Listen, O daughter,
consider and incline your ear,
forget your own people also,
and your father's house;
so the King will greatly ]
desire your beauty;
because He is your Lord,
worship Him.
Psalm 45:10-11
Worship, a word tossed about with the winds, flowing this way and that way, and for many the definition is not what the Scriptures teach: "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4: 22-24). The Jews were the elected nation of people who were chosen by God, elected by God to be a people for His name and the nation from which would come the Messiah. John is relating the event when Jesus met the Samaritan women at the well, those who believed in Jehovah God, but did not worship Him in spirit and truth. They thought they did, they even had a mountain set aside for a temple, but their worship was not acceptable to God. Worship, so misunderstood and exercised in the same way that the Samaritan nation did, and even though they believe that they are doing right worship, they are not. Cultural "Christians" have added to their worship of God that which is not Scriptural. They ignore, or explain away the clear teaching of Jesus Christ. They follow the culture of the day. This is not something new, for it has been the problem for centuries, heresy is formed from such cultural leanings. Do you want to worship God rightly? Or do you want it your way? God is not interested in sharing His glory with any competitor. To place the glory of anything over the glory of God is idolatry: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me" (Exodus 20: 1-5). Does God take worship seriously? Do you have things that are not in agreement with God in your home, in your life? If you do then you are those that God says: "of those who hate Me" (Exodus 20:5b). Whatever draws our hearts away from Him to do other than what He has revealed to us so that we do not destroy in us His glory, that which holds our affections is an idol. Only God is to be the object of our supreme worship.
Culture "Christian" are so liberal in their theology because they make the culture their worship. How? They accept the current non-Scriptural culture as part of their lives by assenting to that which God has condemned. One of the largest movements today, you can find it in almost every TV program, ads, in school books, in secular teaching, is that of homosexuality. How clear does God have to make it so that a person would know how God views this lifestyle? Man with man, woman with woman, committing sin, living an abnormal lifestyle, and making excuses for doing so. It is lust, nothing more, and by the population being fed such swill they have come to accept this as normal, as the new TV program is espousing: "The New Normal," what sin, normal is normal it is not new, it is normal and it has always been normal. Moses wrote this two the nation of Israel: "You shall not led with a male as a woman. It is an abomination" (Leviticus 18: 22). God was protecting Israel by these commands so that they would not be as the nations around them, they were not to accept the culture of those nations: "Therefore you shall keep My ordinance,so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God" (Leviticus 18:30). You say: "That was the Old Testament." Yes it was, but God is unchangeable and His commands are for everyone, especially for those who believe on Him. Paul makes it clear: "Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-foooted animals, and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, mane with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which is due" (Romans 1:22-27). How much clearer and plain do you need? Both the Old and the New Testaments teach the same exact thing, God is unchangeable, and to live this lifestyle is "LUST" is due to their "PASSIONS" and this is an idol, themselves, this lifestyle and God will bring upon them for their error a just penalty. For those who accept this lifestyle are just as in error and their worship of God is diluted with sin. How can anyone who says the believe the Bible, or use the Bible to teach others, ignore the plain truth of Scripture. And if you are in such organizations that teach that this lifestyle is acceptable, RUN!
God is clear and it is baffling at how frequently Scripture is disregarded. It is as if a person believes that they can do anything they want and then just ask God for forgiveness and they will receive forgiveness. This is true God forgives, but God will not be mocked, continue in sin and God will take action: "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses" (Hebrews 10:26-28). You have been given two witnesses to the truth, one by Moses, the other by Paul. To believe that which is not Scriptural is to have a debased mind (Romans 1:28). If you approve of such things that are so clear and plainly written is to be party of their sins (Romans 1:32). This is a matter of the heart: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). Authentic Biblical Christians have a hard life, this is so because we are so adverse to this culture, the lifestyle of this culture that God opposes making us to be opposed by them. It is as if they want to bring into their lifestyle others as to give validity to what they do. Lastly, Jesus makes this statement and we should take heed: "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:37).
As St. Augustine said: "Love God; live life." Our worship is to be pure undefiled. God will bless those who do such as He has revealed to us, and that blessing is everlasting life with Him when He comes back for His people on the LAST DAY! HALLELUJAH!
Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take My yoke
upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
The Sabbath is Coming: Prepare To Worship Him
Richard L. Crumb
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