The passage before us today is an interesting one. Whenever we hear the word “abomination” we know that there is a certain gravity to the things that are said. The word abomination is a special word that indicates God’s particular hatred of something. It emphasizes a depth of hatred. When something is called an abomination it is to remind us that God loathes this particular thing in a greater fashion. There is a degree of hatred that exceeds God’s normal levels of intensity.
So this passage, by its contrast, is here to help us understand what kind of worship God delights in.
And what I hope that you will come to find is that the only worship that God finds acceptable is which is offered in true faith.
In sum, not all worship is pleasing to god. There is one kind that he delights in and there is another that he finds to be an abomination. And I hope that you will learn that your worship, if it is going to be done aright, requires a heart of faith. This is seen in the first part of our proverb where it says…
I. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination.
First thing we need to do is clarify what kind of sacrifice this is. Rather, to whom this sacrifice is being offered. You could say that here is a wicked person. He’s obviously making a sacrifice to a false God. God hates idolatry, and so it is obvious that any sacrifice that is made to any other supposed deity is an abomination.
So we could say that the worship of an animist is an abomination. Or, the worship of a Muslim is something that God finds detestable. The same goes for a Jehovah’s witness or a Mormon or a Hindu.
We agree that this is a biblical truth and this is something that needs to be expressed in our pluralistic culture. We live in a day where people like to say that all roads lead to God, and it doesn’t matter which deity you worship just so long as you are sincere.
Well, when we look into the Bible we find that this is not the case at all. That kind of mentality is a gross error. The Bible shows us that people are severely punished for directing their worship to any other object, other than the Triune God of the Bible. The Israelites were castigated for their adoration of the Cannanite gods, be they Baal or Molech. Paul dismisses the Roman and Greek pantheons when he talks about people following deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons. All the other religions and life philosophies fall into the category of demonic beliefs.
So in our day and age, where people say that all religions are basically the same, we need to remember that this is not true. God hates it when His worship is given to someone or something else.
But while this may be true, this is not what the passage before us is teaching. Proverbs 15:8 isn’t concerned about blatant idolatry. It is talking the worship that is offered to the true God, but is offered by someone who is wicked.
The passage puts in contrast the sacrifice of the wicked and the prayer of the upright. Both, it would seem, are being offered to the Lord. The only real difference is that the one who offers the prayer is upright and the one who offers the sacrifice is wicked.
So what this is really talking about is someone whose heart is corrupt and has not been softened by the renewing power of the gospel. They are offering worship to the Lord, and not to some other supposed deity. So what you have here is hypocritical worship. A sacrifice that is being offered by someone who may profess to be a Christian, but isn’t one inwardly.
Now, let’s think for a second, why would a wicked person offer worship to God? Why is this even a thing? Well, there’s a couple ways you can look at this. Let me list them briefly.
1. He’s looking to impress someone or get in good with some other person— Some people treat church as a networking opportunity for their business. Or it may be the case like one of my friends. He first started going to church because he was interested in a girl. He knew that the only way he could get a date with her is if he went to church with her.
So some people use worship as a way of gaining something in this world. And that’s wicked. That’s an abomination. God means nothing to them and they profane the worship by their irreligious use of it.
2. Another reason why wicked people worship God is because that’s just what they’ve always done. They’ve just gone to church all their lives. Their parents brought them every day and they grew up with the habit of doing that. A lot of these kinds of people stop going to church, but there are a lot of others who continue with the routine on down to their dying day.
But that’s an abomination too. There is nothing meaningful about the worship. It is basically on the same par as your morning bagel. It’s just part of your routine. There’s no heart in it. God, to this person, is not really esteemed in any real way. Church is primarily a place to meet friends. But it’s mainly just a schedule filler.
3. There’s another reason. This may be the main one here. It is a works based view of church. A wicked person is someone who uses worship as a way to manipulate God. He says, “I sang the song. I offered the sacrifice. I put in my time, my money, and my energy, now You owe me something. You have to bless me because I’ve done my good deed.”
And I think you can probably see how this is a significant provocation—something that rightly deserves the label “an abomination.” In this case, it is far beyond pretending to be in a relationship that you are not really interested in. You are seeking to make God your little pet who does what you want Him to do.
I can bribe my dog with a treat. I can do that because it is just a brute little beast and I am its master. And when an unbeliever thinks that they can treat God like this or make Him indebted to them by virtue of the prayers that they offer or their astute theological knowledge, they are treating God as a dog and trying to play the master. What they are actually doing is trying to be god to God.
That’s why they are going to be highly disappointed on the Day of Judgment. They are going to say, “But Jesus, didn’t we cast out demons in your name? Didn’t we preach in your name? Didn’t we do all kinds of good things? Don’t you remember the miracles we performed or our perfect attendance records? Jesus is going to respond, “Depart from me. I never knew you.”
Think about what Jesus says there. “I never knew you.” Does Jesus mean that he never met the guy or have any recollection of ever creating this person? Of course not. Jesus knows him. Jesus knows everyone. So what does he mean when he says, “I never knew you”? He’s talking about a relationship. Biblical knowledge is relational knowledge. When he says, “I never knew you” he means that he never had any kind of relationship with him.
That’s what sets the second part of our proverb off from the first. That’s the real distinction between the wicked man and the upright man.
I’ll get to that more in a minute. But I want you to recognize this: What this proverb is highlighting is the interrelation of the second and third commandments. The first commandment tells us who we must worship. The second commandment tells us how we must worship. It says you shall not worship God by means of any images. In other words, the worship that God finds acceptable is that which conforms to what God has prescribed in Scripture.
But that only deals with the outward formalities of worship. The third commandment takes worship deeper. It strikes at the heart. It says you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. So the third commandment says, “Sure, you could worship God just as He prescribes, but don’t think that alone will please Him. You can still take God’s name in vain. If your profession of faith is empty—if your heart is not full of reverence for the name of God, then it doesn’t matter whether or not you got all the formalities right. The second commandment is null and void is it is not rightly correlated with the third commandment.”
So you see? The second commandment deals with the form of worship; the third commandment deals with the heart of worship.
This worship, thought it may be rightly offered in every other way, if the heart is not right with God, it is found to be an atrocious thing in the eyes of God. It may meet every other biblical standard: the bull that is offered may not have any defects, every one of the tiniest details regarding the slitting of the throat and draining of the blood may have been meticulously followed, it may be burned exactly according to the prescribed methods God laid out in the Scripture—everything about the way the worship was to be carried out may be adhered perfectly. But if it is offered by someone who is in a state of unbelief, it is absolutely and utterly repugnant to God.
Let me just point out one particular Scripture that verifies this very thing. Let’s all turn in our Bibles to Isaiah 1:10-15. This passage shows us just how much God despises ritualistic worship.
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations-- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
Now, keep in mind all the different kinds of worship that are mentioned here were instituted by God. They were required to offer burn offerings and keep the different festivals. So why was God angry? It was because their hands were full of blood. They were wicked. They were not coming to God with broken hearts, a spirit of faith, or in true repentance. Their worship was nothing more than a puppet show. And that’s why God equated them with Sodom & Gomorrah!
In contrast to the wicked man and his sacrifice, we have the upright man and his prayer. The wicked man’s sacrifice is an abomination, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable. And you understand why, don’t you?
II. The prayer of the upright is acceptable
The prayer of the upright man is acceptable because, for him, it is about the relationship. The prayers that he offers are not little dog treats that seek to get God to do what he wants. Neither is it an empty religious ritual. It is a ritual. It is a religious rite. But it is not an empty one. His prayer is acceptable because through it he seeks actual communion with God. Again, it is about the relationship. That is what is at the core of his worship.
His worship is the chance he has to meet with God and speak with God. It is the opportunity to seek the things of God and (above everything else) the opportunity to enjoy God.
That’s why it is acceptable. That’s why God finds it a delight.
Think about the parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Tax collector. Jesus said that one day a Pharisee and a Tax collector went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee got up and said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, adulterers, the unjust, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
On the other hand, you have this tax collector. He’s a guy who went off in a corner and couldn’t even look up to heaven. He beat his breast and said, “God, forgive me, a sinner.”
Now, which of these two guys’ prayer was accepted by God? When you examine it on the basis of what is said here, you understand that only one of these guys had a real heart of faith. There’s only one man who was interested in the relationship. The Pharisee’s prayer was a works based prayer. It was saying, “Hey God, look at me. Aren’t you proud of me? Don’t I deserve you’re blessing?”
The tax collector’s prayer wasn’t about the relationship. He was grieved that he had broken faith. He was torn up that he had destroyed relationship he had had with the Lord and he wanted to fix it. He wanted the relationship to be mended.
You’ll notice that the tax collector’s worship was not manipulative or empty. It was a religion of the heart. In his prayer he was truly seeking God. He wanted communion with God. And that’s why God found it acceptable.
This is why the upright man comes to worship and offers his sacrifice of praise. It is because it is not about him. It is about God. It is about the reverence that is due to God. It is about the obedience he knows he needs to give to God. It is about growing in his relationship with God and learning how he might better please God.
We might also note that this worship is acceptable because it is worship that is offered in the name of Christ. It is not just the relationship he has, but it is the relationship he has in Christ.
Why is it that a tax collector’s prayer can be accepted? It is only because there is One who perfects his prayer and allows it to come before God.
That’s why this verse is primarily pointing, not to you and the worship that you offer, but to Christ. Christ was the only one who was upright and the only one who truly had the perfect combination of second and third commandments. That’s because Christ was the only one in the history of the world who truly entered into a relationship with the Father. His worship was acceptable because God delighted in his worship.
Think about it. After a long hard day of ministry, what would Jesus sometimes do? He would go off by himself so that he could pray. What he wanted more than sleep was to be with the Father.
The only reason any of our worship can be acceptable is because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and he perfects our prayers and purifies our worship. He acts as our mediator and makes our weak and miserable prayers presentable to the Lord.
That’s why I said at the outset that the only worship that is acceptable to God is worship that is offered in true faith. In faith he not only abides by the commandments that regulate that worship, but he comes with the reverence for God and earnest interest in him. He comes not in his own name, but in the name of Christ who is his only hope of acceptance with God.
Applications:
1. Just because you sit in these seats does not mean that you are right with God or enjoy his favor.
One is a fool to think that bare, outward attendance will by any means obtain God’s favor or put you in his good graces. Hell is filled with church goers. As a matter of fact, if you have not humbled yourself and truly recognized your impoverished place before Christ, your being here today is only making your stay in hell that much more terrible. Your offerings today are an abomination. As you profane the ordinances of God, you heap upon yourself burning coals. God is simply becoming more and more provoked by your profaneness and you will find that the judgment that falls upon you is much greater than he who has never stepped foot in a church before.
Kevin Swanson gives an illustration in his commentary of a boy who sits at the family table. He knows exactly where his birth certificate is or he can point to his officially signed adoption papers. He participates in the meal with the rest of the family. He engages in conversation and he listens to his father when he talks. But on occasion, he takes out a knife and he slashes his brothers and sisters. Or, after dinner, he thinks nothing of sneaking over to his father’s wallet and taking out some cash.
What kind of child is that? He might have the formalities down. He might give the perception of being in relationship to the father & it is all a show. There is no meaningful relationship that really exists; its all a lie. And the child’s pretensions at the table would only inflame the father.
That’s how it is with someone who comes into the church. He may sit at the communion table. He may have the sign of baptism applied to him. He may sing the songs and listen to the Scriptures, but all along he’s has no real interests in the Lord. He may have the show of a relationship, but it is actually a lie. In his heart he is an enemy of God.
If that is the case with you and all your time in church has been nothing but a play acting farce, then you must recognize the terrible state you are in. If you truly want to have eternal life, you must recognize that your heart is not right. You have to give God your heart, not your worship.
2. Attitude is everything
There are many superstitions out there that must be guarded against. The Roman Catholics are like many other heathen religions with their Hail Mary’s and “Our Father’s.” They think that the simple repetition of these prayers will endear them to God and garner extra points with Him. And there are many evangelicals who think that if they walk the aisle or pray a certain prayer that they have done what it takes to obtain eternal life. But none of that is of any effect. None of that matters when the heart continues to be estranged from God.
Attitude is everything when it comes to the Lord. Someone can pray to God, and it could be filled with all kinds of swear words—He could pray, “God, I’m a blankety-blank, blank blank, and I’ve done blankety-blank. And I’m sorry.” I tell you that prayer will be more acceptable to God than someone who sang all the old hymns all his life but yet who never had any interest in Christ.
I’m not saying that we have liberty to disavow right forms of worship, I’m saying that acceptable worship is the one that has the attitude of true faith.
3. Worship is a means of grace
Our worship is not a means of earning God’s grace. Rather it is a means by which we can commune with God. And when we truly seek the face of God, the Lord uses that as a time to strengthen our faith. As you listen to the preaching of God’s word, God will reveal to you his will and make you more inclined to believe and obey it. As you enter into communion with God in prayer, God uses that to empower you to fight against temptation. The sacraments are not just empty memorials, but they are times when the Spirit of God is here to impress upon you the reality of the promises so that you may be more assured of His saving grace.
This then is an interesting way to think of it: The worship of a profane person provokes God and it adds to his damnation. But worship that is offered in true faith will find that it has the opposite effect. God will find it acceptable and he will draw near to him. And when God draws near He renews and sanctifies the believer.
When you come into the presence of the holy, you cannot help but become holy yourself. As you seek the Lord in faith, you will find that he will confirm your faith and build you up in it.
So this passage, by its contrast, is here to help us understand what kind of worship God delights in.
And what I hope that you will come to find is that the only worship that God finds acceptable is which is offered in true faith.
In sum, not all worship is pleasing to god. There is one kind that he delights in and there is another that he finds to be an abomination. And I hope that you will learn that your worship, if it is going to be done aright, requires a heart of faith. This is seen in the first part of our proverb where it says…
I. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination.
First thing we need to do is clarify what kind of sacrifice this is. Rather, to whom this sacrifice is being offered. You could say that here is a wicked person. He’s obviously making a sacrifice to a false God. God hates idolatry, and so it is obvious that any sacrifice that is made to any other supposed deity is an abomination.
So we could say that the worship of an animist is an abomination. Or, the worship of a Muslim is something that God finds detestable. The same goes for a Jehovah’s witness or a Mormon or a Hindu.
We agree that this is a biblical truth and this is something that needs to be expressed in our pluralistic culture. We live in a day where people like to say that all roads lead to God, and it doesn’t matter which deity you worship just so long as you are sincere.
Well, when we look into the Bible we find that this is not the case at all. That kind of mentality is a gross error. The Bible shows us that people are severely punished for directing their worship to any other object, other than the Triune God of the Bible. The Israelites were castigated for their adoration of the Cannanite gods, be they Baal or Molech. Paul dismisses the Roman and Greek pantheons when he talks about people following deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons. All the other religions and life philosophies fall into the category of demonic beliefs.
So in our day and age, where people say that all religions are basically the same, we need to remember that this is not true. God hates it when His worship is given to someone or something else.
But while this may be true, this is not what the passage before us is teaching. Proverbs 15:8 isn’t concerned about blatant idolatry. It is talking the worship that is offered to the true God, but is offered by someone who is wicked.
The passage puts in contrast the sacrifice of the wicked and the prayer of the upright. Both, it would seem, are being offered to the Lord. The only real difference is that the one who offers the prayer is upright and the one who offers the sacrifice is wicked.
So what this is really talking about is someone whose heart is corrupt and has not been softened by the renewing power of the gospel. They are offering worship to the Lord, and not to some other supposed deity. So what you have here is hypocritical worship. A sacrifice that is being offered by someone who may profess to be a Christian, but isn’t one inwardly.
Now, let’s think for a second, why would a wicked person offer worship to God? Why is this even a thing? Well, there’s a couple ways you can look at this. Let me list them briefly.
1. He’s looking to impress someone or get in good with some other person— Some people treat church as a networking opportunity for their business. Or it may be the case like one of my friends. He first started going to church because he was interested in a girl. He knew that the only way he could get a date with her is if he went to church with her.
So some people use worship as a way of gaining something in this world. And that’s wicked. That’s an abomination. God means nothing to them and they profane the worship by their irreligious use of it.
2. Another reason why wicked people worship God is because that’s just what they’ve always done. They’ve just gone to church all their lives. Their parents brought them every day and they grew up with the habit of doing that. A lot of these kinds of people stop going to church, but there are a lot of others who continue with the routine on down to their dying day.
But that’s an abomination too. There is nothing meaningful about the worship. It is basically on the same par as your morning bagel. It’s just part of your routine. There’s no heart in it. God, to this person, is not really esteemed in any real way. Church is primarily a place to meet friends. But it’s mainly just a schedule filler.
3. There’s another reason. This may be the main one here. It is a works based view of church. A wicked person is someone who uses worship as a way to manipulate God. He says, “I sang the song. I offered the sacrifice. I put in my time, my money, and my energy, now You owe me something. You have to bless me because I’ve done my good deed.”
And I think you can probably see how this is a significant provocation—something that rightly deserves the label “an abomination.” In this case, it is far beyond pretending to be in a relationship that you are not really interested in. You are seeking to make God your little pet who does what you want Him to do.
I can bribe my dog with a treat. I can do that because it is just a brute little beast and I am its master. And when an unbeliever thinks that they can treat God like this or make Him indebted to them by virtue of the prayers that they offer or their astute theological knowledge, they are treating God as a dog and trying to play the master. What they are actually doing is trying to be god to God.
That’s why they are going to be highly disappointed on the Day of Judgment. They are going to say, “But Jesus, didn’t we cast out demons in your name? Didn’t we preach in your name? Didn’t we do all kinds of good things? Don’t you remember the miracles we performed or our perfect attendance records? Jesus is going to respond, “Depart from me. I never knew you.”
Think about what Jesus says there. “I never knew you.” Does Jesus mean that he never met the guy or have any recollection of ever creating this person? Of course not. Jesus knows him. Jesus knows everyone. So what does he mean when he says, “I never knew you”? He’s talking about a relationship. Biblical knowledge is relational knowledge. When he says, “I never knew you” he means that he never had any kind of relationship with him.
That’s what sets the second part of our proverb off from the first. That’s the real distinction between the wicked man and the upright man.
I’ll get to that more in a minute. But I want you to recognize this: What this proverb is highlighting is the interrelation of the second and third commandments. The first commandment tells us who we must worship. The second commandment tells us how we must worship. It says you shall not worship God by means of any images. In other words, the worship that God finds acceptable is that which conforms to what God has prescribed in Scripture.
But that only deals with the outward formalities of worship. The third commandment takes worship deeper. It strikes at the heart. It says you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. So the third commandment says, “Sure, you could worship God just as He prescribes, but don’t think that alone will please Him. You can still take God’s name in vain. If your profession of faith is empty—if your heart is not full of reverence for the name of God, then it doesn’t matter whether or not you got all the formalities right. The second commandment is null and void is it is not rightly correlated with the third commandment.”
So you see? The second commandment deals with the form of worship; the third commandment deals with the heart of worship.
This worship, thought it may be rightly offered in every other way, if the heart is not right with God, it is found to be an atrocious thing in the eyes of God. It may meet every other biblical standard: the bull that is offered may not have any defects, every one of the tiniest details regarding the slitting of the throat and draining of the blood may have been meticulously followed, it may be burned exactly according to the prescribed methods God laid out in the Scripture—everything about the way the worship was to be carried out may be adhered perfectly. But if it is offered by someone who is in a state of unbelief, it is absolutely and utterly repugnant to God.
Let me just point out one particular Scripture that verifies this very thing. Let’s all turn in our Bibles to Isaiah 1:10-15. This passage shows us just how much God despises ritualistic worship.
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations-- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
Now, keep in mind all the different kinds of worship that are mentioned here were instituted by God. They were required to offer burn offerings and keep the different festivals. So why was God angry? It was because their hands were full of blood. They were wicked. They were not coming to God with broken hearts, a spirit of faith, or in true repentance. Their worship was nothing more than a puppet show. And that’s why God equated them with Sodom & Gomorrah!
In contrast to the wicked man and his sacrifice, we have the upright man and his prayer. The wicked man’s sacrifice is an abomination, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable. And you understand why, don’t you?
II. The prayer of the upright is acceptable
The prayer of the upright man is acceptable because, for him, it is about the relationship. The prayers that he offers are not little dog treats that seek to get God to do what he wants. Neither is it an empty religious ritual. It is a ritual. It is a religious rite. But it is not an empty one. His prayer is acceptable because through it he seeks actual communion with God. Again, it is about the relationship. That is what is at the core of his worship.
His worship is the chance he has to meet with God and speak with God. It is the opportunity to seek the things of God and (above everything else) the opportunity to enjoy God.
That’s why it is acceptable. That’s why God finds it a delight.
Think about the parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Tax collector. Jesus said that one day a Pharisee and a Tax collector went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee got up and said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, adulterers, the unjust, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
On the other hand, you have this tax collector. He’s a guy who went off in a corner and couldn’t even look up to heaven. He beat his breast and said, “God, forgive me, a sinner.”
Now, which of these two guys’ prayer was accepted by God? When you examine it on the basis of what is said here, you understand that only one of these guys had a real heart of faith. There’s only one man who was interested in the relationship. The Pharisee’s prayer was a works based prayer. It was saying, “Hey God, look at me. Aren’t you proud of me? Don’t I deserve you’re blessing?”
The tax collector’s prayer wasn’t about the relationship. He was grieved that he had broken faith. He was torn up that he had destroyed relationship he had had with the Lord and he wanted to fix it. He wanted the relationship to be mended.
You’ll notice that the tax collector’s worship was not manipulative or empty. It was a religion of the heart. In his prayer he was truly seeking God. He wanted communion with God. And that’s why God found it acceptable.
This is why the upright man comes to worship and offers his sacrifice of praise. It is because it is not about him. It is about God. It is about the reverence that is due to God. It is about the obedience he knows he needs to give to God. It is about growing in his relationship with God and learning how he might better please God.
We might also note that this worship is acceptable because it is worship that is offered in the name of Christ. It is not just the relationship he has, but it is the relationship he has in Christ.
Why is it that a tax collector’s prayer can be accepted? It is only because there is One who perfects his prayer and allows it to come before God.
That’s why this verse is primarily pointing, not to you and the worship that you offer, but to Christ. Christ was the only one who was upright and the only one who truly had the perfect combination of second and third commandments. That’s because Christ was the only one in the history of the world who truly entered into a relationship with the Father. His worship was acceptable because God delighted in his worship.
Think about it. After a long hard day of ministry, what would Jesus sometimes do? He would go off by himself so that he could pray. What he wanted more than sleep was to be with the Father.
The only reason any of our worship can be acceptable is because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and he perfects our prayers and purifies our worship. He acts as our mediator and makes our weak and miserable prayers presentable to the Lord.
That’s why I said at the outset that the only worship that is acceptable to God is worship that is offered in true faith. In faith he not only abides by the commandments that regulate that worship, but he comes with the reverence for God and earnest interest in him. He comes not in his own name, but in the name of Christ who is his only hope of acceptance with God.
Applications:
1. Just because you sit in these seats does not mean that you are right with God or enjoy his favor.
One is a fool to think that bare, outward attendance will by any means obtain God’s favor or put you in his good graces. Hell is filled with church goers. As a matter of fact, if you have not humbled yourself and truly recognized your impoverished place before Christ, your being here today is only making your stay in hell that much more terrible. Your offerings today are an abomination. As you profane the ordinances of God, you heap upon yourself burning coals. God is simply becoming more and more provoked by your profaneness and you will find that the judgment that falls upon you is much greater than he who has never stepped foot in a church before.
Kevin Swanson gives an illustration in his commentary of a boy who sits at the family table. He knows exactly where his birth certificate is or he can point to his officially signed adoption papers. He participates in the meal with the rest of the family. He engages in conversation and he listens to his father when he talks. But on occasion, he takes out a knife and he slashes his brothers and sisters. Or, after dinner, he thinks nothing of sneaking over to his father’s wallet and taking out some cash.
What kind of child is that? He might have the formalities down. He might give the perception of being in relationship to the father & it is all a show. There is no meaningful relationship that really exists; its all a lie. And the child’s pretensions at the table would only inflame the father.
That’s how it is with someone who comes into the church. He may sit at the communion table. He may have the sign of baptism applied to him. He may sing the songs and listen to the Scriptures, but all along he’s has no real interests in the Lord. He may have the show of a relationship, but it is actually a lie. In his heart he is an enemy of God.
If that is the case with you and all your time in church has been nothing but a play acting farce, then you must recognize the terrible state you are in. If you truly want to have eternal life, you must recognize that your heart is not right. You have to give God your heart, not your worship.
2. Attitude is everything
There are many superstitions out there that must be guarded against. The Roman Catholics are like many other heathen religions with their Hail Mary’s and “Our Father’s.” They think that the simple repetition of these prayers will endear them to God and garner extra points with Him. And there are many evangelicals who think that if they walk the aisle or pray a certain prayer that they have done what it takes to obtain eternal life. But none of that is of any effect. None of that matters when the heart continues to be estranged from God.
Attitude is everything when it comes to the Lord. Someone can pray to God, and it could be filled with all kinds of swear words—He could pray, “God, I’m a blankety-blank, blank blank, and I’ve done blankety-blank. And I’m sorry.” I tell you that prayer will be more acceptable to God than someone who sang all the old hymns all his life but yet who never had any interest in Christ.
I’m not saying that we have liberty to disavow right forms of worship, I’m saying that acceptable worship is the one that has the attitude of true faith.
3. Worship is a means of grace
Our worship is not a means of earning God’s grace. Rather it is a means by which we can commune with God. And when we truly seek the face of God, the Lord uses that as a time to strengthen our faith. As you listen to the preaching of God’s word, God will reveal to you his will and make you more inclined to believe and obey it. As you enter into communion with God in prayer, God uses that to empower you to fight against temptation. The sacraments are not just empty memorials, but they are times when the Spirit of God is here to impress upon you the reality of the promises so that you may be more assured of His saving grace.
This then is an interesting way to think of it: The worship of a profane person provokes God and it adds to his damnation. But worship that is offered in true faith will find that it has the opposite effect. God will find it acceptable and he will draw near to him. And when God draws near He renews and sanctifies the believer.
When you come into the presence of the holy, you cannot help but become holy yourself. As you seek the Lord in faith, you will find that he will confirm your faith and build you up in it.