The Worship of God

(Article for publication week of 2-29-2012 AD)

“Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:7).

We are presently considering the duties of all men to God. We have shown that it is the duty of all men to believe God, to love God, and obey God. Next to be considered is the duty of all men everywhere to worship God.

All men are obligated to worship God. He is properly the only true object of worship. He is Jehovah, “the eternal and Self existent One.” He is the Great “I AM.” He is the First Great Cause, and the last Great End. He is the only truly Good One. In Him is light, and there is no darkness at all in Him. There is not a single flaw in His holy Character. He is the only Being Who needs no improvement. He created all things, and by Him all things consist. He is all-wise, all knowing, all seeing, all mighty, everywhere present, and nowhere absent. He is pure Spirit, having not body, parts nor passions. He is One glorious Being, yet three glorious Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is without beginning and without end. He is infinite, and His ways are past finding out. All men are duty bound to worship such a perfect and glorious Being as Jehovah.

The worship of God is recognition that He is indeed God, and that we are accountable creatures. The worship of God is an expression of our inferiority and of His infinite Superiority. The worship of God springs from a realisation that God is on the Throne of Glory, and that we are bound to the earth. The worship of God is an acknowledgment that He is the Absolute Despot of the universe Who is to be feared and obeyed and loved.

The worship of God is a humbling of ourselves before His presence with faith, repentance, reverence, awe, respect, love, adoration, and fear.

God is to be worshipped privately and publicly. He is to be worshipped in every common act of life, and in such ways and times as He has appointed in his word. He is to be worshipped in our closets, in our families, and our churches. He is to be worshipped exclusively and enthusiastically.

God is to be worshipped both externally and internally. He is a Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. He can only be properly worshipped through a Mediator.

I have given you a brief introduction to the worship of God. As one of my old pastors used to commonly end his sermons, “much more could be said.” Unless you are worshipping the Only True God in the way he has commanded, and in perfection, you stand condemned. You must be lost world without end. I hope you see something of your great duty to worship the God of the Bible.

Now dear readers, I am not telling you today how to be saved. Rather, I am telling you why you are lost if you are not worshipping God in perfection. Worship that is not in perfection as I have only briefly described is not worship at all, but blasphemy. Imperfect and sinful worshippers of God need a Saviour. I tell you of Him continually. If you see yourself as a sinful blasphemer by nature, flee to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and tell Him your case and plead for His mercy. I leave you in the hands of God.

The Duty of Man to Obey God

(Article for publication week of 2-22-21012 AD)

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

It is the duty of all men to keep the commandments of God. Dear reader, this is YOUR clear duty as a rational creature of God to keep His commandments.

First of all, let us emphasize that God has a right to demand your obedience. God has a right to demand your obedience because He made you for His Own glory. God is the Absolute Despot of the universe and He will run things the way He wants to. You need to wake up and realise that this is not “Burger King.” You CANT have it your way! God will have it His way, or no way. Now that is the truth and you had better believe it.

Secondly, it is your duty to keep God’s commandments because they are holy and just. God’s law is a reflection of His Own Holy and Righteous Character. God cannot command anything that is not right and good (that is, and keep being God). “His commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:3). If everybody obeyed the Ten Commandments, it would indeed be a perfect world. It is your duty to keep God’s commandments because He said to, because it would be for His glory, for your good, and for your neighbor’s good.

Now, we need to see that God demands a perfect conformity to His commandments. God is not grading us on a “curve”. He is judging us by His perfect standard. God is not impressed that you have a little more outward morality than your neighbour. God is not impressed that you have been moral enough to stay out of the jailhouse. God requires that you keep His commandments perfectly and continually, outwardly and inwardly. Your duty is to do everything that God has commanded. Now how answerest thou? Have you done everything God requires? If you lack one thing, you are condemned by the holy law of God, and God will render unto you according to your deeds.

Not only are you condemned for not positively doing everything God requires, but you are condemned if you have done anything that God prohibits. If you lived a life of perfect obedience for 100 years, and then on the last day of your life committed a sin, you would deserve the fires of hell for eternity. What about it dear Reader, have you committed any sins in your life?

We need to also see that the scriptures tell us that God will judge us for the very secret things in our minds and hearts. Our Lord taught that we break the sixth commandment by unjust anger, low esteem for our fellow man, and by an unforgiving spirit (Matthew 5:21-26). He also taught that we break the seventh commandment by lust and unscriptural divorce (Matthew 5:27-32).

I hope you are beginning to see the solemn truth of Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Dear reader, if you have to stand before God on your own, and give an account of yourself, you are in a precarious position. May God have mercy upon you.

Our Duty to Love God

(Article for publication week of 2-15-2012 AD)

"Jesus said unto him, ‘thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment’ " (Matthew 22:37-38).

It is the duty of all men to love God. We owe our very existence to Him. We depend upon Him for every breath. He gives us our daily bread to sustain us. All men ought to love God.

It is the duty of all men to love God for His perfections. There is no reason why everyone should not love God. He is perfectly holy, just, and good. There is no flaw in His nature.

The love of God is a summary of all the commandments of God. All the commandments of God may be reduced to one general head- love God with all your being. “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). If you will love God, then keep His commandments. Worship Him, and Him Alone, and as He has regulated in His word. If you will love God, then reverence Him and His name. If you will love God, then love Him with your time. If you will love God, then keep the second great command which is like unto the first, love your neighbour as yourself. If you will love your neighbour as yourself, then respect his place, and stay in your own. If you will love your neighbour, then respect his life, chastity, property and name.

Now dear reader, I want to ask you, have you loved God with all your being? Have your affections for Him been perfect? Have your thoughts been centered in Him? Have you perfectly obeyed God, all your life? Have you kept the First Great Commandment, and the Second which is Like Unto It, outwardly and inwardly? Have you done all God requires? Have you refrained from all He forbids? If not, you stand condemned by the just and holy law of God as a lawbreaker and traitor to God. You stand condemned for not loving God with all your being. The sentence of the law is “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). The strict and inflexible justice of God says, “tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil” (Romans 2:9).

There is only one hope for those who have failed in our duty to love God, that is, that the record might be made right. Somehow, we must be able to stand before God with a spotless record of loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Poor sinner, this is an impossibility as far as you are concerned. But praise God! The things that are impossible with men are possible with God!

There was One Who did (and does) love God with all His Being, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God. He is the only Man Who has ever truly loved God with all His Being. And the good news of the gospel is that all who believe in Him are counted as having loved God with all their being. Shortly, and Lord willing, I will begin a series on the glorious doctrine of justification, and we shall see all the details of how Christ is the Righteousness of the believer. But first we must show you all God requires and how you have miserably failed. You will never come to Christ until you have given up on yourself. But perhaps this short article has convinced someone of the exceeding sinfulness of their sins, and you are crying out even now, “what must I do to be saved?” Well, the good news is you don’t do anything, you just believe in Christ for your whole and sole righteousness. Believing in Him, God counts you as righteous as His Son. What a glorious gospel!

Belief in God

(Article for Publication week of 2-8-2012 AD)

“The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God‘ ” (Psalm 14:1). Atheism is a form of insanity. The fact is, everyone knows there is a God. The works of creation plainly declare there is a God Who has made all things. You know that the universe did not come into existence by itself, and you know that evolution is a lie. Everyone knows there is a God because of the conscience that God had given you. Your sense of right and wrong, and your readiness to stand in judgment of other people shows that you know there is a God. We do not have to “prove” the existence of God because all men already know it. I do not waste any of my time trying to “prove” there is a God. It is my business to call upon you to bow to the God of the Bible.

The person who claims he is an atheist, (or agnostic) is a person who wishes there was not a God. He wishes he did not have to answer to God, nor stand before Him in the Day of Judgment. He lies to himself, pretending to himself and others that he does not believe in God and futilely hoping, perhaps there is no God, no judgment, and no hell.

The good Hebraists tell us the literal rendering of our text is “No God.” (“There is” is supplied by the translators.) The fool who says “no God”, is saying “I will not have God rule over me.” This is, as I say, insanity. You cannot get away from God. He is there.

It is the duty of all men everywhere to believe in God. You are duty bound to believe in the Perfect Being Who created you and all things for His Own glory. You are duty bound to believe in the One before Whom you must stand at the final day. It is your duty to believe in God as He has revealed Himself, not only by the works of creation, and the conscience within, but also as He has revealed Himself in His Word. It is your duty to believe in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You have no right to believe in a “god” of your own imagination. You must believe in the only true God, and not some pretended deity. Your duty as God’s creature is to believe in your Creator.

Now, I am sure that the vast majority of my readers profess to believe in God. Avowed atheism is still rare here in the Bible Belt (for which I am thankful). So, some of you may be thinking all is well with your soul, for you have done your duty in believing there is a God. Not so fast neighbors- “the devils believe and tremble” (James 2:19). The devils have enough sense to believe in what is undeniable. But this does not believe the devils are saved, nor that they may be saved. The devils have a better faith than most professed “Christians” today, for the devils fear God, and most professed “Christians” live as though they have no fear of God. The faith of devils will not save, for it is not accompanied by repentance, nor true love for God. It has not Christ as its Object, but is simply a belief on what is undeniable. Neither does the faith of devils have good works as its proper fruit.

Dear reader, is your faith any better than that of the devils? It is your duty to believe God, without any wavering or doubts. It is your duty to believe in God with perfection. What do you have to say for yourself?