God Deserves Worship

by Kevin Rhodes

It is sad how some Christians approach worship. To them worship is some boring ritual that takes place each week in order to appease a distant Deity. They enter; they sit; they stand; they leave. The actions undertaken in between lack purpose to these people because they themselves have little understanding of why they are in the assembly beyond that highly motivating reason of “I’m supposed to be here.”

Rather than approaching worship as an empty ritual, we should bow before the Almighty with the full understanding that God deserves worship. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11). But His deserving worship does not stem from some claim but from His very existence. God deserves worship because of who He is: the omnipotent (Ps. 66:3), omniscient (Ps. 139:1-6), omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12) Creator (Gen. 1:1). He deserves worship because of what He has done: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). God’s seeking of true worshippers is not the action of some arrogant, self-absorbed being. Instead, Jehovah searches the masses for those who recognize exactly how loving and how giving He has always been (Rom. 5:8-9).

Worship is an expression of our reverence for God based upon our growing knowledge and appreciation for Him. “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him” (Ps. 89:7). Reverence is that inner respect and awe that swells up within us when we reflect upon God’s grandeur—placed in evidence by His creation, His revelation, and His redemptive plan. Our regular contemplation of these things should come out through the expression of worship in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24). Therefore, emotion is part of the worship expression but not the foundation for it. God most certainly wants His people to be emotional about their faith and their relationship with their God; however, He also designates that an understanding of His will precedes faith (Rom. 10:17) and that reasoned faith in Christ should precede and direct our emotions (2 Cor. 5:14). God never intended for worship to become a highly-charged, emotional pep rally or concert. To the contrary, He has always desired worship conducted in reverence (Heb. 13:15), according to His will (Mt. 26:39), filled with the heart (Mt. 22:39) of a person fully committed to righteousness and holiness in life (Eph. 4:24).

Many people clamor for louder music, a more visible role, or a more “contemporary style.” But when we approach God with reverence, temporary style is lost in eternal glory, a visible role becomes meaningless before the invisible God, and a quiet hymn sung together is far more stirring than the beat of a drum. True worship drops the artificial in favor of the truly spiritual. ›