What Is Worship?

As we established in our previous studies, the early church was a learning church, a loving church, a worshipping church, and an evangelistic church (see Acts 2:42–47). In this study, we will focus on the aspect of worship.

Created to Worship

God created man with a innate desire to worship. In fact, it remains one of the fundamental differences between humans and animals. God did not create that drive in animals. But, as the Bible says, "[God] has . . . set eternity in the hearts of man"(Ecclesiastes 3:11). This urge causes people everywhere to worship; if they are not worshipping the true God, they are worshipping a god of their own composition. Yet, a true understanding of what worship means illustrates why God alone deserves our worship and devotion.

God is Worthy of Our Worship

The word worship comes from the Old English word "worth-ship," which means to ascribe worth or value to something or someone. We worship that which is worthy. A god of our own making is not worthy of worship. It will only disappoint. Revelation 5:12 describes the one deserving of our praise and adoration: "In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!'" In the Bible's original language, a number of words are translated as worship. Here are just two that give greater meaning to the word:

• Shachah: This word means "to bow down, to do homage." It is first used in Genesis 18:2, where Abraham bows down before his three visitors (one of whom he discovered later was the Lord Himself!)
• Proskuneo: This word literally means "to kiss toward." It conveys the idea of showing reverence.

Putting these various meanings together, we see that we worship God because He is holy. In true worship, we bow down and do homage to Him (indicating a reverence and respect for God), and we kiss toward Him (signifying a tenderness and intimacy toward God).

Jesus made it clear that there is both a right way and a wrong way to worship—a true and false worship. The Pharisees, who thought that they were experts in worship, were by and large not even close: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:8, 9).

We should not worship God for what we will get out of it; we should worship God because He is worthy of our worship. A. W. Tozer once said, Whoever seeks God as a means toward desired ends will not find God. God will not be used."

What Happens When We Fail to Worship God
Read Romans 1:20–25

Worship—or the failure to do it properly—affects every aspect of our lives. This passage points out four steps that lead to spiritual deterioration.

1. Failing to Glorify God

"Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God . . ."  (Romans 1:21).

This is the basic expression of the root sin of pride, which is at the core of man's falleness. While this may not seem like a serious sin to you, it is to God. When there is a breakdown here, other problems follow.

It was a failure do this essential thing that resulted in idolatry and immoral living for King Belshazzar. The prophet Daniel came to him with this reproof:

"And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified" (Daniel 5:23–24).

Scripture continually encourages believers to glorify God. Psalm 29:1–2 says, "Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name." Glorifying God with our lives is not something we should take lightly.

2. A Failure to Give Thanks

" . . . nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:21).

This step down inevitably follows the first step, for if you do not glorify God as God, you will not give thanks to Him. Many Christian homes have neglected to give thanks at mealtime, thinking of it as unnecessary. But what a wonderful habit and example it can be for your children. Daniel the prophet made a regular habit of giving thanks to God—even after he learned that it could result in his arrest and execution (see Daniel 6:10). Our gratitude toward God should be no less.

3. A Turning to Other Gods

"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-footed animals and creeping things" (Romans 1:22-23).

When God is removed from your life, something or someone must take His place. People will often turn to other belief systems to seek to appease a guilt-ridden conscience. They want a religion or belief that will rationalize their lifestyle, which at this point is usually becoming increasingly sinful.

Many cling to the teachings of New Age types of religions, because they basically accommodate their lifestyle. Others embrace evolution, because if God did not create the earth, then they are not accountable to Him. But the biblical account of creation and the theory of evolution are not compatible. All those who direct their innate desire to worship toward something or someone other than the Creator Himself will ultimately be disappointed.

4. Degenerate Living

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:28–32).

Failing to glorify God and give thanks not only leads to idolatry, but to degenerate living. It begins with unthankfulness and indifference and results in the dropping of our standards. This radical downward trend begins in the realm of our thinking. So you can really trace our problems in our personal lives, society, and our country to a failure to worship the true God.

We have pushed God out of the classroom and the courtroom. We have pushed aside His standards that He has given as protection and have rewritten our own history. Now our country is reaping the inevitable results: the family is under increasing attack; we have a failing education system; rampant violent crime fills our streets; and sexual perversion is being flaunted and pushed upon us. Such is the peril of failing to worship God.

The Right Way to Worship
Read John 12:1–8

This tender and touching story of Mary of Bethany demonstrates the right way to worship God. As our story begins, Martha, predictably, is working, and Mary is worshipping. Mary wants to give to Jesus something that is valuable, precious, and special. So, with complete abandon, she breaks a bottle of extremely expensive perfume and wipes the feet of Jesus. The perfume was worth an entire year's salary—that's quite a gift!

Still, it wasn't the value of the gift that was significant. She could have made a bold announcement, "This perfume is worth a year's salary!" She could have even said that it was worth more to impress the others. This was the sin of Ananias and Saphira—pretending to be something they were not. Instead, with complete abandon, she breaks it as though it were nothing. She knew that, compared to Jesus, it was.

That is how our worship should be. True worship will cost us. When King David bought the field from Oman, he said, "No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing" (1 Chronicles 21:24).

Interestingly, in verses 4–6, Judas protests Mary's worship, saying the money she spent on the perfume should have been given to the poor. On the surface, it looked as though Judas was the true worshipper and Mary was the wasteful one. But things were not as they seemed. Jesus looked at Mary's heart.

Like Mary, we must all be worshippers of God. We should do it because God is worthy. We should do it with reverence and intimacy, giving our all, for it was for this reason God created us:

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11 KJV).

Part V