Rules For Worship

John Frame (from Reformed Theological Seminary~RTS), says that the word worship is shorthand for "our duty to God." Worship is to obey God, and to obey God is to worship Him. Worship of God then is ethical.

The Ten Commandments have been broken down (by many, including Jesus) into two tablets. The first four commandments have to do with our relationship toward God, and the last six have to do with our relationship toward man. So 1-4 deals with our love toward God, and 5-10 deal with our love toward our neighbor. Here is a quote from John Frame dealing with the first four commandments in relation to his view of worship...

"Another way to look at the first commandment is to say that it is about worship. The first four commandments deal especially with our relationship to God. But in all our relationships to God, we stand as worshipers. When people meet God in the Bible, they bow down; they are moved to worship. So the first four commandments serve as rules for worship. The first commandment deals with the object of worship, the second with the manner of worship, the third with the language of worship, and the fourth with the time of worship."