Christ’s Lessons on Worship

Jesus’ actions and words recorded in John 2:12-17 are instructive of how one should regard the worship of God.

John 2:12-17
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. 13 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

After attending the marriage in Cana, where He performed His first miracle, Jesus travelled through Capernaum and arrived in Jerusalem to participate in the Passover feast. While He was in Jerusalem, He came to the Temple. As Jesus entered the Temple, He was greatly displeased with the unholy activities and improper worship of God that were going on there. So He acted swiftly to dispel the evil doers out of the place of worship.

This record of Christ’s cleansing of the Temple is very instructive of how we ought to prepare to render acceptable worship of God.

Christ’s High Regard for the Worship of God

According to verse 13, it was time for the Jewish Passover. During this season, people would normally go up to Jerusalem to worship God Almighty in the Temple.

The Passover was celebrated to commemorate God’s miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians and their emperor, Pharaoh. It was commanded by God through Moses that Israel must observe the Passover. It was also known as the feast of unleavened bread (Exodus 23:14-17; Numbers 9:1-5). The Passover thus became one of the greatest celebrations of worship among the Jews.

Jesus showed great respect for this festival as it was commanded in the Old Testament. Having great regard for this season of worship, He went up to Jerusalem from Capernaum, though it was a very long journey.

The Lord Jesus is our supreme example in all aspects of life, even in the matter of worship and service of God. Like our Lord, we must worship God on the appointed day (the Lord’s day) and be zealous in the activities of the Church.

The writer of Hebrews exhorts us in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Christians must not neglect worship and church activities, but must regard them as essential activities.

Christ’s High Expectation of the Worship of God

When Jesus entered the Temple, it was filled with animals and birds on sale. In verse 14, we read, “And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.” Those were to be sold to the worshippers who came from distant lands without animals for sacrifice.

There were also money changers. We understand from Jewish history books, like the "Antiquities of the Jews" by Josephus, that every adult Jew was required to pay a Temple tax of half a shekel. The Jews in Palestine were allowed to pay in their own villages. But the Jews who came from outside Palestine had to make their payment in the Temple. Their Roman or other coins had to be exchanged at the Temple for the shekel, the Jewish coin.

Though there seems to be a legitimate reason for such a transaction, they were doing it with no regard for God’s house. They were making the Temple grounds a place of merchandise. Their motive and attitude were not of an acceptable spirit before the Lord. That’s why Jesus said, "Make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise." In fact, during another similar Temple purification towards the end of Christ’s ministry, Jesus said to them that they "have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13).

The so-called ‘services’ had become a means of exploitation. The worshippers had to put up with exorbitant charges. Furthermore, the profits that were supposed to go to the Temple treasury ended up in the pockets of priests, officers and merchants.

John Calvin commenting on this event wrote, "The priests misused the merchandise for their own gain and avarice, and such a mockery of God was unendurable. Again whatever excuse men may plead, so soon as they depart, however slightly, from God’s command they are blameworthy and need correcting."

The covetous spirit existed in the Temple has compelled Jesus to drive away the animals, birds and the merchants with a ‘scourge’ that He made out of small cords that would have been used to bind the animals.

Here are some Scripture portions to show how we should worship the Lord:

1 Chronicles 16:29 - Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 29:2 - Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 96:9 - O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

Psalm 5:7 - But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

Jesus’ action of forcefully driving them away was an act of His divine authority. How could He have done it alone against so many of the merchants and officers of the Temple if He was not a divine Person? In a normal case, no man could have achieved it alone. The fact that no one could resist Him speaks aloud of the greatness of His holy zeal and power. The Lord Jesus by His act of purging the Temple not only established His divine authority but also proved the righteousness of His person.

He also referred to God as "My Father" to authenticate His right to cleanse the Temple. The Jews knew only the Messiah (the Second Person of the Trinity) can make such a claim (see John 5:17-18). Claiming the Temple as His Father’s house was a declaration of His deity and His authority over the officers and priests of the Temple who allowed the merchandise to be brought into the Temple.

Being the holy God, the Lord Jesus expects great devotion and purity of heart from all those who worship Him. Our Lord is not interested in extravagant and glamorous ways of worship that leave the principles, purity and truth of His Word. When we come before the Lord, we must come with a sincere desire to serve Him out of a pure heart. Without true repentance and commitment to holiness, we cannot please Him. We may bring big gifts, we may sing melodiously, we may exhibit a form of piety, but if our hearts are covetous, dishonest and lustful, then all appearances of worship will be counted unworthy by the Lord.

Jesus once told the Jews why He refused their worship. Mark 7:6-9 – “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” Jesus identified their worship as ‘vain’ or useless.

In Jesus’ action of the cleansing of the Temple, we see His fiery zeal for the preservation of the holy worship. The disciples remembered the Old Testament passage that says, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." These words are from David’s prediction of Christ in Psalm 69. It is part of verse 9 of that psalm where the zeal of the Messiah in the things of God is described - "For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me." When we approach the Lord’s presence in an unholy and careless manner, it is viewed by the Lord as a reproach against God. It is a great sin to worship the Lord with unclean hearts and impure motives.

Let us be watchful of the reasons why we go to church. What motivates you to join in an area of service in the church? If it is any reason other than serving the Lord with a holy heart, then we reproach His holy name. Thus it will become an occasion for God’s fiery purification to begin in us. So let us go before Him with fear and holy devotion.

Walking with God

Genesis 5:24 tells us that “Enoch walked with God.” Many Christians today find it so difficult to walk consistently with God, even for a single day. But Enoch walked with God for 300 years! A Biblical study of the term “walk” tells us that it is expressive of something more intimate than just taking a walk with God.

Firstly, walking with God suggests that there is no enmity between God and Enoch.

Enemies do not walk together. Amos 3:3 asks, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” The Scriptures in many places assert that the mind of the unconverted is carnal, sinful, and therefore at enmity with God. Romans 8:7 says, “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Thus, walking with God implies that the converted man who walks with God is no longer an enemy of God, but has been reconciled to God through the all-sufficient righteousness and atonement of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus Christ is our peace as well as peacemaker. Romans 5:10 says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Colossians 1:20 says, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” If you have believed on Him, you are justified and you are reconciled to God; and consequently you can walk with God. Jesus Christ brings us to God and helps us to walk with Him.

Secondly, walking with God implies an abiding communion or fellowship with God.

1 John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” So walking with God or in His light would mean having fellowship with God. Such a person would not allow anything to distract him from his communion with God. He keeps his life in tune with God all the time.

We all know that when friends walk together, they would engage in close and interesting conversation. They derive strength and encouragement from their close communication. And this idea is clearly intended in the figure of speech “walk with God”. Every child of God must keep on communing with God. A Christian must draw his pleasure and comforts not from his worldly friends but from his God. He must have constant fellowship with God.
The child of God must have fellowship with God in prayer. He must view the daily seasons of prayer as sweet and wonderful. So the man who walks with God speaks with God – telling Him all his doubts and fears, struggles and sufferings, all his desires and needs. The prayerful Christian will receive God’s kind exhortations and comforting answers in return.

I remember a story told by Charles Spurgeon about a sickly Christian in Scotland who was on his death bed, and visited by a friend who felt very distressed for him. This Christian told his friend, “Could these curtains, or could these walls speak, they would tell you what sweet communion I have had with my God here.” O prayer! Prayer! It brings and keeps God and man together. It raises man up to God, and brings God down to man. If you have been there, you would like to be there again. O believers, keep up your walk with God; pray, and pray without ceasing.

Believers must also maintain their walk with God by reading His Holy Word. “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). We meet our Saviour in this Holy Book, the Bible. There we hear His voice, gentle and sure, guiding and strengthening, comforting and emboldening us for each day’s task.

How can we maintain a Christian walk without having God to speak to us? So God preserved His inspired Word for His people. It shall not pass away for the sake of His people’s blessing. And the royal Psalmist tells us, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). Walking in the light of God’s Word is to walk in His presence.

Thirdly, walking with God is a description of the renewed life of a believer.

The word “walk” is descriptive of the manner in which God’s people ought to walk. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” A man who is united with Christ should not walk like a worldly person. Anyone who desires to walk with God cannot walk with those who have no fellowship with God.

Ephesians 2:2 tells us, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

Ephesians 4:17 – “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.”

Those who walk with the Lord will be characterised by godliness. Consider what the Scripture says about the manner in which Christians ought to walk:

(1) Walk by faith: 2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight).”

(2) Walk according to the Holy Spirit and not according to carnal feelings: Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:4, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

(3) Walk honestly, without hypocrisy: Romans 13:13, “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.” 2 Corinthians 4:2, “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”

(4) Walk in Christ’s love: Ephesians 5:2, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

(5) Walk circumspectly: In Ephesians 5:15, believers are exhorted to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”

A believer who walks with God will be wise to always please Him. One ought to walk with God in the same direction and to the same destination. The man who walks with God must conform to God’s moral character and will. His feelings and aspirations ought to be in accordance with the holy law. He ought to love righteousness and hate iniquity.

The New Testament names Enoch as a man of faith, and comments on his life as one that pleased God. Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Enoch was certainly a remarkable man of faith. When the time came for this extraordinary man of piety to leave the world, God took him suddenly and supernaturally. He was the first of two in the Old Testament who did not see death.

Fourthly, walking with God implies that one is advancing or making progress in his spiritual life.

Walking, in the very first idea of the word, seems to suppose a progressive action or motion. A person who walks, moves and goes forward. So it is with those who walk with God. They will go on “from strength to strength” (Psalm 84:7); they are “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

In the epistle of Jude, we are told that Enoch prophesied about the last days: Jude 14, 15 – “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” What a blessing Enoch received from God to be given a glimpse of the glorious return of Christ with His saints in the end-times!

It certainly pays to walk with God. And only those who walk with Him below will walk with Him above. The Lord took Enoch into His presence without letting him see death. That is a very great honour indeed!

A Serious Error of Preachers: Not Exposing Error

We have no shortage of “evangelical” pastors and preachers who preach biblical and helpful messages. But, in modern days, one erroneous trend is increasingly found among such preachers. The error is not that they outrightly teach false doctrines, but they do not preach truth explicitly so as to uncover the widespread sinful and worldly habits in their congregations or the apostasy and compromise in the modern Christian world.

A great number of preachers of our times prefer to leave the errors and evils among their flocks untouched in their preaching. Though they preach that repentance is a necessity, they will not rebuke immodesty, carnality and materialism in their congregations. They are only concerned about giving cosmetic beauty to their preaching. Their preaching seldom goes beyond surface; it hardly touches the raw nerve of the people’s conscience.

Why don’t preachers expose error?

Popularity
Whenever a preacher stands up and preaches, he does so with the hope that his voice will be heard and that his message will be received in full by the congregants. Herein lies the danger. When people’s opinion becomes predominant in the mind of the preacher, he seeks to cater to their pleasure rather than preach the will of God in its entirety, which is expected of him. The ultimate duty of every preacher is not to please the crowd but God. The preacher who is a manpleaser is an entertainer, not a servant of the Lord, neither a faithful minister of His Word.

Another problem of a preacher who is preoccupied with the acceptance of the people is that he will be constantly under an irresistible pressure not to apply the truth of God’s Word in a
way that would unsettle the “comfort” of the errant ones. A popularity conscious preacher will be silent even when he is aware of unrestrained sinful ways of his congregants. Such a man will rather cherish the comfortable relationship that he enjoys with the congregants than the holiness and glory of God. He feels more at ease with the abominable ways of men and
women of his congregation than with uneasiness resulting from bold rebuke of their immodest, carnal, materialistic ways. So he develops a style of preaching which appears to be biblical and yet without full, appropriate and necessary application of God’s Word into the lives of his hearers.

Pragmatism
Pragmatism is the mindset and principle which engages those who pursue fame and recognition. It is the notion that meaning or worth is determined by practical consequences.
Where pragmatism reigns, only visibly productive ideas and practices are pursued. All else, even biblical principles, are considered secondary. Pragmatism pushes aside holiness, faithfulness and the fear of God from its primacy in preaching and replaces it with bigger crowds, human appeasement, more money, more glamour, etc.

In so far as preachers, and their preaching, ministry and life are concerned, the present pragmatism of modern Christianity is at odds with Scripture. It is leading preachers away from being admonishers of sin and false doctrines to being their accommodators. The pragmatism’s road to popularity is too often paved with deception and lined with vagueness. The sign posts on such a highway to acceptance are always indistinct. Pragmatic pastors are leading their flocks into puddles of sin and devil’s pastures. This has become an acceptable way of life for those on the way to the top of the ladder of success in the business of entertainment. The world thinks little of using improper manoeuvres to gain its goals. A vast number of people have obviously determined that morality is no longer a needed asset in the social, political and spiritual fields. Immodesty and immoral lives are quietly overlooked.

Smooth-sounding professionalism of pastoral preaching largely turns a blind eye to apostasy and compromise. More and more preachers and churches are toning down and paring down their messages. Once in a while, this will be hinted at, but it will not be dealt with in a plain manner.

None of these should surprise us. The Spirit of God already cautioned us in His Word: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

Personal Pleasure and Gain

To offend listeners means loss of income and influence. So pragmatic ideology of modern preachers has filled many church pulpits with “dumb dogs”, who refuse to bark and alert men of the spiritual calamities that encircle them. Pragmatism has produced a breed of “greedy dogs” who rather remain silent for their own gain, even at the expense of the souls placed under their guard.

This reality of modern preachers reminds us of Paul’s words, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Timothy 6:3-5).

The Lord also spoke of such pastors in Isaiah 56, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant” (vv. 10-12).

As Isaiah said, one of the reasons for the silence of many pastors in the face of increasing sinfulness in their congregation is their own love for sinful pleasures, such as wine drinking, immorality and worldliness.

Exposing Error: Is It Worthwhile?
Exposing error is a very unpopular work. Objection is often raised even by some who are sound in the faith - regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. But from every Scriptural standpoint, it is most worthwhile. Proverbs 24:25, affirms, “But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.” A wise pastor will rebuke the sins of his congregation, and a wise congregation will gladly receive it with submission and obedience for its own blessing.

When a godly pastor or elder or a brother or a sister points out your errors, you ought to be thankful rather than resentful. Psalm 141:5 says, “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.” You should not go against the loving act of the one who rebukes you. Neither should you smear his or her good intention with false accusations and with your own false self-exaltation. The Scripture says such angry responses belong to the scornful and the foolish ones. “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee” (Proverbs 9:8).

God’s Word says, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” (Proverbs 27:5). And the next verse reiterates, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” It is the duty of every loving pastor to rebuke and correct his flock, even if it would cause some form of emotional hurt to the offender. If rebuke is necessitated by sin or a doctrinal error, then godly love demands the intense rebuke of it. Unfortunately, today, rebuke is much rather the neglected duty of love. (I do not advocate harsh treatment of an errant brother – cf. Galatians 6:1- 2; though I fully agree that a church should take biblical disciplinary actions against unrepentant men and women in its congregation – cf. Matthew 18:15-20.)

At this juncture, I would like to bring to my readers’ attention the words of a famous godly preacher of yesteryears, A. H. Ironside (1876–1951), “Error is like leaven of which we read, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’ Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.”

I end this article with the advice of the Apostle Paul to all preachers, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). He advised Titus concerning some malicious men, who infiltrated the church, “whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:11-13).