Worship in the New Testament is different than worship in the Old Testament. The key difference - Jesus Christ. The Christ event ignited a new covenant between God and His people, along with the launch of the church age. Therefore, worship, from this point on in history, focuses on the relationship between mankind and their Savior.
Be sure to check out the new post each week to see how worship is exposed throughout different books of the New Testament! Click the corresponding buttons below to read other posts within this series:
A little background of the book…
The Book of Romans discusses the gospel - God’s master plan of salvation for the world through grace, righteousness, and faith. Written as a letter by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome, Romans displays the core foundation of the entire Christian faith and points believers to a life of genuine worship. Three of the main points that I want us to focus on from this book are our calling of worship, a life driven on faith, and the worship displayed through action. Lets dive in!
Without excuse…
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” - Romans 1:18
While the Apostle Paul is using this scripture to describe God’s wrath against mankind in their wickedness, the focus of worship cannot be missed. As mentioned in verse 18, the greatness of God has been made known to mankind since the beginning of time - this calls for a natural response of worship! Therefore, the church is just as much called to worship God today as the believers who Apostle Paul was reaching out to in this book (which is approximately 56-57 A.D., by the way).
Believe - HAVE FAITH
If God’s qualities have been made known to us, our lives should be driven by faith. In fact, faith is a consistent theme throughout the entire book of Romans, almost as if Paul was wanting us to grasp the concept and importance of it… Oh wait, that’s exactly what he was doing!
From Romans 1-4, Paul discusses how we are all saved by faith. Then, in Romans 5, Paul “presents to us Jesus Christ, the object of our faith and declares to us that the benefits of salvation are totally the result of His righteous sacrifice as our representative head. The implication of chapter 5 is that faith is only as good as its object.”[1]
So, why is Christian faith so important and different than any other faith? It is because of the God we worship! We worship an AWESOME, ALL-POWERFUL, and JUST God! Faith is our way of declaring that we genuinely believe in the object of our worship! Bottom line is… Faith is crucial in order to receive salvation and a never-ending relationship with God.
You will notice that faith plays a key role in not only Romans but almost all of the New Testament books. You will see the theme of “have faith” continued throughout this series.
Living Sacrifice (Romans 12)
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
As believers, it is our calling to live a life set on glorifying God in every aspect of our lives. Therefore, our spiritual act of worship is to deny being a part of wickedness in this world and to seek after/reflect on God’s glory and righteousness. John Piper writes:
“Our spiritual worship is to come to God each day and say: "O God, there is nothing that I want more than to approve what is most worthy, and value what is most valuable, and treasure what is most precious and admire what is most beautiful and hate what is most evil and abhor what is most ugly. I reckon myself dead to all that is unspiritual and worldly and deadening to my soul. Renew me, O my God. Awaken spiritual capacities of right assessment." And then we say, "And take me, body and soul, and make me the instrument of your glory in the world. Let the renewal you are working from within show on the outside. This is my spiritual worship. To show the world that you are my all-satisfying treasure.”[2]
Challenge:
- Be transformed; renew your mind so that your only desire is for God and God alone.
- Worship God with your life. Let your life reflect the glory of God in EVERY aspect!
- Study the book of Romans. This book is enriched with direction, instruction, and hope for those of the faith. This book lays out the foundations on which the Christian faith is set and explains why a life of faith and worship is important for every believer. Read it. Study it. Live it.
Thanks for reading!
God Bless!
David Conley
Recommended Track of the Week: "Unashamed" by Building 429