"What is true worship?"
Answer: The apostle Paul described
true worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of
worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that
which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”
This
passage contains all the elements of true worship. First, there is the
motivation to worship: “the mercies of God.” God’s mercies are
everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal love, eternal
grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith,
comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory,
righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation,
justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more. The
knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to
pour forth praise and thanksgiving—in other words, worship!
Also
in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship: “present
your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” Presenting our bodies means
giving to God all of ourselves. The reference to our bodies here means
all our human faculties, all of our humanness—our hearts, minds, hands,
thoughts, attitudes—are to be presented to God. In other words, we are
to give up control of these things and turn them over to Him, just as a
literal sacrifice was given totally to God on the altar. But how? Again,
the passage is clear: “by the renewing of your mind.” We renew our
minds daily by cleansing them of the world’s “wisdom” and replacing it
with true wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed
and cleansed minds, not with our emotions. Emotions are wonderful
things, but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in Truth, they
can be destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will
follows, and so do the emotions. First Corinthians 2:16 tells us we
have “the mind of Christ,” not the emotions of Christ.
There is
only one way to renew our minds, and that is by the Word of God. It is
the truth, the knowledge of the Word of God, which is to say the
knowledge of the mercies of God, and we’re back where we began. To know
the truth, to believe the truth, to hold convictions about the truth,
and to love the truth will naturally result in true spiritual worship.
It is conviction followed by affection, affection that is a response to
truth, not to any external stimuli, including music. Music as such has
nothing to do with worship. Music can’t produce worship, although it
certainly can produce emotion. Music is not the origin of worship, but
it can be the expression of it. Do not look to music to induce your
worship; look to music as simply an expression of that which is induced
by a heart that is rapt by the mercies of God, obedient to His commands.
True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in
where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and
how their worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things misses
the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in
spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart
and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's
Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and
serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when
the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.
It’s
also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. Only He
is worthy and not any of His servants (Revelation 19:10). We are not to
worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any false gods, or Mary, the
mother of Jesus. We also should not be worshiping for the expectation of
something in return, such as a miraculous healing. Worship is done for
God—because He deserves it—and for His pleasure alone. Worship can be
public praise to God (Psalm 22:22; 35:18) in a congregational setting,
where we can proclaim through prayer and praise our adoration and
thankfulness to Him and what He has done for us. True worship is felt
inwardly and then is expressed through our actions. "Worshiping" out of
obligation is displeasing to God and is completely in vain. He can see
through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it. He demonstrates this in Amos
5:21-24 as He talks about coming judgment. Another example is the story
of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought
gift offerings to the Lord, but God was only pleased with Abel's. Cain
brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from
his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God.
True
worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although
these things are both good, and we are told in the Bible to do them).
True worship is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in
everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience
to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant
of Him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our
loyalty and admiration to our Father. By "Joseph Caroll and the his team
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