Why We Worship

We received a letter from a man in prison the other day. We've been corresponding with him for a few years now. My wife knew him when she was younger. Anyways, he got mixed up in society and ended up in prison for the decisions he made. He was introduced to the Lord in prison and he jumped on board. He wrote something in his last letter that made me stop and think.

First, some background. We like to order him books now and then to encourage him. I ordered a book that I had been reading. It was Experiencing the Presence of God by Charles Finney. Anybody that has read much Finney knows that while reading Finney, a few things may happen. One, you might get irate in thinking that humans should have to live at that level of holiness that he describes. Two, it might make you wonder about your own commitment to the Lord. Three, it will deeply convict you. His was a reaction mixed with two and three.

This is what he wrote (though not verbatim because I can't locate his original letter). He had to reexamine his life. He said that he came to the Lord, seeking His forgiveness, because he was afraid of going to hell. He noted that this belief would have led him straight to hell. He said that he had no remorse for insulting God and His sovereignty through the sins he committed. That is why we should be sorrowful for our sins. Because we insult God. Not because we are bound for hell.

That made me wonder how much of our spiritual actions are for the right reason. Although I think some should have a good healthy fear of hell, is this why we should come to Christ?

Let me quote from another book that I have been reading that kind of shook my thinking.

“The Holy Scripture teaches that there is ONE God who has revealed Himself in three different Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God, who is a spirit, became a son for the purpose of dying to redeem fallen man. When this occurred, God also remained in heaven becoming a Father as He had “begotten” (imparted life) a son.

The most important single issue regarding Jesus is - Who is He – not what He did! Even though what He accomplished in His finished work of redeeming fallen man through His blood atonement for man's sin and sins was of major and majestic significance, it is secondary when compared to His person. What we are saying is, that the Church has proclaimed that men should give their hearts and lives to Christ – that we should faithfully fallow adore and worship Him – because He gave His life for our sins. Wrong! We should do all of these – first and foremost because of WHO HE IS, God Almighty – the Creator! Because He is God we should worship Him and Him only should we serve, not because He did something for us. He is worthy of worship for Himself! For His own personal worth He deserves man's total being and allegiance. Then, secondarily, out of gratitude for His voluntarily humbling Himself on our behalf – we should give Him all our loyalty, all our love and obedience.”

This really struck a chord with me. Never had I heard of such a thing. While it is important to love and appreciate what Christ did for us, our first priority is to love and worship Him because He is God. We were created for the glory of God (Isa. 43:7 and many more vs.). What is the primary commandment? Love the Lord God! We were created to worship and love Him. To put it into human perspective. It feels good to be appreciated for something that we did. It feels great to be appreciated because of who we are. If my wife just told me she loved me after I did something good (take the trash out, buy her flowers, check the oil in her van) it would not be nearly as convincing than if she told me out of the blue.

Don't let this take away from your appreciation for what Christ did for you. Just let it be a reminder of why we worship. Why we come to the Lord. Appreciate what He did...love Him for who He is!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14