Romans 12:1 - I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
In my last post, I posed the question, "are we serving (worshipping) God in the manner of reverence and admiration to which we should or are we merely pleasing him in the manner in which we are comfortable?" Today, I want to begin to look at what it means to serve God.
In the Old Testament, worship and service revolved around the sacrificial system. Offerings were made to God at various times for various reasons. However, Jesus brought an end to the sacrificial system by becoming the ultimate sacrifice and the great High Priest and ultimate mediator between God and man, making the system of the Old Testament obsolete. Therefore, in light of the fact that worship and service to God no longer revolved around the sacrificial system, how is the New Testament Church to serve God. I believe that the first part of the answer is found in Romans 12:1.
The first verse of Romans reflects back on the salvation God has bestowed upon both the Gentiles and Jews. In light of all that believers have received, and because of God's mercies, we are to offer back to God our bodies. The word bodies, in this context, refers to the whole person, therefore indicating that genuine commitment to God involves every aspect of a believer's life (Schreiner, 650). You cannot dedicate your spirit to God and not your body, nor can you dedicate your body to God and not your spirit. Our bodies, as sacrifices, that we are to offer to God are described as living, holy, and acceptable to God. By living, Paul is referring to a person's new spiritual state. However, this quality also contrasts with the Old Testament sacrifice in that now, the sacrifice consists of a quality of constant commitment (Dunn,710). Therefore, the quality of the sacrifice to which we offer God is one of constant dedication. We, as a sacrifice to God, are also to be holy, or set apart. This quality refers to the singular devotion to God, forsaking any other. The third attribute of our sacrifice is that we are to be pleasing to God. This quality represents the element of enjoyment that God receives through our sacrifice. He is well-pleased to have our constant and consistent commitment that is given to Him alone. It is this that God sees as our act of service to Him that is thought out and dedicated explicitly to Him (BDAG).
So what does that look like in 2011: To offer our entire lives to God in a way that we are consistently committed, constantly dedicated, and well-pleasing to God? How does that practically play out in our home life, in the workplace, and in our social life? How does that play out within the church?
The Challenge today is to think about how this applies within your own life. How do you show consistent devotion in each of your realms of influence so that God might be well-pleased with your worship?
You Are Becoming... So Who Are You Becoming?
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Daily Challenge - July 06 - Have We No Reverence?
Hebrews 12:28-29 - Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
The book of Hebrews delicately balances how Christians should approach God, given their new status in Christ. The author understood the Old Testament well and quoted it often throughout the book. Throughout the OT, God was seen as a God of justice and holiness, who must be approached at certain times and under certain conditions. As the author so eloquently states, Jesus Christ makes our relationship with God more approachable (Hebrews 4:16; 5:9; 6:20; 7:25; 9:14-15). In the Old Testament, man's status with God was one that was under the law, marked by its obligatory and repetitious sacrifices for forgiveness and fellowship. Now, through Christ, our relationship status has changed. We are granted access to God and have become acceptable to Him through the one time sacrifice of Christ. While our status has changed from one that was under the Old Testament law, there are still the elements of faith, obedience, and reverence, in how we approach God because the nature of God is unchanging and He is still deserving all of this because of who He is.
In the immediate context of Hebrews 11:28-29, , the author explains that God will have a final judgment on the earth and that it will ultimately crumble. However, as believers, our promise is that is that we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It is because of this promise that we should respond to God with gratitude. We do this through worship. The term for worship involves more than simply praising God for what He has done. The Greek term actually refers more to an act of service. The manner in which we are to serve God is one of reverence and awe. The first Greek word for "reverence" is a rare word, only used twice in the New Testament, both times being in the book of Hebrews. It is used to indicate a reverent awe that is intended for God alone (BDAG). The second word used of "awe" is a rare Greek word only used in this instance throughout the entire New Testament. The nuance of it is an"emotion of profound respect and reverence for deity" (BDAG). Therefore, the author uses two rare, but similar words, thus emphasizing the profound respect and adoration in which believers are to serve God. This is the type of worship that is pleasing and acceptable to God because by our attitudes, our service to Him service illustrates His uniqueness and divinity. We do this out of gratefulness for what we have been given.
I want to stop here today and simply pose this question: is today's Church meeting this exhortation? Are we serving God in the manner of reverence and admiration to which we should or are we merely praising Him in the manner in which we are comfortable? Are we worshipping God to please Him or rather to please ourselves? Are our actions and attitudes soliciting a response that show that we serve the One True God? Have we embraced the "approachability" of God through Christ so much that we have neglected His holiness?
I plan to examine over the next several posts what serving God in this manner of reverence and awe should look like played out in real life as well as some other discussions relating to the issue.
The Challenge today is to ask yourself: How am I serving God with reverence and awe in a way that glorifies Him alone?
The book of Hebrews delicately balances how Christians should approach God, given their new status in Christ. The author understood the Old Testament well and quoted it often throughout the book. Throughout the OT, God was seen as a God of justice and holiness, who must be approached at certain times and under certain conditions. As the author so eloquently states, Jesus Christ makes our relationship with God more approachable (Hebrews 4:16; 5:9; 6:20; 7:25; 9:14-15). In the Old Testament, man's status with God was one that was under the law, marked by its obligatory and repetitious sacrifices for forgiveness and fellowship. Now, through Christ, our relationship status has changed. We are granted access to God and have become acceptable to Him through the one time sacrifice of Christ. While our status has changed from one that was under the Old Testament law, there are still the elements of faith, obedience, and reverence, in how we approach God because the nature of God is unchanging and He is still deserving all of this because of who He is.
In the immediate context of Hebrews 11:28-29, , the author explains that God will have a final judgment on the earth and that it will ultimately crumble. However, as believers, our promise is that is that we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It is because of this promise that we should respond to God with gratitude. We do this through worship. The term for worship involves more than simply praising God for what He has done. The Greek term actually refers more to an act of service. The manner in which we are to serve God is one of reverence and awe. The first Greek word for "reverence" is a rare word, only used twice in the New Testament, both times being in the book of Hebrews. It is used to indicate a reverent awe that is intended for God alone (BDAG). The second word used of "awe" is a rare Greek word only used in this instance throughout the entire New Testament. The nuance of it is an"emotion of profound respect and reverence for deity" (BDAG). Therefore, the author uses two rare, but similar words, thus emphasizing the profound respect and adoration in which believers are to serve God. This is the type of worship that is pleasing and acceptable to God because by our attitudes, our service to Him service illustrates His uniqueness and divinity. We do this out of gratefulness for what we have been given.
I want to stop here today and simply pose this question: is today's Church meeting this exhortation? Are we serving God in the manner of reverence and admiration to which we should or are we merely praising Him in the manner in which we are comfortable? Are we worshipping God to please Him or rather to please ourselves? Are our actions and attitudes soliciting a response that show that we serve the One True God? Have we embraced the "approachability" of God through Christ so much that we have neglected His holiness?
I plan to examine over the next several posts what serving God in this manner of reverence and awe should look like played out in real life as well as some other discussions relating to the issue.
The Challenge today is to ask yourself: How am I serving God with reverence and awe in a way that glorifies Him alone?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)