March 9, 2014 AM
Acceptable And Unacceptable Worship
(1 Peter 2:5-9)
INTRODUCTION
A. Long ago in Psa 96:9, David asserted, “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before
him, all the earth”
B. True worship ascribes worth to God, is to be done in reverence, is to arise from the heart that is
overflowing with gratitude, is reinforced by godly living, and involves the entire person
C. Worship, like the fragrance in Ex 30:34-38, is formulated by God and is reserved for God alone
1. Worship of the one true God is our soul’s highest occupation - it is our greatest work
2. Thus worship involves giving, not getting
D. There is not a one of us that can say that we don’t need to grow in meaningful and true worship
I. ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP
A. Jesus emphasized the importance of true worship in John 4:20-24 as He conversed with the
Samaritan woman at the well
1. It is significant that Jesus proclaimed this great truth on worship to an individual, and not to
the masses - thus showing the importance of individual responsibility in worship
2. This passage also shows why true worship is so important, because the Almighty is seeking
true worshippers
B. Peter also gives emphasis to true worship in 1 Pet 2:5
1. Christians make up the “spiritual house,” not a physical building
2. And as such we are “an holy priesthood,” thus we have the right and ability to worship God
3. As a priesthood we “offer up spiritual sacrifices”
a. A sacrifice is “an expenditure, the giving or surrender of something precious for the
sake of something else, something that is given up” (Webster)
b. The whole purpose of our being here is that these sacrifices that we offer up are
“acceptable to God” and not to just suit ourselves
4. If you are a true Christian, then true worship is to be the very core of your life
C. When we talk about true worship, that term implies that there is false worship
1. The Bible speaks of vain worship (Matt 15:8-9)
a. Worship that is vain is of no value, it is worthless
b. Why? because it is not done as God has prescribed, but as man dictates
2. The Bible speaks of ignorant worship (Acts 17:22-23)
a. Ignorant worship is worship where we are uninformed
b. Worship involves teaching, but true worship must teach as God has prescribed
3. The Bible speaks of will worship (Col 2:23)
a. The Gnostics believed that salvation came through knowledge, and that matter was
evil; thus, they would punish the body to honor God
b. Will worship is simply a self-styled, self-made religion
D. In reality there are only two kinds of worship: acceptable and true, or unacceptable and false
(OVER)
II. UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP
A. The worship of false gods
1. Sadly this all began way back in the beginning with Cain
a. Cain had refused to worship God properly, he chose not to do it by faith
b. After killing his brother we read the sad commentary of the rest of Cain’s life in Gen
4:16, “And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD”
2. And the story continues in Rom 1:20-23
a. When men reject God, they will worship the false gods they create; whether it is an
idol, entertainment, family, their jobs or themselves
b. Man is going to worship something
3. Man’s false gods generally fall into 2 categories
a. You have earthly, material gods which we place above God in value (Job 31:24-28)
b. The second category is images (cf. Deut 4:14-19)
4. God repeatedly warned Israel against false gods of any kind (Isa 2:6-9)
5. Every religion that does not properly acknowledge God in true worship is idolatrous
B. Worshipping the true God in the wrong form
1. Not only is the right object established in the scriptures, but the right form and manner as well
2. God never told anyone to worship Him, and then give no instruction as to the how (cf. 2 Tim
3:16-17; Ex 32)
C. Worshipping the true God in a self-styled manner
1. In Lev 10:1-2 we have the story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, and priests of Israel
a. They worshipped their way, and thus they did not sanctify God before the people
b. God’s displeasure is seen in sending fire down from Heaven to devour them
2. In 1 Sam 13:8-14 we have the story of King Saul
a. Saul had performed a function, the offering of a burnt offering, that only a priest was to
perform (Saul had no authority to do this)
b. An obedient heart is at the heart of true worship
3. In 2 Sam 6:1-9 we read of a man named Uzzah
a. Uzzah was a Kohathite, one responsible for transporting the Ark of the Covenant
b. He knew God’s instructions concerning the ark, but he took the liberty of trying to
make an exception to God’s law
4. In Matt 15:1-9 we read of the style of worship established by the scribes and Pharisees
a. They had built their own self-styled system of worship, established deep into their own
traditions
b. As worshippers of God we must be able to distinguish between truth and tradition
D. Worshipping the true God with the wrong attitude
1. If we do not have the proper attitudes in worship, we are not offering up true worship (Hos
6:4-7; Mark 7:6 )
2. Just going through the motions is not enough