When God Rejects Worship
What do you think when you hear the word worship? You might be surprised that not every one will have the same thoughts. The word “worship” literally means, “to kiss toward”. In other words, worship should include actions that show my love and affection to God. While there are those who attempt to worship other things than God, it is He to Whom all worship should be addressed. After being tempted by the devil, Jesus said, “…Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10).
With that being established, it is good for us to notice that God is very specific when it comes to worship. Consider the account of Cain and Abel. Both of those men were sons of Adam and Eve. However, their attempts to worship God were strikingly different. It is written, “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Gen. 4:3-5). The obvious question is why did God accept Abel’s worship and reject Cain’s worship? Thankfully, God gives the answer in His Word. The writer of Hebrews recorded, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh” (Heb. 11:4). While you might not immediately recognize it, the answer is that Abel did what God commanded, and Cain did not. How did I get that from Hebrews 11:4? Notice the following, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Abel offered “by faith”, which means that he had been told by God what to do, and he obeyed. Cain, who likewise could have obeyed God, chose to deviate from what God said. The end result was that God did not accept Cain’s attempt at worship. That should serve as a great lesson to those of us who want to worship God today. We should always worship as God prescribes. If we choose to deviate, like Cain did, then our attempts to worship will be rejected as well.
To further support this truth, let us notice how God reacted to Israel’s attempts to worship during the lifetime of the prophet Amos. Through the prophet, God said, “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols” (Amos 5:21-23). The reason for God’s rejection of their worship was that Israel had not remained faithful to the LORD. Instead, Israel had chosen to live in ways that were evil. Until Israel repented and made things right, God did not want them to attempt to worship. This concept is also found in the New Testament. Jesus said, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:23-24). Again, until things are made right, do not even attempt to worship. God does not want us to go through motions without being sincere and faithful. Which brings us to the next part of our study.
Jesus proclaimed, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). That word “must” is extremely important. For God to accept worship today, there are prescribed aspects that are required. To worship “in spirit” is to worship with the proper attitude and demeanor. Our worship is to be heartfelt/sincere. It cannot be just performing certain acts with no emotion or reverence. To worship “in truth” is to worship according to the Word of God. Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The acts that I perform in worship must be commanded and authorized by God. If we try to worship God in any other way than “in spirit” and “in truth”, then God will do like He did in the past. He will reject our efforts. When we decide to make things right, then God will be accept our worship. I encourage the reader to study the following verses, which will instruct us in how to worship God acceptably (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 1 Thess. 5:17; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 14:15; 2 Tim. 4:2; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Cor. 11:23-34).
~ Corey Barnette