Bible Question: I have a 17 year old son who is so filled with the spirt. I am so proud of him. He goes to church and he volunteers daily at a inner city mission. The problem is that his "Friend" is telling him he is spiritualy dead. WHY? because I was raised a mennonite, and now attend a baptist church. I am not comfortable raising my hand and shouting and singing loudly and dancing. That is not how I worship. The "friend" tells me that is in direct conflict with wha the bible says and untill I start, I am going to hell. Any comments? |
Bible Answer: Hi, rjcbp! There are those who persist that we cannot worship God with song or that we cannot play musical instruments during songs, there are still those who claim that Jesus forbade praying in group/public... if we search deep enough or, perhaps more to the point, if we search superficially enough we will find anything we want to see in Scriptures. During the intense persecution of the Apostles, did the Church worship loudly enough to give away their hiding places? If several of the Apostles or disciples gathered a few feet away from perilous situations (near areas frequented by Jews or near synagogues, or in the neighborhoods of the Masters of the Laws, Sadducees, Pharisees and their respcetive falimies and acquaintances) would God reject their worship for being several decibels bellow par? Would it be required that the mute, blind, and deaf, among the believers, be more physically engaging than the rest of the worshippers to compensate for any lack of coordination or volume? And, finally, when we text praises and glories, and when we preach and pray throughout the internet, must we vocalize as we type so that God may hear our prayers, praises, glories, teachings... I'll refer you to 1 Corinthians 12:4-11--it is the Holy Spirit who gives to each of us according to His Will... and 1 Corinthians 12:12-31--the Holy Spirit did not employ a cookie cutter when constructing the Body of Christ! When the Lord calls you to jump or clap or dance or shout that is precisely the moment when you will worship according to His call. One final, final point--God Almighty is ancient, but He is not lacking in skills and abilities: He is not going deaf! So... shout for joy, even if it is only in your heart, or be loud in silent worship for the Temple of God is you! God Bless! Angel |