Acceptable Worship

"Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, 'This is what the LORD spoke of when He said:

"Among those who approach Me
I will show myself holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.".

True Worship Jesus said, “... true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). The term “True worshippers” suggests that we could be false worshippers (read what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:5-24, esp. vs. 19-22 indicates the Samaritans were worshipping unacceptably to God, not because of their lack of sincerity --- but because of their lack of Biblical authority for what they did --- wrong mountain for temple; wrong priests). Jesus rebuked some who worshipped falsely, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophecy of you saying, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men’" ” (Matthew 15:7-9).

Their worship was unacceptable because it was insincere, and because they had substituted man-made traditions for God’s pattern of worship. We need to beware of human traditions.

Three Elements The statement of Jesus in John 4:23 reveals that acceptable worship has three elements:

1) Right object - God;
2) Right manner - in spirit;
3) Right way - in truth.

Right Object --- God
God wants us to worship Him. We must be careful to keep God as the focal point of worship. Worship can become entertainment, but entertainment does not satisfy the soul. We must worship God.

"Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us
and not we ourselves;
We are His people
and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him and bless His name."
Psalm 100:2-4

Right Manner --- In Spirit
The early Christians were urged to assemble in order to stimulate one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the greatest love (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs sung in praise to God, stimulate us to good works (Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16). In prayer we draw closer to God, ask for forgiveness, remember the needs of others, and thank God for His blessings. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is beneficial (James 5:16). Giving of our means is an expression of gratitude (2 Corinthians 9:7). Gratitude is a key ingredient of acceptable worship. The Scriptures should be read and explained in the assembly: “... give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13). Through this knowledge our faith grows stronger (Romans 10:17).

Right Way --- In Truth
The early Christians, following the instructions of Christ’s apostles observed the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week. The disciples at Troas were gathered together for the Lord’s Supper when Paul preached to them (Acts 20:7). History indicates the practice of weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper. John Mason, church historian. wrote “weekly communions did not die with the apostles and their contemporaries. There is a cloud of witnesses to testify that they were kept up by succeeding Christians with great care and tenderness for above two centuries” (Letters on Frequent Communion, pp. 34-38).

Can we obey Jesus as Lord and ignore His instructions? We must be careful not to add, or subtract from, the instructions of Jesus.

Sincerity
A young girl was sitting next to an older woman during the Lord’s Supper. Tears streamed down the cheeks of the young girl as she thought of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. The older woman looked down on her and calmly said, “Don’t take it so seriously my dear.” But, worship should be taken seriously! We must center our minds upon our Creator. We should try to make our worship, both individually and collectively, pleasing and acceptable to God.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17). Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

WE WELCOME YOU Following the instructions of the Scriptures, members of Christ’s body assemble as congregations for worship, encouragement, and Bible study. The congregation in your community welcomes you to investigate the Bible with us. With a spirit of brotherly love we would seek to reconcile our differences by following the Bible ONLY. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired word, the ONLY reliable standard of faith and practice. We desire the unity for which Christ prayed and which the Bible emphasizes in the expression, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Together we seek to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.

For the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you, or for questions or comments please contact Dennis at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 (cell).