Jesus defined true worship in John 4:23 when He said that the true worshipers would worship God in spirit and in truth. It’s not where you worship that matters; rather it’s who you worship and how you worship that makes the difference.
Popular culture dictates that “all roads lead to Rome.” The world holds the view that you can choose any belief system that suits you and live your life in the manner you deem most convenient and God will accept you just as you are, without expecting any transformation whatsoever. “All roads lead to God,” they say!
This is the one of the most harmful lies propagated by satan in order to prevent people from coming into a relationship with the only one true living God. He uses the same clever rhetoric that deceived Eve in the Edenic paradise to deceive us today! Just as he deceived her into thinking that breaking God’s commands would not lead to death, so he tries to deceive us today into thinking that God is a “wishy-washy” lenient God who will continue to tolerate our idolatry and that if He doesn’t, then he is not worthy of our worship! Satan makes us think that we can strong-arm God into accepting us after we choose to worship false gods and live any way we please.
God gave the Israelites of old an explicit command never to worship false gods and idols or any graven images, yet the first chance they got, they turned their backs on Him to worship a golden calf and ever since then, the world has been in a cycle of idolatry. Some of us believe that there is a God, and rightly so. The Bible records for us that even the demons believe and tremble! Believing is not enough-it’s what you do about it that matters. There are many atheists and evolutionists out there who only cling to their beliefs because just the thought that there is a God out there scares them. If there is a God out there, it means that they are accountable to Him for their actions, how they worship and how they conduct their lives. The world’s refusal to accept God into their lives is sometimes not a problem accepting His existence. History, science, creation and logic scream that that there is a God! Once again, it boils down to our tendency to neglect responsibility and accountability. The world believes that if they ignore God’s existence, maybe they won’t have to be accountable for their actions. They can live a carefree life and still be granted eternal life because God will still love them! They want their proverbial bread buttered both sides. They want to make choices, but not have to live with the consequences.
Don’t you hate it when people don’t call you by your correct name? How much more must God hate it when He is not called by His name which He has clearly revealed to His people! He has given us direction on how to worship Him and how we may be saved from our sins. Jesus Christ is the only way, the only Truth and the only Life! There is no other way to God, except through Him. Who wants to worship a god who is not powerful enough to demand worship on His terms?! We must worship the true living God in the way He directs – anything else is an abomination! If you’re going to worship God, at least worship the True God! There is no middle ground on this decision.
Scripture refs: Ex 32:4, James 2:19, Gen 3:4
[This was a lie. The moment Adam & Eve sinned, they experienced separation from God which started the process of spiritual death, a pre-cursor to physical death which was never part of God's plan for them.]
"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves."-Ex 32:1-7
[They may have declared a feast to the Lord but their method of worship was an abomination in His sight. How you worship DOES matter.Worship is not about the enjoyment of the worshiper but rather it is all about the one who is worshiped.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.-James 2:19
[Even the demons believe that God exists, but they still walk in disobedience. Obedience to God's commands is an act of worship.]
