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Commentary on "Worship: From Exile to Restoration"
Day 3: Monday, August 29, 2011 - Worshiping the Image
Review
The Lesson reminds us that the final test in the last days is about worship of the true God, as foretold in Revelation 14. The world will be divided into two camps: those who worship the Creator who made heaven and earth, and those who worship the beast and his image. The story of the three Hebrew boys shows us a type of the faithful who will pass that final test. For those boys, the second commandment, which forbids the worshiping idols, was at stake. For those in the last days, the 4th commandment, telling us to worship the Creator, will be the issue. The Sabbath commandment shows us why we should not worship idols, pointing to Yahweh as the Lord of Nature who redeems us.
Observations
We can heartily agree that the test of worship for captive Israel will again confront the church at the end of time. Will we worship the true God, or a false system of worship, personified in the beast and his image? Worshiping the Creator acknowledges his ownership of all creation. The New Testament identifies Yahweh as Jesus Christ, the one by whom, and for whom the universe was created. Generally in Adventist literature, obedience to Sabbath-keeping is the single issue that must ultimately separate true worship from false. We are taught that those who pass this test will be found performing certain activities on the seventh day, such as going to church, and strictly avoiding any church service on Sunday. This will ward off the mark of the beast.
When we look at idolatry throughout the Bible, we see that it is a much deeper issue than merely parking your body in a certain kind of building at a certain time of the week. Worship is not about any specific religious behavior and certainly not about buildings. Worship is personal and spiritual, transcending spaces and times. When the three Hebrew boys stood before the statue on the plain of Dura, it was not the music they disapproved of, the location, or even the person the statue portrayed. What they were forbidden by God to do was show ultimate loyalty, love, and awe to someone other than the person of Yahweh. Bowing down to that image publically displayed misplaced fear and loyalty.
True worship for Christians is all about their loyalty, love and awe of Jesus Christ. In Revelation, the saints are persecuted throughout the ages for their “testimony of Jesus.” All scripture is a testimony about the glory of Jesus, His life, death and resurrection for us (Luke 24:27; 18:3). Scriptures are given to us to bear witness of Him (John 5:39). The seal of out loyalty to Jesus is the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (II Cor. 1:22 and Eph. 1:13,14). Living in us, He establishes Himself as Creator and owner in the most personal way. So in the end times, our loyalty, love, adoration, of our Lord Jesus is our only protection against the Mark of the Beast. What separates the two sides is not a set of worshipful behaviors, then, but the state of our hearts towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and nothing less. You may do any number of things on Sabbath and yet have no Spirit indwelling your heart. The seal of the Spirit, bought by the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ blood, is the only protection from idolatry.
The churches today are rife with idolatry, and the Adventist church is no exception. Evangelicals are questioning Jesus’ divinity and eternal nature, and use scripture to demote Him to a lesser being than Almighty God. They often question God’s sovereignty over their lives and behavior, and doubt scriptural authority. There are many false gospels, such as liberation theology on the Left, and a flag—waving theology on the Right. There are many Adventists who pride themselves in their Sabbath loyalty, and in having “present truth,” yet many of them will bow down to other gods, such as Allah, in a public outreach of solidarity to Muslims on Ramadan. They feel there are enough commonalities between Adventism and Islam to fuse Allah and Yahweh into one god. Thus, pious Christians and Muslims can worship together. They believe it is virtuous to show “respect for other religions” because a sincere, loving heart is what God requires.
Believing on Jesus, loving Him and being loyal to Him, are the only preparation for “the test.” Jesus told us that when God is our Father, we will love Him (John 8:42). To reject Jesus is to reject the Father and all He represents. When we do not believe in Jesus, we won’t hear His voice or see His form, and His word won’t abide in us (John 5:37,38). This may seem harsh and unfair to you, but that is the testimony of Jesus Himself.
Friends, don’t wait for a Sunday law to be enacted before you begin looking for examples of fatal disloyalty to Jesus Christ. We live in a world of idols, inside the churches and outside, and we are being pressured by seduction and threats to pay these idols our respects. Like Daniel’s friends, we too are standing on the plain of Dura, and much beautiful music is now playing. The stakes are just as large: life and death, of the eternal variety. The gold glistens, and there is a fiery furnace of hostile opinion. There is also salvation in no other name anywhere, but in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). He is all you need, and He will walk with you in the fire. He said,
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40
Summary
- True worship is not about particular behaviors in certain times and places, but the love, loyalty, and awe of our Creator and Redeemer.
- Christians are given the seal of God by the Holy Spirit in their hearts when they accept the testimony about Jesus, the Gospel of forgiveness of sins.
- Evangelicals and Adventists alike are practicing idolatry in diminishing the sovereignty of God, denying the Gospel of Christ crucified, and joining with false religions.
- Believing on Jesus is the final and test of loyalty to God there can ever be. Rejecting Jesus is rejecting His Father.
- Today, we too stand before many temptations of false worship, with our lives at stake. Jesus is all we need to walk us through the fire.
Copyright 2011 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised August 29, 2011. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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