Baptist Worship, Ordinances, and Preaching — Unit 2: The Shape of the Baptist Service

Key Verse

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain why Baptists meet on the Lord's Day and answer the objection of those who keep the seventh day.

2. Describe the pattern of the early Christian gathering from Acts 2:42 and from Justin Martyr's description of about the middle of the second century.

3. Describe a typical Baptist order of service and give the reason for each part.

4. Explain how the Baptist teaching on the priesthood of all believers shapes the way the congregation takes part.

5. State the objections of liturgical churches and of "seeker" churches to the Baptist pattern, and give the Baptist answer.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Baptist tradition, for Baptist students. It is conservative. It holds that the Bible is the inspired and trustworthy Word of God and the final authority for faith and practice. When it says "we," it means Baptists who confess this. Where other Christians, or historians, see matters differently, we state their views fairly and then give the Baptist answer. Baptist history belongs to Course 1, and Baptist doctrine to Course 2; we refer to them here only briefly.

A Free Church with a Plan

Baptists are a "free church" people. We do not have a prayer book that every church must follow, and no bishop or convention tells a local church what order of service to use. Each church is governed by Christ through its own members (see Course 3). So there is no single "Baptist liturgy."

But free does not mean formless. Paul wrote to a church that was in danger of confusion, "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). In Unit 1 we learned that the elements of worship come from Scripture and the circumstances are arranged with wisdom. The order of the service is mostly a matter of wise arrangement. This unit asks how to arrange the commanded elements so that God is honored and His people are built up.

The Day We Meet

Baptists gather for worship on the first day of the week, which we call the Lord's Day. Our reasons are these:

• Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; John 20:1).

• He appeared to His disciples on that day, and again a week later (John 20:19, 26).

• The church at Troas met on the first day "to break bread" (Acts 20:7).

• Paul told the Corinthians to set aside their gifts "on the first day of the week" (1 Corinthians 16:2).

• John says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day" (Revelation 1:10), and the early church understood this to mean the first day.

The Second London Confession (1689) and the Baptist Faith and Message both teach that Christians keep the first day as the Lord's Day.

The objection of the Seventh Day Baptists

Some Baptists disagree. The Seventh Day Baptists, who have been a part of the Baptist family since the 1600s, hold that the fourth commandment still requires rest and worship on the seventh day, Saturday. They hold the same gospel and baptism that we do. They say that no New Testament passage cancels the Sabbath.

Our answer. We honor the Seventh Day Baptists as brothers in Christ. But the New Testament shows the church gathering on the first day, and Paul tells the Colossians not to let anyone judge them in matters of festivals, new moons or sabbaths, which he calls a shadow of things to come, while the substance is of Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). We hold that the Sabbath was a shadow that pointed to the rest we have in Christ (Hebrews 4:9-10), and that the Lord's Day, the day of His resurrection, is the day of the new creation. Paul also says that one person esteems one day above another and another esteems every day alike, and that each must be fully convinced in his own mind (Romans 14:5). So we do not break fellowship over this, but we teach the first day as the pattern of the apostolic churches.

Where believers cannot meet on Sunday morning because of work or opposition, a church may meet at another time. The principle is that His people gather regularly and do not neglect "the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25).

The Pattern of the Early Church

Acts 2:42

The first picture of the Jerusalem church gives four marks: the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers. In the verses that follow we also see praise (Acts 2:46-47). This is not a full order of service, but it shows what the first believers valued.

Justin Martyr

About the middle of the second century (around AD 150), a Christian teacher named Justin, later called Martyr, wrote a defense of the faith to the Roman emperor. In it he described what Christians did on Sunday. We can summarize it:

• Believers from the city and the countryside met in one place.

• The writings of the apostles ("memoirs") or the writings of the prophets were read as long as time allowed.

• When the reader stopped, the leader taught and urged the people to follow these good things.

• They stood together and prayed.

• Bread and wine mixed with water were brought, and the leader gave thanks, the people said "Amen," and the elements were shared, and sent to those who were absent.

• Those who were able gave an offering, which was kept by the leader to help orphans, widows, the sick, prisoners and strangers.

Justin's account comes from a time not long after the apostles. The central parts were Scripture, preaching, prayer, the Lord's Supper and giving, very close to the elements of Unit 1.

How much weight should this carry?

Here historians and churches differ. Some liturgical churches argue that the early pattern shows a fixed order handed down, which we should keep. Some scholars remind us that Justin describes a church in one city, and that practices differed elsewhere.

Our answer. We read Justin with respect, as a witness. But the Bible alone is our rule. What Justin shows is that the earliest churches were not led by performance. They read the Word, taught it, prayed, kept the Lord's Supper, and gave. A Baptist service, in its own free way, does the same.

A Typical Baptist Order of Service

Baptist churches differ, and the following is only an example. Each part has a reason.

1. Call to worship and opening prayer. The people turn their attention to God. Psalms often serve well here (for example Psalm 95:1-2).

2. Congregational singing. The whole church sings together (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Unit 3 studies this.

3. Scripture reading. The public reading of the Word, as Paul urged Timothy (1 Timothy 4:13). Many churches read a longer passage than the text of the sermon.

4. Pastoral prayer. The pastor leads the church in thanksgiving, confession, and prayer for the needs of the people and the world (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

5. Offering. The people give as God has prospered them (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7).

6. Special music or testimony. Some churches have a song by a choir or a person, or a brief testimony of God's work.

7. The sermon. The Word of God is opened and applied. This is the center of the service. Units 6 to 8 study it.

8. Response and invitation. The people are invited to respond with repentance, faith, baptism, or joining the church. Unit 9 studies this.

9. Closing hymn and benediction. The church is sent out with God's blessing (for example Numbers 6:24-26).

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are inserted at suitable points, usually after or in connection with the sermon. Units 4 and 5 study these. Announcements are best kept short and placed where they do not interrupt the worship. Many churches also have a Sunday School or Bible study hour, which is a help to the teaching of the Word and is a circumstance, not an element, in the sense of Unit 1.

Why the sermon is central

Some traditions place the Lord's table at the center of the service, and others the sermon. Baptists have usually placed the Word first. The ordinances are not small; Christ commanded them. But faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17), and the ordinances picture the message that the Word proclaims. Paul told Timothy to "preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2). Where the Word is not preached, the ordinances lose their meaning.

A good service has a rhythm: God speaks in His Word, and we answer in prayer, praise, giving and obedience. A pastor who understands this will place the reading, the sermon and the invitation with care, and will choose songs that fit the passage.

The Priesthood of All Believers in the Service

Baptists teach that every believer is a priest to God (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6). The pastor does not stand between the people and God as a priest who does something for them while they watch. He leads, and they worship with him. So the Baptist service is not a performance for an audience.

This shows in several ways:

• The people sing. A good Baptist service has strong congregational singing. A choir or a band should help the congregation, not replace it.

• The people pray. In many churches members take part in prayer, either aloud or in silence as the pastor leads. Paul expected the people to say "Amen" to the prayers (1 Corinthians 14:16).

• The people hear actively. They bring their Bibles, like the Bereans, who "searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

• The people give and serve. Giving is worship, and gifts for the building up of the body are given to all (1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:26).

Yet Baptists do not allow confusion. The preaching of the church is led by the pastor or by those the church appoints (see Course 3). Gifted members take part in prayer, testimony and reading in the way the church approves.

Other Meetings of the Church

The Lord's Day morning is not the only meeting. Baptist churches usually also hold a midweek prayer meeting, following the early church (Acts 12:12), and sometimes a Lord's Day evening service. In many lands where churches are persecuted or buildings are scarce, the church meets in homes, as the first church did (Romans 16:5; Philemon 2). A house church is a true church if it has the Word, the ordinances, and its own members and leaders. Weddings and funerals are the subject of Unit 10.

Objections and Answers

Objection 1: A fixed liturgy is better. Anglicans, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and the Orthodox use written orders of worship. They say a set liturgy protects the congregation from the weakness of one man, joins the church to the long history of the saints, and keeps the people from being at the mercy of the pastor's moods.

Our answer. These are real strengths, and a Baptist may learn from them. A written prayer or a creed read aloud is not forbidden, and some Baptist churches use them well. But no passage requires a fixed liturgy. Fixed forms can be repeated without heart; free forms can become careless. The Baptist answer is a free order, planned with prayer and study. We trust the Spirit working through a prepared pastor and an informed congregation, who test everything by the Word.

Objection 2: The Baptist service is a lecture with songs. Sacramental churches say that our emphasis on the sermon makes the service too much a classroom and too little a meeting with God.

Our answer. The Word is not a classroom lesson. When Scripture is faithfully opened, God Himself speaks and the church meets Him. But we should hear this criticism as a challenge. A sermon without prayer, praise, and the ordinances is a poor service. A Baptist church should keep the Lord's Supper carefully and give it its proper place (Unit 5).

Objection 3: The service should be designed for unbelievers. Some churches in recent decades have designed their main service to attract people who do not attend church. They shorten the Scripture, replace the congregational hymns with performance, and avoid hard doctrines. They point to 1 Corinthians 14:23-25, where Paul imagines an unbeliever coming into the assembly.

Our answer. Paul does indeed imagine the stranger. But what convicts him in that passage is that the church is prophesying, that is, speaking God's Word, and he falls down and says that "God is truly among you." The stranger is moved by a faithful church, not by a changed church. We welcome visitors, we explain what we are doing, we speak plainly, and we preach the gospel in every service. But the main gathering is the worship of the church, and we are not free to remove the elements God commanded to make people comfortable. Baptists differ on how far to adapt; the test is whether the commanded elements are kept.

Objection 4: Because we are free, anything goes. Some Baptist churches have no order at all.

Our answer. Paul commanded order in the same chapter where he gave the people freedom to contribute (1 Corinthians 14:26, 40). A plan prepared in advance is not the enemy of the Spirit's work.

Pastoral Application

A new pastor in a rural church finds that the Sunday morning service begins with twenty minutes of announcements, has no public reading of Scripture, and ends with a sermon of ten minutes because people are tired. The church is warm and loves him, but he sees that the Word is being given little room.

He announces no changes in the first month. He prays and visits. Then he meets with the deacons and shows them from 1 Timothy 4:13 and Acts 2:42 what the early church valued. He proposes small steps: announcements printed in a bulletin, a Scripture reading before the sermon, and a hymn chosen to fit the text. Later he asks the church to consider a fuller order, and the members vote, as is the Baptist way. He never ridicules the old habits. The church comes to see that the new order is not a change of faith but a better arrangement of what they already love.

Summary

Baptists are a free church, with no required liturgy, but they plan their services with care so that all things are done decently and in order. We gather on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, because Christ rose on that day and the apostolic churches gathered then; the Seventh Day Baptists keep the seventh day and remain our brothers. Acts 2:42 and Justin Martyr's account of about AD 150 show that the early church gave itself to the Word, prayer, the Lord's Supper, fellowship and giving. A typical Baptist order moves from call to worship, singing, reading and prayer, through the offering and the sermon, to the invitation and the benediction, with the Word at the center. Because every believer is a priest, the congregation takes an active part. We answer the claims of liturgical churches, of those who say the service is only a lecture, and of seeker-style churches from Scripture, and we answer those who say that anything goes with Paul's call to order.

Further Reading

• The Second London Confession (1689), chapter 22.

• Justin Martyr, First Apology, chapter 67, public domain.

• J. M. Pendleton, Church Manual (1867), public domain.

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, public domain.

• James Leo Garrett Jr., Baptist Theology: A Four-Century Study (2009).

• H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (1987).

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