#25 On the Nature of God: The Instructions of GOD in WORSHIP

In our society today religious groups worship God in different ways. Some have a choir and/or a soloist. Others have only congregational singing. Some have loud praise bands with microphones and singers. Some groups play a piano or an organ. Others do not. Occasionally, a play performance will serve as worship.

All groups are striving to please God. But how do we know how to please God in worship? For the answer we must turn to the Bible.

God has always made known His desires about how to worship. When Cain and Abel worshipped, Abel was pleasing to God. Cain was not. The Hebrew writer explains, Hebrews 11:4:

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous,”

God must have given instructions about worship for Abel to be able to offer by faith. God was pleased because Abel was obeying His will.

Cain was not the only one to err by not following God’s instructions, Leviticus 10:1-2:

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.”

In this example, God had given specific instructions as to the source of the fire for incense. Nadab and Abihu either deliberately or by not paying attention did not obey. God made them an example of His attitude toward disobedience in acts of worship.

In the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Numbers, God gave specific laws about how the children of Israel were to live and worship.

For example, they weren’t to do any work on the Sabbath. It was to be a solemn day of worship. One man did not follow God’s will, Numbers 15:32-35:

“While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day…And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”

These examples show that God is very particular about what pleases Him in worship.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul made it clear that the old law and its legal demands were put aside by the death of Jesus on the cross, Colossians 2:13-14:

“…having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

The Apostle Paul describes the old law as a death/funeral, Romans 6:4-6:

“…you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”

Now we worship by a new way guided by the Holy Spirit’s inspired writings in the New Testament. The Hebrews writer tells us to whom to listen, Hebrews 1:1-2:

“…in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,”

In the New Testament, we find authority to please God by commands and examples. A command to partake of the communion or Lord’s Supper is found in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26:

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

In worship, we sing and pray, Ephesians 5:19-20:

“…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Note that worship needs to be from the heart and not by rote.

Christians likewise give of their money. The Apostle Paul instructed the church at Corinth about giving for the work of the Lord, 1 Corinthians 16:2:

“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”

Many have a lackadaisical attitude about attending worship. The Hebrew writer tells us what pleases God; namely, that Christians worship every Sunday, Hebrews 10:25:

“…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

If our aim is to restore the New Testament church, then we will sing, pray, study God’s word, give of our means, and partake of the Lord’s Supper as worship of God. Nothing else is authorized.

Therefore, Christianity has a different set of rules for pleasing God in worship than those of the Old Testament.

In summary, it is in the nature of God to always provide us directions on how to please Him in worship.

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