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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
KEEPING HOUSE FOR
THE LORD
Written by H. Frank Fort
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House for the Lord,
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Lesson
#6
Having discussed the internal and external aspects of New Testament worship, in the light of Jn. 4:24, "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth", we shall particularize regarding the specific acts required of the assembled worshippers.
Acceptable worship is susceptible of proof.
Worshippers "may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God" Rom. 12:2, as Paul wrote,
"Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord". There are a number of
factors essential to this proof," Peter wrote to those constituting "a
spiritual house…to offer up spiritual sacrifices" 1
Pet. 2:5.
·
"Acceptable
to God by Jesus Christ" 1 Pet. 2:5
·
"With
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" Heb.
10:22
·
"With
a true heart ": James wrote, "a double minded man is unstable in all
his ways" James 1:8. Therefore,
"in singleness of heart…doing the will of God from the heart" Eph.
6:5,6 must we be found if we expect to "receive of the Lord" Eph.
6:8. Otherwise, "let not that man think that he shall receive anything
of the Lord" James 1:7. Notice
James exhortations to brethren, of whom he said, "Ye ask and receive not,
because ye ask amiss" James 4:3,
then said, "God…giveth grace to the humble" James 4:6 in order that they might "serve" Heb.
12:28, and "be strong" 2
Tim. 2:1, and have "help" Heb.
4:16. Now, that God's people might have this grace, James wrote,
"Submit yourselves unto God…draw nigh to God…cleanse your
hands…purify your hearts…be afflicted and mourn…humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord" James 4:7, 8, 9,
10.
·
"In
full assurance of faith". In this spirit, we are to approach God as
worshippers, but notice the basis of confidence. "Faith". Faith
defines the will of God as to the worship of his people. To approach God in
worship without authority for that which we offer, is sin, for "Whatsoever
is not of faith is sin" Rom. 14:23.
"The faith which was once delivered unto the saints" Jude
3, is inclusive of all God requires of his people, and rests upon the word
of God by which it comes Rom. 10:17.
The "all scripture" is sufficient to the end "that the man of God
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" 2 Tim. 3:17. These, we are "to be careful to maintain" Titus
3:8. To go beyond this is "vain" 1
Cor. 4:6, Matt. 15:9. When Paul
said, "We walk by faith" 2 Cor.
5:7, he meant that we are to walk according to his "commandments" 1
Thess. 4:2. Thus Christ said to those commissioned to preach him,
"Teaching them (the saved) to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you" Matt. 28:20. The presence of the Lord is pledged to this observance.
Thus are the children of God able to (1) "Walk and to please God",
which results in the state said to (2) "abound more and more" 1
Thess. 4:1. The "full assurance of faith" Bests in part upon
offering that, as a worshipper, which God has promised to receive; I say in
part, for the thing offered must be prompted by the proper spirit which brings
us to the third thing
·
"Having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience”. The writer here speaks not of
that which occurred in being saved, but that which is essential to the spirit of
worship. The typical act is seen in Ex.
29:20,21, while an exhortation in the New Testament to this end is found in 2
Cor. 7:1. Paul wrote, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit".
·
"Filthiness
of the…spirit" results in "an evil conscience", and the
cleansing of it will result in the conscience essential to the drawing
"near" to worship, of Heb.
10:22
·
"Filthiness
of the flesh" is the evidence of the fact that the Child of God has not
"brought into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" 2
Cor. 10:5.
Notice
that 2 Cor. 7:1, stands related to
the promise "I will dwell in them and walk in them…I will receive
you" 2 Cor. 6:16,17. Just as Heb.
10:22 stands to the fruitfulness of acceptable worship through the
"assembling of ourselves" of Heb.
10:25. In both cases the same conditions are seen as essential to the divine
acceptance of what the worshippers offer.
·
"Bodies
washed with pure water". This is identical with the result of
2 Cor. 7:1,
when obeyed, to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh".
Now compare, "hearts sprinkled…bodies washed" Heb.
10:22. "Cleanse…from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit" 2
Cor. 7:1. Both aspects of cleansing have been effected wherever men can in
truth say, "We…worship God in the spirit" Phil.
3:3, and "Walk in newness of life" Rom.
6:4. These are able "to serve in newness of spirit" Rom. 7:6, or, as Paul said, "I serve with my spirit" Rom.
1:9. This is on the principle "be ye clean that bear the vessels of the
Lord" Isa. 52:11. It is written:
·
"Let
every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" 2
Tim 2:19. This is essential to being "meet for the Master's use, and
prepared unto every good work" 2 Tim
2:21, Thus with:
·
Cleansed
"spirit" 2 Cor. 7:1
·
Subjected
"body" 1 Cor. 9:27
·
Yielded
"members" Rom. 6:13
we
as "servants to God" have our "fruit unto holiness" Rom.
6:22, for thus we worship in "spirit and in truth" Jn
4:24, and for such worshippers, "The Father seeketh" Jn.
4:23. May each of us determine with the help of God that we shall thus, of
him, be found. "With such sacrifices God is well pleased" Heb.
13:16, and since "without faith it is impossible to please him" Heb.
11:6, then we know that the "sacrifices" defined in God's word are
those we must offer.
It is doubtless clear that there are two kinds of
"sacrifices" required by the Lord from his people, depending on their
spiritual state. Paul referred to two classes among God's people as follows:
·
"Ye
which are spiritual" Gal. 6:1
·
"Ye…yet
carnal…and walk as men" 1 Cor. 3:3.
They
which "are spiritual" are prepared to "offer the sacrifices of
praise to God continually" Heb.
13:15, and are "meet for the Master's use" 2 Tim. 2:21, whether in the restoring Gal. 6:1, "bearing" Gal.
6:2, "exhorting" Heb. 10:
25, comforting 2 Cor. 1:4, in
relation to others, or offering "spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto
God" 1 Pet. 2:5.
while those said to be carnal are able to offer only one kind of sacrifice. To
them, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart"
Ps. 51:17, and when God sees this in the heart of his erring
children, "Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of
righteousness:" Ps. 51:19. The
erring child of God must say, "cleanse me from my sin…renew a right
spirit within me" Ps. 51:2,10,
before God can be "pleased with the sacrifices" Ps. 51:19 which the Christian is required to offer. In the pleasure
of God the Christian praises, and his worship becomes a thing of "life
indeed". In the joy of real worship, the Psalmist said, "One thing
have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and
to inquire in his temple." Ps. 27:4.
If we would "behold the beauty of the Lord", then let us be able to
say, "I have walked in thy truth. I have not sat with vain persons; neither
will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and
will not sit with the wicked. I will wash mine hands in innocence; so will I
compass thine altar, O Lord: that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works. Lord I have loved the habitation of thy
house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth" Ps.
26:3‑8. When his fellowship with God was broken, his song was gone,
his testimony lost, his joy departed; hence the heart‑broken cry of Ps.
32, 51, and such as have known the heights can be consistently dissatisfied
with the depths. When we remember that Paul wrote "unto him, (Christ) be
glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end" Eph.
3:21. We must recognize our responsibility as members of that Church to keep
house for our Lord, so that it will indeed be "an habitation of God" Eph. 2:22. God help us to say, and practice what we say, " I
was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord"
Ps.
122:1.
"Behold how good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" Ps. 133:1. "Let us exhort one another" so to do. Heb.
10:25.
When John wrote his first epistle, one of the
objectives was "that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ" 1
Jn. 1:3. The result of such fellowship, John declared, would be "that
your joy may be full" 1 Jn. 1:4,
joy we know to be of "the fruit of the spirit" Gal.
5:22, evidenced when we "Walk in the Spirit" Gal. 5:25, or "the truth" Eph. 5:9, which the Spirit revealed. Now John, in order that the
children of God might have this joy to the full, wrote, "let us not live in
word, neither in tongue, but indeed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are
of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him" 1
Jn. 3:18,19.
·
When as
worshippers we stand "before him", in the light of his word, and
thereby, "Assure our hearts”, then is our "joy full"
·
The
objective of those in whom such joy dwells will be to “teach transgressors thy
ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee” Ps. 51:13. Let us so do and prove the truth of the Christ who said,
“follow me and I will make you fishers of men” Matt. 4:19
Prepared
by:
H.
Frank Fort, Minister
Berean Baptist Church
Houston TX.
Aug. 14, 1956.
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"