VAIN WORSHIP (Mark 7:7)

In a world of turmoil it is the birthright of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to enjoy the rest and peace of heavenly conditions that ideally prevail in a local N.T. church or assembly. Such a fellowship looks to Scripture as its sole guide and fulfils its divinely appointed role as a centre of true worship, teaching and gospel testimony. This reflects divine intention, the assembly being the appointed sphere of God’s rest for His people, Heb. 4:9 and Psalm 132:14.

However, divine intent is not always realised in gatherings of the saints and in this article we examine the consequence of corporate spiritual failure in relation to worship. The context of Mark 7 tells us that God’s people can lapse into a state of spiritual delusion that assumes all is well, when in reality there is departure from God’s ways. In the case of Israel, conditions were such that they effectively forfeited the right to engage in true worship. Their worship was in vain!

Our concern then is the reality of worship, how we view this holy corporate exercise and the collective fitness of saints to engage in it. Worship should be the prime spiritual exercise of a N.T. assembly, though of course there is a sense in which every spiritual exercise of the gathering is an act of worship. However, the breaking-of-bread or remembrance meeting on the first day of the week should occupy the central place in collective worship, since its prime objective is worship Godward rather than service manward.

The significance of this priestly occasion cannot be overstated, for it represents the highest form of service to which saints can aspire and calls for a corresponding level of spirituality for its proper function. This in turn can only arise from a spiritual environment fostered by godly leadership. The sad decline observed in the quality of worship in our day tells its own story, no less than in the day of the Pharisee.

There seems no doubt that the circumstances of worship have a direct and vital bearing on its reality. The Scribes and Pharisees had for generations presided over a spiritually decadent nation that paid only lip service to the conditions laid down by God for the practice of Judaism. The people had effectively, albeit willingly, been corrupted by the teachings and traditions of men with the result that Judaism as a divinely conceived religious system for worship had virtually ceased to exist. Their leaders had much to answer for.

We are bound to acknowledge that such fleshly activity, teaching and allowing the ways and traditions of men rather than the “commandments of the Lord”, 1 Cor.14:37, is not just a thing of the past. Whilst Judaism maintained an outward appearance, in reality it had lost its divine character and become a manmade institution, Jer.7:1-15. The dire consequence of this degeneration was revealed as the Lord applied to them the prophecy of Isa.29:13. Worship in Judaism was exposed as a sham, an utterly vain exercise.

Thus the worship of God is meaningful only insofar as the system retains its divine character. Judaism had become unfitted for the holy exercise of worship because it was devoid of any real heart exercise toward God, being marked by empty profession. It was merely an outward religious form. What a powerful warning for God’s people today! Those responsible for this spiritually evil state of affairs in the Lord’s day were branded hypocrites, men who had betrayed their stewardship in the things of God while posturing as holy leaders.

These spiritual principles challenge us today as we lay claim to be scripturally based and worship centred. The example of the past is clear, Scripture is teaching that the worship of God is no light thing, no haphazard exercise that can be undertaken on man’s terms; rather it is one that demands holy subjection to God’s revealed ways. There is a manifest need in our day to acknowledge God’s holiness and to recognise that He will not and cannot be worshipped by His people in circumstances that fall short of those He has established. It was for just this reason that God stressed to Moses that all in connection with His house had to be carried out strictly and exactly in accordance with the pattern laid down. There could be no deviation of any kind.

Do we somehow imagine that God’s standards in relation to divine order and procedure have changed in our day? Is it to be assumed that because we operate for God in a day of grace that anything will do so long as it is sincere? Confirmation that this is far from being the case comes from the Lord Himself, “they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth”, John 4:24. It follows that there can be no true worship when the conditions of Mark 7 prevail in a N.T. assembly, no matter who is involved and however apparently godly. Such ‘worship’ is an empty, meaningless charade, which poses the distinct possibility that the Lord’s Day morning meeting could in reality be a meaningless exercise from the divine viewpoint. What is certain is that if human nature is permitted to operate in the gathering rather than the new nature in the power of the Spirit, then the ways of God will be set aside in favour of human expediency, with all that such conduct in the house of God implies, Isa.55:8. In this event the gathering ceases to be God’s assembly for, having usurped divine authority, it then becomes man’s assembly.

Scripture presents the assembly as the ideal environment for the new man and, as “temple of God”, 1 Cor.3:16, it bespeaks God’s holy presence among His people and thus the place of true worship. However, this is effectively the case only when “building of God” and “house of God” conditions apply. As the corporate environment for worship is dependent on these divine features, it is important that we consider them carefully. As “building of God” the assembly is a spiritual edifice comprised of living stones or born-again believers. As “house of God” the assembly is the sphere of divine administration and godly order, actively expressing the N.T. pattern for local churches with God in the midst. When a gathering of saints thus displays these unique characteristics, there is created an environment in which the God of divine revelation can be worshipped in true “temple of God” circumstances. Nothing less will do.

However, a regrettable fact in our day is the marked absence of understanding among saints as to what is meant by the divine pattern for gathering and its attendant principles. Acknowledging this, we set out some examples of departure from divine standards that, in light of Mark 7, would render assembly worship null and void.

For instance, do we accept the known presence of unbaptised believers in the fellowship? Has the assembly adopted the so-called ‘open table’ practice whereby believers from christendom are received to the breaking-of-bread meeting, thus denying the doctrinal basis of fellowship? Is there unjudged moral or spiritual sin in the gathering? Do sisters flout divine authority by attending with heads uncovered or in immodest dress, or take audible part in the gatherings? Is there intrusive human arrangement in the meetings, even the rigging of Bible readings causing the quenching of the Spirit? Does the assembly engage in unholy alliances with christendom and its works, thus denying the truth of separation from spiritual evil? Is there opposition to spiritual truth, even rebellion against clearly defined scriptural teaching? Has the gathering adopted charismatic practices, contrary to sound teaching?

This is by no means an exhaustive listing of failure and departure in these last days but is indicative of how readily we may fall short of required holiness in the house of God.

All such failure is a violation of the divine order for N.T. Churches. Some may ask, are God’s standards really so demanding? Clearly they are and it would be a backward people indeed who imagined that true worship could arise in circumstances similar in principle to those prevailing in Israel’s day. There must of course be a turning away from ungodly ways if meaningful worship is to take place; this is true holiness, believers in willing subjection to the divine pattern. “Be ye holy for I am holy” is the divine call to God’s people. The time is long overdue for many gatherings of the saints to review conditions prevailing in the house of God. Professing assemblies that ride roughshod over divine principles must turn about and bow the knee to divine authority, Scripture, if the collective exercise of worship is to be more than just a religious act that satisfies pious needs manward.

We are called to take heed to the warning of Mark 7, to cleanse the house of God of wayward practice and so restore the right to worship, ensuring that God is not robbed of His rightful due. That is what is at stake, the robbing of God by His saints.