Chapter 22 - OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AND THE SABBATH DAY

1 God's existence, along with His complete authority and sovereignty over all things, is evident through creation itself. We can see that He is just and good, and that He shows goodness to everyone. Because of this, He alone is to be feared, loved, praised, prayed to, trusted in, and served with our entire being—with all our heart, soul, and strength. However, the only way to worship the true God acceptably is the one He Himself has established. This way is so strictly defined by His revealed will in the Bible that we cannot worship Him based on our own ideas, the schemes of men, or the temptations of Satan. We must not worship Him through physical images or in any other way not specifically commanded in the Holy Scriptures

2 Worship is for God alone—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We should not worship angels, saints, or anything else in creation. After the Fall, we can only approach God through a mediator, and Jesus Christ is the only one who can fill that role.

3 Prayer, which includes giving thanks, is a natural part of worship and is something God requires from everyone. However, for our prayers to be accepted by God, we must pray in the name of Jesus, relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us. Our prayers should align with God's will and be offered with understanding,
reverence, humility, earnestness, faith, love, and persistence. When we pray with others, we must use a language that everyone present can understand.

4 We should pray for things that are lawful and for all people who are living now or will live in the future. We should not, however, pray for the dead or for anyone known to have committed the unpardonable sin.

5 Worshiping God involves several key practices. We are to read, preach, and listen to God's Word. We should also teach and encourage one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with gratitude in our hearts. Additionally, we must properly administer baptism and the Lord's Sup-
per. All these acts of worship should be done in obedience to God, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. Furthermore, on special occasions, it is appropriate to observe times of solemn humility and fasting, as well as giving thanks to God in a holy and reverent manner.

6 Prayer and other forms of worship are not made more acceptable to God by being performed in a specific location or direction. Under the new covenant, God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth. This means worship should happen daily in private families and secretly by individuals. It also means we are to worship more solemnly in public gatherings. These gatherings should not be carelessly or deliberately neglected when God's Word or His providence calls us to them.

7 In keeping with the nature of creation, God has decreed that a portion of our time should be dedicated to worshipping Him. He has established in His Word a binding, timeless, and moral command for all people, in all generations, to set aside one day in seven as a Sabbath to be kept holy for Him. Initially, from the beginning of creation until Christ's resurrection, this day was the last day of the week. However, following His resurrection, it was changed to the first day of the week, now known as the Lord's Day. This day is to be observed as the Christian Sabbath until the end of the world, as the practice of observing the last day of the week has been abolished.

8 For us, keeping the Sabbath holy means preparing our hearts and our house- holds beforehand. On the day itself, we're to rest completely from our regular work, business, and leisure. Instead, we devote the entire day to worshipping God, both in public gatherings and in private devotions, while also attending to duties of necessity and mercy.

9 True religious worship is, in its essence, a reverent response to the living God and His self-revelation. Its fundamental purpose is to render Him the glory due His name, rather than to serve as a means of human entertainment or to primarily elicit subjective emotional responses. Our assemblies are to be ordered by His Word and directed towards His praise, recognizing His absolute sovereign-
ty and holiness.

10 The character of God dictates that His corporate worship be conducted with utmost reverence and order. As the Apostle Paul instructs concerning the church's gatherings, "God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1 Corinthians 14:33). Furthermore, "all things should be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). This principle directly repudiates any chaotic, self-indulgent, or disorderly expressions that detract from the solemnity and sanctity of the divine service.

11 While acknowledging that genuine spiritual fervor can indeed manifest in strong, joyful emotion (cf. Psalm 47:1: "O clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!"), any form of disorderly, unedifying, or manipulative screaming and shouting that disrupts the decorum of the service, distracts from the proclamation of the Word, or stems from mere human emotionalism rather than Spirit-led reverence, is contrary to the scriptural pattern of biblical worship. The Holy Spirit leads to self-control and peace, not pandemonium.

12 The primary focus during corporate worship must remain on intelligibility and the edification of the gathered body of believers. As Paul emphasizes in his instructions to the Corinthian church, "When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up" (1 Corinthians 14:26). All elements of worship, therefore, should be understandable and contribute directly to the spiritual growth and mutual encouragement of the congregation.

13 We affirm that music is a divinely appointed means of worship, praise, and instruction, serving to convey spiritual truth and stir godly affections (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19). However, the emphasis in corporate singing must primarily rest upon the theological content of the lyrics, ensuring they are doctrinally sound, biblically rich, and consonant with the Reformed faith. The integrity of the message, rather than the intensity of the musical presentation, is paramount.

14 It is crucial to distinguish clearly between the genuine moving of the Holy Spirit and mere emotional or sensory stimulation generated by loud or repetitive music. The authentic work of the Holy Spirit primarily involves the illumination of God's Word, conviction of sin, application of Christ's truth to the heart, and the production of spiritual fruit consistent with the character of Christ (John 16:8-14; Galatians 5:22-23). Conversely, emotional responses induced solely by external stimuli, devoid of deep biblical truth, are not necessarily indicative of the Spirit's presence or work.

15 We must strongly caution against equating the volume or emotional intensity of music with the discernible presence or power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit operates principally through the ordinary means of grace: the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word, the proper administration of the sacra-
ments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper), and fervent, humble prayer (John 4:23-24; Acts 2:42). True spiritual worship is offered "in spirit and truth," flowing from a regenerated heart that apprehends God through His revealed Word, not from mere sensory experience.

16 All musical expressions in worship must contribute to the edification of the congregation and foster an atmosphere of orderly and reverent worship of God. Excessive noise, manipulative musical techniques, or music designed primarily to evoke emotional responses rather than to convey biblical truth, can hinder
genuine worship. The aim is to facilitate a corporate experience wherein God is honored, His people are built up in the faith, and unbelievers may perceive the holiness and truth of the gospel (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).