Our beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible
July 8, 2007 (Sunday) – I sent someone an online greeting card a few months ago. That was a mistake, because somebody latched on to my email address from that little exchange, and I have been receiving a lot of spam. Lately I have been receiving greetings that I never open, because it is so obviously some sort of scam or just plain old spam. “You have received a greeting from..” it starts. Then it might say it’s from “a friend,” “an old schoolmate,” “mate,” etc. Yesterday it said, “You have received a greeting from a worshiper.”
“From a worshiper” may mean it’s from someone who worships the Lord here at our church, or someone who worships the Lord anywhere. It could mean, heaven forbid, that it’s someone who worships me (not likely). It might even mean it’s from someone who worships Satan. It is such an obscure identity that it could mean almost anything. So I moved it to the trash, without opening it. Sometimes that’s the safest thing to do.
If someone asked you, “Are you a worshiper?” how would you answer? If they asked, “Whom or what do you worship?” what would you say?
Jesus had no trouble coming up with the right answer when Satan tried to get Him to fall down and worship. “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve!” was the reply of Jesus. No need to think it through or postpone the answer. The words were right there, on the tip of his tongue, as ready as a drawn sword.
We believe it’s important to worship God, who has revealed Himself to us through the life, ministry, and redemptive work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many people have the idea that if a god exists, he doesn’t really care about how we worship. In their way of thinking, we can think of God as almost anything, and it’s OK. We can worship a “life force,” or a rock, or a tree, or a human being. I actually heard a radio personality say, “Pray to something, anything, a Big Mac if that’s what turns you on.” What all of this seems to be saying is, there is no objective truth — it’s all in your mind. To say that everything is God (pantheism) is to say that there is no God. See how we get off track when we divorce our thoughts from the plain truth about God as revealed in the Bible?
Such blurred views by some emphasize the necessity of some sort of statement of faith by us. Our doctrines are simply statements of what we believe the Bible teaches. We may not agree on some things, but our beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Blessed Book.
Jesus spoke of “the blind leading the blind.” Those who worship a god of their own making and cling to beliefs plucked from thin air, do not believe in the same God we serve. Calling oneself a “worshiper” is insufficient identification.
God has revealed Himself in many ways, but the greatest revelation is in Jesus Christ. To push Jesus aside and try a “do it yourself” religion will not lead you to the truth. It will not get you into Heaven. Jesus is the Way. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31).