Does Our Worship Honor God?

by Barrett Hendrickson


The Lord was very specific to Israel on how He is to be worshiped. Many of us are studying the Ten Commandments this fall and recognize the first four commandments relate to the worship of God. God gives specific instruction in the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 24-31). He describes the building of furniture that facilitates worship that pleases Him. Moreover, Leviticus and Deuteronomy prescribe appropriate acts of worship. While much of the symbolism has been fulfilled in the work of Christ, the Lord still cares deeply how He is worshiped.
God has a chosen people. In the Old Testament it was Israel: descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There were exceptions (i.e. Ruth, Rehab, who subsequently were mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Christ); but they were required to take on the identity of Israel (Exodus 12:48-49).
As Israel was entering Canaan, the Lord said: “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall serve the Lord your God” (Exodus 23:23-25). This was the Lord’s instruction because He knows the hearts of man.
But Israel did not obey. We see the results of their disobedience in the Book of Judges. “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you’” (Judges 2:1-3).
The Lord warned His chosen people to drive out the inhabitants of the land, yet they allowed them to remain. The result was what is called syncretism, a meshing of the proper worship of the true God with the idolatrous worship of foreigners. Syncretism is still with us today. Our corrupt hearts often want to add our own preferences to the Scriptures, the Gospel, and the finished work of Christ.
Through the finished work of Christ, God’s chosen people are His church. The Church of Christ surpasses any national borders and is open to all who put their faith in Christ.
Hebron is proudly evangelical, which in the strictest sense means that we believe that the good news of Jesus' incarnation, death, resurrection, and incarnation as given to us in scripture calls us to obedience, repentance and faith. However, today the word “evangelical” is strongly associated with a political movement. To the common man on the street, evangelical means, one who hates abortion, homosexuality, socialism, loves guns, and is proudly “right wing”. While we do believe Scripture addresses many of these moral issues, they have very little to do with the Gospel and true evangelicalism.
Is our worship honoring to God? Why do our places of worship look the way they do? Do all aspects of our worship have a biblical basis or are there pieces that have been syncretized from the surrounding culture? Is our evangelicalism solidly rooted in the Scripture?
As we design our worship services and our places of worship, we must seek to align ourselves with Scripture. At the very least, we must not include elements that are forbidden in Scripture. I encourage you to arrive early to worship and look at the elements of worship in the service order, along with the tools of worship in the sanctuary (e.g. the communion table, the cross, the lighting, etc.), and consider how they align with Scripture. Ask yourself, “How do all these things point me in the direction of Jesus Christ and His finished work?”