Truth Magazine

By H.E. Phillips

Worship springs from the heart, and it expresses gratitude, affection and adoration. Cornelius offered such worship to Peter for coming to his home with the word of salvation, but Peter refused it (Acts 10:25). One worships when he feels great gratitude, awe and fear.

Worship means different things to different people. For that reason the majority do not take the time to learn the difference between true worship and false worship. All worship that does not conform to God’s will in all respects is not scriptural worship.

The Worship of Cain and Abel

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and he countenance fell. And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it (Gen. 4:4-7 ASV).

A brief account is given of the sacrifices offered unto Jehovah by the first brothers, Cain and Abel. Details are not given regarding any instruction God gave to these brothers in reference to their sacrifices. However, sufficient evidence is given to determine the contrast in their worship to God. One was accepted and the other rejected. It is pro-per to conclude that the same requirements were given to both of them alike.

Cain brought the “fruit” of the ground for an offering to Jehovah. That outward gift bespeaks of the inward attitude that offered it. God was displeased with Cain’s sacrifice because it was not by faith (Heb. 11:4). The first murder was provoked by attitudes in worship (Gen. 4:3-8). Abel offered the “firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” as an offering to Jehovah. He brought the first and best of his flock. Abel offered his sacrifice by faith, and he obtained witness from God that he was righteous (Heb. 11:4; Matt. 23:35; 1 Jn. 3:12). Faith comes from hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17). Abel’s sacrifice cost him his life because his brother was angered that God did not accept his sacrifice.

What Is Worship?

Worship is an expression of man to his Creator or to some god for adoration, thanksgiving and praise. When man feels gratitude and reverence for his Maker, he seeks some way to express that unto God.

The Greek authorities define the words which are translated “worship” to mean: to make obeisance, do reverence to; to revere, stressing the feeling of awe or devotion; an act of homage or reverence; bowing down to, to honor religiously; to serve, to render religious service or homage; to act piously towards. Henry Thayer says the word for worship is: “to kiss the hand (towards) one, in token of reverence . . . hence in the N.T. by kneeling or prostration to do homage to one or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication” (Thayer 548).

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

Jesus said that those who worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24). In spirit is not enough; in truth is not enough. When one feels in his heart the devotion, praise and reverence for another he must find some method of expressing that feeling. Especially is this so if the object of that devotion is God. The question comes, How shall he express what is in his heart? That is what worship “in spirit and in truth” means.

1. In spirit involves the right attitude. Attitude is essential to scriptural worship. True worship springs from a heart of genuine reverence and respect, with a godly life. God rejected ritual worship void of true devotion. The heart and mind of the worshippers must be involved in the worship or it is rejected (1 Cor. 11:27-30).

Worship must be from a heart filled with true devotion, piety and sincerity, and in obedience to the will of God. Cornelius had this good attitude when he sent for Peter (Acts 10:33). Christ was an example of submission to the Father (Matt. 3:15; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 5:8). Worship is unscriptural when it is contrary to the will of God.

The heart must possess these qualities to have the right attitude: the love of God (1 Jn. 5:3; 2:15; 4:19). Child-like humility is characteristic of the spirit of worship (Matt. 18:4; Jas. 4:6; Jn. 13:14; Phil. 2:5-8). The attitude of forgiveness is necessary also to worship God (Matt. 18:21,22; 6:14,15; Acts 7:60). The attitude to sacrifice is essential (Rom. 12:1,2). There must be a willing sacrifice offered with joy and in humility (Phil. 2:5-8).

Worship by the doctrines of men. The doctrines of men produce the elements of unacceptable worship. Ignorant worship: when the worshipper neither knows whom to worship, nor how to worship (Jn. 4:22-24; Acts 17:23). Vain worship: empty, profitless, authorized by the doctrines of men (Matt. 15:9; Rom. 1:25). Will worship: worship directed by the will of the worshipper and not the will of God (Col. 2:23). Unauthorized practices (Jn. 4:24). The worship of angels (Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; 22:8).

Unrighteous worshippers. All worship from those alienated from God is unacceptable worship. Jesus would not accept worship from devils. Worship and service to God go together (Matt. 4:10; Lk. 4:8; Rom. 1:25). God has never accepted worship from one whose life was not right (Prov. 15:8; Isa. 1:13-15; Amos 5:21-25).

Righteousness is a prerequisite to scriptural worship. True righteousness comes only by obeying the commands of God (Psa. 119:15). The commands of the gospel are righteousness (Rom. 1:16,17). There is a difference between the righteousness of man and the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:1-3). It is the difference between life and death.

“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, 0 Jerusalem” (Psa. 122:1,2).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 3, p. 2
February 4, 1993

By Connie W. Adams

Some things ought to be forgotten. To dwell on past blunders gives rise to despair. Paul wrote,” Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). Nursing old wounds sours the spirit. We cannot go into rewind and undo what is done.

Some things must be remembered. To Israel God said, “Remember that thou wast a stranger in the land of Egypt . . . therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15). The blessings of Canaan could best be appreciated against the background of Egypt. The feasts of Passover and Tabernacles were intended to help them remember how God spared them from the death of the firstborn in Egypt and how God supplied their needs in the wilderness.

“Help me to remember how short my time is” (Psa. 89:47). “Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth” (Eccl. 12:1). “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord” On. 15:20). “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). “Remember ye the words which were spoken before the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 17). The remedy for loss of “first love” is to “remember from whence thou art fallen” and repent and “do the first works” (Rev. 2:5).

Peter said, “I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yes, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance” (2 Pet. 1:12-13). Timothy was charged, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained” (1 Tim. 4:6).

Like Timothy, I aspire to be “a good minister of Jesus Christ.” To that end we have prepared a special issue of this paper to take us back to some fundamental Bible lessons which we are in grave danger of forgetting.

The Need For This Special

Historically, gospel preachers have repeatedly emphasized the truths you will find in this issue to help people in denominationalism see the difference between truth and error. Again and again these same passages and illustrations have been called in-to service when brethren in the Lord were flirting with apostasy whether in worship, work, organization, or whatever threatened the peace and welfare of the kingdom of God.

The institutional brethren have a crisis on their hands now with some going so far that they are advocating a “new hermeneutic.” Commands, examples and necessary inferences are too limited for their fertile imaginations. Never mind the fact that Jesus used them in teaching truth, the apostles used them, and the first doctrinal issue facing the church was settled by an appeal to all three (Acts 15). This “new hermeneutic” is subjective. We are called upon to practice whatever we think “Jesus would do.” How shall we know that without Scripture to show it? While this “hermeneutic” may be new to some institutional folk, it is far from new to the denominational world. The denominational approach to Bible authority has been largely to ignore it in favor of whatever the majority want.

There are some men among the ultra-liberals who often speak of themselves as “on the cutting edge” of the kingdom. A few years ago an article appeared in Mission Magazine entitled “The 301 Cubit Ark.” It ridiculed the idea of an exact pattern. It was chosen as “article of the year.” Another magazine which has been on “the cutting edge” is Image. Now comes Wineskins with the avowed purpose of remaking the church. “Pattern theology” is out. The gospel when first given was new wine in new wineskins. It was not poured into the old wineskin of the law of Moses. It was not a patch on the old garment of Judaism; it was all new cloth. But what these men forget is that it is ever new. It does not need revision nor updating to make it “relevant.” It is relevant. It always will be relevant.

Among those who have resisted the burgeoning institutionalism there is also a need for remembering passages which help us see the danger of human wisdom as opposed to divine wisdom, the danger of trifling with divine instructions, the folly of confusing the broad way with the narrow way, the disaster which comes from “going onward.” Illustrations help to impress truth. But in our search for sermon illustrations, let us not overlook the most useful source of all — the illustrations in the Bible itself. Tell me, how long has it been since you heard a sermon on Cain and Abel? How about “Make Thee an Ark of Gopher Wood”? or, “Nadab and Abihu”? or “Uzzah’s Sin”? What about “Naaman the Leper,” “To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice,” Jesus on “The Traditions of Men,” “Plants to Be Rooted Up,” “Are There Few Saved?”, “Mark 16:15-16” or “Going Onward”?

I dare say that if you were to preach a couple of these subjects in a gospel meeting there would be older people who would tell you they had not heard that in a long, long time. Some of the younger ones have never heard it. I was in a meeting a few years ago in a large southern city where there are many congregations and we were having day services. A preacher in the area attended each day. Toward the last of the week he said, “I want to thank you for making it worth while for me to bring my Bible. I have sat through many meetings in this city where I might as well have left my Bible at home.”

What is happening about preaching? Check the shelves of preachers’ libraries and see what they are using for source materials. Catchy, glitzy, witty works of Swindoll, Lucado and a few others will often be found. Motivational preaching has become the order of the day. Don’t get me wrong. We all need to be motivated to do what we know is right. But there is the catch. All too many among the Lord’s people do not know what they ought to know. There is a dearth of Bible knowledge. That sets the state for heartache down the road. The last few times I have preached on “Bible Authority” in meetings, invariably some older brethren have commented that they had not heard a sermon on that in twenty years. It may be that they forgot, or just didn’t pay attention, or that they were just “carried away” at the moment. What if they are right?

The purpose of this special issue is not to suggest that these are the only passages on which we ought to teach. The Bible is an inexhaustible treasure. From it we are to declare “all the counsel of God” and to “keep back nothing which is profitable” to the hearers. Our work must be balanced. Error must be exposed and reproved. Sin must be rebuked. Struggling saints facing the pressures of an increasingly irreligious society must be given help from the word of God to keep their poise and not lose sight of their goal. Babes in Christ must grow. So must those who are more mature. If they stop growing they will die. Older Christians need to have their spirits lifted. Elders, deacons, teachers, and preachers must all be encouraged. No faithful preacher of the gospel should ever be afraid of running out of material. The word of God is admirably suited to supply all our needs.

But through all of this, God’s people must ever be cautioned about taking liberties with what the Lord said. The consequences of disobedience must be clearly understood. We believe that this special edition of Guardian of Truth written by former writers for Searching the Scriptures (except for the article by Mike Willis) will help to stir up our remembrance of Bible passages which are not taught as often as they once were.

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 3, p. 1
February 4, 1993

By Mike Willis

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord (Lev. 10:1-2).

In my youth these two texts were preached upon with enough frequency that its lessons were familiar to us. However, in recent years, perhaps these texts have been neglected, if not absolutely perverted and misinterpreted. Because of possible neglect, this text must be included in a list of texts to put brethren “in remembrance of these things.”

The Historical Context of Nadab and Abihu’s Death

After the children of Israel left Egypt by a miraculous deliverance, they journeyed to Mt. Sinai where by stayed for one and one-half years. During this time, they were given the Law of Moses which included detailed instructions for the erection of the Tabernacle and the installation of the priesthood. After the items for the Tabernacle were constructed, soon it was assembled. The clothing for the priests was prepared and finally the day to consecrate the priests arrived.

Leviticus 8 details the consecration of the priests — Aaron and his four sons (Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar). The congregation was gathered, the priests were washed and clothed with their ceremonial clothing. Then they were anointed to serve. Sacrifices were offered for Aaron and his sons. Aaron and his sons were instructed to abide at the door of the Tabernacle for seven days.

On the eighth day, Aaron and his sons officially entered the office as priests (Lev. 9). The congregation assembled and the sacrifices commanded by God were offered. Aaron offered a sin offering for himself and a burnt offering was presented. He made atonement for himself and for the people. After Aaron and his sons completed the offering, the text records:

And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces (Lev. 9:23-24).

Witnessing the glory of the Lord and the miraculous fire, Nadab and Abihu took their censers and put fire therein, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he did not command. As a judgment from God, fire came out and destroyed them before the Lord.

Of What Did the Sin Consist?

There is some discussion with regard to the nature of Nadab and Abihu’s offense. Here are several ideas which have been expressed:

The sin consisted in bringing fire from some source other than the burnt offering altar. The Law specified that fire for the incense was to be taken from the burnt offering altar. Leviticus 16:12 commanded that fire from the burnt offering be used for incense on the Day of Atonement. When Moses stayed the plague that broke out at the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, he used fire from the burnt offering altar to burn incense (Num. 16:46). The fire from the burnt offering altar was miraculously kindled (Lev. 9:24) and was to be kept burning (Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature VI:821). Nadab and Abihu sinned in offering incense with unauthorized fire.

The sin consisted in offering the incense at the wrong time of the day. Kell and Delitzsch suggest that the incenseoffering was offered at the wrong time of the day — between the morning and evening offerings. Later texts do not affirm that the sin consisted in offering incense at the wrong time of day.

The sin consisted in intruding into the Holy of Holies. The text mentions that they offered “strange fire before the Lord.” The High Priest alone was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and that only on the Day of Atonement. However, the phrase “before the Lord” can be used of the Tabernacle generally or entering into the Holy of Holies. Based solely on this phrase, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Nadab and Abihu entered the Holy of Holies. Later texts do not charge them with this sin.

Some have suggested that Nadab and Abihu were drunk. Leviticus 10:8-11 contains a prohibition against priests partaking of any wine or strong drink when they ad-ministered worship. Some have connected this prohibition with Nadab and Abihu’s sin to reach the conclusion that they were drunk when they sinned. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says that this is an erroneous conclusion (IV:2108; cf. also Keil and Delitzsch 354). J.A. Selbie wrote in Dictionary of the Bible (James Hastings, ed.), “There is not the slightest warrant for the idea. . . that the prohibition (v. 8f) against the use of wine or strong drink by priests on duty implies that Nadab and Abihu were intoxicated when they committed their fatal offence” (III:471). Even if the sons of Aaron were drunk, they compounded their sin in offering “strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.” Whereas later texts emphasize that Nadab and Abihu sinned in offering “strange fire,” not once is there any evidence that they were guilty of drunkenness (cf. Num. 3:2-4; 26:60-61). The effort to find Nadab and Abihu guilty of drunkenness in connection with their worship stems from an unwillingness to believe that God would punish Nadab and Abihu with death for the relatively small offense of taking fire from an unauthorized source!

The first explanation of the sin given above properly emphasizes that the sin was in offering “strange fire.” The phrase “strange fire” (esh zarah) has been defined as follows:

“strange to the law” as also appears in the phrase “strange incense” in Exod. 30:9 (Brown,Driver, and Briggs, Lexicon 266).

“opp. to true, right, lawful, strange, unlawful. . .strange fire i.e. unlawful, profane, opp. to the sacred fire, Lev. 10:” (Gesenius, Lexicon 276).

“strange to the requirements of the law” (Dictionary of the Bible III:471).

“unauthorized by the Law” (ISBE IV:2108).

These definitions assert that what Nadab and Abihu offered was unauthorized worship, an unlawful act.

Putting this definition of “strange fire” together with the historical context, we can better understand what Nadab and Abihu’s sin was. On that important occasion of the entrance of Aaron and his sons into the service of the priesthood, the glory of the Lord appeared to the people and a fire came out from before the Lord that consumed the burnt offering. In their exuberance, Nadab and Abihu presumptuously offered incense to the Lord, using strange fire which the Lord had not commanded. Here are some descriptions of their sin:

They chose their own method of returning thanks and giving praise to God, a method unsanctioned by God’s command, unauthorized by their official superiors (F. Meyrick, The Pulpit Commentary 2:150).

Their crime was not in doing what was forbidden, but in doing what was not enjoined. Will-worship is offensive to God. No body of uninspired men has any business to “decree rites and ceremonies” (J.A. McDonald, The Pulpit Commentary 2:157).

For their essence of their sin was this, that it was will-worship; worship in which they consulted not the revealed will of God regarding the way in which He would be served, but their own fancies and inclinations. The directions for worship had been, as we have seen, exceedingly full and observed, “Doubtless it seemed to Nadab and Abihu a matter of no consequence at all that they should take fire from one altar rather than from another. To us it may seem a comparatively small thing, when viewed in connection with the terrible doom that immediately ensued. Obviously, however, it was a great thing in the sight of God” (The Pulpit Commentary 158).

4. God wishes to be worshipped as he wills, not as we will.

The modern concept about worship, that God will accept anything in worship so long as the person is sincere who offers it, is false. God will not accept any and every kind of worship (if he would, idolatry would be just as acceptable as any other worship). We can only know the kind of worship which pleases God by the revelation of his mind to us in the Bible. When men invent their own worship, they are guilty of the sin of Nadab and Abihu.

There are many things which have been introduced into Christian worship which stand on the same footing as the “strange fire” offered by Nadab and Abihu — they are things which God has not commanded. That is true with such things as the following: mechanical instruments of music in worship, choirs, solos, and quartets, contributions taken at times other than the first day of the week, burning incense and candles, holy days such as Christmas and Easter, a separate priesthood, observing the Lord’s supper on some day other than the first day of the week and with some frequency other than weekly, etc. We must be careful not to allow ourselves to think of these sinful perversions of worship as small and insignificant. Otherwise the lessons drawn from the death of Nadab and Abihu will have been of no benefit to us.

The Punishment

God’s punishment of Nadab and Abihu was immediate. He destroyed them with fire. Why did this occur? Obviously God did not immediately strike dead every other violator of his will for worship. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu correspond very closely with the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). In the latter case, Ananias and Sapphira were smitten because they lied to God. Not every liar has been punished with the same fate. Both cases occurred very soon after the establishment of God’s worship (the tabernacle and the church). In both cases, a public display was made to teach men not to depart from God’s word. By so graphically demonstrating the seriousness of departing from the Lord’s commandment, the Lord emphasized the necessity of respect for his law and saved from eternal damnation many men who might not otherwise have abided within the commandments.

Conclusion

The lessons drawn from the sin of Nadab and Abihu should be taught to our children and our children’s children. Otherwise, the generations which follow will stray into unrevealed worship and make a denomination of the Lord’s church as has been done in other apostasies. One generation going untaught is all that is necessary for this apostasy to occur. For this reason, we need to keep our brethren “in remembrance of these things.”

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 3, p. 6
February 4, 1993

By J. Wiley Adams

Kings 5 is a classic account of man’s wisdom versus the wisdom of God. In Isaiah 55:8,9 we learn that God’s thoughts and ways are not man’s thoughts and ways. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. What may seem right to man is not the criterion for pleasing God (Prov. 14:12).

In the earlier days of this century, gospel meetings used to include such basic topics as why we sing but do not play, strange fire, the comparison of the Old and New Testaments, morality, and nearly every preacher had a sermon on Naaman, the leper. Under such preaching the stories of the Bible came alive. Brethren were well-taught. Even the children sat speechless at the Bible accounts of Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, as well as the wise man and the foolish man. It has changed but it needs to be revived.

Such a subject has been assigned to this writer for this special issue. It is about Naaman, the leper reported in 2 Kings 5. No one ever preached it better than the late Fred Dennis of the upper Ohio Valley. I can hear him now as he preached the plain and simple story of the need to let God have his way — the need to obey him rather than man.

Naaman was the captain of the Syrian host. He was the Syrian king’s chief-of-staff. He was a great, honorable and brave man. At times he fought against Israel and took captives from among them. One of these captives was a little maid who waited on Naaman’s wife.

It was discovered that Naaman had the dread disease called leprosy. He was a leper. He sought desperately to find a cure. He was willing to try anything to get well. When the little maid from Israel knew that her master had leprosy, she told her mistress there was a prophet in Samaria (Elisha) who could heal him. The king of Syria heard of this possibility and told him to go with a letter from him to the king of Israel. He sent many gifts to get on the good side of him and he in effect demanded that he be healed. This nearly scared the king of Israel to death. He thought the king of Syria was trying to pick a fight with him. He tore his clothes in frustration. He said, “Am I God to kill and make alive?” No one had ever been healed of leprosy before (see Lk. 4:27).

But when Elisha, the man of God, heard the king of Israel had torn his clothes in despair he said, “Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

So, this important man and all his company came to Elisha’s door. Normal courtesy was not extended. After all, this man was an enemy of Israel. Instead of asking him into his house or going out to roll out the red carpet for him, the prophet sent a messenger with the simple message to dip seven times in the Jordan river and he would be healed of his leprosy. Sometimes we tell people we don’t like to go jump in the lake. It may have sounded like that to Naaman. He was outraged. He said in his wrath, “Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.”

What a simple thing the prophet had required of him to do. He took issue about the superiority of the rivers of Syria over the muddy Jordan. His pride was badly injured. He either had to get rid of his pride orhis leprosy. In a rage he turned away. One of his servants was a wise man and appealed to him to try this simple procedure — wash and be clean. He decided to swallow his pride and obey the prophet of God. When he had dipped seven times in Jordan he was cleansed “and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

The lessons we learn from this Bible account are several. First, we must go to the right source for help

7 the prophet and not the king. Second, one must then have faith enough to do what is required — not argue the point. Third, we must not challenge God’s will at any point — we must yield. And fourth, we must obey God to obtain the desired end

7 salvation. Sin is worse than leprosy. Only the blood of Christ will take it away when we obey the gospel (Rom. 1:16).

As long as Naaman fought the will of God, he remained a leper. What a lesson for those of us who live on this side of the cross. God requires the hearing of his word to gain faith (Rom. 10:17), confessing the deity of Christ (Rom. 10:10), repenting of sins (Acts 2:38), and being baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). This is plain and simple. Many like Naaman are outraged at its simplicity and turn away but they are still in their sins. Those who submit and turn to God will go away with sins removed — saved.

Are you like Naaman? Many are. Why not be like the three thousand on Pentecost (Acts 2) or the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8)?

“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 3, p. 5
February 4, 1993