When Rachel and I lived in Romania, our mission team decided that we would take 3-4 years to mail an advertisement for Bible study into all 100,000 homes in that city of 350,000 people. On one occasion, we mailed these flyers into a neighborhood of Iasi where college students live. There was a security guard named Constantin who picked up one of those flyers and mailed it in to us. He lived in a village about 15 miles north of Iasi called Podu Iloaiei.
For five or six weeks in a row, I traveled by train up to Podu Illoaiei to study with Mr. Constantin. He was a very pleasant man to visit with. He is married and has at least one daughter. His wife and daughter would not sit in our Bible study; I studied with him through the Jule Miller Bible study series. But, his daughter, in particular would come into the living room when we finished with our study and she would ask me questions. She was in her early 20s at the time, if my memory is correct.
One question she asked me was whether we in the churches of Christ used icons in our worship and if not, why not. It was very typical of people from the Orthodox faith to ask that question of all non-Orthodox people. As I discussed with her, I pointed out that the Bible teaches that we have one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5). And where the Bible speaks, we are obligated to remain silent. She pushed back, as you could imagine, but then I used this illustration that many of you will recognize.
I asked her if we could add sarmale (a Romanian dish of stuffed grape leaves) and Coca-Cola to the Lord’s Supper. She responded with an empatic “no.” I asked her why not. She said because the juice (she said “wine”) and the bread (the Orthodox church actually does not use unleavened bread) were what Jesus used and that’s what He taught us to use.
Now, even though her Bible knowledge was rather shallow, she knew enough to correctly understand that If Jesus commanded something, then anything else is without His authority.
When Jesus was tempted to worship Satan, Jesus responded with words from Deuteronomy 6:13: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matt. 4:10). Jesus also taught in John 4:24 the proper manner in which to worship God: “in spirit and in truth,” which is Jesus’ parallel to Joshua’s words in Joshua 24:14: “in sincerity and truth.” As we studied the first Sunday of this month from Hebrews 1, Jesus Himself is worthy of our worship.
Our worship of God reflects the nature of God. If God were a naturalistic God, man would worship Him through some type of naturalistic rites. If God were a philosophical principle, it could be worshipped through meditation. But because of Who God is, then our worship has to reflect His nature and what He has required of us.
Without going into further detail, the NT reveals to us that our God is approached through five acts of devotion:
1) Prayer. As we pointed out earlier, our prayers are not authorized to be addressed to God through anyone except Jesus Christ.
2) Singing. Our song service is to teach and instruct one another in the doctrines of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
3) Lord’s Supper. This act of religious devotion is uniquely attached to the Lord’s Day and through it, we are reminded weekly of the love of God and His power, His promises, and His provisions.
4) Giving. It is through our giving that we truly show that we love God supremely and that our heart is in His mission for the church of His Son. Giving shows our love and our trust in God’s provisions.
5) Bible study. When we come together to help one another understand God’s message better and then we challenge one another to live according to His teachings, then we show that God is worthy to be obeyed to the ultimate extent.
Put your spirit into your every act of worship, reflecting your love for your Savior, letting your light shine and showing the presence of God in your life.
Paul Holland
