“Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened… They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:21, 25)
The worship and glory of God is one of the central thrusts of Romans, as it should also be for the Church. Interestingly enough, the focus of most conversations regarding worship music centers upon which style of music should be used or how our music must appeal to the people. In essence, worship becomes a form of entertainment, an attempt to please the people, and a displacement of the central focus of our worship: Christ!
The loss of God’s centrality in today’s worship is unfortunately common, and as a result, God and the Bible have lost their significance in the eyes of the contemporary church. Paul exclaimed in 1 Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Paul expressed the importance of preaching a simple yet truthful gospel that was not meant to please the humanist ears, so that the power of the cross would not be made void. Acts 5:29 says it is better “to obey God rather than men.” The same must be true in our worship, for it is far better to worship the Creator and not the creation.
In the seeker-driven form, the worship service is adjusted to “meet the needs” (or wants) of the unbeliever, making it ‘relevant’ for unbelievers. Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, and it has always been for one reason: our interests have replaced God’s and we are doing His work in our own way. We must focus on God in our worship rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. For a believer, worship should be done solely before an audience of One. We are all the participants, and the desire is that God would be pleased with our worship. We stand in awe of God, and then our affections are stirred, not vice versa.
In the words of Pastor John MacArthur, “True worship that is acceptable to God must not be conformed to this world. It is a form of worship from a worshiper that is reflective of the heart of a believer that has been transformed by God’s power and from a mind that has been renewed.”
“Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.” – Hebrews 13:15
Let us offer our praises to God and let us forever acknowledge His name! God desires His people to worship Him whole-heartedly, in spirit and truth (John 4:24). To worship Him in truth, one must know who they are truly worshiping; God or man?
Worshiping Him with you,
Erika McBride
