What is True Worship?

True Worship

“The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.” -Henry Scougal

Worship is something everyone does whether they realize it or not. The question is never do we worship, the question is what do we worship. Nothing defines a person more than their affections, that is to say, what they love.

Worship also involves knowledge. We can only worship what we know and the accuracy of our knowledge will affect how we view everything.

"Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts; the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern." -Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion

Unfortunately, sin has affected our ability to accurately see and understand God and ourselves. Sin has poisoned every aspect of creation, resulting in the realities of evil, suffering, and death. Sin distorts our relationship with ourselves, others, and with God. "Sin has clouded our view of and interaction with God, ourselves and the world. In this situation worship is impaired, confused and often lost" (Kelly Kapic).

In Deuteronomy 12-13, Moses begins to review and explain important instructions and laws that must be obeyed, for His people to have blessed lives in the promised land. At first glance, they may seem unrelated to our modern world but they reveal the foundational and unchanging truth about how people can rightly worship God.