Is Worshipping God Our Primary Life?

Hearing the Call of our Lord in Glory

Howdy!

Of the many things I love about the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechism one of the most important in my mind is the way the authors help us to see the way in which the law of God applies to more than just bare “Don’t do this” pronouncements. There is an elegance and reason to every word found in the Holy Scriptures and none more than what we have in the Ten Commandments. We see in these statutes the beauty of God, His order, and the wisdom of His truth. They are evidences for why it is we should worship Him and alone reserve our obedience unto Him as the only one worthy of such. Regardless of whether one is a “Christian” is almost besides the point. These testimonies are given for every human being made in the image of God, which means everyone. All men are to read the commands and see in them their purpose, the end of their existence, and due to that reality are then to see to it that their lives are grounded and formed by what the Lord reveals therein. So when we get to examining what exactly they promote (and what they deny) we need to make sure that we approach them with the correct mindset. We are receivers of truth, not the determiners of it. As Israel was at the bottom of the mountain looking up as Jehovah wrote His law on the tables and gave them to Moses so to are all humans to come to the Ten Commandments and understand that they are neither up for debate or discussion. This is the way things are, not pragmatically organized for our benefit, though they are beneficial, they provide a description for reality. Disregarding their teaching not only can be described as sin, but foolishness as eating a urinal cake is foolishness, it is self-evidently so.

As we continue to look at the commandments as they are presented to us in the Shorter Catechism let us especially pay attention to what the Lord would have His people to know not only about Him, but the way in which they are a blessing to those to whom God loves in His grace. Not to detract from what I wrote above, but it is important for those who have been saved to see the law in the positive light of the redemption purchased by Christ in His mercy, even when they talk in the negative.

Here are our catechism questions for this week:

Q. 47. What is forbidden in the first commandment?

A. The first commandment forbids the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone.

 Q. 48. What are we specially taught by these words (before me) in the first commandment?

A. These words (before me) in the first commandment teach us, That God, who sees all things, takes notice of and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other god.

Something I noted above is the way in which even when the law is presented in a negative sense there are still positive attributes for life that we can draw from it. There are three things that are related to us in Q.47 that should give us pause in their own way. First of all the first commandment is said to “forbid the denying…” of God. That kind of thing seems pretty obvious, but think a little bit more about what that is actually saying. The LORD is commanding us to not only not deny His existence in word, but in deed as well. Last night at prayer meeting we talked a good bit from Jeremiah 21 about the dangers of Carnal Christianity, the idea that one can be saved and go to Heaven by merely confessing Christ verbally, being baptized, and that’s it. Any attempt to ask for evidence of fruit of that faith is akin to legalism of some type. Yet if you are going to reject the power of the gospel how is that anything different than giving a rebuke to its very substance found in the life-changing teaching of Jesus in John 14 for example? To act as if one can be found in the Lamb’s book of life after not being interested in the things of God is absurd, to put it mildly, which leads us to the second warning.

Worship of God is as natural an act for the believer as putting on pants in the morning. When Christ in Matthew 8 calls disciples He makes it clear that to follow Him is to give up the primacy of worldly things and forsake all and go wherever it is that He leads. To be blunt about it if you are otherwise able to attend to the means of grace on the Lord’s Day (or whenever opportunity arises) and you don’t then the word denial certainly applies. A sheep of Jesus’s pasture runs at the sound of their master’s voice and is filled with joy at His speaking. To be fair it’s almost something that shouldn’t need to be said. Christians worship Christ. That’s who we are and that is what we do. But it needs said, because we need reminded of the importance of it. While there will be many things that will attempt to vie for your attention and time, none should have priority over the comforting peace of worship with our God.

Lastly, the third thing mentioned above is that failing to glorify the Lord is a violation of the 1st Command. Both faith and worship are part of what it means to accomplish this call. Yet, there is more to it than just that. Remember what I have said before about the Law given on Sinai on the tablets of stone. They are prefaced with the Gospel. Everything noted in the “Thou Shalt’s…” follows the reality that God had brought His people out of bondage to slavery in Egypt. He had loved them and heard their cries and provided not just relief, but freedom. Whenever the good news of salvation is preached that is the message. “Christ is dead for you!” is the clarion call of peace, and as our obedience to God is born out of His love for us so to is our desire and center of our being born out of the amazing grace of the cross, the empty tomb, and the risen Lord. As you go about life today remind yourself of the beauty and assurance of what the Savior has done, remember His power, and be sure to order all things so as to give glory to God in His name in the way you do all in thanksgiving for who He is and what He is for you.

Here’s today’s extra bit:

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/ascribing-glory-to-god

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church