Worship

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

The writer of Hebrews, in this verse, not only tells Christians what they are going to receive but tells them to be thankful and to worship God in an acceptable manner.  He names reverence and awe as two things necessary for this worship to be acceptable.  From this verse, it logically follows that there must be ways of worship that are not acceptable to God.  Therefore, men should stay away from the unacceptable ways of worship which would be anything that the Bible does not specifically direct man to do.  In short, the worship of God should be done as prescribed by the Bible and not by the whims and imaginations of men.  The Bible says the following when discussing proper worship…. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it (Deuteronomy 12:32).  Therefore, the basic principle concerning worship to God is that it should be done in the manner as prescribed by the Bible with nothing added or nothing removed.  Worship to God can be ineffective and useless as Jesus verified when he quoted the Prophet Isaiah …. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁹They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men (Matthew 15:8-9).  The Westminster Confession of Faith article 21 contains the elements of proper worship that God has instituted in Holy Scriptures.  The churches that have the seeker friendly worship services that are popular today should take care to insure that their worship services are God centered and God friendly.  God does not call worldly principles to the church but rather calls sinners from worldly principles.