I want you to carefully examine the question above. What do you think?
What makes worship pleasing to God?
To be frank, most religious people assume that their worship is pleasing to God because it's pleasing to them. It makes them feel good, it makes the church feel good, it's exciting, it's entertaining, it's what they're comfortable with, and hey, the Bible is opened at some point during the service, and hey, everyone claims to "love" the Lord and so therefore...it must be pleasing to God.
Think about it. How often do church-going people talk about how the choir sang so "beautifully" in last Sunday's service? Or how perfectly the piano accentuated the prayer? Or how preacher so-and-so's lesson was so moving? Or how touching the skit was that the youth group put together? Or how cute the kids were during "children's church" when the music minister asked them about Adam and Eve?
People assume that if the worship was pleasing to them, that it must be pleasing to God. If I think the choir is amazing, then God must think the choir's amazing. If I think the keyboard solo is incredible, if it tugs on my heart-strings, then God must be quite impressed as well.
Dear reader, I would contend that this approach to worship is completely incorrect.
Worship is not pleasing to God on the basis that it's pleasing to us.
Worship is pleasing to God if it's the worship that HE COMMANDED!
Consider the example of King Saul in 1 Samual 15. God, through Samuel, commanded Saul, "Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing, child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey" (vs. 3). When Saul led the armies of Israel against Amalek, they indeed destroyed the people, but they "took Agag king of the Amalekites alive" and "spared...the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them" (vs. 8-9).
Did Saul obey God? Of course not! That's clear to any honest observer. But notice Saul's excuse when Samuel confronted him about his disobedience.
"Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, 'Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.' But Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?' And Saul said, 'They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed" (vs. 13-15).
Sure, they had disobeyed God, but at least they had a good reason. Even though they should have killed all the livestock, they thought that it would be good to keep the best of the livestock to offer up as a sacrifice to God. I'm sure this made perfect sense to the people, and to Saul. How could God refuse such a worshipful gesture?
Well, notice Samuel plainly told Saul in verse 22, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
God didn't want their sacrifices, nor did He appreciate their "kind" gesture. Even though their motives may have been altruistic, God was absolutely DISPLEASED with them. All he wanted was their obedience.
GOD IS PLEASED WITH OBEDIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It doesn't matter how you feel or what you think. When it comes to serving and worshiping God, you have to dispose of your thinking and adopt God's thinking; get rid of your opinions, and adopt an attitude of complete submission.
Friend, there is only one right way to worship God: HIS WAY. And "His way" is revealed to us in the holy scriptures, specifically the New Testament (Mk. 7:7-9; Jn. 4:24).
Amazing Grace may sound amazing on the church organ. The church choir may belt out The Old Rugged Cross in such a way that your arms are covered up in goosebumps. The preacher's sermon on Once Saved, Always Saved may appeal to your emotions. That church member that suddenly leaps up and starts "speaking in tongues" may get your heart pumping. But that doesn't make ANY of these activities right.
Where is the New Testament authority for instrumental music in worship? (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16)
Are not ALL Christians commanded to sing in worship? (ibid.)
Isn't the doctrine of Once Saved, Always Saved foreign to scripture? (Gal. 5:4)
Didn't miracles cease when the New Testament was "perfected? (1 Cor. 13:8-10)
I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point.
What makes worship "pleasing" to God? When we worship God HIS WAY!
Great article over all I thought you had a lot of great points. One point I would mention is I think worship is only pleasing to God if it builds up the body.
ReplyDeleteEvery passage I can think of that has to do with assembling always notes that what we do when we come together is to exhort, encourage and build up one another. I feel if that doesn't occur then something went wrong... if it didn't build up those there then how could it be pleasing to God.
Note passages such as Heb 10:25; 1st Cor 14:26 note the may thing at the end of the passage "...Everything must be done so that the church may be built up."
This is a common reoccurring theme with all the passages dealing with the assembly...
I totally get what you're saying when you state "Worship is not pleasing to God on the basis that it's pleasing to us."
However I think scripture shows that its just as important that its pleasing to us as well as God. When I go and I get built up and encouraged I feel good about it...
Because honestly if you just do what is pleasing to God and don't really get anything out of it... your really just going through the motions which isn't what God wants either...
Anyway just some thoughts, but once again good article and glad to see you back in the saddle, I missed reading your blog there for a while I thought you had quit and just happen to notice you posted again.
I know this comment was written a long time ago, but two things come to mind Eric. First of all, you're absolutely right; the church ought to be edified by worship. If it's not edifying, something is definitely wrong! However, I would contend that God's pattern of worship is edifying if it's carried out "in SPIRIT and in truth" (John 4:24). The problem is not that God's pattern of worship is lacking in its ability to edify. The problem is that we often don't apply ourselves as we should.
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