Everett Henes: Reverence and awe

How are Christians to approach God in worship? This is probably one of the least asked questions when it comes to putting together a worship service. We are always concerned about making sure we appeal to more people, and we want to do what we can to attract them in. As we’ve seen, in previous installments of this series, this approach is backward. The one seeking is God, not man. So given this truth, how are we to approach God in worship? I want to consider two things. First, we are to approach God with reverence and awe and, second, that we are to approach him the way he directs in his word.

The first one seems clear to me. If God is who he claims to be, then we are not to approach him in a way that shows irreverence or indifference to his holiness. There are a few instances in the scriptures that come to mind. The first one is in Isaiah 6, when the prophet is carried away to God’s presence. He sees and hears the angels crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” The thresholds shake and Isaiah realizes where he is and he responds. He cries out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Being in the presence of the thrice holy God is a matter of concern. Why? Because Isaiah knows that not just anyone can approach God in any way they want. He knew the history of his people. In Leviticus 10, during a worship service where offerings had been made to the Lord, we read about two priests who decide to approach God in their own way.

“Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.” (Leviticus 10:1) The Lord was not pleased, and even struck them down with fire! What was the problem? They were priests. Nothing indicated that they were doing something God had forbidden them to do. The problem was that the Lord had not commanded them to do it.

Not only is God to be worshiped, but he is to be worshiped according to his command, to his word. This is referred to as the regulative principle of worship. At the heart of this principle lies a deep reverence for the authority and sufficiency of Scripture in matters of faith and practice. Human invention or tradition should not dictate the structure or content of worship.

You might wonder if this still applies in the New Testament. Maybe God had a change of mind. The New Testament reaffirms the importance of worshiping God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Jesus Himself emphasized the primacy of scripture in guiding worship practices when He rebuked the Pharisees for their traditions that nullified the Word of God (Mark 7:1-13). Additionally, the apostle Paul exhorted the Corinthian church to conduct their gatherings in an orderly and edifying manner, guided by apostolic teaching (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).

The reason for this remains the same in the New Testament as it was in the Old Testament. God is holy, and he is concerned for his own worship. This doesn’t limit worship to only one way, or style. On the contrary, worship that is authentic encompasses the gifts and graces of the community. But the driving questions will remain the same: what does it mean to approach God with reverence? What does God’s word command us, concerning the worship of God? It is not a matter of preference, but a matter of trusting that God’s word provides us with all that we need for life and godliness.

That this remains true in the New Testament is seen in the book of Hebrews. In chapter 12, the author lays out his case for how worship now is much greater than it was under the types and shadows of the Old Testament. We receive in fullness what they only had by type and shadow. The author closes, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

— Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Everett Henes: Reverence and awe