I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Ps 139:14
What is it to worship God? David gives here two reasons to praise God: we were made to fear and wonder at the marvellous hand of God. Another psalmist says: God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him. Ps 89:7. Praise and reverence must accompany worship. I am ashamed to confess that I can't tell you the last time I have had an appropriate amount of reverence when in the house of God. Christ said, "If you love me, keep my commandments". There is no way we can begin to fulfill our duty and obligation to our Creator, if we are unfamiliar with his Law and Instruction.
The first of the Ten Commandments is to have no other gods before the LORD. The second is to not make any graven image to serve or bow down unto. For God is jealous, we must serve God alone. How serious was he? Read for yourself the entire volume of inspiration. God will share his glory with no one. "He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed". Ex 22:20. Israel was destroyed only when idols were mixed with the service of God. Israel was commanded to drive out the inhabitants of the land that God gave them and "Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to thee". Ex 23:32-33. The Church of the New Testament is likewise commanded to be separate from the world, not to compromise with and tolerate the frivolities and amusements that the flesh seeks; because serving the flesh is a snare. How different is that to the wisdom of man?
If I can make no other point, I want to highlight that there is no other priest in the New Testament than Jesus Christ. A priest is one to bears the transgressions and petitions of the people before God; he performs the sacrifice. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: who gave himself to be a ransom for all, to be testified in due time". I Ti 2:5 Paul said he was an apostle to teach about Jesus and point children to the one and only Way to God. "Christ being come an high priest of good things to come...by his own blood he entered in once to the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us...but now once in the end of the world hath he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Heb 9:11-26.
At its core, Idolatry is the love of self and human invention: "Look what we have made". "If thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it". Ex 20:25. The tabernacle where God dwelt with Israel was built with very precise direction, after the pattern shown to Moses in the mount. No deviation from strict obedience can be considered proper worship. God struck down priests who did their own thing in God's tabernacle. God has declared man's righteousnesses as filthy rags, and will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent". Isa 64:6, I Cor 1:19.
That being said, below is a list of habits and doctrines that I believe are idolatrous and therefore shall endeavor to oppose and avoid:
Missing Church meeting for games/ amusement,
Mixing worship with games and amusement at Church,
The doctrine of Free-will, (e.g. the individual is the judge of Christ's sacrifice)
The doctrine of Armianism/Synergism, (e.g. Christ's sacrifice is perfected/applied by our work)
Papacy (e.g. A network of priests are a mediator between the individual and God)
Sacred Images
Seminaries (because it qualifies the ministry with human instrumentation and worldly wisdom)
I am carnal, sold under sin. My flesh is constantly seeking glory and leading me astray even down paths of idolatry daily. Seeing we have these sinful tendencies in our flesh, the Church should therefore be the more adamant to stick to the simple instruction of the Word, and maintain strict separation from the world in order to be a place for worship to the most holy God
What is it to worship God? David gives here two reasons to praise God: we were made to fear and wonder at the marvellous hand of God. Another psalmist says: God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him. Ps 89:7. Praise and reverence must accompany worship. I am ashamed to confess that I can't tell you the last time I have had an appropriate amount of reverence when in the house of God. Christ said, "If you love me, keep my commandments". There is no way we can begin to fulfill our duty and obligation to our Creator, if we are unfamiliar with his Law and Instruction.
The first of the Ten Commandments is to have no other gods before the LORD. The second is to not make any graven image to serve or bow down unto. For God is jealous, we must serve God alone. How serious was he? Read for yourself the entire volume of inspiration. God will share his glory with no one. "He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed". Ex 22:20. Israel was destroyed only when idols were mixed with the service of God. Israel was commanded to drive out the inhabitants of the land that God gave them and "Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to thee". Ex 23:32-33. The Church of the New Testament is likewise commanded to be separate from the world, not to compromise with and tolerate the frivolities and amusements that the flesh seeks; because serving the flesh is a snare. How different is that to the wisdom of man?
If I can make no other point, I want to highlight that there is no other priest in the New Testament than Jesus Christ. A priest is one to bears the transgressions and petitions of the people before God; he performs the sacrifice. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: who gave himself to be a ransom for all, to be testified in due time". I Ti 2:5 Paul said he was an apostle to teach about Jesus and point children to the one and only Way to God. "Christ being come an high priest of good things to come...by his own blood he entered in once to the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us...but now once in the end of the world hath he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Heb 9:11-26.
At its core, Idolatry is the love of self and human invention: "Look what we have made". "If thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it". Ex 20:25. The tabernacle where God dwelt with Israel was built with very precise direction, after the pattern shown to Moses in the mount. No deviation from strict obedience can be considered proper worship. God struck down priests who did their own thing in God's tabernacle. God has declared man's righteousnesses as filthy rags, and will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent". Isa 64:6, I Cor 1:19.
That being said, below is a list of habits and doctrines that I believe are idolatrous and therefore shall endeavor to oppose and avoid:
Missing Church meeting for games/ amusement,
Mixing worship with games and amusement at Church,
The doctrine of Free-will, (e.g. the individual is the judge of Christ's sacrifice)
The doctrine of Armianism/Synergism, (e.g. Christ's sacrifice is perfected/applied by our work)
Papacy (e.g. A network of priests are a mediator between the individual and God)
Sacred Images
Seminaries (because it qualifies the ministry with human instrumentation and worldly wisdom)
I am carnal, sold under sin. My flesh is constantly seeking glory and leading me astray even down paths of idolatry daily. Seeing we have these sinful tendencies in our flesh, the Church should therefore be the more adamant to stick to the simple instruction of the Word, and maintain strict separation from the world in order to be a place for worship to the most holy God
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