TRUE WORSHIP #2 A. Psalm 96 is David s song of thanksgiving to God when the Ark was finally brought to Jerusalem. 1. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psa 96:9; 1 Chron 16:23-33). We also discussed how worship can degenerate into something that God will not accept. This morning, we want to pay closer attention to the circumstances of John chapter four, where Jesus had something to say about True worshipers. Then we ll contrast what He said to the types of worshipers in His own time as well as in our time.] a. That has been the solemn duty & privilege of every true child of God up to this very day. I. WHAT JESUS IMPLIED ABOUT TRUE WORSHIP B. These lessons on worship are designed to help us worship the Lord in holiness. 1. True worshipers (Jn 4:24) worship God through a holy life (in Spirit) & in accordance to His Holy Word (in Truth) both of which He makes possible. A. True Worship is Personal! John 4:21-22 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. [Notice that Jesus did say, You will worship the Father. ] [In our previous lesson, we went to the Word of God in order to describe & demonstrate worship. 1. The time was coming when she (a Samaritan woman) would understand what true worship is, & be a participant with other true worshipers. 1
a. She (personally) would be able to worship the Father as well as any Jew ever did, & not even have to go to Jerusalem to do so. 2. Jesus implied what Peter later explicitly taught, that true worship is personal. 1 Peter 2:5, 9 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. [The second thing Jesus implied about worship] John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, & now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit & truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, & those who worship Him must worship in spirit & truth. B. If there are true worshipers, then there must be false worshipers who offer false worship. 1. What are the characteristics of false worship? a. A true worshiper is a stone in a spiritual house, & a priest in a priesthood. a. False worship is vain it is empty, meaningless to God. b. The Samaritan woman would be a priest offering up her personal worship to God. Matt 15:8-9 (Isa 29:13) These people draw near to Me with their mouth, & honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. c. This is not to say that she would make up her own system of worship, but that as a priest she would be on equal footing with others in the priesthood the true worshipers. 1) Why was their attempt to draw near to God & to honor Him with their words ALL IN VAIN? 2
2) Why were their hearts far from God? 3) Because they were not worshiping God as He prescribed, but in a way that met with their collective approval; theirs was vain worship. b. False worship is also ignorant it is not based on any kind of actual Truth or reality. Acts 17:22-23 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus & said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through & considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing [ASV in ignorance], Him I proclaim to you: c. False worship is also self-imposed it is self-styled after the wisdom of men. Col 2:23, 22 These things [worshiping angels & the like] indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, & neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh 22 which all concern things which perish with the using according to the commandments and doctrines of men. 1) Like vain & ignorant worship, selfimposed worship is derived from human intellect rather than Divine will. [All these methods of worship are portrayed throughout the Scripture as false worship, of which there are many types.] 1) Jesus said God s word is Truth (Jn 17:17); Jesus was the embodiment of Truth; His life & teaching dispelled the darkness of ignorance (Jn 1:14, 17; 14:6; 8:12, 32). II. TYPES OF FALSE WORSHIP A. The worship of false gods. 3 2) So without Truth, the Greeks attempts to worship God had no foundation; theirs was ignorant worship. 1. Described by Paul as he explained the general apostasy of the human race (Rom 1:20-25).
2. Those who worship false gods generally fall into two categories: 3. King Uzziah unlawful burning of incense in the Temple (2 Chron 26:18-21). a. People who worship material objects or possessions (Job 31:24-28). b. People who manufacture images to represent their concept of a god (Exo 20; Deut 4; Isa 2:6-9). [Other types of false worship] B. The worship of God through a false form. 1. Aaron s golden calf (Exo 32). 4. The traditions of the Pharisees (Mark 7:5-13). a. All these methods of worship were in vain, ignorant, & self-imposed. b. They various methods of worship were wrong for a couple of reasons. 1) Either they were blatantly unlawful as per the law the worshiper lived under (#1, 2, 3). 4 C. The worship of God using a false method. 1. Nadab & Abihu s strange fire for the burning of incense to the LORD. (Lev 10:1-2). 2. King Saul s unlawful sacrifice of a burnt offering (1 Sam 13:8-14). Modern examples: Separate priesthood Universal, diocesan (regional), female oversight of churches. Non-vocal music 2) Or they were human traditions placed higher in man s affections than God s commands (#4).
[Last type of false worship] Seeking absolution by confessing sins to a priest (Jas 5:16). Eucharist, transubstantiation, re-sacrifice of Christ (Lk 22:19). Christmas & Easter celebrations. D. The worship of God with the wrong attitude. CLOSING A. One way to appreciate & understand the nature of true worship is to see it in contrast to false worship. 1. False worship is of course the predominant worship performed in the world today. 1. Everything else in our worship to God may be correct, but if our attitude is not, then we are not true worshipers. a. Taking communion in an unworthy manner by refusing to discern His body (1 Cor 11:27-29). b. Hearing teaching from God s word, but not receiving it with meekness (Jas 1:21). c. Praying, but not with the spirit of understanding (1 Cor 14:15). d. Singing, but not with grace or making melody in our hearts to the Lord (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16) e. Giving, but grudgingly out of necessity rather than cheerfully (2 Cor 9:7) is false worship. a. Temples & shrines exist for images, idols & ceremonies. b. Religious traditions are based on the culture of the people or nation rather than on the Word of God. 2. But what is truly alarming about false worship, is how easily it creeps into the church. God s Plan For Our Salvation: Hear the gospel of Christ: Acts 2; 3; 13; Rom 10:17 Believe on Jesus the Son of God, Savior, Lord, Christ: John 3:16; 8:24; 20:30-31 Repent of sin: Acts 2:38; 17:30; 1 John 3:4; Acts 3:19 Confess faith in Christ: Matt 10:32-33; Acts 8:37; Rom 10:9-10 Baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins: Gal 3:27; Rom 6:3-4; Acts 2:38 Be Obedient to Christ: Titus 2:11-12; Heb 5:9; 2 John 9; Rev 2:10; John 12:48 5