God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24 ESV)
Modern churches seem to constantly be in a self-evaluation mode to decide the best ways to meet the needs of the congregation. One popular question is “How can we make worship more meaningful?” There is, however, a fundamental problem with this question. The true worship of God is not discovered by asking how the average Christian feels about a variety of worship approaches or creating a new worship formula. God is worshiped in spirit. It is only through the gospel of Jesus Christ that worship is possible. Worship in spirit includes a spiritual sense of God and spiritual communion with God. True worship is the result of revealed truth. Truth is the reality of God as witnessed by Jesus. Truth begins with God. The Gospel proclaims it and through it God calls men to salvation.
The efforts to impose modern culture on the practice of worshiping a holy God will bring nothing but disappointment and failure. When we impose worldly culture on the worship of God, we also impose characteristics of the fallen world that God is calling us to abandon. We live in the world, but we are not to be of this world. We separate ourselves from worldliness because we hunger for truth and righteousness. If we base our worship practices on popularity instead of scriptural truth, we are not worshipping God at all. Continue reading
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Church, Samuel A. Cain, Samuel at Gilgal, Truth, Worship | Tagged: John 4:24 ESV | 4 Comments »
