I was reading Hebrews 10 today and was reminded of an amazing truth about worship; namely, that I can't worship.
"Why, Ryan, what ever could you mean by uttering such nonsense?"
Precisely this:
"Where there is forgiveness of these [sins], there is no longer any offering for sin" (Heb. 10:18).
Christian worship is very closely related to Jewish worship. The early church consisted largely of converted Jews who carried much of their cultural practices over to Christianity. The order of their services, the prayers they prayed, the praises they sang, and the language they used were adapted from Jewish tradition. The main difference, and an eternally separating one, was that Christ was the Final Sacrifice for the Christians, while those who remained Jews denied Jesus as the Christ. No longer did the Christians have the demand of the law on their shoulders, for Christ fulfilled the law. No longer did the Christians have to bring their own sacrifices and offerings to the high priest, for Christ died once for all, not only atoning for their sins, but completely forgiving them of their sins. Therefore, "there is no longer any offering for sin." (Read Hebrews 10:1-18.)
Now, think about worship. Think about the language we use when we pray and sing. What's going on in our minds when we worship God? Sadly, our thoughts often focus on "what I can give," "my offering," whether "my sacrifice" is pure enough to be accepted by God. These are very Jewish thoughts, because in them there is no mediator. We worship as if we each have a direct line to God the Father, and that we can please Him. Less often do we acknowledge the work of Christ in our worship. Sure we talk and sing about Jesus dying for us, but how can we have true faith in Christ if we still believe we have something to offer?
The truth is, we have nothing to give to God. All we can do is by the Spirit of faith enter into Christ's sacrifice before the Father. We add nothing to it. After all, God takes no pleasure in our offerings. Only Christ's offering pleases God (Heb. 10:5-10).
"But Ryan, doesn't Hebrews 13 tell us to bring a sacrifice of praise to God?"
Hebrews 13 speaks of the good works that naturally flow out of our faith in Christ. "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Heb. 13:16). This sacrifice of praise is "the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name" (v. 15). Who's name? The Name above all names, Jesus Christ, through whom by the Spirit we are accepted by the Father. (Read Hebrews 13.)
My offering? Sin that brings death.
Christ's offering? Death that brings life.
4 comments
Comment by Sean Carter on July 16, 2007 at 4:22 PM
Excellent post ryan. So, we sometimes see musical worship as if "under the law" rather than those who have seen the law fulfilled in Christ... Something to think about.
Comment by Unknown on July 16, 2007 at 5:48 PM
Great words. Funny how we thrive so much in our culture on the idea of trying to "pay back" or make "an offering" - almost as if to satisfy a deep, dark drive to ultimately be in control of our own future. Thanks for the challenge.
Comment by The Hurley Tribe on July 16, 2007 at 11:20 PM
Very interesting post... first off thank you for the blog. As for this post I must disagree in part. We worship out of a love sick heart for our returning King, our Bridegroom, not to win His affection but in response to His. He chose it this way and I confess I do not understand it, but our Jesus invites us to enter into the worship that has , is, and will ever continue before His throne as the saints, edlers and living creatures and all of heaven cry worthy is the Lamb. The truth is Christ who intercedes takes great joy in our imperfect praise and one day when He returns and establishes His Kingdom forever He will still love our worship.
Be blessed and encouraged.
Comment by Ryan Flanigan on July 17, 2007 at 10:27 AM
Finally, someone states their disagreement. Thank you, Chris, for speaking your heart. I admit when I first heard someone say to me, "It's impossible to worship," I put up a fight. The argument ensued for quite some time. My point here is many-fold, but here are two: 1) Without Christ's mediation, anything we offer to God will not be accepted, no matter how pure it may seem or how imperfect it is, and 2) I wanted to sound a bit extreme and one-sided in this post, so that people like you would challenge it. I agree with you, but let me challenge you even further with my next post: "Calvin on the Offerings of Able and Cain."
Thanks for joining us and sharing your thoughts.