The Danger of Worship, Part III: Worship As Sanctification

The fundamenatl question of the Christian life has to be, “how can I be more like Jesus?” It’s a simple question, but one that we struggle so much with to accomplish. How do we put to death our sin? How do we conform more to his image and character? The answer to this question can, I believe, be found in our present discussion of worship. If we become like what we worship, then when we worship Jesus we will, inevitably, become like him. So, then, worship is our sanctification.

A particular passage that makes this abundantly clear is found in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. Here we have Paul’s description of a people who left paganism and turned to worship the one true living God. The text reads:

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

There are two very important verbs in this sentence that will illustrate how worship is our sanctification. The first verb is “epistrephein” or “turn around.” This verb carries with it the technical sense of total reorientation of the life involving the abandoning of idolatry and the worship of the living God. This is really what we mean when we speak of repentance, isn’t it? We do not believe that repentance is simply an uttering of words but it is a turn away from sin, a reorientation of our lives for God’s glory.

The Second verb is translated there as “serve.” In the Greek the word is “douleuein.” It was a very strong word in ancient cultures. It conveyed the notion of total dependence and obedience without any right of personal choice, and was, therefore, not considered a very appropriate word to express one’s service to God, generally speaking. It was the word used to describe slaves. But the Greek Translators of the Old Testament made no hesitation to use this word to describe the “bond-service” due to God. And, in fact, Paul uses this word later on when he calls himself a “bond-servant” of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can understand how this verb would be unappealing to man, can’t we? Especially Westerners with our independence and “can-do” attitudes. This verb offends us and seems to harsh for describing our relation to God. Yet Paul spoke of himself this way. What we can see in this passage is that worship is not an event that takes place within the four walls of a church building between the hours of 10:45 and 12:00 (or whatever time you meet), when we sing songs etc. No worship is what we do with our lives. This is why Paul says that offering your bodies as a living sacrifice is your “spiritual act of worship.” What we do with our lives, our bodies, in our deeds and thoughts is worship (either of Jesus or something else). So the rest of 1 Thessalonians outlines what this “serving God” looks like.

• In 4:3 and 5:18 it is explained as “doing God’s will”
• In 4:1 and 2:4 it is explained as “living so as to please Him in all things”
• In 4:3-12 it looks like avoiding sexual immorality and pursuing brotherly love.
• Chapter 5:16-22 gives the best summary of it in the whole book.

As we strive to worship God with our lives we begin to look more like Jesus, don’t we? Our worship of the Christ is making us more like him every moment of every day as we seek holiness and obedience. When I encounter opression and I strive to worship Jesus in the midst of it then I remember, “Jesus did not retaliate against his persecutors.” When I see the poor and needy and help them, then I remember, “Jesus fed the hungry and cared for the sick.” When I am tempted to love money I remember that Jesus resisted Satan when the devil tempted him to claim a kingdom that was not of God. In each scenario, and millions of others, my worship of Jesus is slowly making me more like him. Of course I am not perfect and even when I want to worship Jesus I screw up and sin regularly. But none the less, as I grow in my faith and devotion to Christ I will more and more be conformed to His likeness, until one day I will be like Him.

The Scriptures testify that as we behold God’s glory we become more like Jesus. One day when we see Jesus fully we will be utterly changed through and through. Paul writes:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

What do you worship? You can know simply by looking in the mirror of your soul. Who do you look like?