Mixed Worship

"I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD… And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham" (Zeph. 1:2,5). God’s people have never been satisfied with worshiping him without mixing that worship with traditions and idolatries contrary to him, and from the preceding scripture we can see that it does not go unnoticed by God, nor will it go unpunished. He emphatically addressed this issue in Hosea, saying; "Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images" (Hos. 10:2). And in Amos: "Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves" (Amos 5:25,26). When the children of Israel grew weary of waiting for Moses to come down from Mt. Sinai, they pressured Aaron to build a golden calf for them to worship. But the most interesting thing is what they said after the calf was finished: "… and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD” (Exd. 32:4,5). The reference list of God’s displeasure with his people’s mixed worship just goes on, but the point is sufficiently confirmed. One of the most significant things that the holy Ghost has taught me over a span of many years, is that nothing ever changes. Ever. Never has, never will until Jesus returns from heaven to set up his millennial reign here on earth with those who have endured faithfully to him and with him. That is why it is rightly said that history repeats itself. God never changes, man never changes, and God’s judgments never change. So the cycle repeats itself as it always has. The history of God’s people certainly is no exception to this rule. That is why the old testament is so relevant. If you want to know where the body of Christ is with God, just read the old testament. Unfortunately it’s all there to see.

God gave Israel his law to live by and also to worship him by. Anything and everything that Israel added to that equation was contrary to the law, and actually subtracted from the law. Jesus addressed that very point: “For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Mat. 15:4-6). Under the new covenant God has given that same law to the body of Christ, but in its true spiritual form rather than in ceremonies and tablets of stone (Jer. 31:31-33; II Cor. 3:3). The holy Spirit of God IS in fact the law of God and his new covenant, and only by and through that Spirit can his people live and worship him in holiness (Heb. 10:14-18). But the body of Christ, like Israel of old has not been satisfied with worshiping God by the simplistic means of the love, and power, and truth of his Spirit (Rom. 5:5; Act 1:8; Jn. 16:13). For some reason, simplicity has just never been enough for God’s people, and now carnal [not spiritual] ceremonies such as water baptism, ‘communion’ services,’ foot washing, etc., are mainstays in the worship of God among his people. The baptism of the Spirit is what Jesus lived, suffered, and died for us to have (Mk. 1:6:7,8; Jn. 1:33; Acts 1:4,5). The holy Ghost baptism is what takes away sin and empowers us to live and worship in the divine love, holiness, and power of God (Rom. 15:16; I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5). Not to mention that it is the only experience that has ever put anyone into the one body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13). And the only doctrine that the Spirit teaches are the things that directly relate to the promotion and development of these spiritual virtues in the lives of believers. The religious additives that God’s people have added to the Spirit have only taken away from the power and effect of that same Spirit in the lives of those who have it (Gal. 5:4). Friends, forsake the vain traditions that the body of Christ has long adopted, and be content with worshiping in God’s love and power. There is no other way that he accepts (Jn. 4:24; Philip. 3:3). Amen.