Worshiping God is an essential part of many people's spiritual lives, but how do we know if we're doing it the right way? In this lesson, Wayne Burger, instructor at Bear Valley Bible Institute, will discuss the Biblical answer to the question: Is there a right and wrong way to worship God? Through examples from both the Old and New Testaments, we'll see why not all worship is acceptable to God, and what it means to honor Him in the way He has commanded. If you're seeking to understand God's will for worship and how to align your heart and actions with His instructions, you'll want to watch. Here are the biblical principles that guide true worship!
Introduction
The Bible is the only communication God has given to humanity in this age. The question we're going to look at is: Is there a right way to worship God, or a false way to worship God? The Bible is the only answer to that question. I’m Wayne Burger with Logos Answers, and we strive to help people understand the Bible, understand God, and answer their questions about worship and right kind of living.
Does God Accept All Kinds of Worship?
Let’s stop and think about that great question, “Does God accept all kinds of worship? Humanity kind of thinks so. We sort of have the mindset that whatever we offer, God will accept. But as we will see in the Bible, that's not true. I want us to consider this subject by starting with a principle found both in the Old and New Testaments.
There are two great sections in the Bible: the Old Testament and the New Testament. While we are under the New Testament today, Paul says in Romans 15:4 that the things written before were written for our learning, so that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope. The idea is that we can learn principles from the Old Testament that can teach us principles to apply in the New Testament.
An Example from the Old Testament
Let’s begin by looking at an example from the Old Testament, where we learn that even then, God did not accept all worship. In Leviticus 10, we have the account of two men, Nadab and Abihu, who were priests of God. He had instructed them on how to offer fire to Him. Let me read Leviticus 10:1-3:
"Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective fire pans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, 'It is what the Lord spoke, saying, "By those who come near Me, I will be treated as holy, and before all the people, I will be honored.’”
Here’s what happened: Nadab and Abihu offered fire before the Lord, but it was not the fire that He had commanded. Now, human nature might say, "Fire is fire. What difference does it make?" But in this case, it made a difference. God struck them dead because they offered strange fire, meaning unauthorized fire, which He had not commanded them. To worship God, we must do so in the way He has instructed because He is holy, and before people, He is to be honored. If we do not worship as God has instructed, we are not honoring God or recognizing Him as holy.
Proper Worship in the New Testament
That principle was true in the Old Testament, and we see that proper worship is also expected in the New Testament. When Jesus lived on this earth, He was often in conflict with the religious leaders of His day. These leaders were binding where God hadn’t bound, taking man’s doctrines and offering them to God. God said, "That’s not good enough."
Jesus said it this way in Matthew 15:9: "In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Notice what is happening here. Jesus said that worshiping through man-made doctrines is vain or empty. He calls it vain worship when we follow traditions or commandments of men rather than God.
God Expects Us to Follow His Will
This principle applies today. Following man’s traditions and commands is not acceptable to God. He expects us to follow the Bible and His instructions if we want to spend eternity with Him. This applies to worship and other areas of life.
In this same context, Jesus also said in Matthew 15:13-14: "Every plant which my Heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch." Jesus was not talking about vegetation but about doctrines, institutions, and religious organizations. Anything that God has not planted will be rooted up in the day of judgment.
And therefore, we need to be careful. He will bring destruction upon those that are not worshiping correctly, just as He did against Nadab and Abihu. We want to honor God because He is holy. And when we do that, we’ll be a part of that which was established by God and will be accepted by God into eternity.
Now, it’s interesting also in verse 14 of that chapter that Jesus says that these are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch. Notice what He was saying. He said that these religious leaders of His day were blind. They either did not know what God wanted them to do, or they knew it but decided to do it their way. The same is true with us today. Some people do not know what God wants—they are spiritually blind. Others know what God wants but still decide to do things their own way. And He said, if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.
The idea here is that not only are the religious leaders blind, but those who follow them blindly are also responsible. Following someone religiously doesn’t mean we are excused from our actions. God expects us to study His will, find out how to worship Him with His people, and follow His guidance.
The Narrow Way of True Worship
In another passage, Jesus warned that the easy way is not necessarily the acceptable way. In Matthew 7:13-14, He said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
And as we look around us today, there are all kinds of worship that are offered to God. Many people today worship in various ways, but the narrow way is the one God has instructed, and few are willing to find it. And so we must be careful as we search for that narrow way.
Later in Matthew 7:22–23, Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" Only those who do the Lord’s will are accepted by Him.
Here are some people who were honest and sincere. Here are some people who were religious. Here were some people who were doing good works. But God said, "I never knew you." You see, those that God accepts are those who do the Lord's will.
And we only know the Lord's will with regard to worship, moral life, or other ideas about spirituality from the Bible that God has given us. How important it is to do things just as God has instructed.
In Colossians 2:23, Paul is talking about a religion that is not God-ordained, and he used the phrase "self-willed religion" or "self-willed worship."
What that means is that there were people who devised their own worship system, and God did not accept it. You see, for God to accept worship, it has to be as He has commanded, just as He said in the Old Testament passage we looked at. Then also in Colossians 3:17, He said, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." Doing something in the name of the Lord Jesus means by His authority.
If the police come and knock on your door and say, "Open up in the name of the law," they’re not giving you a name—they’re invoking the authority of the law. And so it is with our relationship with God. What we do in worship must be by His authority. If we do it that way, God will accept us.
Conclusion
Is there a true way to worship God? Yes. Is there a false way to worship God? Yes. Those who want to spend eternity with God must do everything according to His will. Are you willing to worship as God has instructed? Let’s go back to the Bible and let God speak to us about how to worship Him and honor Him because He is holy.