Worship is Obedience

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A favorite song in the church I attended as a child was “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” In 1 Peter 2:11,12 we read, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

The person who wrote this song and those who live by it are sadly mistaken. Yes, our eternal home is in Heaven, but our current home is very important to God and should be to us. God created this world. He loves this world. He has us here for His purposes, our own and for those around us. Otherwise, we would be transported to Heaven when we are ‘saved.’

The takeaway from the lyrics for most people was that we really do not belong in this world once we have the hope of heaven as Christians. At the least, we look up and forward rather than here and now. The result is that the people whom God placed here for the time He determined have no vested interest in their time and have no investment in it.  

We begin to understand God’s purposes for us in this life when we are engaged in the world we were created and placed in to make a difference. The purpose is to change ourselves and those around us. They missed the last part of the verse above. When we do the works which God prepared for us before our existence, we bring people to God so they will glorify God by their changed lives and gratitude.

Worship begins with humility and surrender of our entire lives. Our reverence for God leads us to commit our lives to acts of service. Our gratitude for all that God has done for us causes us to share God’s love with everyone.

God gave the Law as a guide and instruction on how we should live. The Law teaches love, justice, mercy, and faithfulness in our relationships with others. Murder, stealing, coveting, and lying are not loving, just, or merciful. God’s Law teaches us to distinguish between good and evil.

The Law is our friend. We should love the Law as David did. He called it honey to his lips. We identify with God in His Law and His grace in equal parts. Today, Christians only talk about grace. The logical conclusion is the abuse of God’s grace and a minimization of our sins.  

We live out the Law in the power of the Holy Spirit as the purpose of our time here. We strive to live a perfect life as Jesus did. He fulfilled the Law as an example for all. For us, the war is within as well as without. Paul revealed his struggle with sinful desires. He called it a war within himself, saying he does the things he knows he should not and does not do the things he should. He compared it to the moth that cannot help but be drawn to the fire that will destroy it. We need the Law as a constant reminder of God’s requirements.

Faith has always been the path to God. People who are faithful and committed to pleasing God are obedient as a result of their correct posture. No one possesses perfect obedience, but the faithful are on the correct path. They are humble, submissive, reverent, and dependent on God. They know the heart of the Law, and it dwells in their hearts.

​Those who do not live this existence deceive themselves into believing God accepts them by default. A prayer does not make you right with God. Church membership or baptism does not make you right with God. God opens a person’s heart and mind to their sinfulness and unworthiness, and then a person right with God fully submits themselves to God continually. We work out our salvation in fear and trembling. We know we are going to fail. The Holy Spirit draws us back to a right relationship with God. The Law is forever before us as our guide.  

I read and study the entire Bible. I look to David’s example as much as I look to Paul’s. The list of good examples in the Hebrew Bible is long, as long as God’s relationship with people has always been. The Law has always been in effect, and faith will always be the goal. The Law was given before Mt. Sinai. Abel brought a better sacrifice because he knew from God, and his faith led him. Noah brought clean and unclean as a known distinction from God, and because his faith led him to do so. Abraham brought his small family out of Ur, and then a larger one out of the Negev because his faith led him to do so. God has always led people and made His Law known to them. He was just in His punishment because He was clear in His Laws.

Faith that leads people to a broken and contrite heart is loving, just, and merciful. Those people love God and love people by living examples of God’s salt and light. They make themselves at home here on Earth as God decreed their time to do so. We look forward to eternity with God, but should live to shine God’s glory on others and draw them to God as well.