Genuine Worship

At the fall of the Roman Empire, a philosopher by the name of Ancinius Manilus Severinus Boethius said this in regards to the most detrimental poison that affects humanity, “Those poisons are much more toxic that creep within and infect the mind and soul.” It seems there is a variety of poisons that infiltrate the minds of individuals, but the poison I want to talk is about is the one that has infiltrated the minds of the congregations of the Christian Church and rendered the congregants blind and numb to the identity and purpose of worship. Though toxicologists have not yet named this poison, I think it is appropriate to call it idolatry. Of course Paul labeled idolatry simply as a “work of the flesh” (Galatians 5:20), but the destructive connotations of “poison” describe accurately this form of idolatry which some may commonly call worship.

Notice I did not say true worship, for this idol parades around disguising itself as worship, but it is not genuine because it ascribes praise and adoration to human ability and emotion, however, when it comes to humanity, “none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Worship is due to God alone. Revelation 4:11 says this, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” This poison of idolatry that I speak of can be defined as the worship of music/songs that evoke happy human emotion to temporarily comfort the participant with words that have no foundation in God’s holy word. And what exactly are the affects of this poison? Side effects include stunted spiritual growth and blindness towards the holiness of God. This worship of worship has rendered the true body of Christ as a remnant sitting in the pews in structures built to glorify man and his ability to worship the music and the emotional strum of a guitar chord. This is not true worship. Unfortunately it has become the standard for worship among many churches in the 21st century and it is nothing more than a large blindfold.

Lacking the ability to see some glimpse of the holiness of God keeps a congregation from genuine worship. The effect of holiness of God is “that dread and amazement with which, as Scripture uniformly relates, holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God… Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God” (John Calvin). God’s attribute of holiness helps prepare the believer for worship and give understanding to man about his position in relation to Almighty God. In fact, dwelling on the attributes and work of God, as laid out in Scripture, is essential for genuine worship, for if we do not worship God for whom He is and what He is done, then what is the point. The only other route is to worship something other than Almighty God. “We must sanctify God in the duties of His worship because it is the special glory that God has in the world to be actively honored. As far as His passive glory, that is, to be glorified in a passive way, He has that in hell. But the special glory that God would have is that He might be glorified actively” (Gospel Worship, pg. 126). If “His worship” requires an understanding of who He is, then it is important to have some glimpse of His holiness. Teaching about the attributes of God is important in a church congregation.

Congregations can be taught and led to grow spiritually as they sing God’s praise, but what’s the remedy for our poisoned congregational worship? I believe it is simply a return to scripturally and doctrinally rich worship. Let us look to Christ as our Worship leader and foundation that we continually build on, because Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, and the perfect man who sings God’s praise in our midst, (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 2:12). He is our high priest who has offered the perfect sacrifice of Himself to insure our entrance into the holy places, (Hebrews 10:19-22). In light of such hope and grace we worship God. A glimpse of God’s holiness is understood and through worship, spiritual growth is encouraged. This fruitful worship is true worship, which brings glory to God. “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,” Hebrews 6:1. A poison has infiltrated the minds of the congregations of the Christian Church and rendered the congregants blind and numb to the identity and purpose of true worship, but the power of Gospel and Scripture filled worship eradicates this toxin leaving behind an aroma pleasing to the Lord.