— LESSON 5 —
NEW TESTAMENT WORSHIP
In Exodus 3:5, God insisted that Moses show honor in His presence: “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Under the Old Law, disrespecting God could be punished by death, but dishonoring Jesus is even more serious under the New Covenant (Hebrews 10:28-29). As God’s people, we must revere Him and His Son Jesus when we assemble for worship.
THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP
The Apostle Paul laments the fact that man “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator …” (Romans 1:25). Sadly, men have worshiped false gods, angels, other men, and animals. Today, few in America set up statues, temples, and shrines as objects of worship; however, people still make idols of, possessions, activities, and even other people. People worship money, sports, entertainment, sex, and countless other things. We must understand that when we worship anything but God, we worship Satan, the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
God alone is worthy of worship (Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 8:19), and He is justly indignant when men worship created objects! Even though Cornelius had pure motives when he bowed down to Peter, Peter insisted he bow down only before God (Acts 10:25-26). The devil offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him. Jesus responds in Matthew 4:10, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Is there any more grievous sin than offering worship to anything or anyone but God?