Some of the
statements coming from the revivalists are beginning to slip into the realm of
the absurd (bolding added):
"Jesus is moving at Texas A&M!
It's real! Met for 7 hours! STUDENT LED, no program! Closest thing I've ever
seen to ACTS. Testimonies, worship, praying for healing, prayers for
boldness to witness to the lost at TAMU. SUPPORT/PRAY for the Holy Spirit
to lead and to continue this. Amen!" Bynum wrote.
For Mr
Bynum, the worship of the Apostles in the Book of Acts, of the early Church, is
identified with spontaneity and mostly unstructured worship. But was that the case? It was not:
The Evangelical
approach to worship seems to be based on the assumption that Jesus abolished
the Old Testament. Because of this Evangelicals ignore the Old Testament
teaching on Tabernacle worship and focus on the New Testament for instruction
on how to worship God. The paucity of New Testament passages on worship
has been taken as grounds for an anything goes approach to worship. But,
this assumption is wrong. Jesus made it clear he did not come to abolish
the old covenant but rather to fulfill it:
Do not think
that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish
them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17
).
An examination of
the gospels shows Jesus’ adherence to the Old Testament pattern of
worship. Jesus was in the habit of attending the synagogue services (Mark
1:21; Mark 3:1; Mark 6:2). Likewise, he observed the great Jewish festivals at
the Temple: Passover (Luke 2:41), Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-13), and Passover (Matthew
26:18; Mark 14:14; Luke 22:7-11). Like Jews throughout history, Jesus considered the
Passover meal the highlight of the year. Jesus told his followers: “I
have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke
22:15)
In the healing of
the leper we find an affirmation of Jewish Temple worship. After healing
a leper, Jesus orders him:
But go, show
yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your
cleansing, as a testimony to them (Mark 1:44; Matthew 8:4).
Here we find
Jesus affirming: (1) the Mosaic Law, (2) the Aaronic priesthood, and (3) the
offering of sacrifices at the Temple. Nowhere do we find Jesus or his
apostles disregarding the Jerusalem Temple or the Jewish forms of worship;
rather we find indications they affirmed the Jewish form of worship.
Likewise, we find
Jesus’ apostles continuning the Old Testament pattern of worship.
Following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the first Christians
met at the Temple courts (Acts
2:36). The Temple court was a focal point for the early
Christians (Acts 5:20). The apostles preached the Good News in hope that the
Jews would accept Jesus as the Messiah. Just as significant we find them
relying on the ritual prayers used by Jews. This can be seen in the fact
that a literal translation of Greek in Acts
2:42 would be “the prayers.” We find that Paul, like Jesus,
attended the synagogue (Acts
13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:2, 19:8). Even when Paul had become a Christian he continued to
make it his habit to attend the synagogue services: As his custom was, Paul
went into the synagogue…. (Acts
17:2)
The Apostles of
Christ showed a similar respect to the Jerusalem Temple. We read in Acts
3:1 that Peter and John attended the prayer services at the
Jerusalem Temple. In his testimony to the Jews Paul recounts how God
spoke to him while he was at the Jerusalem Temple praying (Acts
22:17). The positive regard Paul and the other Apostles had
to the Jerusalem Temple can be seen in: (1) Paul’s eagerness to attend the
Pentecost services in Jerusalem (Acts
20:16), (2) the Jerusalem Apostles advising Paul to take part in
the purification rituals to show their loyalty to the Torah (21:22-25), and (3)
Paul’s participation in the Temple rituals (Acts
21:26).
Where
Evangelicals assume a sharp discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments,
the Orthodox Church sees a strong continuity between the two. The
Evangelicals’ assumption of a sharp discontinuity between the Old and New
Testaments has led them to ignore the Old Testament teachings on worship.
This disregard for the Old Testament is much like the early heresy of
Marcionism. Orthodox Christian worship is based upon a radical
continuity. As the Jewish Messiah Jesus Christ took the Jewish forms of
worship and filled them with new content and meanings. Orthodox worship
took the Jewish synagogue and Temple worship and made them Christocentric.
--https://eurekafirstchurch.com/understanding-orthodox-worship/
The revival
services going at various college campuses in the Southern States and elsewhere
are a positive sign, and some good things will probably come of them. But if one is looking for the Church of the
Apostles, he will not find it there. For
those who are looking for that, they will need to visit the nearest parish or
monastery of the Orthodox Church.
--
Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us
sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
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