“Christian worship”
What is true worship? Can we worship God the way we want?
Revised: April 24, 2012
Jesus said:
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This passage indicates that there are false worshippers or insincere worshippers of God.
Now, what is truth? Is truth something that we somehow discover from within our inner self?
Christ says: “Thy [God's] word is truth” [John 17:17]. The only word of God available to us today is recorded in the one book we call the Bible.
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Any teaching that does not conform to God’s written word is not safe basis for determining how to worship God.
So how do we worship God in spirit and in truth?
Is honoring and praising God the kind of worship that He wants?
I hope you don’t misunderstand. God does appreciate our praises and thanks, for in Hebrews we read:
Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate [give,fellowship] forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
God is pleased by expressions of honor and praises that come forth from our mouths, but as verse 16 says, our words must also come with good works and good conduct. Christ rejects worship where our heart is “far from Him”.
What does Christ mean by our “heart is far” from Him?
Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
The Pharisees were more concerned with doing their own idea of righteousness, than obeying God’s commandments. They were honoring God with their lips, as a substitute for obedience to the commandments. This is also a message for modern-day Christians, who have come to wrongly regard the commandments of God as no longer relevant – in fact even declare God’s law as abolished.
King Saul made this mistake of not understanding or appreciating obedience. King Saul, was given instruction by God to destroy Amalek:
1Sa 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
So Saul destroyed Amalek. But in what Samuel described as stubbornness, Saul spared the best of sheep, oxen, lambs, etc. And He spared Agag, king of Amalek. King Saul seems so proud that his people took the spoils of sheep and oxen and offered them to God. This obviously sounds good to a natural mind. In fact people today think God was too harsh in having women and children killed. But unfortunately God does not think the way we think. And many people, even today, seem unable to understand that simple fact anymore. We judge God in terms of values that we acquired from the society we grew in. We also judged God based on a shallow understanding of what He is trying to do.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken [heed] than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Much of the mainstream way of worship today are man-made traditions substituted for God’s prescribed manner. Many people observe “holidays” borrowed from paganism, instead of the holy days commanded by God [Lev.23]. And they think that by doing so they are honoring God. Is it any wonder why God seems so far off and unreal today?
Some may think that it makes no difference how we worship God as long as we sincerely honor Him. But sincerity is not a substitute for the truth. It can not make wrong right. That is precisely what “worship in truth” is all about. God shows us how to worship Him – we can’t do it otherwise. Notice God’s warning in connection with this:
Importance of Our Attitude and Conduct
Consider now what the prophet Micah wrote:
Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Here is an important aspect of worship that may not even be recognized by some. More than what we do during a church meeting or service, God is really interested and concerned with our conduct during the rest of the week. God says He requires us:
- to do justly [or rightly]
- to love mercy
- to walk humbly
God wants us to do right. But at the same time He wants us to show mercy if others do us wrong. God also places so much importance on humility:
God finds proud attitude disgusting:
Worshipping God in spirit is about serving God [and dealing with others] with right attitude and mental disposition. Christ’s “sermon on the mount” as recorded in Matthew 5 reveals a lot more on how we can worship God in spirit.
Now there is a couple more aspects of worship that are also extremely important to God:
The word “visit” here is more involved than mere paying social visit or call. The original Greek also means “to look after” or “take care of” or “to help”. Throughout the Bible you’d see how God feels for the fatherless, widows and even strangers. He is protective of them and warns us against oppressing them and even charge us to look after them [Isa.1:17Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. ].
Lastly, as part of true worship of God, the latter part of James 1:27 says we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world. The apostle Paul elaborates on this:
So summing it all up – true worship of God involves the following:
- offering praises, prayer and thanks to God
- living a life of obedience to God, of mercy, humility and right attitude
- looking after the needy among us
- keeping ourselves unspotted from the world
In essence, true worship of God is the fulfilling of God’s will in – and through – our words, thought, attitude and conduct every day of our life.