Recovery of Biblical Worship

In this part of the sermon: This section provides an overview of Old Testament passages demonstrating God's jealous concern for the nature and purity of His worship. Examples include Cain and Abel's…

After recounting the story of Cain and Abel, Martin alludes to Paul Harvey's famous phrase to imply that the audience knows the tragic outcome, emphasizing the immediate consequence of God's rejection of Cain's worship.

And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and his offering he had not respect. And in the language of Paul Harvey, you know, the rest of the story. Now it's very interesting that in this passage we see first of all public social worship in the form of offerings to God simply appearing in the narrative.

12:32 - 13:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin continues to show God's concern for worship purity in the New Testament, focusing on Christ's cleansing of the temple in John 2 and His teaching on worship 'in spirit and…

Martin contrasts Jesus's benevolent miracle at the wedding in Cana (turning water into wine, delighting in holy merriment) with His violent cleansing of the temple. This highlights the two sides of Christ's character and His intense zeal for the purity of worship, demonstrating that the same 'gentle Jesus' is also fiercely protective of His Father's house.

And he drove them. The beneficent Christ. Standing often upon her at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. Perceiving the supply of wine is dwindling.

32:03 - 32:18 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin continues to show God's concern for worship purity in the New Testament, focusing on Christ's cleansing of the temple in John 2 and His teaching on worship 'in spirit and…

He asks the audience to imagine being a visiting tourist witnessing Jesus's temple cleansing, seeing His 'burning eyes' and 'rippling flesh' as He wields a scourge and overturns tables. This vivid imagery underscores the shocking and intense nature of Christ's actions, emphasizing God's profound jealousy for pure worship.

Now look at the picture at the end of the chapter. You're a visitor in Jerusalem. You know nothing of what is going on in those days. But as a visiting tourist you want to see this magnificent temple and have some sense of what goes on.

33:27 - 33:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to God's revealed will for worship, outlining its major boundaries: worship 'in spirit' (with the engagement of the entire redeemed human spirit) and 'in truth'…

Martin uses the common phrase 'his heart is not in it' to explain what it means to worship without the 'spirit' or full engagement of one's being, contrasting external motions with internal commitment.

Of the entire being. Of the redeemed sinner. Who is involved in his worship. We often say.

44:51 - 44:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section details the specific elements of New Covenant worship, drawing from 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 (emphasizing enlightened minds and holy decorum) and 1 Peter 2:5…

He criticizes those who offer 'lame sacrifices' of half-hearted praise in church, hiding behind temperament, while being 'exuberant' at soccer games or business discussions. This illustrates the hypocrisy and lack of genuine engagement in worship, contrasting it with the Old Testament's precise requirements for sacrifices.

I can't stand it to see people who hide behind... Well, my temper is not...

60:28 - 60:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section details the specific elements of New Covenant worship, drawing from 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 (emphasizing enlightened minds and holy decorum) and 1 Peter 2:5…

Martin recounts visitors asking where the choir loft is in Trinity Baptist Church, to which he replies, 'It's out there!' pointing to the congregation. This anecdote illustrates the New Covenant understanding of the entire gathered church as God's choir and priesthood, emphasizing corporate participation in praise rather than proxy worship by a select group.

Sacrifice of praise unto God. I've had some wonderful occasions when people have visited this place and wanted a little tour and I happened to be in the building for one reason or another and as I've taken them around and then come in here they've come up, I've showed them the baptistry. We're very modest about it because we often have our Presbyterian friends and we don't like to rub things under people's noses. But there is a baptistry back there.

61:55 - 62:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Rejoice with trembling.

He describes experiences in charismatic settings where 'slick manipulative talk' and emotional appeals ('Isn't Jesus wonderful? Just give the Lord a hand.') are used to generate a 'high' without deep, truth-precipitated understanding or exposition of God's character and New Covenant blessings. This serves as a negative example of worship lacking 'truth' and 'solemnity'.

Rejoice! But not with the giddiness that carries over into the realm of mindless psychological manipulation as so often marks the so-called worship of large segments of modern charismatic nonsense. I have been in things where slick manipulative talk Isn't Jesus wonderful? Do you think He's wonderful?

67:31 - 68:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: My friends, Sinai pales into insignificance before Golgotha. When there upon a cross the sinless incarnate God-man exposing His bosom, to the full unleashed fury of Almighty God against human sin is plunged in His soul i…

Martin contrasts the revelation of God as a 'consuming fire' at Mount Sinai with the even more profound revelation of this truth at Golgotha. He argues that Sinai's thunder and lightning pale in comparison to Christ, both priest and offering, being consumed by God's holiness and justice on the cross. This emphasizes the deep reverence and awe that should mark New Covenant worship.

And in this context, we are told, a context filled with the language of old covenant cultic worship, we as the new community, this royal priesthood, these come to God through our great high priests are to have grace whereby we may offer service, whereby we may, as no little part of that service, worship, well pleasing to God, how? With reverence and awe, full under the new covenant, in the full blazing light of new covenant privilege secured, revealed, and applied, our God is a consuming, you see, this notion that in the new covenant God's revelation of Himself has been softened is entirely co...

71:35 - 73:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin identifies three major corruptions of God's worship in the present day: man-made traditions (Matthew 15), well-intentioned accommodations (to a mentally numbed, informal…

He describes seeing joggers and bikers on the Lord's Day and praying for their souls, then addresses the idea that churches should make worship 'innovative and attractive' to get their attention. This illustrates the temptation of 'novel innovations' and 'well-intentioned accommodations' that compromise biblical worship to draw people in, which Martin calls a 'lie'.

Well-intentioned accommodation is one of the great corruptions of God's worship and thirdly, novel innovations. Men won by I walk by our churches on the Lord's Day. I try to pray for every jogger and every biker I pass every Lord's Day saying, Lord, that guy, that gal's not a couch potato and going to go to an early grave with a cardiac arrest as far as they're concerned. But oh, God show them they got a soul and this is your day to be concerned for their souls.

77:02 - 77:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Resist unto blood any efforts to profane God's worship even at the outer edges of its purity and its sanctity.

In the context of ushers removing crying children from the service, Martin uses the metaphor 'a rose called by any other name is a rose still' to assert that even if visitors are offended, the church's priority is guarding God's worship from distraction, emphasizing that God's opinion of worship purity outweighs human offense.

Whoever is to be leading them, others in the assembly, fellow elders, or other men whom God is gifted with the Spirit. And I call upon the people of God as well. Resist unto blood any efforts to profane God's worship even at the outer edges of its purity and its sanctity. Why do we run the risk of offending visitors who will occasionally walk in this place when the deacon is on the shoulder ushering them out? And we've had people get mad at us because it's more important what God thinks about worship than what that visitor thinks about how we treat them. If they're offended because we're going...

82:28 - 83:57 Read in full sermon