{"id":14433,"date":"2026-01-16T12:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=14433"},"modified":"2026-01-16T12:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:30:17","slug":"is-raising-hands-in-worship-showing-off-john-piper-weighs-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/01\/is-raising-hands-in-worship-showing-off-john-piper-weighs-in.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Raising Hands in Worship Showing Off? John Piper Weighs In"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is lifting hands in worship a sincere act of praise or a subtle performance to gain approval from others? That question surfaced during a recent episode<\/a> of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, where theologian and pastor John Piper responded to a listener concerned about Jesus’ warning in Matthew 6 not to practice righteousness “to be seen by others.”<\/p>\n

The listener wondered whether expressive forms of worship \u2014 such as closing eyes, raising hands, or crying in church \u2014 could become the kind of hypocrisy Jesus condemned when He spoke against public displays of prayer done for praise.<\/p>\n

Piper, 80, who founded Desiring God and served for decades as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, said Scripture is clear that the issue Jesus addresses is not the outward act itself, but the inward motive. “The question is our motive, not first our action,” Piper said, noting that Jesus repeatedly exposes whether people hunger more for God’s approval or for the admiration of others.<\/p>\n

At the center of Matthew 6, Piper said, is a test of spiritual authenticity: Do believers genuinely want the Father’s reward, or do they crave visibility and applause? Jesus’ examples, he argued, are not meant to ban public expressions of faith but to expose the heart behind them. “You can’t live the Christian life and not be known for being a godly person. You can’t,” Piper said, pointing to Matthew 5:16 where Jesus calls believers to let their good works be seen so that “God receives glory.”<\/p>\n

Even so, Piper warned that no outward act is immune from pride. “There are no safe spaces. There are no safe behaviors in this world \u2014 none,” he said. “Our human hearts are infected with indwelling sin and are capable of being proud of the most humble, kind and generous behaviors.”<\/p>\n

According to Piper, the teaching of Matthew 6 applies not only to worship posture but also to daily Christian practices, such as praying before meals, wearing Christian symbols, posting Scripture online, attending church, or speaking about faith with others. Actions cross into performance, he said, when they become driven by three motives: craving human praise, disregarding love for others, or seeking one’s own glory instead of God’s.<\/p>\n

Sometimes discernment means expressing freedom, he said, and sometimes it means restraining it. Piper offered an example of being in a church where no one raises their hands in worship \u2014 a context where love and unity should inform whether expressive gestures are helpful or distracting. That, he noted, is why Paul prayed in Philippians 1:9 that love would “abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.”<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Piper returned to one central question: “Is God real for us? Is he a precious Father to us? Is the promise of his reward far more desirable to us than the rewards of human admiration?”<\/p>\n

Pastor and writer Sam Andres made a similar point in a 2023 article<\/a> for The Gospel Coalition, arguing that physical expressions in worship can be both natural and biblical. “Physical expressiveness is a natural way to celebrate what we love,” Andres wrote, comparing raised hands in church to fans cheering at a sporting event. But he also warned that when physical displays draw attention to the individual rather than God, they risk becoming unhelpful distractions.<\/p>\n

In other words, Piper and Andres agree: the real issue isn’t the hands \u2014 it’s the heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is lifting hands in worship a sincere act of praise or a subtle performance to gain approval from others? That question surfaced during a recent episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, where theologian and pastor John Piper responded to a listener concerned about Jesus’ warning in Matthew 6 not to practice righteousness “to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":14436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Raising Hands in Worship Showing Off? John Piper Weighs In<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"John Piper addresses whether expressive worship\u2014like raising hands or public prayer\u2014is true devotion or performance meant to impress others.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/01\/is-raising-hands-in-worship-showing-off-john-piper-weighs-in.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Raising Hands in Worship Showing Off? 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