See Leviticus 10:1-3, Numbers 3:4, and Numbers 26:61: Worship has come to be something we feel as music plays in a particular atmosphere. This is easily marketable, which is good if you are in the industry selling music to religious people. It is good to make worship about what a potential customer feels, and not what a thrice-holy God has commanded. Of course, it pleases us to be pleased, and while we might not know much about the theology of worship, we do know what we like.
Wrong Worship in the Bible
The misunderstanding was greatly facilitated by the worship war from the seventies up into the early two-thousands: they are ongoing in isolated skirmishes today. One side of the war wanted the old hymns and Gospel songs, while the other wanted the sounds of contemporary music.
Both sides were contending more for style than substance. I believe that was the real point of the whole affair: to get the churches in America off the substance of worship and onto stylistic preferences. Nobody won the war, except for Satan, because the result was a variety of services to meet the differing preferences of individuals. Essentially, churches, the root word means gathering, were split over taste. So, my taste must be pretty important, right?
Wrong! Worship is about the One being worshipped. If my focus is on my sensation, I am worshipping the sensation and not the Savior. When it comes to worshipping the Savior, everything we do says something about Him and what He has done. The right thing, in the right way, is the only way to worship a holy, holy, holy God.
In John chapter 4, Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria, and during their conversation, she raises the divisive issue of where God is to be worshipped. Jesus gives an answer that upends the paradigm of human religion. Jews and Samaritans had locations for worship rooted in history, tradition, and identity. All of these are set aside in our Lord’s answer.
See John 4:23-24: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
The issues that mattered to the Jews and Samaritans had a lot to do with who they were, but worship is all about who God is. You cannot rightly worship the God you do not know. You cannot know the God you have no relationship with. Jesus was on Earth to usher in the era of worship He was speaking about. He was even in this conversation, revealing the truth of god’s identity.
Our Lord’s primary point in this passage is that God is concerned with the heart of worship. Whatever else the Bible says about worshipping God, we must realize that it is aimed at our hearts. This accomplishes two things: first, it purifies our worship so that it is authentic and acceptable; second, it acts against the sin remaining in our hearts, improving our quality of spiritual life. So, we see that worship is for God’s glory, but for our good.
In demonstrating God’s concern for the heart of His worshippers, we see that there is a definite order in God’s design for worship. Worship is not some vague notion allowing a range of interpretation and expression; it is a well-defined heart attitude leading to particular activity. We do not get to define worship; God already has.
Lord's Library participates in affiliate programs. We may make a small commission from products purchased through this resource.
- Views From a Branch: The True Meaning of Advent & Anticipating the Second Coming - December 19, 2025
- Appreciating God: The Incarnation of Jesus Christ Explained - November 21, 2025
- Views From a Branch: On Christian Contentment & Why God is Enough - November 11, 2025
