christians have met together for worship and fellowship. We’ll look at a passage next week that describes exactly what the earliest Christians in Jerusalem did when they met together. It’s fascinating to me that Christians have been doing essentially the same thing for two thousand years. That kind of continuity of practice is remarkable, given the various cultures and times and places that Christianity has gone.
This doesn’t mean that nothing has changed. In the second century, a man named Justin Martyr described what Christian worship looked like at that time. There’s one thing that he doesn’t even mention at all that we do in church each week. Can you guess what it is? Congregational singing! Congregational singing is a central part of our worship services, but it wasn’t as important in the second century. There was responsive singing and chanting, usually from a psalm, but it wasn’t until the fourth century that congregational singing of hymns written by ordinary Christians became popular, and instruments weren’t used to accompany the singing for many centuries after that.
Another thing that the early church did differently when they met together was that they’d stand throughout the service, with men on one side and women on the other. The bishop, or pastor, would preach from a chair in the front of the room. Pews, or seats, for the congregation weren’t introduced until the 14th century.
Another thing that was really different was that early Christian worship services were divided into two parts: the service of the Word and the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper. The first part of the service was open to anyone, but the second part was only open to baptized believers, everyone else had to leave. This is how seriously the early church took the Lord’s Supper.
We learn from Augustine, who was bishop in Hippo (modern day Tunisia) in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, that the dynamics of the “service of the word” were quite different than they are now. While the preacher preached, people would often shout or cheer or cry or applaud or yell out their disagreements. For example, in one of his sermons, Augustine said, “Alluring is the world, but more alluring is the One by whom the world was made.” Then the stenographer adds in parenthesis, “The congregation here begins cheering.” Then Augustine continues, “What did I say? What is there to start cheering about? Look, the problem (in the text) has only just been laid out, and you’ve already started cheering.”
“Noble Things” Were Preached
Church services looked a lot different in the early church, but there was one thing that looked the same. Then, just as now, the Bible was opened, read, and explained to the people. The Bible has been the church’s “food” for two millennia. Listen to how Justin Martyr describes what this looked like in the second century: “On the day called Sunday there is a meeting of all believers who live in the town or the country, and the memoirs of the apostles, or the writings of the prophets, are read for as long as time will permit. When the reader has finished, the president in a sermon urges and invites the people to base their lives on these noble things.”
Last week we learned of the “noble love” that the early Christians had for one another that made them the envy of their pagan neighbors. That “noble love” didn’t come out of thin air. It was created and sustained by regularly hearing the “noble things” of Scripture read and expounded. The church’s love was the result of the church’s food, their regular diet of hearing the Bible preached and taught.
Why So Much Focus on the Bible?
Why has the church been so committed to listening to people talk about the Bible at least once a week, every week, for the last two thousand years? Why is there so much emphasis on the Bible in the church?
The reason is because Christians believe that God wrote the Bible, and therefore, we believe that it deserves and demands to be heard. We see this connection between the Bible being inspired by God and the necessity of preaching in 2 Timothy 3:16-4:2.
“All Scripture is Breathed Out by God”
Verse 16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (NASB, “inspired”; NIV, “God-breathed”). There are two words or phrases here that I want to briefly discuss. First, the word “Scripture” (graphe) refers to the Old Testament because this is what this word refers to all fifty-one times it’s used in the New Testament. Keep in mind that the New Testament didn’t exist when Paul wrote this letter. The Bible for Christians at that time was the Old Testament.
Second, Paul says that the “Scriptures” are “breathed out by God.” Paul is saying that God spoke every word of the Old Testament. He’s saying that the words of Scripture are “God-breathed,” or “inspired,” not just the men who wrote them down. “Graphe” literally means “writings,” so it’s the words themselves that are inspired, not the men wrote them down. The words of Scripture are God’s very words, not just words of people who were having an inspirational moment.
2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us a little bit more about the process of how the Scriptures came into being. The ultimate source of every word of Scripture is not man, but God the Holy Spirit. God’s voice through men is what we have in the Bible.
What about the New Testament?
“Scripture” in 2 Timothy 3:16 refers to the Old Testament, because that was the only Bible Christians had at the time. What about the New Testament? Is it also “breathed out by God”? I would argue, based on two texts, that yes, it is.
There are two places in the New Testament where the New Testament writings are called “Scripture” along with the Old Testament. First, 2 Peter 3:15-16. Peter is aware of Paul’s letters, he says that they’re hard to understand, and then he lumps them into the category of “the other Scriptures” (v. 16). So very early in the history of the church, Paul’s letters were considered to be in the same category as the Old Testament Scriptures.
Second, in 1 Timothy 5:18, Paul quotes a verse from the Old Testament and a verse from the Gospel of Luke, and calls them both “Scripture.” Paul places the Gospels in the same category as the Old Testament. The implication from these verses is that, because Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture is breathed out by God,” and because both Peter and Paul say that the writings of the New Testament are “Scripture,” the New Testament is therefore also “breathed out by God.” The words of the New Testament are God’s words.
Is This A Circular Argument?
A very important question needs to be addressed at this point. If you’ve been listening carefully, you’ve noticed that I’ve been using Scripture to argue that Scripture is divine in origin. I’ve been arguing that Scripture is God’s Word because it claims to be so, and that we should believe this claim because Scripture is God’s Word.
One of the most common objections from non-believers when we argue for the authority of the Bible in this way is that this is a circular argument. What are we to do? We must honestly admit that we are arguing in a circle, but then we must quickly add that anyone who argues for an ultimate authority must eventually appeal to that authority for proof, otherwise the authority they’re arguing for would not be the highest or ultimate authority.
Listen to how theologian John Frame describes this. He says, “Every philosophy must use its own standards in proving its conclusions; otherwise it is simply inconsistent. Those who believe that human reason is the ultimate authority (rationalists) must presuppose the authority of reason in their arguments for rationalism. Those who believe in the ultimacy of sense experience must presuppose it in arguing for their philosophy (empiricism)…The point is that when one is arguing for an ultimate criterion, whether Scripture, the Koran, human reason, sensation, or whatever, one must use criterion compatible with that conclusion. If that is circularity, then everybody is guilty of circularity.”
In other words, everyone has a starting point, and whatever you use to justify or defend your starting point is the governing and guiding authority of your life. Our starting point as Christians is the Bible, so we use the Bible to defend the authority of the Bible.
How Do People Come to Believe in the Bible?
This raises the question, “How does someone come to believe that the Bible is the Word of God? How does the Bible become someone’s starting point, or ultimate authority?”
Evidences for the Bible’s historical reliability can be useful here. For example, the New Testament has better manuscript evidence than any other ancient book. There are over 16,000 manuscripts or pieces of manuscripts of the New Testament. In comparison, Homer’s Iliad has 650. The dates of the New Testament manuscripts are extremely close to the original writing, most date from 50-150 years after the originals. In comparison, the earliest source for Alexander the Great comes from 300 years after he lived. Dozens of examples like this could be provided.
These evidences are important and can help bolster our faith in the text of the Bible, but these facts will not convince anyone that the Bible is God’s Word. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Until the Holy Spirit opens our hearts and convinces us that the Bible is God’s Word, we will either be skeptical or indifferent to it. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” In our natural state, we do not accept spiritual things, we aren’t able to understand them, and we think that they’re folly.
We may have a mental understanding of the Bible, but until the Holy Spirit changes our hearts and we’re born again, we’ll not be able to say with King David, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103). The truly spiritual person will love the Word of God, want to know it, and be happy to make it the ultimate foundation for their life.
Practical Benefits of the Bible
Our text gives us several of the practical benefits that the Bible has for our lives (vv. 16b-17). There are five benefits listed here, five things that are “profitable” for us. First, the Bible is profitable for “teaching.” The Bible teaches us about God, how to know him, and what pleases him. Out of love, God has not left us in the dark about him and his ways.
Second, the Bible is profitable for “reproof.” We need to be rebuked, our sin needs to be revealed, and we need to see our lives clearly. Out of love, God has been honest with us.
Third, the Bible is profitable for “correction.” We need to alter the way we think, feel, and act. Out of love, God has graciously given us a standard to judge our lives by.
Fourth, the Bible is profitable for “training in righteousness.” We need to be holy, we need to be more like Christ. Out of love, God has given us a training manual to show us how to do this.
And fifth, the Bible is profitable because it “equips us for every good work.” In the Bible we’re given all that we need to know to love and serve God. Out of love, God has given us enough spiritual food to make us and keep us alive.
The Most Solemn Command in the New Testament
The next thing Paul does in our text is really remarkable. After telling Timothy that the Bible is a book from God, he tells him to do one thing: preach (4:1-2). The divine nature of Scripture means that Timothy should devote himself to one primary thing as a pastor: preaching.
This is perhaps the most solemn command in the New Testament. Verse 1 begins with the words, “I charge you.” Paul is saying that Timothy must preach. This is a command, a warning, an order, an injunction. If he doesn’t do this he’ll be in big trouble. This isn’t optional. It’s mandatory.
Paul’s charge to Timothy is made with someone else in the room, so to speak. He says, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus.” Paul calls both God and Christ as witnesses. Even one or the other would have made this a weighty command. But Paul calls God and Christ, the Father and the Son, to be witnesses to his issuing of this charge to preach.
Then Paul reminds him of a few things about Christ. He’s the One “who is to judge the living and the dead.” Timothy should remember the end of the age when Jesus returns to judge everyone who has ever lived. Timothy will have to talk to God one day about his preaching ministry.
Preachers will be judged for their preaching (Heb. 13:17; James 3:1). The judgment won’t be for punishment, but to assess one’s stewardship of what was given them, to examine their faithfulness to God and his word, and to determine rewards (1 Cor. 3:10-15). Christ will judge Timothy’s faithfulness in his preaching ministry, and mine.
Paul wants Timothy to remember Jesus’ “appearing and his kingdom.” Christ will return. He will “appear.” Jesus’ kingdom should therefore be Timothy’s ultimate concern. Jesus taught this in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We don’t preach to build our kingdom, but God’s kingdom. Our church will fade into obscurity one day, as will every other church. Me and every other preacher will do the same. Only God’s kingdom will last forever, thus his kingdom should be our highest concern.
“Preach the Word”
What is Paul’s charge to Timothy? Verse 2, “Preach the word.” Because Jesus is watching and will one day return and judge Timothy, he should “preach the word.”
What is preaching? Is it like a Ted Talk, a short lecture on an interesting subject? Is it a Bible study? Is it a group discussion? Is it a speech or an academic lecture? Is it a class on best practices for the Christian life?
No, it’s none of these things. The word “preach” means to proclaim aloud, herald, or announce. It was used to refer to what a town crier did, “Hear ye! Hear ye!” Paul is saying that the Bible must not only be taught, it must be proclaimed.
What is “the word” that Paul says must be proclaimed? He’s referring back to the graphe of 3:16. The God-breathed Scriptures are what should be preached. Not stories and jokes and practical tips for a better life. Preachers are called to preach the Bible.
This is why, as a church, you must demand that your pastor preach the Bible. When I die or retire you’ll need a new pastor, and you’re responsible to find one who’s committed to preaching the Bible.
You should want a pastor who’s committed to what’s called expositional preaching. What is this? It’s a kind of preaching that “exposes” or “exposits” the main point of a passage of Scripture. It’s the kind of preaching that lets the text of Scripture set the agenda for the sermon. This doesn’t mean topical preaching is never useful. We’re in the middle of a topical series, but we’re focusing on one main passage as we consider each topic.
Preachers should normally preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. This seems to be the most faithful way to obey this command. It ensures that the Bible will be studied in its context, that all of it will be studied and not just the pastor’s favorite topics, and that the people of God will be exposed to the full counsel of God.
The Church’s Responsibility in Preaching
Like Timothy, my job is to proclaim to you the word of the living God. But the church has a responsibility in preaching as well. The church’s job is to insist upon the preaching of the Bible and to respond to it.
There’s a responsibility that rests on your shoulders as you hear the Word of God preached. You aren’t being given information to download, but truth to believe and love and obey. Do you diligently apply what you hear each week? Are you helping apply the truth you hear to the lives of your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Let me give you four practical tips on what you can immediately do with preaching you hear. First, talk after service/over lunch about the sermon. Second, talk about how the sermon applied to your life with your spouse, friends, or in small group. Third, read and think about sermon texts in advance. Fourth, rather than trying to remember all your notes from each sermon, pick one or two things each week that you’ll meditate on and seek to apply to your life.
This all means, of course, that it’s best to listen to preaching in the context of a local church. It’s not that we can’t be encouraged by other preaching, but preaching at the church where we’re a member will probably have the most direct application to our lives because the preacher is preparing his messages with you in mind. When I prepare a sermon, I have my Bible and you in front of me.
This means that you should be praying for those who preach in our church. Pray that God would communicate through them and that they’d be sensitive to the leading of his Spirit. Also seek to develop the habit of encouraging those who preach regularly. Let them know how God may be using them in your lives through the preaching of his word. Preachers often feel like the prophets whose word fell on deaf ears, so when you encourage the preacher, you’re giving him tangible evidence that God is indeed using him, that his work is not in vain.
“A Million Ears to a Single Mouth”
In the novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, a young German boy named Werner becomes an expert at fixing radios. This skill proves really useful because as his country heads into war with France, he and the children at the orphanage he lives in are able to listen to the news reports about the war. Radios at that time were like the internet today – you really couldn’t know what was going on without one.
Doerr, commenting on this reality, says, “Radio: it ties a million ears to a single mouth. Out of loudspeakers…the staccato voice of the Reich grows like (a calm and composed) tree; its subjects lean toward its branches as if toward the lips of God. And when God stops whispering, they become desperate for someone who can put things right.”
Do you see what he’s saying? Adolf Hitler’s voice captivated a generation of Germans. When he spoke, people leaned in “as if toward the lips of God.” When he stopped speaking, they wondered if there was anyone who could bring order to their chaotic lives and country. The thing that made this possible was a little machine that “tied a million ears to a single mouth.”
Whose voice has captured your attention? Who do you lean in to listen to? Whose voice do you think can put things right in your life? Whose mouth are your ears tied to?
The God who made the world and you wants to talk to you. He sees your confusion, despair, and aching heart. He sees your pride and your pain. He sees past your bravado and your busyness and he sees your loneliness. And, because of Jesus’ work on the cross for you, God’s lips never stop whispering his love to you.
God wants to put things right in your life. But first you may need to turn down all the noise drowning out his voice. God wants to speak to you through his Son and his Word. The Bible, like the radio, “ties a million ears to a single mouth.” Are you tuned in? Are you listening?