Reverence, ritual, and real worship, Part I

In the title of this post, we are pointing out what we will study in the coming days. Have we all noticed that some believers have left their familiar body of Christian brothers and sisters and joined other churches? Of course, there are a wide variety of reasons, but many today are leaving evangelical churches in order to worship in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox churches.  Why?

One reason they often give is that they love the reverence of the worship gathering. They are perhaps not as comfortable with the newer forms of worship; perhaps they prefer a traditional service with hymns and quiet prayer. Another reason given is that they enjoy the old (even ancient) rituals which have been left behind by many of the churches of today. Some have visited an old cathedral and been spiritually moved as they marveled at the beautiful architecture, the art, or the ceremony of the services.

Others watch them go, and shrug, "I don't guess there's any harm. They say they feel close to God, so isn't it just a question of preference?" Some like worship to be casual and some prefer it to be more formal. 
Does it really matter all that much?

The Bible tells us that it can matter!

The gospels show us where religious ritualism can lead. From true, reverent worship to where Jesus clashed with the scribes and Pharisees. For instance, the religious leaders of the day asked our Savior why His disciples did not perform the ritualistic hand washing that the Pharisees' traditions prescribed. The teachings of God included handwashing - this was necessary for personal cleanliness and sanitary food handling. But the Pharisees had added to the teachings of God -- what they added were traditions of man (Mark 7) for the type of vessel, the number of times to rinse, the prayer to be recited, and more!  

But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
 And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8, NASB)

If you'd like to take a few minutes to look it up, there is another confrontation in Luke 11:37-52. Oh, I hear the pages turning.....I'll wait.

OK, you're back! When you read there, you probably counted the six "woes" that Jesus pronounced on the religious leaders. Why? Well, He wasn't being "mean," He was pointing out that their religion was an outward one: it wasn't from the heart. They performed all of their rituals flawlessly, but their hearts were not right with God.

Back in Psalm 50, Asaph is presenting a courtroom drama - not here on earth, but in heaven. God is the Judge and He calls for the witnesses and the defendants. The two charges He makes are these: the defendants have become ritualistic and do not worship Him from the heart, and some are openly rebellious hypocrites. At the end of the psalm, there is a call for both groups to turn back toward God and worship from the heart.

As we read Psalm 50, we will notice many similarities of this courtroom drama with the account of God giving the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai - in Exodus there were mentions of smoke, fire, and earthquakes. 

The setting for the psalm is not Mt. Sinai, but Jerusalem (Zion). But when God appears, there is fire and the "heavens" declare His righteousness, perhaps with thunder and lightning. 

I would like to encourage everyone to re-read Psalm 50 and think about it in our prayer times. Meditate on it. I think we will see that the main message is that when we stand before God, it won't matter if we've performed a certain number or type of rituals. What will matter is whether or not we have worshiped and obeyed our Redeemer from our hearts.