What is true worship?

True Worship as a Living Sacrifice

What is True Worship? We're going to answer that question. The Apostle Paul described true worship perfectly in Romans 12, 1 -2. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable or well-pleasing and perfect. This passage contains all the elements of true worship.

First, there is the motivation to worship, the mercies of God. God's mercies are everything He has given to us that we don't deserve. The knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to worship.

Also in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship. Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Presenting our bodies means giving to God all of ourselves, our hearts, minds, hands, thoughts, and attitudes.

Worship by the Renewing of the Mind

But how?

Again, the passage is clear. By the renewing of your mind. We renew our minds daily by cleansing them of the world's wisdom and replacing it with true wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed and cleansed minds, not with our emotions.

Emotions are wonderful things, but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in truth, they can be destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will follows, and so do the emotions.

1 Corinthians 2 .16 tells us we have the mind of Christ, not the emotions of Christ. There is only one way to renew our minds, and that is by the Word of God. It is the truth. To know, believe, to hold convictions about, and to love the truth will naturally result in true spiritual worship.

It is conviction followed by affection in response to truth, not to any external stimuli, including music. Music, as such, has nothing to do with worship. Music can't produce worship, although it certainly can produce emotion.

Music is not the origin of worship, but it can be the expression of it. True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing, and how it looks to other people.

Worship in Spirit and Truth

Focusing on these things misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth. This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word, singing, taking communion, and serving others.

It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place. It's also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. We are not to worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any false gods, or marry the mother of Jesus.

We also should not be worshiping with the expectation of something in return. Worship is done for God, because He deserves it, and for His pleasure alone. True worship is felt inwardly, and then is expressed through our actions.

Obedience, Faith, and God-Centered Praise

Worshipping out of obligation is displeasing to God and completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it. A related example is the story of Cain and Abel. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but God was only pleased with Abel's.

Cain brought the gift out of obligation. Abel, he brought out of faith and admiration for God. True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise, although these things are both good and we are told in the Bible to do them.

True worship is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His word. To do this, we must know God. We cannot be ignorant of Him.

Worship is to glorify and exalt God, to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father. That answers the question, what is true worship? Research this question further on our website, GotQuestions .org.

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