By: Johnny Coggin
Worship is very frequently a legalistic activity (e.g. "You are right with God if you go to church for worship," and, conversely, "You aren't if you don't"). Oh sure, you don't think you're a legalist. I don't generally believe I am either. But I can almost guarantee that we both fall into this kind of false thinking from time to time, if not every single week when gathering with the local church to worship God.
Do you ever have a subtle sense that God is pleased with you because you were just worshiping so deeply? Or that he is disappointed with you because your heart "wasn't in it" during worship, or perhaps because you were distracted with a wandering mind, lustful thoughts, or judgmental attitudes? I know I feel this way sometimes! And it's utterly unbiblical.
The problem here is a failure to remember and apply the gospel. Yes, even in worship. Heck, especially in worship! Genuine worship must be rooted in the gospel.
Here are a few quotes from a recent article in TableTalk called "The Gospel and Worship." I strongly encourage you to take a moment to read the entire article.
"The gospel takes the natural, worldly view that worship is a person justifying himself by reaching up to God and corrects it with the truth that worship is a person responding to the God who has reached down through the gospel of Jesus Christ.""God made our hearts, and He made them to find their greatest joy and satisfaction in Himself... worship begins with an understanding of the gospel.""We also need the gospel during worship in part because of the sins we commit in worship. We may sing, speak, or pray thoughtlessly or hypocritically in various moments of worship. The application of the gospel to our minds and hearts in worship encourages us that our sins during worship are forgiven and that the Lord receives us even though our worship is imperfect.""The gospel reminds us that our worship, although flawed, is acceptable — not because of what we do or how well we do it, but because of what Christ did for us. He made worshipers out of rebels, and because our worship comes to the Father in Jesus’ name, He sanctifies our worship to make it pleasing to the Father."
Read the full article here.
