Summary: This sermon (bible study) presents the biblical paradigm of worship.
A. The belief and worship of a Supreme Being is universal. Every people group in the world has this commonality. Whether in a civilized or uncivilized group of people, belief and worship of a deity is existent. There are, however, several differences of understanding on the object, reason (or motive) and way (or means) of worship.
B. Generally, people think of worship as coming to church, temple, or any sacred place where they believed the Presence of a deity could be communed. It is defined as the “act of paying homage and reverence to a deity” and “to take part in a religious service.”
C. The Bible simply defines worship as “to reverence and honor God.”
D. Now, to get the biblical paradigm of worship, we will discuss and tackle several relevant questions on this topic.
1. “What kind of worship that is acceptable to God?”
A. Worship that is consistent to the truth. (Jn.4: 24) The truth referred here is the revelations of God in the Bible. Worship must be consistent to the revelations of God. Any form of worship that is incongruous to the teachings of God’s word is unacceptable no matter how sincere and passionate the worshippers are.
v For example:
a. Human sacrifice.
b. Idol worship.
c. Worship of many gods.
d. Sex worship.
v God revealed in His word how to worship Him. The Bible actually gives us the instructions and ways on how to worship Him. They are written right in His word. Truth is the platform on which we must stand if we are to accomplish anything according to God’s will. We must worship in accordance with the Word of God—His instruction to us concerning how we are to think and act. Therefore, worship must never conflict with the commandments of God as revealed in His Word—Truth.
B. Worship that centers on God. (Exo. 20: 3; 34: 14) Worship is exclusive to God. The reason is because there is no other god except the Lord. When He said, “You shall have no other gods except Me,” it doesn’t mean that God has a counterpart divine beings. God is One, and there is no other god before and after Him.
v The Bible prohibits polytheism and idolatry; God hates both. Polytheism is the belief of many gods, while idolatry is the worship of any being or thing other than God.
v In the Bible, the most important element of worship is its object. To worship anyone or anything, other than God, is idolatry and is abominable to Him. Therefore our worship must center on Him.
C. Worship that engages our total being ( Matt. 22: 37). We must engage our whole being in worship.
v Our mind and emotion. They must be focused on God in worship. Mindless and heartless praise are not praise at all. Worship must be free from any hypocrisy. God hates pretensions in all forms.
v Our strength, or our body. In Romans 12: 1, Paul says, “Offer your body as living sacrifice…” We can never accomplish anything here on earth without our body. So God is expecting us to worship Him with our bodies being presented to Him.
D. Lastly, worship must be consistent to God’s character of Holiness. The Bible says, “Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness.” (Ps.29: 2; 96:9) It implies two principles: