One of the most critical connections in our worship must
be between our Orthodoxy (right beliefs) and our Orthopraxy (right
actions). We are certainly called
to believe the
right things about God, and our worship must be fueled by the truth of
Scripture, but in order for the way we respond t to be truly worship, our
belief must ultimately lead to obedience.
“Just as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy
obedience. If worship does not
propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of
eternity is to change.” (Foster,
p. 173) God is clear throughout
Scripture that true religion cares for the poor and oppressed, and worship that
is honored by God is compassionate toward the widow and the orphan. “Religion that God our Father accepts
as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27) Throughout
the prophetic books of the Old Testament, it is often the response of Israel to
the poor among them that stood as a testimony to the integrity of their worship
and the true attitude of their hearts toward God (Isaiah 58 is a prime example of
a time when Israel had turned away from God as evidenced by turning away from
fellow countrymen). So, why should
we expect this to cease as a sign of authentic worship for New Testament
believers? Granted, only God can
see into the hearts of men and women, but it seems evident from Scripture and
from the call to sanctification in the life of the Christian believer that
there should be outward signs of grace and mercy in the lives of those who are
committed to Jesus Christ.
Therefore, faithful and authentic worship in the life of a believer and
in the communal life of a congregation must be marked by more than good
theology or even passionate and heartfelt singing and sweet times of
fellowship. Real worship will also
be evidenced by compassion and acts of mercy in the lives of the most
vulnerable and needy members of the congregation and the greater community.
Second, it is vital that our worship, both individually
and as a community, to come before God with repentant hearts. The ideas of humility, submission and
surrender before God did not go out of fashion with the advent of the New
Covenant. Instead, the incredible
act of mercy and unmerited favor poured out upon an undeserving world through
Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary points to the need for worshipers concerned with
honesty and integrity to come to God in meekness and reverence. It is the heart that truly understands
the message of the gospel that comes before the Lord with contrition and
remorse for sin. Only someone who
has yet to grasp the depth of the cross might come before God flippantly or
irreverently. Additionally, it is
the very call of the prophets as the point to the holiness of God that should
redirect our sinful hearts to careful self-examination and repentance. Does this mean that God intends to “rub
our face” in our sinfulness? By no
means! We have been saved in order
that we might glorify him for his mercy and favor! So then, while repentance and remorse are definitely the
starting point for our worship of God, our relationship with him does not stop
there. Instead, it is only when
our hearts are truly humbled and submitted to God that we become bendable to
his will and moldable to his purposes.
It is through continual repentance that we keep from “hardening our
hearts” (Psalm 95) and as we repent and turn toward God, there is “rejoicing in
the presence of the angels.” God
celebrates when we repent, and we celebrate in the light of his mercy and
grace. “This was the driving
message of both the major and minor prophets. It is still God’s message today, and it is a matter of
utmost importance. God so
desperately wants relationship with us.
He wants to dwell with us.
And He wants our worship.
But He will never, ever, ever accept our worship unless and until we examine ourselves,
see our sin in
Technicolor, and confess it to God.”
(Whaley, p. 221)
A prophetic call to holiness and acts of mercy are
essential to the worship-life of individuals and believing communities. This is how we connect the essential
Truth of our faith with action, and letting the “rubber meet the road” in the
areas of faith, worship and compassion.
_______________________________________________
Source
list:
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline, The
Path To Spiritual Growth.
San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins Publishers, 1978.
Whaley, Vernon M. Called to Worship, The Biblical
Foundations of Our Response to God’s Call. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007.
The HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Zondervan Publishing House.
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