Is There Such Thing As False Worship?
Some time ago, I was reading an article by a religious
writer on the subject of worship. In this article, the writer
emphasized how people worship God in many different ways
and avenues. He especially emphasized that as long as a
person is sincere in their worship to God it doesn’t matter
what one does in worship to God. Essentially, then, there is
no such thing as false worship, in so far as action is
concerned. Unfortunately, this is the belief held by many.
But, this is in clear contradiction to the plain words of Jesus
in John 4:24 – “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth.” Note first of all that God is
the object of our worship. The Lord stated how we must
worship God – “in spirit and in truth.” The word “must”
underscores the fact that it is a necessity; it is not optional.
Worshipping God “in spirit” indeed refers to worshipping God
sincerely and rationally. However, this is not all that
constitutes true worship. Jesus said we must worship God
“in truth,” meaning, of course, in harmony and in accordance
with the truth. The truth, according to John 17:17, is the
Word of God. Therefore, we must worship according to God’s
word, respecting His authority (Col. 3:17), not adding to or
taking away from that which has been written (Rev. 22:18-19).
In Matt. 15:9, Jesus stated, “But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Jesus
spoke of “vain” worship. According to Jesus, when one
teaches for doctrines the commandments of men that results
in vain worship.
In Acts 17:23, Paul taught the people of Athens that they
engaged in ignorant worship. The context clearly bears out
that they were truly sincere in their worship, but their
sincerity did not change their ignorant worship into right and
acceptable worship.
The apostle Paul spoke of “will worship” in Col. 2:23.
“Will worship” is worshipping the way I want to worship
without any regard for the will of God. Yes, there is such
thing a false worship. To avoid false worship, one must
worship God in spirit and in truth.