Romans 1:18-23 - Guidance In Worship

Romans 1:18-23 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 

Message: Guidance in Worship

Time: Paul wrote to Rome, the city he never visited, from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57. He writes to a church that he believes needed to hear basic Gospel doctrine. The city was a hotbed of sexual immorality and idolatry.

What the Lord is Saying:

It is interesting but most of the arguments in the church are over how God is worshipped. Even going back to the 4th century controversy that Arius of Alexandria brought up that the essence of the Son, namely Jesus Christ, was different from the essence of the Father - this controversy had its basis in worship and whether Jesus would be worshipped like the Father. Later in the reformation, there was the question of whether Mary could be worshipped. 

The argument by Paul in Romans 1 is that worship is a part of every human. He says that in each person God is manifest or revealed and if a person does not honor God, the person will honor something else. This moves into the argument of idolatry which is extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone. I John 5:21 says, "Little children, guard yourselves from idols." The 2nd commandment, Exodus 20:4, "You shall not make yourself an idol." In Jesus' sermon on the mount he says in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters." There is this recurring idea in Scripture that our ultimate worship belongs to God and God alone. I think the difficult part is always trying to figure out that love and admirations are okay, but we must be careful of the intensity of those loves - making sure they don't rise to a level that our love for them not only conflicts with God but what God is asking us to do in His Word. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith makes this known in 21.1. 

But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited to his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.

The basic premise of our message today is to look to God's word for guidance on how we are to worship. We do not need to imagine or devise other methods ourselves, but we are to look to scripture and apply the standards from Scripture. 

Deuteronomy 12:32 - Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it. 

Summary: It is simple and yet remains hard in determining worship today. Start with scripture and let scripture define our ways in worship. 

Promise: We must follow God's prescriptions for worship. We risk offering false worship to God when we do not follow His inspired directions for how to praise Him. 

Prayer: Lord, in my life, I have seen so many different types of worship music and even differences in worship services take place. It is hard to understand for me if I am to be guided by my own personal desires and choices or if there is something wrong in some of these practices. Help me now in this study to think from Your word and to be guided by Your Spirit in worship and how I am to engage in worship of You. I want to be a true worshipper.